Giants shut out Steelers to take second win
The Belfast Giants beat the Sheffield Steelers 2-0 on the road on Sunday to complete the double over their opponents and seal the four-point weekend.
Saturday’s game in Belfast saw Jackson Whistle start as netminder and the Giants prevent the Steelers getting any more than a consolation goal in that 3-1 game.
Adam Keefe’s side then followed up with a 2-0 win in Sheffield on Sunday, with netminder Stephen Murphy shutting out the Steelers until he had to be taken off injured late in the third period.
Whistle stepped in and maintained the shutout, while goals from Colin Shields and Darcy Murphy ensured victory for the travelling Giants.
The first period ran out scoreless, with Shields only opening his team’s goal account in the middle of the second.
His skilful effort came amid penalty trouble for the Giants during that 20 minutes of action though.
Murph seemed something of a target for the Steelers and their physical style of play, with Levi Nelson sitting for goalie interference, and the Giants tried to protect their netminder.
It was actually shortly after the Steelers killed Nelson’s penalty and got back to full strength that Shields slotted home the mid-air puck, from an assist by Spiro Goulakos, to put the Giants ahead.
In the third period, with the Giants still holding that one-goal lead, Goulakos ended up with an abuse of officials penalty after calls for a cross check and then a check from behind a short time later.
Then, with just over six minutes left in the game, Murph was forced off by injury.
The Steelers’ Colton Fretter was handed a game misconduct following the incident at the Giants’ net and Steelers coach Paul Thompson was also penalised for abuse of officials.
With Whistle now between the posts for the Belfast side, the Steelers tried to find a way to tie up the game.
They pulled netminder Ervins Mustukovs for the extra skater, just as they did late in Saturday’s game.
But this time, the Giants found the empty net – courtesy of Darcy Murphy – and the 2-0 win was secure with four seconds left on the clock.
Having enjoyed two four-point weekends in a row, the Giants are next in action on Wednesday when they travel to Nottingham to face the Panthers in a mid-week league game.