Last night in the Odyssey, following a defeat to the Vipers last weekend, the Giants had the chance to exact some revenge and they certainly went about doing that in clinical fashion with a massive 11-3 victory. The eleven goals for tied a team record for goals in a game (they have done it twice before) while the total of fifteen goals scored in total tied a record for goals in a game that involved the Giants (they have done it three times before). Goals in the game came by way of Pat Bateman (2), Steve Thornton (2), Craig Peacock (2), Brandon Benedict (1), Mark Morrison (1), Sean McMorrow (1), Evan Cheverie (1) and Jeff Szwez (1).

Both Pat Bateman and Steve Thornton picked up two goals and three assists while six other players registered multi-point games including Mark Morrison who grabbed his first goal of the season. Captain and top points scorer Colin Shields took until the seventh goal to get on the board and that was only with an assist as his quiet night allowed for nearly everyone else to get on board. In fact, only defenseman Michael Jacobsen and young forward Robbie Brown failed to pick up a point.

The highlight of the night however was the McMorrow goal. While on a hat trick Pat Bateman decided to pass up the opportunity to shoot for a team-mate who normally does the dirty work with his fists. McMorrow finished the tap-in and his celebration though was one that had the Giants benched doubled over laughing and the crowd equally entertained: He threw his glove in the air and proceeded to replicate shooting it with the but-end of his stick like a someone with a shut-gun hunting a bird. I guess when you don’t score very often as an enforcer and finally get your first goal at home, you have to make the most of it. An entertainer with his fists tonight he did it by putting the puck in the net.

The win sent the Giants back on top of the Elite League at least for a day or so until Coventry, who with games in hand, played again. But the team is really coming together now, everyone is contributing and the message to the league is clear that with an 11-3 win here and an 8-2 win last week against Edinburgh, the Giants mean business. Their next opposition is indeed the Capitals on Sunday.

That’s the numbers for you. The Giants kept their fine new year form going with yet another victory in a game that looked to be super tight for the first half and then exploded with goals in the final thirty minutes. The Giants had taken the lead through Deniset but quickly fell behind only to tie the game at two in the final minute of the second period again through Deniset. It set up a final period in which the Giants exploded with seven goals, including a hat trick by Deniset and four points by Phillips to seal the two points and in the end destroy the Phoenix.

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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. Read More»

In one of the easier games of the season the Giants turned on the scoring style as they romped away with a 6-0 victory over the Dundee Stars of the BNL in the cross-league game. Two goals in the first, one in the second and then three in the third sealed the victory in what was otherwise a pretty un-interesting game.

It was the forth shut-out of the season for star goalie Martin Klempa. Curtis Huppe also managed to end his goal drought by scoring his first goal for the Giants that was not an empty netter. He was shuffled onto a line with Tony Hand and it proved to work as the player coach set up Huppe’s first goal.

Belfast Giants 6-0 Dundee Stars

Giants: Awada 8:11, C.Bowen 14:29, C.Bowen 31:54, Johnson 42:07, Huppe 45:58, Nasval 54:08.
Stars: None.
(Odyssey Arena, Belfast).

Lines:
Huppe – Hand – Awada
Johnson – C.Bowen – Nasval
Morrison – Kelly – Levers

J.Bowen – Jamieson
Angelstad – Gavalier
Walton 

The game was over within the first ten minutes as the Giants hammered the Edinburugh Capitals 8-1 at the Odyssey Arena to record their first ever win over BNL opposition on home ice. The Giants were four goals to the good within ten minutes and it allowed Chris McGimpsey who was making his first ever pro start to relax in goal and play a superb game coming within 47 seconds of a shut-out in his first start as a Giant.

Fredrik Nasval was the other star of the night as he scored his second hat-rick for the Belfast Giants to make it 11 goals in just 12 games for the Swede. As well as this being the first time a BNL team has played in Belfast their where a few other firsts as Roman Gavallier, just back from injury, scored his first goal late in the first period and then the final goal of the night from Belfast was score by Mel Angelstad who converted a superb one on one with the goalie to score his first ever goal in a Belfast jersey.

The win sends the Giants level on points with the Cardiff Devils who they are playing tomorrow night in Cardiff.

Belfast Giants 8-1 Edinburgh Capitals

Giants: Hand 1:23, Nasval 1:41, Nasval 4:55, Awada 9:19, Nasval 14:40, Gavalier 19:20, Johnson 44:41, Angelstad (sh) 55:28.
Capitals: Cingel 59:13.
(Odyssey Arena, Belfast).

Lines:
Johnson – C.Bowen – Awada
Huppe – Hand – Nasval
Morrison – Kelly – Levers

J.Bowen – Jamieson
Angelstad – Gavalier
Walton