We all know that our coach Ed Courtney will bow out at the end of the season and leave the Giants for pastures new. The upcoming games (at least two, at the most four) will be the last of Courtenay’s professional career and he is looking to leave the sport a winner.

Courtenay’s career is a storied one. He has came through the junior systems, worked his way up to the NHL and seen everything there is to see in the minor league circuit. That trail took him to the British Super league, back to America and finally to the Giants where he will make his final stand as a player over the next week.

“It would be nice to finish on a high. I have had a problem with my neck and I was sick too, so I have been limited recently. I feel good now though, since the game in Coventry I have felt myself starting to come back and I can do what I want to do with the puck and my conditioning is right. These are the last games that I will play as a professional; I am going in knowing that and wanting to get two more after. It is almost over for me, but I have a job to do before I go.”
– Ed Courtenay, Belfast Telegraph, March 26, 2008

This Saturday the playoffs begin in Dundalk when the Vipers travel across the Irish Sea and the Giants travel over the border for the clash. Going in the Giants favor is that after traveling over the Vipers will have to travel back with the Giants for a second-leg clash just 24-hours later in Newcastle. Make no mistake this is going to be as tough a match-up as the Giants could have came up against except for say Coventry but with a win in their final league game the Giants will be hoping form has come back to them for another week.

The 2007-2008 edition of the Belfast Giants have been the most up, down, up, down team I have ever watched in professional hockey and with one last up they have the potential to go all the way in the final-four. However, they must get there first and Ed Courtenay will need to be on his top game to eliminate the team that eliminated the Giants two seasons ago from the final-four, ending the playing career of Theo Fleury. That afternoon in Nottingham, Ed Courtenay was very quiet, but Saturday offers up the chance for some form of pay-back.

The onus doesn’t just fall on Courtneay however. He and his line mate Pete Campbell are likely to be checked tightly leaving a responsibility on players like Awada, Sutter and Cameron to step up and push the Giants to Nottingham next weekend.

The fans have booked their place at the final four. It’s time for the team to step up and do the same.

Category: Player News » » Ed Courtenay, Playoffs |

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