Glasgow Clan vs Belfast Giants

The Premier Sports sponsored Glasgow Clan picked up a well-earned point in a tough battle with the Belfast Giants but fell in penalty shots after a lengthy game to round off the weekend.

The Clan showed their intent early off the back of a difficult 7-1 loss on the road last night to the Nottingham Panthers with Richard Jarusek and Brett Neumann leading the offensive charge for the hosts.

Rylan Schwartz eventually broke the deadlock as Colton Poolman played a defence-splitting pass through the zones to allow him in on a breakaway and the #71 coolly sent Jackson Whistle the wrong way and rolled home the opener.

Jordan Kawaguchi got the Giants back to level terms in the short time remaining in the first period after Schwartz’ goal as he tipped a Garrett McFadden shot to redirect it past Lucas Brine.

In the second period, Kawaguchi put Belfast in front in similar style to their first as he got in front of Brine as McFadden hit a shot from the right wing and forced an error from the netminder as the puck trickled over the line.

The game was then delayed for a prolonged period after a plexiglass panel came loose behind the Giants net and required repairs.

After the delay, Glasgow got themselves back in the game as they reversed momentum Belfast had built early in the second period.

Darien Kielb then equaliser with a smart move on a 3-on-2 with Hugo Roy and Cade Neilson as the two of them traded passes while Kielb pealed off to the right wing in open space where he rifled off a shot that settled in the top corner.

It didn’t take long for the visitors to reinstate their lead though as McFadden scored a goal of his own as he hung in the slot and picked out the top shelf with a sharp shot to put Belfast in front 3-2.

The Clan battled back in the third period though and dominated play as they searched for a way back into the game with Deven Sideroff fizzing a shot just over the bar and Rob Lachowicz millimetres away from touching the puck over the line at the backdoor.

Colton Poolman eventually levelled it up for Glasgow in the final few minutes though as led the team up ice on a counter attack and finished it off himself with a neat shot from the right circle low past Whistle.

The game was forced to overtime where the Clan had the majority of the chances but failed to take them as both sides were forced onto penalty shots and the Giants sealed the extra point with a Patrick Grasso goal finishing it off.