Braehead Clan came from two goals down in the third period to secure a scrappy 4-3 home win over Manchester Storm.
An impressive midweek crowd of 3065 turned out to see Storm’s first ever visit to Braehead, and they nearly went away with a surprise victory after a gutsy performance.
They fell behind in the first period when goalie Zane Kalemba put up a rebound that Matt Haywood didn’t need a second invitation to despatch in the back of the net.
Storm equalised when Matt Paton tipped Matt Folkes shot past Clan net minder Chris Holt and they took the lead in the early stage of the second period when Grant Toulmin got a touch on Omar Pacha’s shot from deep.
The underdogs dug in after that, and gave up a number of icing calls, and they sought to defend their advantage.
It looked like that defensive outlook might be their undoing, but they doubled their advantage shortly before the second intermission when Matt Caria finished off Toulmin’s shot.
Perhaps the gamebreaking moment came 12 seconds in to the third period, when Stefan Meyer made it 3-2.
Although the Storm continued their defensive rearguard action, a fine effort by Scott Pitt and Chris Bruton’s winner stole the points for the home side.
