The Elite League title race is well and truly on now after the Belfast Giants blew a two-goal lead in Sheffield, conceding five goals in the final 13 minutes to hand the second-placed Sheffield Steelers a lifeline in the race for the championship.
Adam Keefe’s side looked well on course to open up a ten-point lead at the top as they led – and comfortably so – thanks to Josh Roach’s fourth goal of the season and David Goodwin’s second since his mid-season return to the club.
But the home side found their feet when Marc-Olivier Vallerand struck with exactly 13 minutes remaining and they would go on to take the lead through a double from former Giants forward Robert Dowd before adding two empty-netters so there was no way back for the visitors.
It’s a crushing blow for the Giants, who fall to 28-8-3 on the season and see the defending champions close to three games back with 15 remaining, and that gap could be closed even further as the Steelers have a game in hand on them, too.
But more than that they will know that this is one that really got away from them, the League leaders well in control of proceedings for the first two periods and the early part of the third, only to throw it away, albeit with the two empty-netters adding some considerable gloss to the scoreline.
They were very good value for their two-goal lead, too, Roach firing them into the lead at 13:15 when he roofed the puck over Matt Greenfield – 28 saves – from the left circle, and then Goodwin doubled their advantage 54 seconds into the second period as he prodded in the rebound off Mark Cooper’s drive from behind the net.
Having controlled the game up to that point, the Giants looked well on course to open up a ten-point lead at the top, but Vallerand’s fine finish from the slot at 47:00 got them, and the Utilita Arena crowd, back into it and then Dowd tied it on the powerplay at 53:17 after the Giants were caught for too many men on the ice.
That set up a big finish but the Steelers were the ones who rose to the occasion, a misplay at the back from the visitors allowing Dowd to rifle in the winner at 56:19, with Patrick Watling and Brandon Whistle ensuring Belfast wouldn’t fight back to force overtime with a pair of empty netters in the final two minutes.