Challenge Cup | Glasgow Clan 4 Belfast Giants 1

The Premier Sports sponsored Glasgow Clan ended their winless drought by ending the Belfast Giants’ winning run in a commanding victory on home ice over the league champions.

Rylan Schwartz opened the scoring after just 12 minutes as he screened Giants’ netminder, Jake Kupsky and redirected Juho Rautanen’s long-range drive with a mid-air tip into the net.

On his home debut for the Clan, Keaton Pehrson created the second goal of the night as he dumped the puck on net from the right wing into a sea of bodies at the goal mouth, including Mick Messner who swept the loose rebound over the line.

J.J. Piccinich halved Glasgow’s advantage before the end of the period with a shot from the blue line on the powerplay to bring the visitors back into the game after a strong opening period from the Clan.

The second line proved fruitful again for Glasgow with Josh Tarzwell rounding Kupsky’s net and sliding the puck to the apex of the crease where Cole Kodsi was parked, and the #67 tapped home a first-time shot to reinstate the Clan’s two-goal lead.

In the third period, Messner showed his tenacity as he battled with two Belfast defencemen to force the Clan into a dangerous area, even diving onto his front to poke the puck across to Deven Sideroff to send home a fourth for the hosts to round out the evening.

The Braehead crowd was jubilant at the final buzzer as they got to celebrate a win with the Clan for the first time this season, after a difficult few weeks with attention now turning to Wednesday as they host the Manchester Storm in league play.