The ‘Christmas’ double header vs Edinburgh is back again and tonight is round one of the two games. Here’s some updates from the game with thanks to fans feedback on KotG, box scores on ih-update and other text messages . . .

- I’m picking up updates at the end of the second period only having just finished watching a shocking Liverpool performance on Setanta Sports.
- Three fights in this game and the boxing tonight hasn’t even started. Perhaps a hockey game will break out in Las Vegas tonight.
- Apparantly the second period has been ended early due to an injury to Carlyle Lewis. Sounds like it must be pretty serious. Fingers crossed.
- Any chance of grabbing Troy quickly before he heads home? I worried someone would end up getting injured this weekend. It’s just our luck.
- Sutter is looking for his scond hat trick of the season tonight. He’s made up for his early penalty that gave Edinburgh the league by scoring two goals and adding an assist in this game.
- And Sutter has his hat trick – All three on the power play.
- Campbell now grabs a goal, the only goal not score on the power play so far tonight.
- Edinburgh score and the Giants then retain their 6-2 lead through Sutter yet again. Thats four for him now and finally one not on the power play. The Giants power play is really clicking. Thank goodness Sutter wasn’t the one cut this weekend!!
- Is this a wind-up? Sutter has just bagged his fifth of the night. Is this some kind of record? Time to play Sutter as much as possible and keep feeding him the puck. The double hat trick is on.
- Both back-up tenders are on the ice. Young Adam Cree makes his debut making him the youngest ever Giants player. Goodluck kid.
- The fighting continues as Mo drops the gloves with #21 according to ih-update. #21 also picked up a boarding call earlier in the game . . . Bit of pay back from the Mo train?
- I wonder if the 4 fights in this game is a single game record for the Giants?
- Just checked, the 4 fights tie a record, the five Sutter goals becomes a new goals in a game record for the Giants AND Adam Cree becomes the youngest Giants player ever.
- Thats a wrap. 7-2 win. Those there witnessed some historic stuff and the best part . . . Theres more to come tomorrow night.

It’s never fun to see a man loose his job just a few weeks prior to Christmas but it was a position the Giants were in and it was a decision Ed had to take to appease league rules. We had 11 imports and with the league rules stating only ten and with everyone now healthy in the Giants lineup someone had to go. According to Ed it was between three men and Troy got the chop.

Troy had been playing very well lately, a top stay-at-home defenceman and so a few eyebrows were raised at the choice but then what player wouldn’t have raised a few eyebrows if he had been cut. Everyone has been playing pretty well. I’d love to know what it was that made Ed decide on Troy but so long as the team continue to win games then we’ll never know and never need to know. I suspect it came down to Age. At 37 Troy is probably in his final pro-season whereas a younger guy like Trevor Johnson has years left to give and would be seen to have more of a future potentially at the team.

Make no mistakes Ed will live or die by the decision should results not go our way but nobody wanted to be in Ed’s position to make such a decision and so whatever decision he made had to be supported and we’ll trust his decision going into the double header in Edinburgh this weekend.

There were times earlier this year we were happy with Courtenay making any changes to improve the team and given the chances we all would have liked his job to make the changes as people debated and generally agreed for once on the message forums on who had to go.

But now Ed is in a position that nobody is envious of. He must pick a player to cut from a side that has been winning. Read More»