Jason Rushton will have to be on the top of his game tonight as the Giants travel into Newcastle to play the Vipers for the first time since the double header in the Odyssey last month when fights broke out all over the place. The Vipers were furious the way things went down, never mind the fact they lost both games. They have promised pay back and have promoted the game as the Giants circus coming to town. The odds on Rushton and Payette fighting again are tiny and the chances of their being more fights than goals are good as well.
I don’t mind. So long as the Giants come home with the two points and without injuries then I am all for us beating them up along the way. It is going to be entertaining but unfortunately I am not going to be able to watch it. Oh well, I am sure the fight videos will surface sometime after the game.
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
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.
If it is not bad enough that the Giants are playing these days without two of their import players due to injury they now could face a very stiff suspension to coach Steve Thornton if the EIHL has anything to say about the incident in tonights game. To see if for yourself click here to view the Vipers post game highlight show – an excellent package I must say – and decide for yourself. To be honest, it doesn’t look good for Stevie and the way the league has set a president of late he could be looking at quite a bit of time off.
