The Stena Line Belfast Giants defeated the Cardiff Devils 3-2 on Saturday at The SSE Arena, Belfast. A goal from Chris Higgins, a double from Derrick Walser and a superb display in net by Stephen Murphy gave the Giants an important win over the Elite League leaders.
Stephen Murphy started in net for the Giants following his shutout performance the pervious night against the Fife Flyers. Alex Foster returned to the Giants line up with Adam Keefe the healthy scratch, stepping behind the bench in a coaching role for the game.
It was Chris Higgins who opened the scoring to send the Belfast crowd wild at 13:26 with a nice turn to get away the shot that flew past Ben Bowns and into the Devils net.
With 7:39 gone in the second period – the home side had doubled their lead. Derrick Walser skated clear of the Devils defence and took his breakaway opportunity well to slot the puck low past Bowns.
Jake Morissette pulled one back for the Devils at 34:31, assisted by Joey Martin, after the Giants had sloppily given the puck away around the net.
The visitors were level at 37:59 thanks to Gleason Fournier, assisted by Joey Haddad and Guillaume Doucet, and the game was tied going into the final period.
With only 32 seconds of the third period gone, Derrick Walser scored his second of the night, assisted by Alex Foster and Brandon Benedict to edge the Giants back into the lead.
The Giants dug deep in the final period to keep the Devils at bay, killing off two powerplays on their way to an important win in Belfast.
The Giants play again on Sunday in their third game in as many days with a visit to Edinburgh for the final game in Challenge Cup Group A. Next weekend sees the Giants on a two game road trip, taking on the Dundee Stars and Sheffield Steelers on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Final Score
Stena Line Belfast Giants 3-2 Cardiff Devils
Giants Man of the Match
#43 Derrick Walser
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