Let There Be Goals!!

I think we can stop counting now. Last nights game between the Coors Belfast Giants and the Sheffield Steelers was a goal-fest, producing no less than 13 goals, with the clincher eventually going the Giants way in overtime.

However it was the Steelers that got the first goal of the night after less than 4 minutes thanks to an unassisted effort from Dan Ceman. The Giants did not take long to even up the score, Jason Ruff and George Awada combining to open up Ruffs account for the evening. The rest of the first period continued at the same high tempo with both goalies being tested, the Giants narrowly outshooting the Steelers 11-8.

Tonight was going to be all about goals, and on 21.13 Jason Ruff scored his second goal of the game unassisted to give the Giants the lead. The Steelers refused to lie down though and five minutes later they clawed back the equaliser, Martin Masa scoring from Rod Sarich. The goals did not stop coming and after less than four minutes the Coors Belfast Giants once again took the lead, with that man Ruff combining with Todd Kelman to set up Matt Reid for a powerplay goal. Three minutes later and the Sheffield Steelers drew level, Warren Tait scoring just as the Giants had killed off a two minute penalty to Ed Courtenay, with the helper again coming from Rod Sarich.

With the clock ticking down on the second period, the Odyssey crowd actually had to wait a full six minutes for another goal with Todd "Killer" Kelman setting up Jason Ruff to slot home his third goal of the night on 39.15. The second period may have looked over, however "Killer" clearly had other ideas and somehow managed to score right on the buzzer at 39.59, a feat he also managed to do a couple of seasons ago. The goal was disputed by the Steelers captain but was eventually given, giving the Giants a two goal cushion for the first time in the game.

Despite the scoreline the Giants could not afford to rest on their laurels as the Steelers came out in the third period with all guns blazing. Their tenacity paid off in the fiftieth minute as they started to claw back the deficit. Neil Abel scoring with the assists going to Rickety Ron Shudra and Rod Sarich (again). This clearly rocked the Giants and less than a minute later the Steelers drew level for the third time, Paul Sample setting up Martin Masa.

The lead may have been surrendered three times, but that did not stop Leigh Jamison from deciding to go on a mazy skate forward past several bemused Steelers and firing the puck on net with the lucky bounce going to Mark Morrison as the puck deflected in off his skates. At 6-5 and with five minutes left the Odyssey crowd could have been forgiven for hoping the Giants had finally secured the win. However with the Steelers outshooting the Giants by a massive 27-6 in the final period, it was no surprise that the Steelers drew level again, Andrew Luciuk squeezing the puck home with only 1.18 left on the clock.

This year the five minute overtime period is decided by a golden goal, whoever scores wins. And based on the previous three periods, either team were capable of securing the two points. Thankfully, the Giants assistant coach, former KotG player of the year and Man Of The Match, Jason Ruff, was on hand to set up Leigh Jamieson for the winning goal.

After such a breathtaking game, one can only ponder if the Coors Belfast Giants will have anything left in the tank as they travel to Nottingham to play today, face-off at 5.00pm.

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