There was no choking at the first hurdle for the Giants this year as they brushed aside the Newcastle Vipers in two games to move to the final four tournament, next weekend in Nottingham. The Giants won their home leg on Saturday night 4-1 before thumping the Vipers in their own barn 6-2 tonight. Everyone came good for the Giants in both games with the home game being especially poignant as it was the last at the Odyssey for Shane Johnson who retires at the end of the season. Johnson, the Giants first ever MVP back in their first ever season in 2000/01 and who scored two goals in the playoff final in 2003, picked up the man-of-the-match on the night.

Evan Cheverie was the Giants top man on the score sheet bagging two goals in each game while Jeff Szwez continued his clutch play with three goals over the two legs to help the Giants through.

A 10-3 aggregate victory is always pretty comprehensive and hopefully the team can build on this scoring form next weekend and win their second ever playoff crown. I’ll be back in the UK during the final four weekend but, for the second year running and third year since 2000, won’t be able to attend though temptation will be very high to book a last second flight should they actually make the final on the Sunday.

I thought it worth pointing out that the two minute minor for holding at 16:56 by Evan Cheverie in Sunday’s game against Coventry tied the all-time most penalty minutes in a season in team history and 31:03 Pat Bateman’s two for hooking broke it. The Giants now have 1418 penalty minutes on the season with the old record having been set way back in 2003/04 at 1418. Below is a look at the penalty minutes racked up through each season so far with no doubt more to come this season.

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.

Reports have been doing the rounds today that the Boston Bruins of the NHL are to hold their pre-season training camp in Belfast and play a pre-season exehibition game against a German DEL team in the Odyssey Arena. Now it’s unlikely I’d be able to get back to see that, but if you do get the chance you should grab yourself some tickets. Okay so it won’t likely involve the Belfast Giants in any way, but who thought the day would come when an NHL team took to the ice in the Odyssey Arena? It’ll be a pre-season game sure, but the quality levels will still be high and it’ll be a big chance for the Giants fans to see some top quality hockey.

There is no news yet as to when exactly this will take place and as such no news has been released on ticket prices and when they would go on sale. I imagine the tickets will be a little higher than a standard Giants game and I would like to think regular Giants fans will get the first refusal for I’d say tickets will go quickly.

This coming weekend the Giants will take to the ice for their one and only home playoff game and when that game comes to an end, so to will the playing career of Shane Johnson on Odyssey Ice and when the Giants finally finish their season (with a Playoff Championship, we hope), Shane Johnson will finally hang up his skates for good and the Giants will be left, for the first time ever, without at least one player who was on the ice for their first ever game back in September 2000.

Shane Johnson will be awarded a testimonial game next year to thank him for his glorious career with the Belfast Giants as well as to lift this number into the rafters along with the #27 of Paxton Schulte and retired for good.

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The Giants awards dinner took place last night and for the 4th time in team history the club MVP weas a goalie (Mike Bales, Martin Klempa and Stevie Lyle were the others). Stephen Murphy won the fans vote for his part in leading the team to a second place finish in the league title which included him racking up a club record 8 shutouts over the course of the season. On the night, Murphy also announced he would be returning next season which is a welcome early piece of news for next years line-ups.

The other standout awards was the Coaches player and players player awards, both won by Brandon Benedict. I remember Dave Matsos once said, upon winning the players player of the year award in 2003, that it means that little bit more to get voted as the best player by you’re follow team-mates. For Benedict to win both the players player award and coaches player award says a lot.

Below is a list of all the awards and although I didn’t see any games this year in person, going by the reaction of some fans I have talked to, nobody is too upset with the outcome.

Award winners:
Fans MVP — Stephen Murphy
Leading Scorer — Colin Shields
Fan Favourite Award — Sean McMorrow
Best Defenceman — Tim Cook
Best Forward — Colin Shields
Unsung Hero — Michael Jacobsen
Most Improved Player — Craig Peacock
Coach’s Player of the Year — Brandon Benedict
Player’s Player of the Year — Brandon Benedict

All-Time team MVP:
2000/01 — Shane Johnson, D
2001/02 — Mike Bales, G
2002/03 — Robby Sandrock, D
2003/04 — Jason Ruff, LW
2004/05 — Martin Klempa, G
2005/06 — Theoren Fleury, C
2006/07 — Jason Ruff, LW
2007/08 — Stevie Lyle, G
2008/09 — Paul Deniset, C
2009/10 — Stephen Murphy, G

While the fans of the EIHL are getting loaded up on booze in various watering holes across Nottingham city centre on the Friday night of the playoff weekend, the great and the good of the EIHL and those who were willing to shell out on a ticket, will be at a venue in the city to see who gets awarded what for their play this season at the EIHL awards dinner.

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).

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The British Hockey team coached by Paul Thompson will head to the Division One World Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia next month with seven Giants players in the squad. The tournament takes place between 17 and 23 April and Britain will be in a group with Croatia, Korea, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. The tournament will be preceded by two warm-up games against the Netherlands on 10th and 11th April in Nottingham and Sheffield respectively.

