Thankfully for the Giants the Challenge Cup is a two-legged affair these days. For that reason they still have a chance to win the blasted tournament that has eluded them since they came into the league. Following their one an only final nightmare seven years ago when they lost 5-0 to Ayr they were back in the final tonight playing the Manchester Phoenix in the first leg in Manchester.
As I previously wrote the Giants were trailing 4-1 in what looked to be another final to forget for the Giants but a very strong third period and goals from Andrew Martin and Evan Cheverie to go with an earlier one from George Awada brought the score to 4-3 and enough to keep things alive for the second leg back in Belfast.
The way thean Giants have been playing lately makes me think what they could have done to the league this year had all the players stayed healthy throughout the season. I am absolutely sure that they would have walked over this league, even considering how well Sheffield have been playing. With players still on the sidelines the last few weeks the Giants players that have been able to play have been showing exactly what they can do when they play some real run-and-gun hockey.
Tonight the Giants put eight past Hull to go with the five they put by Basingstoke 24-hours earlier. On Wednesday past they put another eight past Basingstoke as Paul Deniset grabbed five goals and two assists for seven points tonight to match line-mate Andrew Martin’s two goals and five assists for seven points on Wednesday night. Both guys now join Theo Fleury for the most points scored in a game as Giants players. Deniset joins Shaun Sutter with five goals scored in a single Giants game.
Well if you like your goals and were in Basingstoke tonight then you had a great time. Well maybe not if you were a Basingstoke fan! As I sat on the dentists chair the Giants were doing their thing against the leagues worst team by racking up eight goals in a match that seen the red light come on thirteen times in all. Andrew Martin scored two goals and had three points for a big five point night while Paul Deniset had a goal and three assists for four points.
Basingstoke clearly showed why they are the leagues worst team and the Giants showed what they can do when things come together for them in front of goal. Shane Johnson had a short handed goal and they scored two on the power play out of five chances. Evan Cheverie who grabbed a loan goal in the contest managed to pick up the man-of-the-match award.
They also did it without Rushton, Robins, Sample and Thornton, making it even more impressive.
The Giants will be without four key players this weekend as Paul Sample and Andrew Martin join Bobby Robins and Paul Deniset in the treatment room. The Giants hit the road to face Cardiff Devils tonight and then a top of the table clash with Sheffield tomorrow. It is going to take one heck of an effort just to get points out of the weekend never mind all four. I don’t really like the term ‘key’ players because at this level were benches are short enough as it is and imports are limited and ice time high then every player is key. Playing without four them them is a nightmare.
People are going to wonder what is wrong; Did we sign injury prone players, is it just severe bad luck or is it the fact that there are so many games with the short benches and players playing big minutes which takes its toll on the body? I tend to wonder if it is the latter because we aren’t the only team in the league having problems with injuries. As import levels go down, the ice time and responsibility on the imports signed goes up.
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
