03 Jan 2025, 19:00 | Regular season | SSE Arena Belfast |
Belfast Giants | 3-5 | Sheffield Steelers |
Periods: Shots: | 1-0 (17-11) | 1-2 (18-8) | 1-3 (11-15) | Total: 46-34 |
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Referees: #25 Andy Dalton, #9Joe Sewell  |  Spectators: 6633 |
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Goals and assists
Sheffield Steelers fought back from two down in Belfast to beat the
Giants 5-3 at a sold-out SSE Arena in Belfast, denying the Giants the
chance to go top of the Elite League in the process.
It was the
perfect start for the Giants who were ahead inside the first minute of
the game. A faceoff win by Scott Conway set up Mike Lee for a wrist shot
that beat Matt Greenfield blocker side with just 39 seconds played. The
Steelers steadied themselves and had arguably the best chance of the
period to score the next goal – the puck worked to Patrick Watling at
the far post but an excellent pad save from Tom McCollum kept the game
level. Belfast had some decent looks around Greenfield’s net to go
further ahead, but the period ended with just the one goal separating
the teams.
Having scored 39 seconds into the first period, the
Giants struck again in exactly the same, quick time in the second. Make
Cooper's pass from the corner found Ben Lake in space, and he put the
puck on a plate for Grant mismash to slide into the empty net and double
the home side's advantage.
After killing off a Mark Simpson tripping minor where the Giants
came close to a third, the Steelers came to life. Max Golod got them on
the board on an odd-man rush after Gabe Bast's pass across the offensive
zone was intercepted at 30:39, while on a powerplay at 31:29 Patrick
Watling one-timed Mitchell Balmas' perfect feed to tie the game.
McCollum made another excellent pad save in the period as the Giants
found themselves on the back foot for the final seven minutes.
The Steelers' comeback was completed by a Joona Huttula shot that
snuck through McCollum at 44:50 on a play he would have wanted back.
Some 90 seconds later, Golod one-timed a Daniel Ciampini feed to put the
Steelers two ahead. The Giants were all at sea, prompting Adam Keefe to
call a timeout - and replace McCollum in net with Jackson Whistle.
Josh
Roach banked a shot in from behind the goal line off Greenfield to cut
the deficit in half with 11:19 to play, but after that the Steelers
goalie was a wall for anything the Giants through at him. Whistle was
pulled with 1:14 to play, but as the lcock wound down Mikko Juusola
found the empty net to secure a vital 5-3 win for the Steelers.