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.

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Following Saturday’s nightmare heartbreak of a last weekend failure to capture the league crown the Giants flew over the EIHL finishing line in second place just a point shy of winners Coventry and although they were catching fast down the stretch they just ran out of time.

Saturday’s game as you may have read from my live blog was hard to take. I have yet to formally congratulate the Blaze even though they deserved their title over the course of the season. Let’s face it, in a league like the EIHL were every team plays every other team the same number of times, the table never lies and After 56 games of slugging it out the team at the top is rightly the best team in the country.

The only kind of small solace the Giants can take is that they beat the Blaze in their own arena in the final game of the season to show to themselves that had Edinburgh held strong for 29 more seconds on Saturday night the Giants indeed would have been champions. Can you take solace in that? Writing it like that perhaps makes it hurt even more. 29 seconds away from the league title only to have it snatched away from you by the very team you were battling it out to the title with, but at another stadium in another city against another team you were banking on coming through on your behalf. When you are relying on other teams to do you favours you know you have generally left it too late.

Of course, it is equally fair to say that had the title still been on the line last night the Blaze might well have approached the game in a different manor. I didn’t see the game but I am fairly confident the Blaze players were in party mood while the Giants were out to send some kind of message, any kind of message, heading into the playoffs.

The Giants are in fine form so there is reason to believe they could yet taste silverware this season. In 2002/03 the Giants came within a whisker of the title only to lose it by a fraction to Sheffield and the Giants went on to win the playoffs.

In British Hockey the League title is what matters, especially when your playoff format is so short and in some ways a real lottery on who wins it, but to the players who have grown up in the game, the playoffs is what matters. Of course, as always, like any true supporter we will formally judge whether the league title or playoff championship holds more importance by which one we walk away with in our arms at the end of the season, if any.

This is it… All up for grabs now and needing just a little favour from our Scottish neighbours as well!

Yep, the Giants are at home tonight against Newcastle with a win required and hoping that Edinburgh can deliver the goods against Coventry and take the championship race down to the final day between the two teams slugging it out – in Coventry: Blaze v Giants.

I’ll be getting some text updates from the game tonight and trying to hunt down what is going on between Coventry and Edinburgh. It would be nice just to get the chance to win it off our own bat tomorrow night. If you get the chance and aren’t at the game, tune into Giants TV for the live feed from the Odyssey and if you can’t do that, then keep up to date here…

Tonight’s games that will effect the title race are as follows:
(All times by the British clock)

Belfast Giants v Edinburgh Capitals @ 5 p.m.
Coventry Blaze v Sheffield Steelers @ 6 p.m.
Cardiff Devils v Nottingham Panthers @ 6 p.m.

5:45 p.m. The Giants have finished the first period and lead 2-0 with two big goals by Jeff Szwez. One text I have gotten from the game tells me that this guy is by far the best player on the team. No surprise there, the guy is clutch.

5:49 p.m. Coventry and Nottingham are yet to get underway but as of right now the table looks as follows:

1 Belfast 54gp 71pts
2 Coventry 52gp 70pts
3 Nottingham 52gp 68pts

5:55 p.m. Second period underway again for the Giants and the other two games will be getting underway any moment now.

6:05 p.m. Coventry leading Sheffield 2-1 already after just a few minutes of action. No score in Cardiff.

6:17 p.m. Awada scores with four left in the second period to make it 3-0 Giants. Surely they don’t blow this game now? It’s the second goal tonight for the Giants on the PP and they are now 2-3 tonight with the man advantage – rare.

6:35 p.m. Craig Peacock makes it 4-0 Giants with just over a minute to go in the 2nd period but Sheffield are 4-1 down to Coventry after just one period so it looks like Coventry will retain their league lead tonight. The good news is that Nottingham are being beat 1-0 in Cardiff.

7:05 p.m. Having never had it so easy the Giants take the win, 4-0, outshooting the Capitals 59-16. Unfortunately though the Blaze are beating the Steelers 4-1 in the second though the Panthers are losing 1-0 to Cardiff.

7:13 p.m. League standings at the minute:

1 Coventry 53gp 72pts
2 Belfast 54gp 71pts
3 Nottingham 53gp 68pts

7:38 p.m. Cardiff now two up on Nottingham but no change in the score at Coventry.

9:09 p.m. Coventry now 5-2 up in the third, Nottingham still 2-0 down.

9:25 p.m. Coventry squeak it 5-4 in the end. Sheffield ran them close it seems but they got the two points that matters.

9:53 p.m. Cardiff beat Nottingham 3-0 and put them far enough behind that even if they win their game in hand they will still trail the Giants. They need Coventry to fall apart to have any chance and the Giants have got to feel good about finishing second now.

TABLE:

1 Coventry 53gp 72pts
2 Belfast 54gp 71pts
3 Nottingham 53gp 68pts

All the Giants can do is win their final two games to move to 75 points which would include beating Coventry and hope that they take no more than two points from their other two games.