199 goals, 523 points, 1045 PiMs, 23 players, 60 games, 30+ fights and a Monkey kidnapping!

Kick Ass hockey is back in Belfast! So proclaimed the Belfast Giants new GM. Little did we know, for the first while at least it would be our asses getting kicked!

The summer months saw many changes to the Giants line up. Possibly the most since Dave Whistle assembled his first roster way back in 2000. Ed Courtenay was appointed once more as a player coach after his late run in the side last season. Many old faces returned. Local favourites Mark Morrison and Graeme Walton came back for their fifth seasons, Hugh Smyth returned for his first full season, and Leigh Jamieson also signed on for a fifth year.

Replacing former Panther Marc Levers was... former Panther Paul Moran. New British players on the roster were Bari McKenzie, who had lit the lamp many times in the SNL the previous season and Lewis Christie a young Scottish defenceman.What different seasons these 2 scots would have, with Lewis Christie winning over the fans with increasingly mature performances and a memorable goal at the Odyssey while MacKenzie left after a handful of games to Peterborough.

The New GM Kelman was left with a lot of irate fans to deal with early in his reign. Due to ice time availability problems and the associated financial costs of mid week games, Kelman decided to use the new facility in Dundalk in Co Louth. While some welcomed the trip and chance to experience an away game atmosphere only an hour down the road, many were against it. But, no matter the games were to happen, and for the first time in many a year we had pre-season friendlies to be played in the same place.

So off we drove an hour down the road to see the new guys. Our first chance to see Ryan Smith, Troy Neumeier, Carlyle Lewis, Scott Cameron, Trevor Johnson along with the new British players. The opposition was Swedish 2nd tier side Huddinge. We came away without a win, losing 3-5 and drawing 3-3, but the excitement among the fans was tangible. Of the new players Carlyle Lewis was already a hit, his hard nosed style always going to be popular with the Giants fan base. Scott Cameron showed off some nifty moves, and even Ryan Smith impressed some finding the net in both games!

So back to the Odyssey we came for our season opener against the much improved looking Edinburgh Capitals. In a hard fought game, in which Carlyle Lewis and Adam Stefishen set the tone for this rivalry that would continue through the season by dropping the gloves, the Giants snuck a 2-1 win and there we were. Up and running for the season... Or were we?

The next night saw challenge cup action in Cardiff. And not for the first time we got "Vothed", the blonde haired assassin scoring a hat trick in a 7-1 loss. Of the following 12 games, the Giants managed to lose 10, wins in Edinburgh and Hull being the only respite.

The fans were restless. The new guys weren't living up to the hype. Ed Courtenay and Scott Cameron were the only players putting in the performances. Returning goalie Phil DeRouville was having a nightmare, never more so than one game where a puck was thrown at him from the neutral zone for a line change, it took a wicked bounce and in it went.How long could the Cameron and Courtenay show go on? How long could we wait for others to start performing?

Throughout this period there were mitigating circumstances. Many injuries were suffered by the team, as shown only 2 players on the roster played every game this season. Our biggest loss was last season's KotG MVP Roman Gavalier, who took a hit from Brad Voth in the Cardiff loss and missed 20 games. Also out early on was Paul Moran with shoulder trouble, new signing Trevor Johnson with a broken hand and Scott Cameron with a broken ankle, an injury from which he never quite seemed to fully recover.

With the continuing losses and recurring injuries, we saw changes in the line up. Firstly the retired Todd Kelman returned to grace the ice once more. The disappointing Ryan Smith was released and Shaun Sutter arrived to add a sniper's touch to the line up.

But the real turning point to the season was just around the corner. After hearing chants of "Taxi for Courtenay" after a 2-0 loss to Hull in Dundalk left the Giants rooted in tenth spot in the league, the coach knew something had to change. Occasionally some other's misfortune is someone else's gain. Rumours of financial trouble at the Basingstoke Bison and Bracknell Bees of the EPL, both under the same ownership, circulated, with players' wages and suppliers' bills allegedly not being paid. Ed Courtenay saw his chance and the disappointing DeRouville was replaced by British Number 1 Stevie Lyle. Also brought over the Irish Sea was Peter Campbell. Returning to the Giants, originally as injury cover was also a certain Shane Johnson, after spells at Sheffield and Cardiff.

