Preseason | Glasgow Clan 6 HK Liepaja 4

The Premier Sports sponsored Glasgow Clan held off a scrappy HK Liepaja of Latvia to claim a preseason victory after an eventful night of hockey at the Braehead Arena.

The visitors got off to a hot start, with Karlis Tamenieks scooping home a rebound from the edge of Liam Souliere’s crease after he came off his line to cut off a shot from Daniils Adrejevs.

Just 30 seconds later, Sarunas Baltrunas doubled Liepaja’s lead with a nice move from the right side and a sharp finish past Souliere, leaving the Clan behind by two after just four minutes.

Clan captain, Deven Sideroff showed his tenacity to drag the Clan back into the game as he battled to regain possession in the offensive zone before turning a quick shot on net which Tristin Langan redirected high over Michael Valenta to pick up Glasgow’s first goal of the season.

Cole Kodsi got feisty with Baltrunas later in the first period and Cade Neilson chased down Daniels Andersons to throw him into the boards after an open ice hit on Jake Johnson as the game took a physical swing.

Just 45 seconds into the second period, Ross Armour got his first goal in Clan colours as he redirected his former Nottingham teammate, Matt Spencer’s long range shot to level the score at two.

Nik;as Lagzdins instantly put Liepaja back in front though with a breakaway and a neat top shelf finish as Glasgow struggled to hold off the young and quick opposition.

Langan picked up a second of the game when he was found at the backdoor by Sideroff and delicately flicked the puck in the air with his skate before swatting it across goal into the top corner in a gorgeous move to tie the game up.

Rylan Schwartz got physical with Andersons after the buzzer at the second intermission and captain Sideroff stepped up to defend his teammate when he was grabbed by Simonas Valivonis as he decked him with two uppercuts to get the Braehead crowd on their feet.

In the third period, Steven Seigo gave Glasgow their first lead of the game with a long-range drive on the powerplay before Alex Forbes doubled the their advantage shortly after as the Clan pounced on some offensive pressure.

Andersons capitalised on a 6-on-4 man advantage for Liepaja late in the game as they pulled their goaltender while Mick Messner sat in the box for a disagreeable slashing call as the visitors clawed back to within one.

A Sideroff empty net goal from the neutral zone capped off the game with a 6-4 win for Glasgow before the buzzer sounded during a fight behind Souliere’s net after a dirty hit on Clan’s new signing, Reece Harsch which led to more scraps after the game.

Liepaja left with a chorus of boos for their bruising style of play, while the Clan players lapped up the thunderous applause as they picked up a great victory ahead of an exciting league campaign.