The Giants came out of the weekends fights with four points to show and so in my eyes failed to give me any reason as to why the fighting was such a bad thing.
I had said on a number of occassions if the fighting got in the way of winning then it would be an issue, but the Giants went about playing their hockey while entertaining the biggest crowds of the season on the side to pick up maximum points and stay in title contention.
Amid all the fighting and the debating about the morals of it, one thing that has been overlooked is the return of Ed Courtenay onto the Odyssey ice. Ed Courtenay was a great player for the Giants in his time here and the coach that lead us to our second ever league championship and for that I’ll always be grateful as a fan. I wasn’t at the game last night but watching the highlights video on the post below it was great to see him on the ice again.
All the goals, fights and big moments from the big game last night in the Odyssey. The stand out thing for me aside from some very nice goals was the size of the crowd and the noise it was making — it was a throwback to the days of yore. Some have called the Odyssey a graveyard for atmosphere lately, but this certainly changed that. Enjoy and pay up for tonight’s re-match at giantslive.tv
News has broke to me that Jason Rushton will not lace up his skates in tonight’s re-match against the Newcastle Vipers due to his instigation of a fight in the final five minutes of a game. This is a rule the NHL brought in a couple of years ago and which the EIHL must have slipped through the cracks sometime since. The upshot means that the Giants enforcer from last night will not take to the ice and will disappoint many of the fans who came out last night and will likely be coming out tonight to see some of the action.
The Giants who will be looking for another two points first and foremost will miss their fighter who last night completely distracted a normally goonish Andre Payette from his game long enough for the Giants to go about winning the game with the space it created. Tonight will be an interesting one to watch with Rushton missing and whether the Vipers will look to extract some revenge on Giants players not quite as interested as Rushton.
We’ve seen what Newcastle can do to your players when they come into your barn and know that you don’t really have a player that can stand up to them. You might win the game but you won’t go home without bruises and the risk of injury. There is no doubt the Giants escaped injuries with some of the Vipers tactics, but this time out had someone on the ice who would distract the Vipers muscle and keep them honest towards the Giants skill.
Enter Jason Rushton. He has played four games now for the club getting in two fights so far and even scoring a goal and an assist with the limited ice time that has been afforded to him. He may not have scored in tonight’s contest but he was quick to drop the gloves, put the Vipers players off their game, give the Giants stars the freedom to play their game free of intimidation and ultimately win the game 4-1.
