EIHL | Guildford Flames 4 Glasgow Clan 3

The Premier Sports sponsored Glasgow Clan lost on the road to the Guildford Flames in the Motorpoint Elite League after a tight game with multiple lead exchanges.

Josh Tarzwell opened the scoring for Glasgow after just three minutes of play as the puck deflected in off his skate following some great build-up play from Cole Kodsi and Juho Rautanen.

The goal was confirmed after a lengthy review from the officials, which became a theme throughout the night.

Rasmus Tirronen got off to a strong start in net for the Clan, preventing Sam Talbot on a high shot from close-range before gloving down a high-speed first-time effort from Cole Sanford.

Matt Spencer provided the physicality on the back end for the visitors, allowing them to see off the first period with a score line of 1-0.

With 15 seconds left in the period though, Kodsi was jumped by Dustyn McFaul just in front of the Clan bench. The two dropped the gloves and exchanged some right hooks before sitting in the penalty boxes for five minutes each.

Tirronen continued his fine form into the second frame, denying Talbot again. This time on a quick rebound after making the initial stop on Jordan Power before jutting out to the edge of his crease to deny Guildford’s #98.

Josh Waller eventually found a way to the back of the net on the powerplay as he slalomed through the slot and sniped a shot into the top corner.

Flames captain, Matt Alvaro then put the hosts in front as he arrived onto the puck at the backdoor and fired a quick shot past Tirronen.

Their lead lasted a whole 40 seconds though as Josh Tarzwell picked the pocket of a Guildford defenceman and then picked his spot expertly, tucking a low shot past Brad Arvanitis to tie the game at two.

Former Clan forward, Brett Neumann then caused another lengthy delay as he rebounded a loose puck after it crashed off the crossbar and it got lost in the equipment of Tirronen before bobbling out to Alvaro who missed the net with his follow up attempt.

The check went on for a long time, but in the end the goal never stood as it wasn’t over the line, nor was the initial shot even on target.

The Flames seemed to use the pause in play wisely as within just five seconds they’d found another go-ahead goal, this time from Waller who dumped the puck in from the left corner and it pinballed through the crease and into the net.

In the third period, Keaton Pehrson’s shot from the blue line was smartly tipped by Julius Reini onto the bar before bouncing into the blue paint for the Finn to cram over the line on the rebound, granting him his second goal of the season.

Sanford played a great pass across the Clan slot to Jordan Power later in the period, who then dispatched a great shot high into the net to reinstate the English side’s lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

Mike Sirant called a time-out with three minutes still on the clock and decided to keep Tirronen on the bench for the extra skater in an all-in attempt to find an equaliser.

Cade Neilson made a heroic stop in front of the empty net to deny a Guildford fifth before missing a grade A chance in the final 6 seconds as Glasgow would leave Surrey empty handed.