“It was two top teams going into it tonight and I thought it was a tough game that could have gone either way,” said hat-trick hero Whistle. “I thought we were good. There are some things we have to be better at. I think we gave them some chances that we shouldn’t have and that we have to clean up.”
Belfast scored the only goal of the opening period on the power play when Scott Conway’s shot from the point was tipped over by Whistle at 2:19 p.m.
That lead held until 2:55 into period two, when Nolan Volcan neatly controlled a pass with his skate and shot past Alexis Gravel to tie the game.
“We hung in there, but it wasn’t our best game,” Volcan said. “They are a good team. Every time you play against them you have to match them. We stayed in the game but didn’t take advantage of a few chances we had.”
The Giants thought they had taken the lead when Ciaran Long crossed the puck over the line, but the goal was disallowed after Nottingham challenged due to goalkeeper interference. Whistle restored Belfast’s lead when Kevin Carr failed to cover the puck and the forward reacted quickest by putting the loose puck home at 36:16.
Just 4:45 into the third, Matt Alfaro got the finishing touch for Gravel to make it 2-2. Belfast were ahead again with 12:27 remaining when JJ Piccinich drove home from David Goodwin’s drop pass following a turnover in the Panthers zone.
“Every team in this league matters,” Whistle added. “You can’t take nights off. Gravel has been great for us – he stepped up tonight and did a great job.”
That goal proved to be the difference, with Whistle scoring into an empty net with 33 seconds left.
“Belfast did a good job of trapping the ball and a few times we might not have made the right choice with the puck,” Volcan said. “I think if we clean that up tomorrow, we’ll be successful.”
Photo: Panthers Images
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