Believe?

Well the dust has settled on a truly horrific night in the Odyssey Arena, and who would have thought it, but 24 hours later we're all still alive! That would have seemed far fetched at 10 pm last night when hundreds of angry Kingdomites were having their doctors fill out cyanide prescriptions. Even coach Thornton was dumbfounded as he described the aftermath of the 6-5 penalty shot loss to Newcastle as "most embarrassed I've ever been in my pro career". It was refreshing to see a coach face the cameras and not reel off a litany of well rehearsed excuses and instead tell it like it was. Thornton was obviously concerned for his own position as head coach and threatened big changes in the coming weeks. It is for precisely this reason that he should be given time to sort out a squad that has so much potential and yet has flattered to deceive for the first half of the EIHL season.

This season has been as confusing as last season was frustrating, with great wins like mid-January's 9-0 humping of Edinburgh interspersed with cringe-worthy loses like Saturday's 3-2 road loss to Hull. All this has facilitated the Giants failure to capitalise on Coventry's mid-season blip, which has seen them lose to Edinburgh twice and Nottingham in the space of ten days.

The fans' frustrations are easy to appreciate. Whilst Coach Thornton has put together a roster with the potential to bring home the Monteith Bowl for only a second time in the club's history, championship-level performances have been few and far between. Perhaps what is most frustrating is that the problems appear to be entirely self-evident, with the powerplay the most obvious cause for concern. Although the statistics on the one-man advantage have improved drastically over the last two weeks, this does not tell the full story of system which puts more emphasis on creating space than actually shooting at the net. While the Giants' tend to dominate possession of the puck and keep the opposition pinned down while they are a man up, the main shooting opportunities are falling to defensive players positioned at the point of the attack. The puck also tends to stay in a central position, between each face-off circle. As a result, the opposition's defense is rarely stretched wide enough to create real open-ice shooting chances. If the puck was worked from side-to-side it would surely create more cracks in the opposition defense. It is up to Coach Thornton and his team to reconstruct the powerplay tactics in a way that makes things harder for the defense.

Almost of equal importance is the number of short-handed goals given up while the Giants are supposed to be doing damage at the other end of the ice. Short-handed goals have cost the team dearly in the last seven days, with Cardiff (Challenge Cup), Hull and Newcastle (EIHL) all helping themselves to crucial scores. While it would be improper to suggest that the only reason for our recent demises have been the inability of our attack to function, it is true that conceeding from a position of significant advantage has helped the team lose out on a place in the Challenge Cup Final, as well as two league points this weekend. Coach Thornton must address these issues in order for the team to progress in the last third of the season.

Although many fans have instinctively called for changes following last night's embarassing reversal, it would be prudent to consider the facts before jumping to conclusions. Coach Thornton knows that things need changing. He has acknowledged as much, and now he must deliver. Thornton was a great hockey player and is a coach with great potential. His scouting system is second to none in the Elite League and the players that he has put in teal and white have, for the most part, seen their personal stars rise as a result of his faith in them. That is surely the case with a number of Giants players on the current roster Colin Shields, Craig Peacock, Pat Bateman and Steven Murphy to name but four who have shone this year. However, great scouting does not automatically translate into great results, and now Coach Thornton must show his resolve to make great players into a great team. Few would argue that the class and skill is already there, and now the team must develop the intagible elements that are needed to win trophies. There would be no better place to start than taking four points from the Nottingham Panthers this weekend when the Midlands outfit arrive for what is surely a do or die series for the Giants. Two victories would see the Giants close within two points of the Elite League leaders, with two games in hand.

As a player, Coach Thornton thrived under pressure and now in the Land of the Giants, the fans must believe he can do the same as a coach.

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