Glasgow Clan vs Belfast Giants (Playoff QF)

The Premier Sports sponsored Glasgow Clan came from behind to defeat the Belfast Giants on penalty shots to book their place in the playoff semi finals for just the second time in franchise history.

Brett Neumann had the first chance of the game just one minute in as he burst through the slot on the puck and dashed a quick shot on Jake Kupsky’s net but the netminder met it with a strong blocker pad.

Miihkali Teppo then raced onto a loose puck in the offensive zone and made a nice move to cut inside and play Mick Messner, but his first time shot was absorbed well by Kupsky.

Nicholas Guay was hungry for his second goal of the quarter finals as he rounded the Clan zone and played a pass to the crease from behind the net which caused minor chaos for Sami Aittokallio and had to be swept clear by Langan.

Jake Gaudet then corked a great first time shot from the backdoor which Aittokallio got a pad to but didn’t claim wholly as it just trickled wide of the post.

After taking a knock late in the first period, Brady Risk headed straight up the tunnel but came back out for the second frame and was the first man on the boards as he battled with Ben Lake below the goal line and managed to kick the puck into the blue paint where it bounced off of Kupsky’s back and rolled into the net.

Neumann missed another grade A chance as he parked himself at the edge of the crease on the powerplay and received a great pass from Langan which allowed him to just direct the puck with a light tap but Kupsky put a pad on it to keep it out.

Neumann turned provider on the same powerplay for Langan and Glasgow’s top point-scorer made no mistake, rifling the hosts into an aggregate lead just before the half-way point in the second leg with a blast which squeaked through the short side.

Mike Lee tied things back up again shortly after when he bombed a shot from the blue line which sailed through a bunch of traffic and nestled nicely into the top shelf past a half-blinded Aittokallio.

With the quarter final tied at two in the third period, both netminders stepped up big to see their sides into overtime with Kupsky denying 10 Clan shots on net while Aittokallio stopped 13 from Belfast.

Mick Messner was narrowly denied an overtime winner as he burst up ice on a breakaway and dragged a shot through the blue paint only for Kupsky to hug his post and close down the angle.

With neither side finding a winner after 125 minutes of open play, the tie was forced to penalty shots, where once again both netminders played fantastic.

Clan made their mark early with Messner and Neumann scoring the first two shots for the hosts while Lake missed Belfast’s opener and Piccinich scored their second attempt.

After the second round, there was no way through at either end though with an Aittokallio catcher save on Brandon Whistle the final blow as the Clan made history and secured their spot in Nottingham next weekend.