Three defeats in a row for the Belfast Giants for the first time in the 2024/25 season and, all of a sudden, are the wheels wobbling on what was a very steady title-bound ship up to this point?
Granted, Wednesday’s shut-out loss in Nottingham wasn’t a disaster given they had already done enough in the first leg of their Challenge Cup Semi-Final to progress to the decider. But Friday’s slip-up in Manchester was disappointing and this overtime defeat to Glasgow on home ice even more so.
Up two goals after the second period thanks to a team-leading 27th goal of the season from Scott Conway and a first goal in six from Bobo Carpenter, and looking fairly comfortable at the same time, the Giants couldn’t close it out as Liam Finlay and Mitchell Heard forced overtime for the Clan and Cole Ully’s overtime strike inflicted a first home loss on Adam Keefe’s side since January 3.
In the grand scheme of things, the Giants are still okay at the top of the standings, four points ahead of the Sheffield Steelers having played a game less than their rivals and five points clear of the Nottingham Panthers, who have played the same number of games, while the League leaders have, on paper, the easiest of the three schedules remaining.
But the frustration lies in the fact that with Sheffield being surprisingly shut-out to the tune of 6-0 on home ice against Coventry on Saturday, the Giants’ lead could have been seven at the end of the weekend. Instead, it’s four, and the race is still very much in the balance.
While nobody is hitting any panic buttons yet – nor should they, the Giants still on top in all three of their losses having registered 133 shots across the three games combined – it did leave head coach Keefe admitting that this week they will have to reset for what he described as a ‘goddamn grind’ for the remaining 11 games of the season, plus a mouthwatering Challenge Cup Final with the Cardiff Devils.
“Two games in a row I’ve thought we played well but not well enough to win,” sighed the coach.
“We had a lack of urgency in the third period there. We’re managing the game quite well, up 2-0 and unfortunate not to be up by more going into the third, their goalie was fantastic.
“But the first goal, we allow a guy to skate from their zone into our zone, we’re soft on the entry and it ends up in the back of our net. You give a team like Glasgow, who are the best team in the League in the last 10 games, life.
“We’re alright, still competing through it, but we take a bad penalty and it ends up in the back of our net and that’s the way it’s going right now. Overtime, we cheat a little bit of offence and it costs us, we lose a point.
“It’s going to be a goddamn grind here, that’s a fact. I’ve said it before, it’s us-v-us mentality and we’re beating ourselves, and that’s unfortunate because we’re playing good hockey.
“We’re finding ways to lose games now and maybe pressure’s mounting on guys, but that’s too bad. This is Play-Off hockey and we have to turn up. Every night is going to be a grind and we have teams that are chasing us, so we have to keep playing.”
Conway struck 5:20 into the second period to put the Giants ahead on their third powerplay of the game after Tyson McLellan was called for cross-checking, then Carpenter doubled their lead with 7:48 to the second intermission with his 17th goal of the 2024/25 season.
But Finlay reduced the lead to one 3:03 into the third period and a Ben Lake tripping call allowed Heard to tie it at 50:06 to force overtime, where Ully was the game-winner as he forced the puck through Jackson Whistle – 22 saves – just 1:32 in.