Backed by Jackson Whistle’s fourth shut-out of the season, the Belfast Giants will take a three-goal advantage into the second leg of their Challenge Cup Semi-Final with the Nottingham Panthers.
The Great Britain netminder turned away all 29 shots he saw at the SSE Arena to help hand Adam Keefe’s side a big lead heading into the second leg in two weeks’ time.
They were also helped by a captain’s performance from Mark Cooper, who grabbed the game-winner in a two-point night as he led from the front, with Ciaran Long’s ninth goal of the season and Jordan Kawaguchi’s second goal is as many games giving them a comfortable advantage to take to the Motorpoint Arena.
Keefe will be reassured by the fact that his side have lost by four goals just twice this season, although rather ironically one of those did come in Nottingham at the start of the season, and his side will be heavy favourites to progress after this scoreline, and they did so in style.
Cooper had the SSE Arena on their feet just 8:51 into the game when he provided a phenomenal solo effort to break the deadlock, the captain taking the puck in his own zone, driving down the left boards, cutting inside between two defencemen and jamming the puck through the five-hole of Panthers netminder Jason Grande — 30 saves — to give the hosts the advantage with his 20th goal of the campaign, and they would be two to the good by the first intermission.
If the first was an excellent solo effort, Long’s finish at 14:28 was quality from a team perspective. Cameron Pound spotted the Panthers on a line change and quickly fed Elijiah Barriga at the blue-line, the winger found Long driving the net and the centre showed quick hands to roof the puck over the shoulder of Grande.
With the two-goal lead secured at the first intermission, the Giants had Whistle to thank for keeping that lead in the second period as he denied Nottingham captain Sam Herr three times, one reaction shoulder save particularly impressive, while Grande was equally good at the other end as both teams couldn’t convert on respective powerplays at the end of the frame, the Giants called for too many men before Matt Alfaro served two for cross-checking.
But having soaked up some early Panthers pressure in the third period, Kawaguchi grabbed the Giants’ third 7:48 into the final stanza, the winger following in on Cooper driving the net from the right circle and putting in the rebound after the captain was hooked back in the process of shooting.
The Giants could have added on further late in the tie as Davis Bunz was called for interference, and equally they could have conceded but for another brilliant penalty kill as Jeff Baum sat for delay of game, but a three-goal lead will do them rightly.
They know that anything that is a two-goal defeat or better in Nottingham in two weeks’ time will have them back at the SSE Arena for a third Challenge Cup Final on home ice in four years in March.