The Flyers started the game well and had the first shot on net in the 2i.e minute when Justin Ducharme went down the left flank and his effort was paddled away by Kupsky. In the 5e One minute in, the Giants netminder had to show quick reactions to an odd bounce off the boards as he beat Keaton Jameson in the slot to poke the puck away. A minute later the visitors had a glorious opportunity when a quick pass from Ian Scheid saw Giordano Finoro go in all alone from the Giants blueline and he tried to go five hole but Kupsky closed the wickets. The Giants had their first shot on Owen in the 7e A minute later Bo Hanson shot onto the net from the high slot which the Fife keeper blocked and moments later Owen crossed the goal to put away a comprehensive chance for Mike Lee. In the 8e A minute later, a reverse pass from Scott Conway found David Goodwin near the circles and his shot missed the far post, with Owen gaining a crucial touch. Kupsky came into action in the 10e minute when he stopped a Mason Alderson backhand with Garet Hunt on the doorstep. A minute later, Scheid tried to beat the Giants keeper at his near post but made the save. The visitors took a deserved lead at 12:32 after winning the puck with good forecheck and when Finoro worked on it, he took it to the slot and fought back against the flow to beat Kupsky. Jordan Kawaguchi brought the puck to the Flyers net in the 13the minute but pushed his shot wide, but the Flyers recycled the puck and when it came out to Ben Lake in the slot, he had four Flyers jerseys around him, but still managed to roof the puck to tie the game at 13:42. In the 15e Minute Owen blocked a shot from Karl Boudrias’ high slot. In the 16e minute Goodwin was called for a slash to put the Flyers on the first power play. Scheid had a shot from the slot blocked by Kupsky, who then made a great save with the blocker to deny Anton Karlsson, but the puck was cycled and Johan Porsberger shot low past the Giant netminder to regain the Flyers’ lead. The Giants ended the period on a carry forward power play when Porsberger was slashed in the 19th.e minute.
The Flyers completed the kill, but just as Porsberger stepped back on the ice, the Giants tied the score at 8:46 when Jake Gaudet, who was at the top of the crease, got a piece of the puck in from the top of the left circle and squeaked it through Owen. Kupsky made a big save in the 22i.e minute to deny Finoro and a minute later Garrett McFadden had a couple of tries in quick succession which Owen dealt with. The Giants went back on the power play in the 26e minute when Ethan Somoza was thrown away for a hook. Lee had a shot from the point saved by Owen, who was aggressive at the top of his crease to follow through a screen and the Flyers completed the kill. In the 28e The Flyers missed another opportunity for guilt not once but twice when both Jameson and Milan Lucic broke in all alone on Kupsky, who made the first save to deny Jameson and then followed up to deny Lucic on the rebound. Jameson was called for a crosscheck in front of the Giants net in the 29e minute to put the home team back on the power play. The Giants made the visitors pay when Owen made a first-time save on Gaudet at the edge of his crease, but the puck fell to JJ Piccinich who buried the loose puck. At the 32i.e Minute Lucic drove the net, but Kupsky came up with a strong pad save to clear the puck. A minute later, Kawaguchi’s shot was pinched in the arm by Owen. Moments later, the Giants doubled their lead when Kawaguchi threw in a backhand pass on the right wing and Nicolas Guay managed to control the bouncing puck and also beat Owen’s pokecheck to head home at 33:10. Owen swallowed a shot from Scott Conway’s circles inside the 36e A minute and a minute later, a spin move by Karlsson on the Giants blueline put him skating 1 on 1 with Kupsky, but he shot wide of the net and another glorious chance failed. Owen kept Fifers’ deficit to two with a fine blocker save in the final minute from Ciaran Long.
In the 42nd minute, Kupsky did well to hide Jameson prowling around his crease. At the 44e Minute Owen was square to a big blast from Piccinich and moments later the Fife keeper absolutely stoned Conway in the slot with a save on the right pad after a dreadful giveaway in the Fife zone. Owen then took out the short side as Long put the puck on net at the 47e minute. Another win from the Flyers in the 49e minute and Gaudet seemed to capitalize, but Owen came forward strongly again. Goodwin was next denied by the Flyers keeper in the 52i.e A minute and a minute later, Ducharme and Lucic created an odd man break, but Kupsky came out to clear the corner on Ducharme who shot from the right circles. The Giants keeper was in action again in the 55e minute when he made a nice stop after a backhand attempt by Finoro. Giants were called for a retaliation down the stretch by Gabe Bast as the Flyers went to their second power play of the night. The Giants’ kill was effective in keeping the Flyers out and they didn’t allow the visitors to get anything going when they returned to full strength. Simon Despres had a snapshot later from underneath the circles that Kupsky was holding tightly. With 2:30 left on the clock, the Flyers called their timeout and Owen remained on the bench for the extra skater. The Flyers won the tie and worked the puck back to Scheid, who put it on net and he appeared to hit Lucic at the edge of the crease that Kupsky screened as the net bulged at 57:23. The Flyers soon had Owen back on the bench after the restart, but Giants Josh Roach could have iced the game with a chance at the empty net, but his shot bounced and hit the post before Karlsson then played goalkeeper to keep out the follow-up. With 90 seconds to go, Owen was back on the bench and Kupsky made his final save of the evening when he swallowed a shot from Jameson’s corner, as the Giants finally managed to run the clock down after a brave effort from Fife.
Photo credits – Belfast Giants
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