Giants 7, Panthers 4
Giants 1, Capitals 2 

Giant’s games have been odd lately.  You go up, but you just don’t know what you are going to get.  Going into December it was pretty routine, there were four goals a game for and the team where picking up win after win and looking very good for their lead at the top of the Elite League.  Many had already cast their vote that the Giants would indeed pick up the Elite league title for the second straight season.  Well December hit and I’m not sure weather Christmas parties and everything that goes with it got in the way but the Giants stopped playing hockey.

After two defeats to the Bison the Giants had a great chance to get their season back on track before the New Years break with games against Nottingham and Edinburgh.  Things did for a bit seem to be back on track when heading home from the Nottingham game.  The Giants had found their scoring touch putting 7 past the team once thought by many to be the biggest rivals for the league crown this year.  The only worrying thing was they let in four, but like with all the big teams, the Giants find a way to play physical with the opponent and out score them at the same time.  It’s when they come up against a less physical opponent like Edinburgh who they are expected to roll over that the problems start occurring.

Edinburgh came into the Odyssey and for the second time in the month left with the two points.  Before December the Giants had never lost to the Edinburgh Capitals, yet on both occasions the Edinburgh team came in with a game plan and took home the points.  Giant’s players looked disinterested and unmotivated throughout the contest, probably with one eye on their trips home for the new years break.

In today’s Sunday Life newspaper article, Coach Ed Courtenay said that if things didn’t improve by the end of the month, someone would be released and he himself would be returning as a player.  He claimed he believed he could do a better job than half the guys out there.  I must say I don’t disagree with Ed and not too many others do either.

It’s not that the Giants have lost their ability to play; it’s not that they have lost the will to win and it’s not that other teams have figured them out because from time to time you see flashes of what they can do and have done each game up until December this season.  It seems some are maybe taking some games for granted.

If Ed is going to do anything with them in practice over the coming weeks, it must be to work on the powerplay.  It’s been shockingly poor of late and was summed up late in the game against Edinburgh last night when down 2-1 and on a 5 on 3 powerplay.  The Giants didn’t record a single shot and Edinburgh killed off the penalties and clung on in the final minutes to win the game.  The Giants had taken the lead only to see Edinburgh pull back when Minard made two huge goaltending errors, but giving Mike Minard his dues, he has pulled this team out of a hole on many occasions and it would be unfair to pin the defeat on his shoulders.

The Giants don’t play again until the 13th January, a home game against Cardiff and maybe the two week break will do the team the world of good as they re-group and try get the ship back into calmer waters, but should inconsistent form continue the Giants are going to have to make changes.  It could be tired legs, it could be missing family members over the festive season, whatever it is the 2007 edition of the Giants are going to have to be a big improvement on the ones we seen end 2006.

Giants-History.com 3 stars vs Nottingham:
1st Star: Jason Ruff
2nd Star: Marc Levers
3rd Star: Mark Morrison

Giants-History.com 3 stars vs Edinburgh:
1st Star: Roman Gavalier
2nd Star: Jason Ruff
3rd Star: Shawn Skiehar

Category: Game Recaps (06-07) » » |

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