The Stena Line Belfast Giants made it a remarkable three wins in three days with a 3-2 victory away against the Guildford Flames. Sunday’s road win follows back-to-back wins in Belfast against the Coventry Blaze on Friday and Saturday.
Two middle period goals from Jonathan Ferland helped the Giants come from 1-0 down to claim an important win away from home. The Giants six point haul from the weekend leaves the Belfast side in second place, one point behind the Cardiff Devils.
First Period Stalemate In Guildford
The opening period was deadlocked at 0-0 as netminders Jackson Whistle and Chris Carrozzi cancelled each other out. Both sides had special team opportunities though were unable to convert.
Deadlock Broken In Middle Period
After 20 scoreless minutes, it took only 5:57 in the middle period for the deadlock to be broken. It was the home side who struck first when Ben Davies netted on the powerplay, assisted by a fine Rhett Rachinski pass as well as Brett Ferguson.
The scores were level soon after when Jonathan Ferland equalised, shooting past Carrozzi at 28:23, assisted by Darcy Murphy and Jim Vandermeer.
Ferland scored his second of the period, and the game, at 32:29 with a powerplay goal through traffic, unassisted.
Brandon Benedict gave the visitors a two goal cushion with his third goal in as many days at 33:35, assisted by Sebastien Sylvestre.
Giants Close Out Flames
Mikael Lidhammar’s late shorthanded goal set up a nervy finish in Guildford, pulling his side back to 2-3 with two minutes remanining. However the Giants held strong and closed out for a deserved third win of the weekend.
Final Score:
Guildford Flames 2-3 Stena Line Belfast Giants
Photo: John Uwins
