Agony for the Coors Belfast Giants as Brad Voth ended their hope of reaching the Playoff Finals next weekend with a goal early in overtime to take the Welsh side through.
Belfast had it all to do when Matt Towe gave the home side the early lead. A powerplay goal providing the Devils a 2 goal cushion on aggregate. That was wiped out however within 10 minutes. Dave Phillips struck first, the young man from Humberside scoring his second goal in the tie, and Evan Cheverie evened the overall scores on 13 minutes following a great pass by Steve Thornton.
This was only the first period however and a second period goal from Phil Hill, followed by a goal in the 41st minute by Jason Silverthorn had the Giants in the final stanza of the match once again 2 goals behind. But once again the valliant visitors fought back. Paul Deniset halved the deficit on 50 minutes and, with Lyle pulled for the extra attacker, Evan Cheverie send the watching Giants fans wild with a late late equaliser. The game was heading for overtime, but not before Bobby Robins could, unfortunately, put his team on the back foot, referee Nigel Boniface calling the Giants forward for interference with a minute left on the clock
And with that it only took much maligned Devils Captain Brad Voth 33 seconds to drive the nail into the Giants season. An overtime goal that put the Devils into a semi final match against the Steelers and sent the Giants home dejected
Patrick Smyth
| P | TEAM | GP | W(OT) | L(OT) | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giants | 54 | 46(0) | 5(3) | 95 |
| 2 | Steelers | 54 | 41(0) | 11(2) | 84 |
| 3 | Panthers | 54 | 38(0) | 12(4) | 80 |
| 4 | Devils | 54 | 32(0) | 12(10) | 74 |
| 5 | Blaze | 54 | 32(0) | 20(2) | 66 |
| 6 | Clan | 54 | 31(0) | 19(4) | 66 |
| 7 | Stingrays | 54 | 16(0) | 34(4) | 36 |
| 8 | Stars | 54 | 13(0) | 35(6) | 32 |
| 9 | Capitals | 54 | 13(0) | 37(4) | 30 |
| 10 | Flyers | 54 | 8(0) | 40(6) | 22 |
| Points | Robert Dowd | 78 |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Robert Dowd | 40 |
| Assists | Craig Peacock | 49 |
| PIM | Adam Keefe | 247 |