2000/01: 1155
2001/02: 978
2002/03: 1246
2003/04: 1414
2004/05: 1079
2005/06: 1369
2006/07: 1385
2007/08: 1045
2008/09: 1170
2009/10: 1418

That wasn’t the only record broken this season, so far. Colin Shields 101 points on the season broke the all-time marker previously set by Jason Ruff and Theo Fleury at 94. Then there is Jeff Szwez whose incredible 17 powerplay goals and 8 short handed goals are new team records and he has also broken Curtis Huppe’s record of goals per game ratio by scoring in unbelievable 0.85 goals per game. On top of all that there are his 39 goals, which have edged ahead of the previously all-time high of 38 in a single season by Jason Ruff (03/04) and Paul Deniset (08/09). Not half bad for a guy who joined the team quite a way into the season. Colin Shields is on 38 goals also and with games to come they could be fighting it out for that record.

And finally you have Stephen Murphy who smashed the single season record for shutouts. He is currently on 8.

With anywhere from 2 to 4 games still to come for Shields, Szwez and Murphy there is opportunity to build on these records and so I’ll wait until after the season to write something in depth on each guy and their record breaking seasons. If 09/10 is to be remembered for anything, it’ll be for players setting new individual high’s in club history.

There are eight awards up for grabs and four Giants players have been nominated. Colin Shields is in for three awards with Colin Murphy up for two. Jeff Szwez and Tim Cook are in for one award each, so the Giants are well represented. Actually, there should be five Giants players in for awards but more on that at the bottom of this blog.

Here are the shortlists for each award:

Goalie of the Year
Peter Hirsch (Coventry), Stephen Murphy (Belfast), Cody Rudkowsky (Edinburgh).

Defenseman of the Year
Tim Cook (Belfast), Wes Jarvis (Cardiff), Jonathan Weaver (Coventry).

Forward of the Year
Greg Chambers (Coventry), Luke Fulghum (Coventry), Colin Shields (Belfast).

British Player of the Year
Stephen Murphy (Belfast), Colin Shields (Belfast), Jonathan Weaver (Coventry).

Newcomer of the Year
Owen Fussey (Edinburgh), Cameron Mann (Nottingham), Jeff Szwez (Belfast).

Elite League MVP
Greg Chambers (Coventry), Luke Fulghum (Coventry), Colin Shields (Belfast).

Coach of the Year
Doug Christiansen (Edinburgh), Corey Neilson (Nottingham), Paul Thompson (Coventry).

‘The Sean McMorrow’ fans Favorite*
Jade Galbraith (Nottingham), Luke Fulghum (Coventry), Colin Shields (Belfast).

I imagine Colin Shields as the leagues top point scorer this year will have an excellent shot at the overall MVP as well as forward of the year and British player of the year. If he doesn’t get that British player of the year award then Stephen Murphy could – with 8 shutouts this season it’s an all-time Giants high in one season. Murphy also has a huge shot at goalie of the year.

Anyway, you might have noticed my odd naming of the fans favorite award? ‘The Sean McMorrow’ fans favorite? I say that because McMorrow is the man who should be winning this award if you actually go by what the fans picked. McMorrow was leading the EIHL poll by a country mile until last week when the league – apparently off the back of calls from the Giants – pulled McMorrow out of the award in order to save face after his indictment back in America of which he has flown home to fight. McMorrow was dropped and three others selected to the shortlist for winning the award that really should come with an astrix beside the winners name.

Anyway, if you’re going to the awards night, enjoy yourself and I’ll write something about the winners following the playoffs.

The following are the Giants players who have made the cut: Stephen Murphy, Nathan Craze, Shane Johnson, Kevin Phillips, Graeme Walton, Craig Peacock and Colin Shields.

It’s a strong squad overall and one that must feel somewhat confident about picking up some wins and who knows, maybe even promotion.

Squad in full

Goalies: Nathan Craze (Belfast Giants) Jody Lehman (AaB Aalborg, Denmark) Stevie Lyle (Cardiff Devils) Stephen Murphy (Belfast Giants).

Defencemen: Kyle Horne (Edinburgh Capitals) Shane Johnson (Belfast Giants) Steve Lee (Nottingham Panthers) Danny Meyers (Nottingham Panthers) Ben O’Connor (Edinburgh Capitals) David Phillips (Rockford Ice Hogs, USA) Kevin Phillips (Belfast Giants) Mark Richardson (Cardiff Devils) Mark Thomas (Sheffield Steelers) Graeme Walton (Belfast Giants) Jonathan Weaver (Coventry Blaze).

