Below are a couple of articles on the story below regarding the changes to the EIHL over the off-season. Read More»

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. 

Seven years ago the Giants lost their one and only Challenge Cup Final 5-0 to the Ayr Scottish Eagles in a final that became known as ‘Black Sunday’ among Giants fans because of the Black jersey’s the team wore for the game. The game was also broadcast on BBCni live — the first and last time that has ever happened to the Giants — and with a team that had dominted everyone all season long it was the perfect chance to show the people of Northern Ireland what these dominant Giants were all about.

Of course things didn’t go remotely to play as the Eagles shocked the Giants 5-0 and the boys never recovered. They had already won the league but following this defeat their season went to hell in a hand basket and they didn’t even make the playoffs final four.

Fast forward seven whole years, a league name change, local players now involved and a bunch of old teams gone and new teams in and the challenge cup remains and remains a trophy the Giants cannot get a trip on. In fact they cannot even get to the final. At least until tonight. Read More»

By all accounts last nights game between Belfast and Manchester was far from a classic. The atmosphere was flat and neither teams were playing the way they can when the passes are on the tape and the shots are really making the goalies work, but the Giants were leading the contest when the final hooter blew and that is all that matters.

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I always quite liked midweek games at the Odyssey. A lot of people didn’t because it meant a smaller crowd but I always enjoyed sitting in work knowing I had a game that evening to look forward too. You could stay up in town after work, go to the bar for a few drinks and be in a great mood come 7.30 p.m. and face off time.

I hate midweek games now. I’m stuck in work because of the time difference and I can’t even watch the games online. So on that note there will be no preview, just the information that the Giants play Manchester tonight, that Rushton will almost certainly fight Clouthier and that face off is from 7.30 p.m.

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.

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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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2009 got underway in the usual right fashion for the Giants in a 3-1 win over the Manchester Phoenix. Goals came by the way of Ceverie, Awada and Thornton while Lyle, who picked up the man of the match, fell two-minutes shy of a shutout.

The win gave the Giant their 9th straight win in opening games of a new year. In 9 attempts the team have won all nine, eight of which have been played at home, with a total record of 44 goals for and just 13 against.

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The Giants lost their second game in a row for the first time this season but failed to slip further down the table thanks to the fact they had games in hand and were involved in the only game of the night yesterday evening. Manchester were in town and took the spoils keeping them in fifth place in the standings and still very much close enough to be a threat. Read More»

The Giants completed a successful weekend on the road with another win, this time against Manchester Phoenix as the Giants came from behind late in the game to take the two points. Paul Deniset was the hero of the night scoring a hat trick that included the game tying goal with less than ten minutes left and then the game winning goal with 23 seconds remaining. The game looked to be heading to overtime when he scored his winner crushing the Phoenix side and giving the Giants all the points. Read More»