Kingdom Of The Giants :: Belfast Giants Fan Community, News & Views
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07-Feb-2008
It’s another crunch weekend in the BMI Baby Elite Ice Hockey League. The race is still on to catch the Coventry Blaze and Friday see’s two of their closest contenders face off at the Odyssey Arena. The Coors Belfast Giants are hoping to bounce back from disappointing defeats to both Manchester and Coventry and regain the form that seen them hold a 16 game unbeaten run up until last Saturday night.
Friday sees the visit of the Sheffield Steelers to Belfast for the first time since November. David Matsos’ team currently stand 3rd, 4 points behind the Giants, but with enough games in hand to overhaul Belfast into 2nd place. They have recently welcomed the return of Dan Tessier, the forward returning to the UK after another unsuccessful stint in Continental Europe. The Yorkshire Club have also received a boost with the return from injury of British Forward Ashley Tait. Tait was out for a number of weeks following a much maligned hit from Cardiff tough guy Brad Voth, but his return has sparked the Steelers to life and back in the title hunt.
A big factor in Friday’s game will be the condition of a number of British players who have been on international duty this week with Team GB+NI. Paul Thompson has led the National Team to Morzine, France for the IIHF Euro Ice Hockey Challenge”, where they began a successful campaign with a win over Lithuania and a close defeat at the hands of Pool A country Norway. Good performances have been highlighted in Belfast players Stevie Lyle, back at the rink of his former French club side, Graeme Walton and Leigh Jamieson, who scored the 2nd goal against Norway. With Friday’s game being the 3rd for these players in 4 days, Sheffield will hope the schedule will not have an adverse effect on their players, a bulk of their British lines were part of the travelling number. Captain Jonathon Phillips, Warren Tait and his brother Ashley, Mark Thomas and Jason Hewitt were all part of Thompson’s squad in Morzine, so their fitness will really come to the test as they arrive in Belfast.
Both Belfast and Sheffield players part with the team today to fly back home for Fridays game, while both sets of fans are hoping the players will be in fit shape to put on an intense game. Both clubs need the points to keep the pressure on the Blaze who despite a slip up a few weeks ago, have climbed back to winning ways following a scraped OT win in the Odyssey Arena.
Following this game the Giants have a week of rest before 3 road games over 2 weeks and their next home fixture will once again be the Sheffield Steelers toward the end of the month. This will allow Coventry to catch up their games in hand and give a more realistic view of the League table as the regular season winds to an end. The show isn’t over yet, however Friday’s game will give the leading teams a more accurate idea of who exactly is in the hunt.
Patrick Smyth
Live Scores
League Standings
| P | TEAM | GP | W(OT) | L(OT) | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blaze | 54 | 36(5) | 11(2) | 84 |
| 2 | Steelers | 54 | 33(5) | 14(2) | 78 |
| 3 | Panthers | 54 | 30(3) | 18(3) | 69 |
| 4 | Giants | 54 | 29(4) | 19(2) | 68 |
| 5 | Vipers | 54 | 24(4) | 22(4) | 60 |
| 6 | Devils | 54 | 23(3) | 25(3) | 55 |
| 7 | Phoenix | 54 | 20(3) | 28(3) | 49 |
| 8 | Capitals | 54 | 16(3) | 32(3) | 41 |
| 9 | Bison | 54 | 13(3) | 33(5) | 37 |
| 10 | Stingrays | 54 | 12(1) | 34(7) | 33 |