The Giants took on the Steelers this weekend in two games that turned into two high scoring classics. In one the Giants, in front of their home crowd, had to come from behind to take a big win before going to Sheffield and beating the Steelers again by a single goal, 6-5. It was perfect hockey full of end to end goals, good atmosphere and lots of fighting. I just wish I could have been there – I didn’t even get to see the webcast.

Aside from all the goals flying into the net – which I can’t really talk much about having not been there and having not seen footage of, the games were billed as a chance to find out who is the EIHL’s heavyweight champions when it comes to the fighting side of the game.

Sean McMorrow took on Mike Sgroi in Belfast and won, and then a night later in Sheffield he beat him again which seemed to infuriate Sgroi as he chased McMorrow down after the fight was broken up like a nutcase, continuing the fight and getting beaten further. He then went after McMorrow again after they came out of the box, and yes, you can guess the outcome.

The night of fighting was rounded out when lightweights Tim Cook and Robert Farmer went at it with the Giants completing the clean sweep in the fights over the two games, and a little later on the clean sweep in the results also.

Here is a look at the fight video’s: Read More»

I’ve spent the last little while updating the fight section on the site, giving it a full revamp. I’ve tracked down lost fights, old video’s as well as updating all-time statistics as individual season statistics. Fights are broken down to individual seasons with details of each fight as well as fighting majors for the season per player and against individual teams. In the coming weeks and months I hope to add in profiles of individual players and their fight stats – enough to keep the Giants fight fan busy for a while!

Of course, there’s only videos of fights I could fine but if you see any fights without a video link, let me know and I’ll be sure to link it up.

For interests sake, Did you know:

- Sean McMorrow has now had more fights in a single season (20) than any other Giants season.

- The Giants have had more fights this season (35) than in any other season before.

- Paxton Schulte has had more fights than any Giants player in team history with 31. Shawn Skiehar is second on 21 with Jason Bowen and Sean McMorrow on 20.

- There have been 132 fights at home games and 125 on the road with four occasions when there have been four fights in a single game and one occasions when a player has had three fights in a single game (Shawn Skiehar).

- In December 2000 the Giants got into 14 fights in one month.

The homepage of the Giants fighting information can be found here with links to individual seasons.

Warning: Incase you listen to this and somehow managed to get all excited for the game they are talking about, I’m a bit late on this one and the game has actually taken place, but it is worth pointing out anyway since it involves a Giants player – and not just any Giants played but the most talked about Giants player of all-time on message forums – Sean McMorrow.

The Sheriff appeared on BBC Radio Sheffield talking to their hosts about his teams upcoming double header (this past weekend) against Sheffield Steelers (in which each team won one game a piece) while also having an on-air chit-chat with Steelers new enforcer Mike Sgroi. The chat with Sgroi is the interesting point – an insight into what some of these tough guys think about one another. If you’re looking fireworks and trash talking then don’t bother, the respect is clearly there between these two heavies who have been doing the dirty work for their teams for over a decade now but it is worth tuning in to hear how they set up their fight for the first period of the first game between the two teams. (They did indeed go in the first and McMorrow got the edge).

Detractors will crucify this as them ‘arranging the fight’, but in Hockey this is something McMorrow would be expected to do. He is the leagues top enforcer and when someone new comes in to enforce for his team it’s only right that McMorrow gives him his stage, welcomes him to the league and lets him set a tone for his own team. Thankfully when it did happen McMorrow won the scrap and then the teams got on with the Hockey. The Giants won that one and lost the following night were both big boys kept clear of one another.

McMorrow goes on to say how he’d like every team to carry a player like himself and Sgroi on the line-ups and it’s hard to disagree with him. It would be good to see an extra element of entertainment on top of the skillful hockey some teams are producing and it would help add to the rivalries.

The irony in this radio piece though is that this is the same Sheffield team that earlier in the season said they were going down the skill hockey only route and that McMorrow wouldn’t be able to “buy a fight” against Sheffield but after a poor start to the year they have addressed a potential weakness by adding some toughness to the line-up (or if not to change fortunes at least give the fans something to cheer about) to fight, who else, but Sean McMorrow.

Ah ha. For the first time since the days of Mel Angelstad the Giants will be starting with an out-and-out enforcer in the ranks. Sean McMorrow, the self declared new sheriff in town, has been recruited as the latest police man on the Giants squad and going by the size of the man and the penalty minutes he has racked up over a glittering career of pugilism, he could very well be as tough as they come. Suffice to say he racked up a meager 527 penalty minutes in one season alone a few years back.

There have been rumors of McMorrow signing for a few years now but it never came to pass but finally the Giants top brass have got their man. It should spell the end of the rumours of what will happen to Jason Rushton as I seriously cannot see him returning now that McMorrow is in the fold. The guy is loaded with minor league experience from the NHL’s top affiliate league the AHL to the fighting league of Quebec the LNAH. He even cracked the show for a single game on 22 March 2003.

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As it says… This one is dedicated to those who love their old time, rock ‘em sock ‘em old time hockey and Mel provides just that. From start to finish this DVD is loaded with some fantastic fights put together by the work of Mel’s fists and his brother Elwood’s computer skills.

It includes some great knockout punches including one in which Mel puts his opponent down for a good 3 minutes in one punch. Also in there is the classic bouts against Darcy Hordichuck that some fans regard as the best ever – Two men standing toe to toe and throwin’ ‘em. Read More»