Giants defeated by Vipers 11

Last Sunday night, the LBM Belfast Giants took on the Newcastle Vipers at the Odyssey Arena. The Vipers travelled with only 9 men, two of which were goaltenders. The Giants played short of Brandon Benedict and Steve Thornton.

The first period got off to a good start for the Giants, with a quick jump into the lead at 4:39. The goal came as Sean McMorrow passed to George Awada behind the net. Awada found Evan Cheverie in front of the net for a one time shot past Michel Robinson’s glove.

The Giants continued to dominate, and added another just after the 10 minute mark. A pass from Craig Peacock to Graeme Walton left Tom Walsh open at the point. A pass from Walton to Walsh left a shooting lane, with Walton getting in front of the netminder. A slapshot fired from Walsh found the back of the net for a two goal lead at 10:43.

The Giants added their third before the end of the period, with Cheverie picking up his second of the night. A pass from Pat Bateman behind the net to Awada in the corner left Cheverie open again in the slot. Another shot on Robinson’s glove side gave the Giants a 3-0 lead at 15:20, and finished the period 3-0 in favour of the Giants.

The Giants started the second period where they left off in the first, and with Nathan Craze in the Giants’ net. A pass from Jeff Szwez to Pierre-Luc Faubert on the wing left Colin Shields open in the slot. A pass from Faubert to Shields gave the opportunity to skate in and shoot. A low shot found its way past Robinson for a 4-0 lead at 21:21.

The Vipers managed to get their first goal on the board at 22:34, with a sloppy goal from Ben Campbell, assisted by Jason Tejchma and Nathan Salem. This started the Vipers’ offense and they went on to pick up another at 26:41. With the Giants shorthanded after Mark Morrison picked up a penalty for hooking, Dean Holland managed to find the net, high past Craze, assisted by Ryan Mahrle and Mark Gouett.

The Giants went on the powerplay as Jason Tejchma picked up a penalty for holding. This gave the Giants the opportunity to add to their lead, with a powerplay goal at 29:42. A point shot from Shields deflected off Robinson’s pad on to Tim Cook’s stick. As Cook shot the puck, it took a deflection off Vipers’ defenseman, Ryan Mahrle’s, skate into the net. Faubert also picked up an assist on the play.

As the Giants went on the powerplay again, with Daniel Pye picking up a tripping penalty, the Vipers managed to pull back with a shorthanded goal. Mike Berry went 1-on-1 down the ice with Matic Karlj chasing. A pass from the wing to Kralj in the slot left an easy shot for the goal, at 34:47, leaving the period 5-3 in favour of the Giants.

The Giants started the third period on a penalty kill, with Bateman and Shields both sitting penalties, for high sticking and cross checking respectively. This again gave the Vipers an opportunity to pull the game back into reach. And they did – a point shot from Jason Tejchma, tipped in by Ryan Mahrle at 40:38 brought the game back to within one goal.

With the Giants still on the penalty kill, with Shields still in the box, they managed to add another powerplay goal. With Tejchma down the left wing and behind the net, a wraparound and through Craze’s 5-hole tied the game up at 42:09.

The Giants managed to pull themselves together, and didn’t concede any more goals in the period, but were denied again and again by Michel Robinson in the Vipers’ net. The Giants picked up two powerplays late in the period, but were still unable to get the much needed goal.

The Giants went into overtime, with the score at 5-5, and on the powerplay. On the powerplay, the Giants repeated their ‘no shooting’ technique, with a lot of passing, but very few shots. Any shots taken were good chances, but it was just impossible to find a way past Michel Robinson.

With the score tied after overtime, the game went to penalty shots. Colin Shields went first, with an unlucky miss as he hit the post. Mike Berry followed for the Vipers, and was unable to get past Craze’s pad. Tom Walsh was second up for the Giants and managed to miss the net completely. Jason Tejchma went second for the Vipers and deked his way past Craze and backhanded the puck into the net. With the pressure on Jeff Szwez for a goal to keep the Giants in the game, Michel Robinson went down and saved the puck. This gave the Vipers a 6-5 win after penalties.

Michel Robinson picked up man of the match for the Vipers, while Evan Cheverie picked up man of the match for the Giants.

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