Giants Bite Back

In previous seasons the Aer Lingus Belfast Giants have travelled to Whitley Bay with an air of in-trepidation. The skating conditions have hampered a number of Giants coaches and teams alike providing a stepping stone to victory for the home team who train there on a regular basis

Doug Christiansen took his side there looking to spring back from a road defeat to the Cardiff Devils last Sunday and claw back points in the second of three consecutive games on the road. This game also continued the Giants Challenge Cup assault, points counting to both League and Cup challenges.

Danny Stewarts new look Vipers side have struggled to gain momentum early in the season, despite gaining plaudits for their tenacity, a trait akin to the new coaches own playing style. But it was the visitors who came out of the blocks with aplomb.

The Giants gained a majority of the puck in the early exchanges, giving Vipers netminder Charlie Effinger plenty to think about as the Vipers defense struggled to keep the shot count to a minimum.

It didn't take long for the the netminders resolve to be punctured however, with Nathan Salem serving a 2 minute minor for what his coach referred to in the post match press conference as a "stupidly needless slash". The Giants powerplay unit bided their time before Jon Gleed found Tim Cook standing lonely the edge of the left circle. Cooks strike was clean and Effinger might have wanted to get a glove to it, but Cooks lift on the puck struck the top shelf to open the scoring after only 7 minutes

Mike Hoffman stood out among the Giants as a leader, and one that the Vipers had difficulty containing. It was he who struck 6 minutes later. In a scrappy defensive movement by the Vipers, Hoffman was provided the puck on the right boards, thanks to some some gritty play by Colin Hemmingway and Josh Prudden. But it was Hoffmans own power and determination that brought him to the edge of the Vipers crease. Showing great strength and skill he dug the puck round no less than 3 of the home team skaters before doubling the Giants advantage leading into the period break.

The Giants continued to control play in the second, and 7 minutes into the stanza Mark Garside provided the goal of the night. A period of even strength play by the Giants looked more like a powerplay as the Vipers struggled to clear their zone. Craig Peacock found his GB counterpart skating free on the right of goal. Garside's poise and control were superb as he held the puck on the back of his stickblade wanting for Effinger to commit. A move that happened in mere seconds felt like slow motion as Garside glided on his skates closer to the goal line, puck glued to ice and stick. It was the Viper who blinked first dropping to the ice and no where close to his near side post. Garside was left with an impossibly acute angle to finish. But the former Edinburgh Capital lifted the puck on the backhand and finished brilliantly in the side of the net skimming the slightest flake of paint off the metal work.

The second was marred by a strike to Giants defenseman Jeffrey Mason, a hand injury requiring the attention of the Vipers on-site medical staff as the period drew to a close. Mason did return to the ice, though his shifts were limited, and further tests will be required to fathom the depth of the damage.

The final twenty minutes were of mixed fortunes for both sides. The Vipers game plan changed to one of guile. A tactic that was seen to try and "rough up" the rampant Giants side and throw their fluent game off centre. Stewarts own penchant for action "behind the play" saw the coach rile a number of the Giants more normally level heads. And it was Dan Welch and Jaime Carroll who tussled off the puck, the Belfast forwards helmet being taken off in the move. Welsh received an extra 2 minutes for following up his initial actions, but the Vipers powerplay lacked effect as it had done the night through.

Brett Hemmingway had stretched the Giants advantage within 2 minutes of the period beginning, the puck barely even skimming the Giants own blueline in that time, Colin Shields found Hemmingway who fired it into the back of the net and pushed the result in clearer water. And it was Hoffman who gained his second of the night to make it 5-0 under 60 seconds later, spinning and firing in front of net.

For all their hard work the Vipers showed a distinct lack of clear chances. The shot count told the story of the Vipers misfiring attack. Single figures in each period, 5 in the first, 3 in the second and only 6 shots in the third proved that Steven Murphy had little work to do as the Giants defense coped admirably with all the Vipers could muster.

It was maybe this lack of puck work that led to Murphy's unfortunate involvement in the Vipers final breakthrough. The Vipers tempo raised they worked hard to get the puck to Stewart. Stewarts shot was poor but Murphy was unable to control the weak strike and spilled the puck into his own crease. It was Vipers new captain, former Giants Paul Sample, who was ready at the back post to tap home the puck and finally give the home crowd something to shout about.

The Giants foot came off the gas and the Vipers pushed more and more into the final period. Patrik Forsbacka having been a standout player moving forward was found in the right circle all alone by a Toms Hartmanis pass. Forsbacka had all the time in the world to set himself and fire a rasping slapshot into the back of the Giants goal to make it 5-2. The Giants once again struggling to have their leads slowly ebbed away.

However the Giants lead this time proved more formidable than the 2 goal advantages that were conceded in the past few weeks and Richard Seeley was top top things off with under 90 seconds left in the game. His strike from the point through traffic caught Effinger unsighted and flew sweetly throughout eye of the needle to end the game. Mike Hoffman, sealing a Man of the Match performance, finding his counterpart with the pass as the Giants Powerplay unit settled while Scott Langdon sat thinking about his slashing call in the Vipers penalty box

A confident and fluent performance from the Giants should please Christiansen a great deal, while Danny Stewarts post match comments turned to a warning that passengers in his Vipers side will not be tolerated.

The Giants finish their road trip in Dundee, aiming for 4 points from 6 in their second multi-game road trip of the month. While Mike Hoffman travels for a head to head comparison against his predecessor in the Giants enforcement role, Sean McMorrow. Few will have any doubt, however, who has provided to date a more fruitful contribution to the outcome of the Giants on-ice fortunes.

Patrick Smyth

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