We didn’t have to wait long for the first tilt of the new season.  New boy Carlyle Lewis showing the fans what he will do for them this season against Adam Stefishen of Edinburgh.  The fight came at 15:40 of the third period of the game and came as a result of a slightly late hit by Stefishen on Lewis along the players bench. Read More»

Shawn Skiehar has been talking in today’s Belfast Telegraph about his hopes for the playoff champagne.  Ski has really been in the battles of late dropping the gloves on a number of occasions as the season has came to a close.  His biggest foe of the year has been Manchester’s Brett Cloutier (originally with Sheffield) whom Ski has went with on three occasions.  On all three Ski was the aggressor showing why he’ll always stick up for his team-mates and not let the Giants be walked over.

The last of the three tilts with Cloutier was on Saturday night with Ski finally getting the better of the leagues toughest man and knocking him down.  In two other fights that night Hutchins was taken down by Campbell while Ruff in his only fight of the year also tangled with Cloutier putting up a good battle before Cloutier got his best punches after Ruff appeared to have finished his fight.  A tad cheap and probably a reason for Ski going after him later in the game.

View the Manchester highlights including all three fights

Skiehar is a guy the fans have debated about all year.  Many have bizarrely said he hasn’t been fighting enough this year, that he wont ‘goon’ it up when we’re getting beat and that he hasn’t brought enough to the team on the scoring front.  I’ve found all that to be nonsense for the following reasons:

1. Skiehar finished the regular season with eight fights, third most ever in one season by a Giants player, tied with the eight Paxton Schulte had in 03-04 and behind only Paxton’s nine from 00-01 and the twelve set by Ski himself last season. 

Verdict: He’s clearly been fighting enough; he just goes about it quietly and has done a lot of the fighting on the road.

2. Ski is generally a player with a long fuse, he can fight but he doesn’t do it out of pure anger (well rarely), he doesn’t go taking needless penalties and gooning it up on opposition players.  Now although that’s fun to see sometimes, when Paxton Schulte played that kind of game in his forth season here the same fans criticising Ski for being to tame where lambasting Paxton for being to over the top. 

Verdict: Ski has clearly been sticking up for his team-mates when required.  He may not be winning every fight but then he’s not getting beat down either and each time he does fight it energises the Giants bench.  He doesn’t need to go around cheap-shotting to do that.

3. Skiehar is not a scorer, though when he does get goals they tend to be in the important games when it matters.  He had a great run of form in last seasons playoffs (bodes well for what stage of the season we’re now at).  Ski is primarily an energy player, a checking/defensive forward.  He’s a guy that will skate hard all night long, that will chase down the dump in’s and finish his checks.  He plays the first line penalty kill and won’t hesitate to lie down in front of a slapshot.

Oh and did we mention he wears an ‘A’ on his chest.  The guy clearly brings leadership to the team.

Verdict: If you read that and still don’t see the use for a Skiehar on any hockey team then you mustn’t really understand your hockey – every team needs a Skiehar and we’ll see exactly why in the next two playoff games.  Mark my words.

Skiehar has, unfairly so, had his share of critics this season.  ‘He doesn’t fight enough’; ‘He doesn’t stick up for his team-mates’.  Last night he yet again showed why that isn’t quite the case.  Following a high hit to the head of possible/probable team MVP Roman Gavalier by Devils enforcer Brad Voth, his second height on Roman in as many minutes, Shawn Skiehar decided the message had to be sent.  His gloves came off and he went at Voth.  The fight wasn’t great, neither guy got any great punches in but the message was sent, Voth wouldn’t get away with running Giants players all night.

Skiehar picked up a five for fighting and 2+10 for instigating while Voth got the five for fighting and 2+10 for checking to the head.   If ever there was good reason to instigate the fight, this was it.

It was Ski’s 8th fight of the season to date, just four shy of his total for last season which was a record for number of fights in one season by a Giants player.  This season puts him into joint third most in a season with Schulte’s eight in 03-04.  He’s one behind Paxton’s 9 in the 00-01 season.  Again this argument that Ski doesn’t fight enough isn’t standing up.  Ski just fly’s below the radar with his fighting.  He may not win every fight, but he’s never embarrassed and he’ll not back down from anyone.

The Steelers where in town for the Elite League clash and it wasn’t a tame affair.  In fact, it was a classic.  It all kicked off right at the end of the first period, as the hooter went a small scuffle broke out.  Skiehar and Cloutier where coming out of their respective penalty boxes after serving matching minors and the fun began.  The rest, well you can see it all for yourself.

Most of the debate generated however was during the Skiehar – Cloutier fight, it was a close fight with both guys exchanging big punches when suddenly Brett Cloutier gouged at the left eye of Shawn Skiehar (see photo above) and then fish hooked him in the mouth.  The linesmen then came in to separate Cloutier and a stunned and disadvantaged Skiehar, but Cloutier continued throwing shots.  It was then Jason Ruff decided to help out and that snowballed into everyone getting involved.

Giants fans will tell you this is exactly what this team needed and It was a superb team bonding exercise, the fans loved it and the team rallied around each other to go on and win the game without Skiehar, Ruff or goalie Mike Minard who was also tossed from the game for tangling with Steelers nettie Jody Lehman.

No doubt the debate on this will continue to run.
Please can I encourage you to download the video clips and then view them.  I don’t have the bandwith for a huge amounts of downloads.
(right-click on PC, “save target as…”; hold the mouse button down on a Mac and choose “save target as…” or something similar).

For the video clip of the brawl, right click here.
For a quick four-second clip on the controversial gouging, right click here.

Shawn Skiehar’s second tilt of the year and his second in three games…

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