Forwards: Greg Chambers (Coventry Blaze) David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers) Russell Cowley (Coventry Blaze) Robert Dowd (Sheffield Steelers) Mark Garside (Edinburgh Capitals) Jason Hewitt (Sheffield Steelers) Phil Hill (Cardiff Devils) Marc Levers (Nottingham Panthers) Lee Mitchell (Hull Stingrays) Matt Myers (Johnstown Chiefs, USA) Greg Owen (Coventry Blaze) Craig Peacock (Belfast Giants) Jonathan Phillip (Sheffield Steelers) Colin Shields (Belfast Giants) Ashley Tait (Ritten Renon, Italy) Matt Towe (Cardiff Devils).

Colin Shields is leading the Elite League in points scoring with 81 in total, five ahead of Jade Galbraith (the leagues primary set-up man with 57 assists in 49 games) of Nottingham and nine up on Greg Chambers of Coventry. Shields is on a torrid pace and if he keeps up the current rate of scoring he should finish the regular season having played 64 games and scoring 45 goals and 101 points, smashing any previous Giants records for goals and points in a season. He is second in goal scoring with 36 to Coventry’s Luke Fulghum who sits on 40 goals.

Jeff Szwez is another Giants player leading a category with six short handed goals, one ahead of Jeff Legue of Sheffield. David Clarke of Nottingham leads the league in powerplay goals with 14. Evan Cheverie is Mr. Clutch for the Giants with five game winning goals – Adam Calder leads with eight.

Then there is the physical side of the game with penalty minutes and Sean McMorrow of the Giants leads that category also with a massive 344 in total, 40 ahead of Brad Voth of Cardiff who sits on 314. Third place is ex-Giant Jeff Hutchins all the way down on 197. At this current pace Sean McMorrow looks set to hit 458 penalty minutes for the year which is a staggering number considering the all-time record by a Giants player in a season is currently Paxton Schulte with 424 from 2003/04.

Between the pipes the Giants come out top again through Stephen Murphy who leads the league in save percentage with a total of .922 ahead of Peter Hirsch of Coventry on .919 and Michel Robinson of Newcastle on .914. Murphy also leads in goals against average with 2.30 ahead of Kevin St. Pierre of Nottingham on 2.80 and ex-Giants tender, Stevie Lyle now of Cardiff on 2.82.

So what about team stats?

Ask any Giants fan and they’ll tell you the penalty killing is pretty good but the powerplay is awful and the stats don’t lie. The Giants have the third worst powerplay in the Elite League with a 17% hit rate compared to the leagues best of 23.4% from Sheffield. It’s surprising that considering the Giants are actually second in the standings with Sheffield second last. Shorthanded the Giants are much stronger coming in second best in the league on 83.9% behind Sheffield who sit on 84.4%. Very very strange Sheffield leading both powerplay and shorthanded categories yet struggling so much in the standings overall.

In goals per game the Giants are always high on the charts. Ever since the teams inception in 2000/01 the team have always been known as an offence first team and one that has been high up, if not leading, the goals per game ratio. This year is no different with the team currently second in goals per game with 3.9, just 0.2 behind Coventry who lead on 4.1 goals per game. At home the Giants are averaging an impressive 4.5 goals per game - not bad from a Giants team who some fans believe are lacking up front.. For what it is worth the Stingrays bring up the rear with a poor 2.5 goals per game. The Giants also lead the shots on goal totals with an average of 37.6 per game and sit second last in penalty minutes per game with 22.7 dispelling theories that the referees in the league are anti-Giants or that the team are ill-disciplined.

Stephen Murphy, Colin Shields and Jeff Szwez all made it, and rightly so, but Sean McMorrow, enforcer for the Giants and a fan favorite, has also been voted onto the team and while McMorrow is great to watch, even he would admit that he is a little out of place on an ‘all-star’ team in that sense of the word.
But then again, this is a popularity contest among EIHL fans and people want to see McMorrow and while he won’t fight or even hit, no doubt he’ll be entertaining in some capacity.

The Elite British All-Stars, coached by Sheffield’s Dave Matsos, will be back-stopped by Stephen Murphy of the Belfast Giants. Patrolling the blueline will be Coventry’s Jonathan Weaver and Stevie Lee from the Nottingham Panthers. Completing the line-up are forwards Colin Shields (Belfast Giants), David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers) and Lee Esders (Hull Stingrays).

The Overseas All-Stars, will be coached by Nottingham Panthers’ Corey Neilson. In-between the pipes will be Peter Hirsch of the Coventry Blaze, while defencemen Dominic D’Amour (Nottingham Panthers) and Adam Knight (Hull Singrays) have been selected at the back. Belfast Giants’ enforcer Sean McMorrow and team-mate Jeff Szwez will be joined by Panthers’ leading goalscorer Jade Galbraith to complete the line-up.

— eliteleague.co.uk, 6 Jan’10

Some fans will be frustrated about fan voting making a mockery out of an all-star game, but lets face it, this isn’t a serious game – it’s a gimmick – so why not have some fun with it by indeed letting fans vote. The rest of the teams will be selected by the respective coaches and I would expect the import all-stars to win pretty comfortably.

By the way, is there a skills competition?