Newcastle Vipers 4 Braehead Clan 5
Dec 13 2010 by Peter Adams
TWO goals down inside the first four minutes, an inconsistent Vipers immediately went behind again moments after getting back on level terms.
Against a Clan side that had lost its previous five games, Danny Stewart’s team restored parity 53 seconds into the final period when Peter Forsbacka’s shot sailed pass netminder JF Perras on his glove side.
The Vipers then switched off and just 21 seconds later they were playing catch up hockey again as the Clan attacked and scored through Brendan Cook on 41 minutes.
It was a huge blow and with five minutes left on the game clock, the Vipers looked set to suffer their first defeat after two satisfying victories when Matt Haywood made sure that the Clan capitalised on a turnover.
Undaunted, the Vipers made a game of it again when Jamie Carroll scored from the edge of the crease to make it 3-4 on 56 minutes. And it was a case of what might have been for the home team when Perras made a stand-out save, before Dale Mahovsky mistimed his stick swipe as the puck flashed across the slot.
In a late gamble, netminder Charlie Effinger was withdrawn tin the 59th minute but the Vipers couldn’t make the extra skater count, lost possession and conceded an empty net goal, Cook scoring his second of the night.
