Elite League: Giants rout Stars to maintain title push
- Published
Belfast celebrate one of their seven goals in the one-sided encounter
Belfast Giants hammered Dundee Stars 7-0 in Scotland to keep pace with the Steelers and Devils in the Elite League title race.
The Giants bounced back from Friday's overtime defeat to the Stars by brushing the hosts aside at the Dundee Ice Arena a day later.
Mark Cooper and Tyler Soy netted doubles while Ben Lake, JJ Piccinich and Scott Conway were also on target.
It is Belfast's biggest margin of victory in any game so far this season.
The Giants led 2-0 after the first period with Cooper grabbing his first goal of the evening in the 14th minute before Lake doubled their advantage just before the first break, scoring on the power play after Dundee's Drydn Dow had been penalised for interference.
The visitors then suffered a blow early in the second period as netminder Tyler Beskorowany went down in some pain and was replaced by Jackson Whistle for the remainder of the game.
The Giants on the attack in Saturday night's game at the Dundee Ice Arena
Belfast went 3-0 up on another power play - against Michael Poirier for tripping - as Soy got his first goal of the game. The puck appeared to go into the net off the forward's skate but he was not deemed to have kicked it and the goal was given by the officials after a review.
Just over a minute later, Cooper got his second of the evening, firing the puck low between Stars keeper Adam Morrison's legs.
Soy then reacted quickest to a rebound off a fierce Slater Doggett shot for 5-0, before Piccinich got in on the action with a low, close range finish to ensure the Giants went into the second interval with a healthy six-goal advantage.
The beleaguered Morrison saw no further action at that point, replaced by Brython Preece between the posts for the final period. Conway made it 7-0 with less than four minutes to go in the game.
Belfast leave the Dundee Ice Arena with three points from a maximum four from their double-header against the Stars.
Adam Keefe's side will stay in Scotland for their fourth game in five days as they take on the Fife Flyers in Kirkcaldy on Sunday evening.