Giants keep up pressure at the top

Photo: William Cherry

Belfast Giants stayed two points off top spot in the Premier Sports Elite League with a 6-3 win over Manchester Storm on Sunday in a game where the scoreline made things look a lot more comfortable than they were for the home side.

Jackson Whistle was the Giants' start during the opening half of period one as he was called into action several times to keep the game scoreless. 15 minutes into the period, David Goodwin gave the home side the lead when the Storm failed to clear, and his pass was swept into his own net by Joe Hazeldine. 1:33 later, good head's up play from Goodwin found JJ Piccinich behind him to bear Jason Bacashihua high and make it 2-0.

Frankie Melton helped Storm to cut the deficit after Sam Ruopp was ejected for a high cross-check - but his goal at 28:09 was the only for Manchester during the five-minute advantage. Scott Conway re-established the home side's two-goal lead at 37:24 after Storm again failed to clear their zone, but 20 seconds later Scott Simmonds' individual effort brought the score back to 3-2.

Conway's second of the game 9:07 into period three gave the Giants some breathing space, or so they thought - Cam Critchlow brought Storm back to within one 31 seconds later to keep things tight. JJ Piccinich put the Giants back two ahead with 5:34 to go, and while Storm pressed for a way back into the game Mark Cooper settled things with an empty net goal eight seconds from the final buzzer.