The changes paid immediate dividends, ironically with the opposition provided for not just the first game in a Giants shirt for the 2 former Bisons but the first 2 games in a home and home series played over the same weekend being against their previous employers. The Giants saw an immediate turn around with a 5-3 win in the home game with Lyle turning way 29 shots and adding an assist in a man of the match performance while Pete Campbell notched 2 goals showing the eye for goal we would become accustomed to. Lyle continued his form turning away 38 of 39 shots in Basingstoke for a second successive man of the match performance in a 2-1 win. The Giants first winning streak of the season was officially up and running!

The traditional pre-Christmas Edinburgh double header was as entertaining as always with two of the most enjoyable games of the season. Two wins just made them all the sweeter! The Saturday night not only saw Lewis and Stefishen have a rematch, but also saw a record tied with Giants players partaking in 4 fights in a single game. Paul Moran and Mark Morrison both dropped them for the second consecutive time in Edinburgh, and even Shane Johnson got in on the act. Shaun Sutter showed his eye for goal breaking the record held by Paxton Schulte by notching 5 goals and adding an assist for good measure in a 7-2 victory. This game also saw the debut of Adam Cree, the new 17 year old back up goalie replacing Hugh Smyth who had left due to personal reasons, with Adam making 4 good stops as the game came to a finish.

Another record came the next night in a tighter game with the Giants scoring short handed twice on the same penalty kill to claim a 5-4 win and send the Giants fans home happy.

Despite the fact the team was now off the bottom of the table, things still weren't clicking. A tough loss at home to the Panthers followed with Marc Levers stealing the winner 2-1 in the last minute of the game. And with a trip to Coventry to come, things looked bleak!

But for only the second time in Elite League history the Giants came away from the Skydome with all the points. Stevie Lyle earned his first Giants shut out and another man of the match award as the Giants struck twice in the first period and held on with a fantastic rear guard action. Little did we know what this win would spark...

The Blaze were beaten 3-2 in the Odyssey in over time, with Ed Courtenay scoring the winner and pumping his fist in delight in the direction of the traveling fans. After these 2 great wins over the league leaders, the Vipers (twice), the Capitals (twice), the Devils (thrice), the Steelers, the Panthers (twice), Stingrays (twice), Bison and Phoenix were all sent packing as the team recorded a franchise record 16 game winning streak during which Stevie Lyle was simply outstanding and the team really played some fantastic hockey, highlights including a great game against Manchester finishing 6-2 with the fight fans' moment of the season as Carlyle Lewis went up against Brett Clouthier and then the featherweights Mark Morrison (what was he eating for breakfast this year?) and Luke Stauffacher showing them how to stand and throw them, while Lewis Christie scored his first professional goal! Also noteworthy was George Awada's hat trick in Nottingham for a 6-2 win and Leigh Jamieson notching a first career hat trick in Cardiff.

Coinciding with the upturn in Giants fortunes, GM Kelman finally agreed a deal with the Odyssey to set aside a section of the arena for fans who wished to make some noise to congregate. The drums were finally allowed into the seats, and suddenly were able to drive the fans more in singing. The upturn in fortunes on the ice and the louder crowds seemed to put the smiles back on the faces of the fans in the seats!

The Odyssey Arena returned to Sky Sports in January with the tenth game of the streak featuring on the weekly featured Elite League game shown as live. A large crowd saw a great game with the Giants only claiming the win late on and a feisty game in which the gloves came off 3 times, including those of Mark Dutiaume!

By the end of the run, the Giants were sitting in first place in the league, the first team to have occupied every spot from last to top, going from worst to first. And into town came the arch nemesis... Coventry Blaze for a first v second clash.

