Published Friday, 21 September 2012
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While the Giants had been excited about getting back in front of a home crowd, both sides and their fans first took a moment to pay silent tribute to Ulster Rugby's Nevin Spence and his family.
And then they were off.
The Stars arrived at the Odyssey with a point to prove, after their swift exit in last season's playoffs at the hands of the Giants, and they were first to open their account.
The Dundee side were awarded a goal before nine minutes of action had gone by - even though it appeared that Giants netminder Stephen Murphy had cleared AJ McLean's shot off his line.
The visitors didn't get to keep their advantage long though, with their player coach Jeff Hutchins (a former Giant) picking up a two minute penalty for hooking and the Giants capitalising on the subsequent powerplay.
Scott Champagne fed through to Robby Sandrock, who fired home to even the score.
While both teams had chances that called the opposing netminders into action throughout the game, it was the hosts who dominated with 40 shots on target - compared to just 13 by the Stars.
The Giants also had a goal disallowed for offside but, with little over ten minutes to go, they still needed a spark if they were to push for their first home win. And with Greg Moore taking exception to Adam Keefe driving the Stars net, it was time for the captain to drop the gloves.
Sure enough, with the corwd behind the home side, it wasn't long after that before Sandrock netted his second goal of the game with another powerplay strike to take the score to 2-1.
And that leaves the Giants preparing for Sunday's trip to Sheffield boosted by their victory.
*Post-match interviews to follow.