Elite League: Belfast Giants lose to title rivals Sheffield
- Published
Belfast Giants will face Cardiff Devils in the Challenge Cup final on Wednesday
The Belfast Giants and Sheffield Steelers served up another high octane clash on the ice at the SSE Arena, with the visitors claiming a vital two points in the Elite League title race with a 5-2 win.
The Giants had beaten the Steelers 5-1 on Friday but fell to their first defeat in 11 games on Saturday.
Jon Armstrong, Martin Latal, Tanner Eberle, Brandon Whistle and Robert Dowd scored for the Steelers, while JJ Piccinich and Ben Lake found the net for the home side.
The Giants still lead the Steelers in the Elite League table by two points but Sheffield have played one game fewer.
The two title contenders picked up the relentless pace from their Friday night encounter.
The Giants once again seized the initiative, given an early advantage when Eberle was called for a holding penalty two minutes into the contest. Piccinich opened the scoring with a power play goal, picking his spot past Steelers' keeper Rok Stojanovic.
Sheffield responded instantly when Armstrong squeezed the puck past Tyler Beskorawany in the Giants' goal and took the lead before the first interval thanks to a fine goal from Latal, coming in from the right wing to plant a strong backhand finish into the Belfast net.
It was now the Giants' turn to respond and they equalised with just over a minute to go in the period, Lake tipping in a Mark Cooper shot from the blue line to end a breathless opening 20 minutes.
Sheffield regained the lead and some control in the game in the seventh minute of the second period. Eberle blasted home a rebound at the far post after Beskorowany had parried away a shot by Justin Hodgman from the blue line for the only goal in the middle period.
It was 4-2 to the visitors when Whistle was sent clear on goal and finished coolly past Beskorowany to give the Steelers a two-goal cushion with less than 10 minutes to go in the contest.
When Antonin Boruda was penalised for boarding with just over three minutes to go, the Giants pulled their netminder and tried to force a way back into the game.
But it was the Steelers who struck once more, Dowd scoring their fifth goal of the night into the unguarded Giants net to secure what could yet be a key win in this season's title race.
The Giants cannot afford to linger on the defeat, with the Cardiff Devils heading to Belfast on Wednesday for the Challenge Cup final with the first piece of silverware up for grabs this season.