Kingdom Of The Giants :: Belfast Giants Fan Community, News & Views
Steelers Edge It In Season Opener
Sat 03 Sep- Belfast Giants vs Sheffield Steelers, OTL 1-2
- Giants Goals: Garside
- Steelers Goals: Stephenson
The Belfast Giants suffered the narrowest of defeats to the reigning Elite League Champion Sheffield Steelers, in a hard fought season opener at the Odyssey Arena.
In a game where the Giants were missing new signing Jon Pelle through injury, the Giants struggled to put great pressure on John DeCaro in the Steelers goal, and less than 5 minutes the home team were behind.
With Derek LeBlanc sitting a 2 minute holding penalty, the visitors took advantage of the powerplay. Matt Stephenson one-timing a pass from Steve Birnstill past the screened Stephen Murphy. A flying start for the defending champions.
The Giants powerplay unit has once again started the season struggling to find its feet. In a whistle filled second period the Odyssey residents failed to capitalise on a wealth of opportunities, not least a prolonged 5 on 3 that brought little challenge to DeCaro’s net. The Steelers finding it simple work to enter the final period retaining their goal advantage.
It took Mark Garside, with just under 10 minutes left in regulation, to top his return to competitive hockey after surgery, by drawing the sides level with a humdinger of a finish.
The scores remained level at the 60 minute mark and the teams further failed to separate themselves in overtime. It fell to the dreaded penalty shootout to decide who took the extra point.
Mike Ramsey opened the scoring on Stephen Murphy, while Jeff Mason couldn’t break the defences of Murphy’s opposite number. Jeff Legue struck the metalwork of the Giants goal which put Derek LeBlanc in a position to bring the sides level. He unfortunately missed the target and Steve Birnstall sealed the extra point for Steelers with a backhand finish.
A disappointing start for the Giants who will hope the performance will improve next Friday when the Hull Stingrays make their first visit of the season to Belfast.
Live Scores
Last Game
- Sat 14 Jan
- vs Blaze, W 4-3
- Giants Goals: Lloyd, Rebek, Dowd, Clarke
- Blaze Goals: McLean, Guthrie, Fussey
League Standings
| P | TEAM | GP | W(OT) | L(OT) | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giants | 35 | 28(0) | 4(3) | 59 |
| 2 | Panthers | 35 | 25(0) | 8(2) | 52 |
| 3 | Steelers | 29 | 25(0) | 4(0) | 50 |
| 4 | Blaze | 34 | 22(0) | 12(0) | 44 |
| 5 | Devils | 33 | 18(0) | 8(7) | 43 |
| 6 | Clan | 32 | 19(0) | 12(1) | 39 |
| 7 | Capitals | 34 | 11(0) | 20(3) | 25 |
| 8 | Stingrays | 35 | 9(0) | 22(4) | 22 |
| 9 | Stars | 34 | 5(0) | 25(4) | 14 |
| 10 | Flyers | 31 | 4(0) | 23(4) | 12 |
Giants' Stat Leaders
| Points | Craig Peacock | 41 |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Robert Dowd | 16 |
| Assists | Mark Garside | 28 |
| PIM | Adam Keefe | 164 |