The Giants have found Hull quite a hard team to overcome this season so it was to my pleasant surprise that I turned up the score when I got home from work this evening to see a score line of 8-2 in the Giants favor. The had just snapped their losing streak in time for my pending trip back to Northern Ireland for 10 days were I will take in two games that I really hope they can show me what everyone was raving about in the first few months of the season. Then I switched up the forums to hear the fans reviews and heard that all 8 of the Giants goals came against the back-up goalie of Hull.

Apparently as the game was tied 0-0 Giants player coach Steve Thornton collided with the Stingrays goalie Curtis Cruickshank behind the goal. By all accounts the collision was accidental but the Hull tender had to leave the ice and did not return. The back-up took over and the Giants proceed to light him up like the proverbial Christmas tree.

A five night performance from Colin Shields, a three point night (career night) by Graeme Walton, and an assist and fight by young Dave Phillips went a ways to helping the Giants to the victory.

The Stingrays coach was fuming after the game and had the following to say:

Furious Excel Hull Stingrays coach Rick Strachan branded Belfast Giants player-coach Steve Thornton “gutless” after goaltender Curtis Cruickshank was taken to hospital with concussion during his side’s 8-2 defeat in the bmibaby Elite League. 

Midway through the first period, and with the score still 0-0 at the Odyssey Arena, Thornton clashed with Cruickshank behind the play resulting in back-up Andy Jaszczyk taking over between the pipes. Stingrays also lost Slava Koulikov with a leg injury inside the first 20 minutes. 

Strachan said: “They threw everything they had at us and when that didn’t work, Steve Thornton decides to take my goalie out. It was a gutless thing to do. 

“He might say he didn’t mean to do it but you don’t touch a goalie, he could easily have skated around him. He wonders why he is the most hated guy in the league. The guys battled hard but I am really angry. The only way they could beat us was to take out my goalie.”

I suppose if I were coach of the team that was bottom of the league with my job potentially on the line and the chances of moving off that last place spot looking bleaker by the week I might say a few nasty things as well. You would like to think he will, embarrassingly, be man enough to stand up and retract the comments upon seeing the video footage. On this occasion we’ll put it down to frustration.

Of course I wasn’t at the game and didn’t see the incident and I am going on the basis of Giants fans who were at the game which is as objective as it can come at times. But I’m a Giants fan so I’ll side with them until I see otherwise!

So while we might put the result in perspective considering who was between the Stingrays pipes, but as the old saying goes, ‘A win is a win is a win’ and the Giants really needed one right now and can hopefully build of this boost of scoring confidence by the way of eight goals to put in good festive season performances and get back in the title race.

Notes: Colin Shields took his one and only penalty minute of the season so far. Given that this is the 30th game of the season, that is pretty impressive by the mild mannered player!

On the subject: A good old hammering, Hull Stingrays, Rick Strachan, Steve Thornton | ALL SUBJECTS |

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