The Belfast Giants secured their place at the top of Challenge Cup Group B and a place in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup, having seen off the challenge from Scottish sides Fife Flyers and Dundee Stars this weekend.
Adam Keefe’s men were made to work for it however, coming from 2-0 behind on Saturday evening against Fife Flyers to win the game 5-3 before edging past Dundee Stars 1-0 on Sunday evening.
The Giants now sit seven points clear at the top of Group B, with second placed Glasgow no longer able to catch them. The men in teal will now turn their attention to home seeding as the competition progresses, which could prove significant given their impressive record on home ice.
Saturday’s game started badly for the Giants who found themselves two goals down against Fife Flyers after the first period in front of the Belfast crowd.
The hosts struggled to hit the target in the opening 20 minutes, although not through lack of effort. The Flyers did well to absorb pressure and notched two goals against the run of play to give them the momentum going into the second period.
The Giants eventually converted pressure into a goal from JJ Piccinich who got his side on the board and started the momentum swing towards the home side.
It was’t long before Gabe Bast rifled a shot into the roof of the net to level the sides in the second period.
With the game on a knife-edge going into the third period, some good work to turnover the puck by Kyle Osterberg allowed captain Mark Cooper for the Giant’s third goal.
After a spirited effort in the first two periods, Flyers looked fatigued in the third and the Giants pulled ahead further with Scott Conway notching another goal and then Elijah Barriga was credited with a shot through a crowd of bodies to make it five - the icing on the cake for the Giants after an impressive comeback.
Speaking after the the Fife game, head coach Adam Keefe praised his side’s ability to bounce back after less than ideal start to the game.
“I wouldn’t say they took it to us although they took the lead.” Keefe explained.
“I thought we started fantastically but we weren’t rewarded for it. Our finish and execution wasn’t there. They got one against the grain and then another and I thought from there we were a bit forced and that fed into their offence.
“We had plenty of looks to be leading ourselves after period one and two and credit to the guys for battling back in period two and then period three I thought we were great with some big powerplay goals to tie it up give us the lead.
“All in all a pretty good game and we did enough to be winning after the second period.”
The following night the Giants faced the Dundee Stars once again on home ice.
Sunday’s game was a back-and-forth encounter with plenty of chances but no goals in the opening two periods.
Adam Keefe’s men had the better in terms of chances and possession but could not capitalise on their chance in an ill-tempered forty minutes of hockey.
It was eventually Ciaran Long who struck for his side, firing a one-timer from the top of the right circle to score what would prove to be the winning goal.
Goalie Tom McCollum put in another strong performance, shutting out Dundee - his second shut-out in the last two games - and helped the Giants hold on to take the points.
With the Challenge Cup semi-final place now in the bag, Adam Keefe’s men will now turn their attention towards clashes with Manchester Storm and Sheffield Steelers on the road next weekend.
