So there comes to end another Giants season and although the fight at the end was a good one, it’s been a trophiless one.  Still it didn’t dampen the Giants fans mood in Nottingham as yet again they made noise all weekend long and surely cannot have fell to short of drinking the place dry!  When you stand back and look at it all from a far of course you think of the bad spot in mid-season that cost us the title, but in reality a second place finish in the league and a semi-final shootout loss to the eventual winners isn’t what you would class a bad season and should be taken a positive to build upon for next year.

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Bison 3, Giants 5 (Giants win 8-4 on agg.)

The Giants booked their place in the EIHL playoffs final four weekend in Nottingham tonight with a convincing 5-3 victory over the Bison in Basingstoke.  It put the Giants through 8-4 over the two legs.  It’ll be the third time in the teams seven year history that they have made the final-four having won it on one previous occasion in 2003.  Giants goals came by way of Jason Ruff, Jeff Hutchins, Marc Levers, George Awada and J.P. Morin.  Awadas goal was his first of the playoffs but he also added two assists to make it four points in two playoff games so far.  He leads the Giants in playoff scoring, really stepping it up for the playoffs.

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Giants 3, Bison 1 

It wasn’t pretty but the Giants got the job done and take a two goal lead into Basingstoke.  With one foot now in the final four weekend in Nottingham, the Giants must finish off the job and secure their place.  Mark Dutiaume opened the scoring with one of the quickest goals in Giants history after 9 seconds, and Graeme Walton soon made it two after Basingstoke had tied the game with his first ever competitive goal at the Odyssey arena.  It was a milestone moment and George Awada was quick to snap up the puck for him.  It turned out to be the game winner as Basingstoke failed to score another and Jeff Hutchins grabbed the crucial third to give the Giants breathing space going into tomorrow night.

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After what was their second best winning streak of all time the Giants lost some of their momentum heading into the playoffs by going 0 for 2 in their final two games, losing tonight 6-4 against Newcastle.  The Giants had lead for most of the contest but threw away a 4-3 lead with thirteen minutes to go.  The game included another fight, this time by J.P. Morin who dropped ‘em with Jeremy Cornish.  Giants goals came through Dutiaume, Hutchins, Courtenay and Kellman.

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Phoenix 5, Giants 3 

Old time hockey was alive and well in the Elite League last night when the Giants and Phoenix faced off.  Three fights and game misconducts where the order of the night as the hockey side of things took a back seat.  With the possibility of both teams meeting in the playoff qualifier this game certainly showed what if that happens it’ll be one heck of a two legged battle.  As things turned out the two teams will not face off in the playoff qualifiers but could still potentially meet in the final four in Nottingham.  Hutchins fought Campbell, Cloutier fought Ruff and Skiehar fought Cloutier.  One event even had Skiehar taking on Cloutier in the Phoenix penalty box resulting in game misconducts for both players.  It was great to hear of some old time hockey.

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Giants 4, Blaze 1

Last night the Giants brought out some hockey that left fans wondering how on earth did a team with this talent not win the Elite League.  The Giants dominated a Blaze team that where crowned EIHL champions only a night before from start to finish beating them by a score of 4-1 which in fact flatters the Blaze.  Granted the Blaze where in celebration mode, but with a playoffs coming up the Giants where not going to make the mistake of taking the night off either, instead showing the league that on their day they are the best team out there.  The issue with that is that there wasn’t enough ‘on their days’ and to many off nights which in the end has cost the Giants the championship and showed them, if anything that they where just not the most consistent team. 

With the pressure off of not ‘needing’ a win the Giants could relax and play hockey which entertained the fans and carrying that into the playoffs is a must, but as we all know doing it in games that really matter is another thing altogether.

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Phoenix 1, Giants 4

Not only did the Giants win tonight by Coventry lost to Sheffield to give the Giants even more hope of retaining their league crown but make no mistakes it’s still going to be an uphill battle.  George Awada wasn’t doing damage on the scoring front tonight like last night, no, he was dropping the gloves for only the second time in his Giants career with none other than the leagues toughest, Brett Cloutier.  Hutchins, Gavalier, Coutenay and Ruff got the goals for the Giants with Gavaliers being his first of the season.  DeRouville turned aside 24 shots and the Giants powerplay finially clicked as Manchester seen player after player head to the penalty box throughout the first and second period.

