The Giants lost their winning streak in brutal circumstances last night to the Coventry Blaze in front of a sell-out crowd in the Odyssey. It was sickening to witness and a harsh way for the dream to all but come to an end but nobody will be upset with the Giants performance on the night. The Giants conceded the final goal in overtime from a point shot that netminder Stevie Lyle would like to have back.

Still, the PR work was a winner. A sell-out crowd for the first time in years will have had everyone on the edge of their seat. A terrific atmosphere and an end to end hockey game that really could have went eitherway. If not for draws not existing in this sport, I would have said the game deserved to end in a tie.

The first period was one of the best scoreless games you will whitness as both teams tried to break each other down it was like watching a fast moving game of chess were the pieces on the board were padded up and banging into one another.

The second period was one of the best I have seen in the Odyssey – full stop. Coventry took the lead and the nerves set in. It was a lucky goal. The puck too a wild deflection and looped up into the net over the head of Lyle. There was still over half the game to play but Coventry, were playing such a strong defensive game it was concerning to see how the Giant might break them down. Have confidence.

Carlyle Lewis was like a man possessed. Clearly a man for the big occasion. He was running around like a human wrecking ball hitting everything in a sky blue jersey and leaving them on their backs. So of all the men to step up and take the game by the scruff of the neck, it was him. He forced home the tying goal and then young Leigh Jamieson – thriving on the top line with Ed Courtenay went in one on one and scored back handed to give the Giants the lead.

The crowd came alive, like wild beasts, and the Blaze players didn’t like it. They also had no counter action for a man like Carlyle Lewis who continued to intimidate right down until the end of the second period. But he wasn’t the only physical Giant – no Shane Johnson was also taking the body, laying out Blaze’s top points scorer Calder with a big open ice hit. Calder made it to the bench but didn’t ice for quite a few minutes after.

The third period was again back and forth, a game evenly split you could see a tying goal coming from far away. The Giants were trying to defend their lead as best they could when I felt they maybe could have pressed on a little more. It wasn’t to be however and Coventry found Huppe all alone on the Giants blue-line and he went in one on one in simular fashion to Jamieson just a period before and he too burried his chance. Yes, he had came back to haunt us at the worst possible time.

Overtime was overtime and when the Giants missed a chance on goal it was up the other end and the game was done.

Dissapointing yes, but we remain level on points with the reigning champions but having had four more games played. We play the Blaze once more but will need to win that game in Coventry and then look for the Blaze to lose four more. They have sixteen games left and expecting them to lose five of the sixteen may well be clutching at straws.

The best we can look for now is a good playoff run. Don’t however, rule playing the Blaze in the playoffs final out of the question. If that game would be anything like last nights the entire league is in for a treat. Just so long as the overtime goal goes the otherway this time.

Category: Game Recaps (07-08) » |

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