Giants bow out of CHL with unbeaten home record

Photo: William Cherry

Belfast Giants were left wondering what might have been as they ended their Champions Hockey League campaign with a 3-2 home win over Czech side Dynamo Pardubice, but finished one point short of making the last 16.

The Giants knew that their chances of making the final round were over before they started. Results on Tuesday had gone against them, and the sole Wednesday fixture that could have seen them through saw Třinec take a comfortable win.

Martin Kaut, who spent last season with the Colorado Avalanche and, put Dynamo ahead inside nine minutes, a lead that was doubled by veteran Jan Kolář at 12:58. The Giants were back in the game with a smart Ciaran Long wrist shot that beat Milan Klouček through a screen with 13:31 on the clock. 

Neither side could find the all-important next going in the middle period, and it took until the final ten minutes for Giants to turn things around. With Daniel Herčík sitting a holding minor, the hosts made full use of the CHL's powerplay rules with two goals. Greg Printz tied the game at the far post off an excellent Ara Nazarian pass across the crease, before Ciaran Long's shot was tipped by Ben Lake 43 seconds later at 50:47.

The Giants ensured that only one Czech team has ever won a game at an EIHL arena in the CHL. Liberec beat Cardiff in 2017, while Dynamo join the Bílí Tygři, Mountfield HK (twice), and Třinec who have all lost road games to EIHL sides.