Just how do I go about writing this report? It was the game after the Championship-winning night before. It was St Patrick’s Day. And I’m not going to lie to you, I had imbibed a not insignificant amount of Irish beverages prior to my arrival at the Odyssey. Not to mention the night before. The Giants players would surely have a sore head or two amongst their ranks as well and as for the Steelers, it was hard to imagine how they would approach this game; they still had a few hundred travelling fans to go out and play for, but with the title race over, would their minds already be focussing on the play-offs? Just how could this hockey game live up to the previous night?
Putting negativity aside, I am always ready for ice hockey, so I kept an open mind. In the opening minutes of the game it definitely seemed as though the Steelers were the more up for it; they had their game faces on and the teams looked more evenly matched than they had at any time the previous evening – could this be the Sheffield side’s chance to exact a little revenge? It certainly seemed that way as they almost took the lead after five minutes, Colt King with a great effort which was saved, the subsequent rebound fluffed by Jeff Legue, who went on to have a couple of better chances despite his side being short-handed in the following minutes. The Steelers penalty kill was sound and they continued to compete with the unsurprisingly sluggish champions for the remainder of the period, the Giants unable to find a way into the game.
The deadlock was finally broken after 15 minutes, Colt King poaching a tap-in goal from a Jeff Legue shot on the powerplay. This was more like it – I believe ‘let’s have it’ or words along those lines may have escaped from my lips at that time. It boded well for the second period.
The Giants response was rapidly executed however; they equalised just 37 seconds into the second period, Craig Peacock the sniper for the home side. Doug Christiansen must have had a word with his players in the period break – okay lads, you’ve won the league, but let’s prove why. Socks pulled up, the champions began closing down the Steelers more efficiently and the visitors were unable to maintain their early game pressure. The tide was turning.
Four minutes later, Giants Captain Jeremy Rebek took advantage of another lax defensive moment for the Steelers, catching them sleeping to take his side into the lead. It triggered a flurry of three goals in less than two minutes; following some major action in front of John DeCaro’s net in which the Sheffield netminder pulled off an excellent save, Giants scored their third straight from a face-off, Gareth Roberts letting rip an excellent shot into the top right hand corner of the net, DeCaro unable to get near the attempt. Sheffield called a time-out but it couldn’t stop the flow of the clinical Belfast team, who used a failed Steelers’ attempt on goal well-saved by Stephen Murphy to their advantage, turning defence into attack and charging down the ice, Jon Pelle picking out his shot and taking the lead to 4-1.
The Steelers just couldn’t catch a break and I found myself feeling rather sorry for them, the Giants were once again in unstoppable form, their delight from the previous night evident in their boisterous and effusive play in the second period. They were rampant. The Steelers managed to peg back the score to 4-2 with another powerplay effort, but the fight had all but left the building and it felt like a foregone conclusion.
As if to reinforce this notion, the third period began in a rather flat manner, and only livened up when Belfast had their first powerplay opportunity, but despite some good build-up play there was nothing doing. However there was a flavour of just why this team are champions on display throughout the third period: some Tom Dignard being brick hard, some good saves from Murphy when he was called upon, some Darryl Lloyd feistiness, the latter still busy proving just what a handy player he is to have around, goading Steelers Captain Jonathan Phillips into an elbowing penalty after he had him suitably riled, resulting in a 5-on-3 chance for the Giants with around five minutes to go in the period. There was no question they would score, and score they did, another to add to the tally of Craig Peacock.
Back-up netminder Andrew Dickson was given an airing and made a couple of saves, and the crowd noise built once again to a crescendo as the game drew to a close, the result never in doubt and as expected, the whole thing a bit of a damp squib. What followed was worth seeing however, as the League Cup made its first appearance in Belfast for six years, and was proudly lofted by one joyful Giants player after another. It was good to see, but the welcoming arms of Rockies sports bar were calling the neutrals home and as the world and his wife had their turn on the cup and it stopped being people I’d actually heard of, I succumbed to the urge for further refreshment and left the Odyssey for the last time this season.
When all is said and done, Belfast deserved to win the league this year beyond any shadow of doubt. They worked for it and earned it, simply outclassing their opposition at almost every time of asking. Their netminding and defence were by far the best of any team, they had plenty of power in their forward lines and they have arguably the stand-out Brit of the year in Robert Dowd. Whether or not they will be able to replicate it next year is another question and hinges upon how many of the team can be persuaded to stay, and who they bring in to replace the leavers. But now Doug Christiansen has tasted victory, there’s no doubt he will want to do it all over again next year.
Can they become a dominant force in British ice hockey, or was this a one off, unique to this particular group of individuals? Can a team win the league not once but TWICE with a British netminder, thus proving Dave Simms wrong on the same point twice? Will I EVER catch a Subway that’s been shot from a cannon into the crowd at the Odyssey Arena? I’m excited to find out the answers to these and other questions, but all in good time. First and foremost – will the Giants extend their dominance into the play-off section of the season? Discuss. Or at least, I will discuss, in my play-off preview, coming soon. Tune in, fine folk. Oh and please feel free to leave a comment or two, it makes me feel all warm inside. Thanks for reading, bye for now!
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