Tait wins it late for Flames

Photo: John Uwins

A Ryan Tait goal with 55 seconds remaining gave Guildford Flames the win in a nine-goal thriller against Glasgow Clan on Saturday night at the Spectrum.

That Clan hadn't played in 13 days was evident in the opening stages as the Flames sharpness and speed saw them dominate the puck possession. Just 4:52 was on the clock when Brett Ferguson cashed in on a rebound in front to put the Flames ahead on the powerplay. However, the their first shot on target of the game Clan were level - a Clean Gary Haden faceoff win got the puck back to Kevin Massy to shoot through a screen and tie the game at 7:23. 40 seconds later, Sam Marklund pulled a nice move to beat Ty Taylor and put the Flames back ahead, and when Brett Ferguson went top shelf at 8:50 the Flames were 3-1 ahead - and Ferguson himself had had more shots on goal than the entire Clan roster. A nice Jordan Cownie pass found Brad Kennedy in the slot to beat Taz Burman with 15 seconds left in the period to bring it back to a one-goal game. 

Period two wasn't short of goals either, and they started early. 3:20 into the second, Mitch Jones fired straight off a Stephen Dixon faceoff win past Burman to tied the game. On their first powerplay of the game, Clan then took the lead through former Flame John Dunbar at 32:12, but that lead lasted barely 90 seconds before Sam Marklund banked a shot off Taylor and into the net from a tight angle. Daniel Tedesco rang a shot off the iron as the Flames came close to going back ahead.

After eight goals in the previous 40 minutes, the final period was a more tense affair. Ryan Tait had two great opportunities to put the Flames back ahead - one on a breakaway and the other after a pass across the slot - but only found Taylor on both occasions. A late penalty on Steven McParland put the Clan a man down for the final part of the game, and after Paul Dixon called his timeout Tait slapped home a loose puck from close range to put Guildford 5-4 ahead. Clan immediately called their timeout but could find another equaliser and left empty handed.