In a game that harked back to the ISL days of old, a real ding dong battle took place on Odyssey ice in a game that, despite the result, will be remembered for a long time. The Giants took the game to the Blaze early and in the first period and early in the second had the upper hand. But then... 5 minutes into the second period Dan Carlson popped up and stole the lead for the Blaze with a very lucky bounce of the puck which looped up in the air, caught the shaft of Lyle's stick and dropped agonisingly slowly into the net. The Blaze then took over but towards the end of the period with a delayed penalty being called a scramble in front with Carlyle Lewis getting his stick to a puck and scoring a thoroughly deserved goal on a night when he was owning the Odyssey ice. Moments later and one of the goals of the season from Leigh Jamieson gave us a lead. Through one on zero with Koenig, Jamieson deked him out of his shorts and put the puck in. The Odyssey erupted. But it was not to be. Former Giant Curtis Huppe appeared to sneak one past Lyle with minutes to go and tie the game, and despite the Giants probing the game went to over time. A point against title rivals is not always a bad thing... but to lose the second point was devastating. Neal martin firing a screened shot only 43 seconds into the extra frame past Lyle to send the Blaze into delirium.

How would the Giants respond to this set back in their quest for a second Elite League title? The only way the streaky team knew how! Three defeats in a row! The loss at home to the Steelers however was the killer. It was felt we needed the win to stay in touch with the Blaze. Lose and although still mathematically possible to win, a Steelers win would put them in pole position to chase the Blaze. In one of the most disappointing performance the Giants went down 6-3 at home. The hangover from the Blaze loss continuing. The Blaze ending our streak really seemed to knock the wind out of our sails and we struggled to get back into it from here on in.

With the Giants pretty much out of the title running, the season ended on a bit of a low note, with only 4 wins registered in the last ten regular season games, including a poor performance in Newcastle where the Vipers stole a 4-2 win and perhaps the psychological upper hand in preparation for the playoff quarter final to follow.

All told, the regular season will be remembered for the streaks in my mind. 16 wins in a row, 6, 4 and 3 game losing streaks. The Dundalk experiment has been, and always will be debated to death. I quite enjoyed the odd game down there, but personally hope we are not required to leave our own home too often.

We did leave the Odyssey one more time, using Dundalk for our home leg of our playoff qualifier against the Vipers. A terrible start saw us 0-4 down early on, but somehow, despite playing very poorly, somehow we got a little finger of a grip and pulled it back to 3-5 before heading to Viper Grove the next day.

Once in Newcastle, the momentum shift provided by clawing our way back into the home game continued, and, in what many fans of both sides have described as a great game of playoff hockey, the Giants took an early lead. The Vipers regained their 2 goal advantage soon after, leaving the Giants needing 3 goals to win. In the final period and with 12 minutes to go, one of these goals found the net as Sutter rifled home, and then, with just 4 minutes to go Scott Cameron popped up to tie it up. 5 minutes of overtime was not enough and a penalty shoot out followed.

After 2 penalties each, the Vipers led 2-1. Ed Courtenay, the man who as a player had carried the team for much of the year stepped up needing to score to keep the Giants alive. Up he skated and... the shot was saved. Suddenly, the season was over and Ed Courtenay's tenure as coach was finished. A bitter way to end the season after such a fight back, but sport is cruel at times.

In conclusion, a season that promised so much early on took a while to get going. The streaky team provided some great memories, and some forgettable moments. Some individual performances that can never be forgotten - Ed Courtenay single handedly carrying the team early on. Mark Dutiaume's diversity and hitting, Carlyle Lewis owning the ice against the Blaze, Jamieson's goal v the Blaze, Peter Campbell's goals and smiles, Lyle's hand in the winning streak, the ever impressive endeavours of Mark Morrison, and the incredible work rate of George Awada.

Finally, as always at this time of year we have to be prepared to say goodbye. And we do so to the player coach Ed Courtenay. He leaves the Giants with a record over 3 seasons of 1 league title, 2 playoff semi finals and a playoff quarter final to go with his personal tally of 58 goals, 129 assists for 187 points in 125 games, good for 4th place on the overall points list of the Belfast Giants. He will be missed, but things change, and from now we start to look forward to 2008/9.

Viva!

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