Now that Ed is back in command he’s wasting no time about building his 2007-2008 team.  Looking to get a core of players together he’s hoping to bring back Jeff Hutchins, JP Morin and Graeme Walton.  Hutchins was good for 38 goals last season, a real offensive explosion hat the Giants could really do with again this coming season.  Walton was the best British player on the team and it earned him a call-up to the senior British team for the World Championships.  Morin was an offensive threat from the defence and brought an excellent passing game to the team.  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.

Last nights win was the 8th win in a row for the Giants which leaves them knocking on the door of a personal record.

From the Belfast Telegraph:

“Blaze suffered a hangover – literally – after clinching the title with a 5-1 home win over Edinburgh and couldn’t cope with a Giants team that clicked superbly in an eight minute spell to clock up a club record equalling eighth successive win.

It is the most league games that have been won in a row and with two more outings coming up on the final weekend of the season, coach Ed Courtenay would love to make it a perfect ten.”

Just to put things right, the win last night may have been the eighth but does not tie a club record.  The club record is nine wins in a row from 3rd December 2005 to 7th January 2006 when the Giants won eight league games and a British cup game.  It isn’t the most league games won in a row but it did tie the record for league wins in a row over that same time spell minus the British Cup game.

The Giants play Manchester on Sunday with a win there tieing the all-time wins in a row record and breaking the league wins in a row record.  Here’s hoping…

Belfast Telegraph article

Below is an article from yesterday’s Belfast Telegraph.

Belfast Telegraph — In just over a month’s time Todd Kelman will play his last ever game as a professional ice hockey player.  He won’t be lost to the Belfast Giants though, here he tells Stuart McKinley about his new career path…

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An article in the Belfast Telegraph this evening had Ed hinting that he will indeed return next season as the Giants head-coach when he talked about signing players in the summer for next season.  In the article he passed up threats to his forwards that they will be looking for clubs elsewhere when it comes to re-signing players if they do not find their scoring form tonight and for the rest of the season.  The team that once averaged over four goals per game earlier in the season are really struggling to hit the net when it matters of late.

The real question being asked of fans will be why on earth will Ed not make immediate changes to the team but you’ve got to remember that to release a forward you need to find a replacement and chances are there is not an abundance of quality snipers throughout hockey looking for a team.

The Giants play Hill Stingrays tonight at home.  Face off is 7pm

Belfast Telegraph article