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Giants 4, Panthers 3 (SO)

Theres an old saying often thrown around in sports, “Commeth the hour, commeth the man”.  Last night ‘the man’ showed up for the Giants when they need him the most - Their Captain.  Down two goals midway through the second period the Giants where looking for someone to step up and take control of the game and Captain George Awada did just that.  He dragged the Giants back into it with two second period goals to tie the game and a hat-trick goal late in the third to tie it up yet again and send it into OT and a shootout which the Giants duely won taking a vital two points.

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On the night when Paxton Schulte’s jersey was retired officially for good the Giants made it an extra special night for the fans by winning their fifth straight game keeping the pressure on Coventry at the top of the league.  It may be a huge task for the Giants to catch them but the recent form stuggests they will give it their best shot and should they fall short they will be in fine form going into the playoffs.  Ed Courtenay iced for the 7th straight game, going into the contest it was not yet sure if he would return behind the bench allowing Huppe back into the team now that six games have passed but he opted to keep the winning formula and Huppe ran things from behind the bench.

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Devils 3, Giants 4 (SO)

The Giants put up their forth successive win and second in as many nights against the Cardiff Devils winning both games in their home and home series against the Devils.  The win came as a result of a penalty shootout after both teams tied regulation play and five minutes of overtime 3-3.  George Awada was the man of the night scoring his 23rd of the season during the game and then picking up the winner on the shootout.  It puts the Giants on a 3-3 record in shutouts this season.

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Giants 3, Devils 0

You can’t half notice the difference in the Giants team with a healthy goaltender between the pipes.  It’s gave the players in front of him a new lease of life and confidence that the goal behind them has a healthy protector.  Philippe DeRouville has been nothing short of spectacular in his short stint with the Giants so far picking up his second shutout and second man of the match in three games.  The top line of Jason Ruff, Ed Courtenay and Jeff Hutchins continued to link up to great effect, each scoring a goal and an assist with Hutchins goal coming short-handed giving him his 29th of the year.  Jason Ruff’s 25th came on the powerplay.

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Giants 7, Capitals 0

If this is the first game report you have read and you do not know the score from Saturdays game then no, the scoreline is not a joke above.  From what we’ve seen in recent weeks it’s hard to tell who that team was that took to the ice on Saturday night.  They resemble a team we had from the September to Novemeber period of the season.  It was great to see.  The chemestry was there, the moral looked high, confidence was back and there was certainly no sign of dressing room bust up’s that we’ve been hearing from certain quarters.  Curtis Huppe and Mike Minard both out of the side ran the bench and kept the players fired up throughout the night as they dominated a Edinburgh side that have embarrassed the Giants on a few occasions this season.

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Capitals 3, Giants 2

If losing isn’t bad enough the Giants threw away a two goals lead against the lowly Edinburgh Capitals on Sunday night.  It leaves the Giants as the most out of form team in the Elite League and sliding down the league at a rapid pace.  The Giants took a two goals lead through Jeff Hutchins who grabbed his 26th and 27th goals of the season, one of the only bright spots when it comes to getting goals for the Giants this season and of late.  The other goes by the name of Curtis Huppe who was sitting at home in Belfast.  His replacement and coach Ed Courtenay was good for two assists however while Jason Ruff also picked up two points as that forward line looked to have clicked early on.  Unfortunately things dried up after fifteen minutes and it was Edinburgh who did all the scoring from there on in.

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Panthers 6, Giants 3

Although Ed Courtenay managed an assist in his first game of the season it wasn’t enough to stop yet another hiding for the Giants as Nottingham where the latest team in line to dish it out to them this week, beating them 6-3.  Curtis Huppe was indeed the man replaced by Ed Courtenay but theres been no word from the Giants on what the reason was for Huppe being replaced.  Clearly he was not the man needing replaced it it where not because of injury and yet again the Giants struggled to come together as a team dropping them to third in the league.

Giants goals came from Awada, Dutiaume and Ruff while Shawn Skiehar dropped the gloves with Ryan Shmyr in the third period.  The Giants travel north of the border to Scotland to take on the Edinburgh Capitals tonight, but a team once considered to be an easy two points, will really feel they can take on the Giants and beat them.  Nobody would argue against right now.

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Steelers 3, Giants 1 

One goal from forty-two shots tonight, three goals from 112 shots over the last three games while the oppsition hit us for 18 goals in 92 shots for a .804 save percentage.  Can it get any worse? 

Roman Gavalier, rumoured to be playing with up to thirty stitches in his face after taking a puck there last night picked up the Giants man-of-the-match award in what was another defeat for the crumbling team.  Gavalier to many is the only man showing up night in night out for the team, while others blow hot and cold depending on the game and others just, well, blow.

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