Giants Split Series

• Belfast Giants vs Nottingham Panthers, L 4-2
• Giants Goals: Dowd, Rebek
• Panthers Goals: Lee, Clark (2), Champagne.

The Belfast Giants had a few lessons to learn as they suffered a 4-2 defeat in the second of their pre-season games against the Nottingham panthers to split the 2 game series.

Following a impressive 2-1 winning display on Saturday night, the home team took to the ice with the ambition of driving the marker home further against a team considered to be one of this seasons title contenders. But in a scoreless first period play was dominated by patchy displays from both sides and a number of ill-disciplined acts.

It was the visiting side who opened the scoring in the second period, with the giants defending the powerplay, young british defenceman Stephen Lee sent a twisted wrester into the top right of Team GB team-mate Stephen Murphy's net.

Nottingham doubled their advantage with another David Clarke, another of the 3 Team GB members on the scoresheet that night, smashing home a perfectly struck one-timer on Murphy who barely got a smell of the rubber as it scorched by him and nestled in the back of the net.

In a game fraught with scrappy play and poor discipline the Giants and Panthers traded penalties and powerplays. Robert Dowd being on the receiving end of a number of hefty Panthers challenges, Adam Keefe and Daryl Lloyd dishing out the retribution for the Giants. And it was Dowd who pulled the scoring back for the Belfast side.

A shot from Brock McBride bounced from Dan Green's blocker, the Nottingham back-up standing in all weekend as the Panthers await the arrival of Craig Kowalski, The resulting melee infront of goal saw Dowd able to place the puck over the line and pull the game to a 2-1 scoreline.

Dowd's effort however was quickly responded to by Clarke, gaining his second of the night with a snapshot which Murphy will want back. The strike from the left circle passed straight through the netminders 5-hole. A sign of rink-rust from the returning Murphy, or at least the home fans would hope so. Second stanza would thus end 3-1 to the visitors.

With the season proper only a week away the Giants will hope for a tighter performance than was witnessed on the Sunday. The home side were missing last seasons top scorer, Jon Pelle through a lower body injury sustained on Saturday night, while the Panthers were without the aforementioned Kowalski. But it was with 10 minutes left in the game that both teams decided to give the netminding back-ups a run (or in Nottingham's case, the back-ups back up) as Andrew Dickson and 16-year old Sam Gospel took to the ice. The scoreline still reading 3-1.

Daryl Lloyd was described by Doug Christiansen as "potentially the most hated man in the Elite League". The reasons behind this were demonstrated on Sunday as Lloyd proceeded to agitate and annoy the Panthers bench. This culminated in him receiving a retaliatory blind-sided cross-check by goal-scorer Stephen Lee. The young brit d-man receiving a 5 minute major for his trouble. But on the subsequent powerplay it was the shorthanded Panthers who struck first. Scott Champagne quickly breaking free of a disjointed Giants powerplay and placing the puck by Dickson.

The Giants did strike back themselves during this major penalty, but only once however. A lot of huffing and puffing as this embryonic side attempts to build an understanding of each others game. But it was Jeremy Rebek who deked young Gospel with only 1 second left on Lee's Major penalty.

A 4-2 defeat for Belfast with a split series and Christiansen will be that little bit closer to realising his final lines and tactics as they prepare for the Sheffield Steelers visit in next weekend season opening game.

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