All Good Things...

• Belfast Giants vs Coventry Blaze, OTL 3-2
• Giants Goals: Lewis, Jamieson
• Blaze Goals: Carlson, Huppe, Martin

Hype is something that will always exist in sports. It has the power to destroy good teams, silence fans, and perhaps most importantly, it gives meaning to media coverage of our games. Saturday night’s epic game between the Belfast Giants and the Coventry Blaze was one of the few sporting events in recent memory which has lived up to its hype. The Home Nations may have failed to live up to early Euro qualification hopes, and Ricky Hatton may have been outclassed by Floyd Mayweather after months of build up, but the Giants and the Blaze swapped intense blows for 60 minutes on a cold Saturday night in Belfast, until their rivalry was decided, for now, by a cruel sudden death winner.

A first period fraught with tension both on the ice and in the stands was just what 5,500 punters had paid their money to see. The teams exchanged power play opportunities with neither able to find the offensive edge. Despite being on the receiving end of a torrent of jeers from the home crowd, Trevor Koeing had been in outstanding form for the Blaze, although wayward finishing from Scott Cameron and Carlyle Lewis twice in the opening exchanges had let him off the hook. The Blaze could only muster the odd forage into Giants’ territory, but Stevie Lyle was more than equal to any attempts on the net. The first period finished with a flurry of attempts from the Giants, which the visitors were lucky to escape from unscathed.

Coventry began the second period on the powerplay, with Graham Walton somewhat controversially sitting a two minute penalty for delay of game, but they seemed unable to find a way through the stern Giants penalty kill. Minutes later the hockey gods seemd to shine on the visitors when Adam Calder’s shot looped over a helpless Stevie Lyle, rebounding off the Belfast goalie’s stick and into the back of the net to open the scoring at 25.26.

Although the Giants probed and probed, most notably through Peter Campbell and Scott Cameron, an equaliser did not seem to be on the cards until a frantic scramble in front of Koenig’s net on a delayed penalty produced the game tying goal from Carlyle Lewis at 34.19. Such an explosion of noise has certainly not been heard in the Odyssey since the halcyon days of yore. It was indeed bettered moments later when a bizarre deflection set Leigh Jameson free 1 on 0, and the young Brit produced a stunning move to beat Koenig and give the Giants the lead at 38.11, a lead which they held until the conclusion of the period.

The final period was a rollercoaster of emotions for all involved, players and fans alike. The Giants looked destined to eke out the win in front of one of the biggest crowds anywhere in the EIHL this season, as Stevie Lyle stood strong, and ‘Magical’ Trevor Johnson cleared puck after puck. Ed Courtenay’s incisive passing almost set the Giants through to finish the tie off on more than one occasion, but the Blaze remained in the game.

Story book endings are a rarity in hockey, but the Odyssey faithful was treated to one they didn’t want to see. With barely seven minutes remaining, former Giants hero Curtis Huppe broke free of the defence and finished smoothly, fooling Lyle in the Belfast goal. The home fans would not be disturbed in the closing minutes with a classic rendition of the local anthem rocking the building to its very foundation. The sight of a packed Odyssey Arena rising to its feet to greet the heroes on the ice sparked memories of the formative months of the franchise’s existence, and also induced hope for the future at seeing so many spectators fill the blue padded seats.

But the day, sadly, was not to be the Giants’. It was perhaps fitting that it was Neal Martin, arguably one of the most respected players in the EIHL, who finally settled this encounter with a slap shot from just inside the Giants’ blue line. Only forty seconds had elapsed in overtime when the home team’s exceptional 16 game winning streak came to an end, but it is certain that this game will live on in the memories of all of the fans who were lucky enough to be present. Whether this result will see the Giants’ title quest come to an end remains uncertain, but what is for sure is that this contest serves as a reminder that Ice Hockey in the UK and Ireland is still capable of serving up the kind of rivalry, competitiveness, and most importantly skill that hockey fans deserve to see. The Giants face a tough task in regrouping before a trip to Manchester on Sunday, while Coventry return home to tackle the inconsistent Bison. Interestingly in their last meeting the Bison were good for a 5-3 victory over Coventry; more of the same would go far towards putting a smile back on the faces of the Belfast fans!

Conor Caldwell

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