Travel sickness hits Giants once again as they fail to hold on
THREE third-period goals from the Glasgow Clan saw the Belfast Giants’ winless streak on the road extend to seven games at the start of the season as they lost 3-1 at the Braehead Arena.
Clan skipper Matt Haywood scored with 5:29 remaining, with Scott Tanski adding an empty-netter with 12 seconds left to secure the two points.
It’s another brutal defeat away from home for the Giants, who have lost all five of their domestic games having been ahead or tied heading into the final period, and they outshot the Clan 4215 in this one but still couldn’t put them away.
In the first period alone, the Giants dominated the shot count 20-6 but despite having most of the puck, the best chances fell to the hosts, who should have been ahead going into the first intermission.
Chad Rau fired wide of the cage after Nolan LaPorte’s pass out front, while Mathieu Roy forced an excellent stop from Shane Owen on the rebound.
Having survived those scares, the Giants went ahead early in the second period. Bobby Farnham (above) cut in from the left circle and roofed a backhand shot past Clan netminder Patrick Killeen at 24:53.
They could have extended the lead further but Liam Reddox couldn’t convert a penalty shot, and then Scott Pitt took two penalties for the Clan — tripping and then elbowing — only for the visitors’ powerplay to fail.
It wouldn’t take long in the third period for the Clan to equalise, however, a giveaway in his own zone from Paul Swindlehurst allowing LaPorte to snap home the leveller at 42:39.
The Giants thought they had forged ahead again when they went on the powerplay — Travis Ehrhardt called for cross-checking — and Reddox got a shot away, only for Killeen to save.
And that allowed the Clan to take the lead at 51:31, the puck fed across to Haywood by former Giants ace Craig Peacock and the Scots’ captain finished five-hole.
The Giants sought the goal that would send it to overtime, but with Owen pulled Tanski scored into the empty net.