THE Belfast Giants made it 11 wins on the spin with a superb first period performance against the Nottingham Panthers, racking up five goals and easing to yet another two points in a 5-2 win at the SSE Arena.
Twenty-three-year-old British winger Sean Norris grabbed his first goal in a Giants jersey to kickstart things just 4:39 into the game and the Giants never looked back after that, racking up four more before the end of the game in a dominant display from the defending champions.
Ben Lake got the game-winner at 10:45 on the powerplay, with Gabe Bast, Lewis Hook and Sam Ruopp all adding further goals for Adam Keefe's side, who are now just four points off top spot in the Elite League with their latest victory and have now jumped up to third in the standings.
Despite having Tyler Beskorowany back in the line-up after his re-signing, it was Jackson Whistle who got the start and he produced 25 saves in a stellar performance to secure the win, while Panthers goaltender Alex Dubeau - despite conceding five - was also excellent at the other end.
The Giants also gave a debut to Swedish winger Henrik Eriksson, who signed for them earlier in the week, the Swedish winger kept off the scoresheet in his first game at the SSE Arena but looking dangerous, and his line with David Goodwin and Scott Conway looks like it will do some damage.
The two sides meet at the SSE Arena again tonight for the second game of their double-header - with the Giants looking for a third consecutive 5-2 win over the Panthers - and a similar outcome would be ideal for head coach Adam Keefe, whose side have the Sheffield Steelers squarely in their sights after yet another victory.
Norris won't play in that game but he certainly won’t forget this game, one that saw him head home with a puck after he managed to get himself in the perfect spot at the back post to supply the redirect on David Gilbert’s shot that took the puck past Dubeau and in at 4:39.
Bast kept things going at 6:25 when his backhand straight off a face-off looked to be fairly tame but was deflected up and over Dubeau by a Panthers stick for a slightly lucky goal, before Lake smashed in the game-winner off Scott Conway’s feed for the powerplay goal — with Fabrizio Ricci in the box for hooking — at 10:45.
Ricci made up for that penalty when he got the Panthers’ opener, this time him getting the tip on an Adam Brady shot at 11:16, but if anybody thought the game might be close were proven incorrect when Hook produced a slick five-hole finish on Dubeau at 13:35 for his ninth goal in 18 games since returning to the club.
And the first period was completed when Ruopp snapped in a one-timer from the blue-line at 15:56, a goal that led to Dubeau being pulled for 18-year-old Matty Bloor, only for him to return for the final two periods and look sharp.
An uneventful second period led to a penalty-ridden third period, the Giants padding their penalty kill stats late in the third to finish 2-for-2 when Matt Foley (interference) and Lewis Hook (tripping) both sat, and the Giants passing up a powerplay chance of their own.
But the Panthers will take something into Saturday's rematch as Jordan Kelsall grabbing a consolation for Nottingham with 2:04 remaining, stabbing in a puck at the crease to at least pull one back.