So far, so decent enough for the Giants.
Except for against Dundee. Has Kevin Dufour tried proper bakery potato bread by any chance?
He’s maybe had potato “cake”, but he needs to come to Northern Ireland and taste the real thing. Throw in a loaf of Veda too. He’d love it here.
File under, “How can English people spell the word “bap” so spectacularly wrong all the time?”
*****
With their Challenge Cup group complete, Belfast’s focus turned to a busy league schedule in November, including a home-and-home series against the Blaze, two double-header tests on the road in Nottingham and Cardiff, and a first trip of the season to Sheffield.
The fourth-placed Giants and third-placed Blaze had both won their previous four league games before their first tilt, albeit with Coventry suffering two Challenge Cup overtime losses mixed into their run. The Blaze had also just enjoyed an excellent four point weekend over Sheffield and Nottingham.
The Giants drew first blood despite missing the injured Jean Dupuy, after a run-and-gun first period was shut down in the second and third to earn a 4-1 win.
The game in Coventry was a barn burner. David Broll and Kevin Raine trading pairs of goals is not a regular occurrence, with the Giants eventually edging the first period by the odd goal in seven. Everyone calmed the bap* after that, with the Giants eventually skating off with a 3-6 win and a four point weekend.
*Norn Irish for “calmed down”, for those not inclined. So it’s a more versatile word than, “cob” too…
Belfast were now on a six-game winning streak and level on points with league leaders Sheffield, having played three games less. Before the next test in Nottingham Coach Keefe would also add defensive cover in the shape of Ryan Lowney, after both Patrick Mullen and Jesse Forsberg had lost several games to injury.
Scoring ten goals and conceding four against Coventry. A signing from a position of strength just as they topped the table. The inconsistencies of the previous month looking to be behind the Northern Irish side.
Aye, the EIHL title defence was looking decent enough for the Giants.
What Goes Up…
Leading into the double-header, the Panthers had amassed three wins on the trot, including two tight defensive wins against the Manchester Storm. They were improving, but the Giants could be confident in their own form going into the weekend.
In my preview for these games, I mentioned that the Panthers had started to generate more chances around the goaltender’s crease after bringing in Jake Hansen and Julien Talbot, and that Belfast’s run of form also coincided with the Giants getting to the slot more often.
One team continued to be dangerous in and around the crease on the first night. One did not.
An excellent performance from the Panthers combined with defensive lapses from the Giants created a perfect storm for Belfast, even leading to Coach Keefe calling an angry time-out after the second Panthers goal.
Understandable, after letting Brian Connelly carve through the neutral zone unopposed. Not the player you want to give a free ride to in possession. Both the second and fourth goals came from defensive errors against Connelly’s skating, though the second was well worked by the Panthers. In truth Nottingham’s pressure caused a mistake on each goal conceded.
The game statistics back up the eye test. The Giants actually outshot the Panthers overall, but Nottingham put more shots on net. They were the more dangerous side and deserved the win. The Giants would have to be better.
*****
Belfast ramped up the physicality to start the second game. Three minutes in and Matt Pelech tried to build the energy further by making a beeline for Guy Lepine, after the Panther had narrowly missed smashing Ben Lake through the plexiglass at the Panthers blueline. The ensuing fight took both men out of the game until the start of the second period.
A Teal penalty soon after negated any boost the fight might have given the Giants, and they were flat in 5-on-5 play. Bobby Farnham got his own fight with Josh Tetlow with six minutes to go in the period, but little changed. The period ended with both defences on top, with the Panthers again creating the more dangerous chances.
The Giants improved in the second period, forcing more offensive zone time, but most of their shots were still low danger chances. Just after thirty minutes Nottingham broke that pressure. A board battle won behind the net on the forecheck, a banked pass low to high in the zone, and Mark Matheson wrong-footed a defenceman and unleashed a screened wristshot from the point past Owen.
The Giants regrouped, but the period would end 1-0 Panthers.
The third period saw Patryk Wronka moved around the lines to try and spark some offence, but the Panthers continued to stifle Belfast. The Giants’ night was summed up by Mark Garside taking a puck to the face straight after a solid penalty kill, costing him ten minutes of game time. A powerplay with ten minutes to go produced one or two looks, but again the Panthers gave the Giants very little to work with.
You always get one chance though. A pulled goalie, a Pelech rush, a pass to Liam Morgan on the right wing, a shot that rebounds to Jordan Smotherman, a gaping net…
Brett Bulmer gave his best Jonathan Boxill impression, a sliding block stopping the equaliser. Not this time.
Sam Herr’s empty-netter gave Kevin Carr his first shutout in front of a disciplined defensive effort from the Panthers, and handed a pointless weekend to a disjointed Giants side. Frustrating, but it was still only November.
*****
Further losses to Dundee at home and Coventry away would come the following weekend, reversing the Giants’ good form into a four game losing streak.
Coach Keefe had already shuffle the deck. On 18th November pre-season opponent David Goodwin arrived from Mora IK to inject some speed and scoring into the line-up. The next day, Jean Dupuy and Jesse Forsberg were officially released.
Forsberg came into and out of the Belfast line-up due to injuries, only suiting up for nine domestic and three Champions Hockey League games in total. He provided glimpses of his ability, but he never seemed to settle after his early injury against Liberec. He only iced once for the Giants after Lowney’s arrival on Belfast’s blueline.
Dupuy added 7 points in 20 games for Belfast, playing more of a defensive role. He failed to make an impact on games at times and struggled in the face-off dots, although to be fair most of the Giants’ centres had trouble with this facet of the game over the season. Goodwin would ultimately affirm Keefe’s faith in him, adding 29 points in 34 games for the club.
Into Hades
Goodwin’s induction into EIHL life? A double-header in the Kyle Baun Arena in Cardiff.
A four game losing streak was not ideal preparation for skating into Ice Arena Wales, but Cardiff had been dealing with their own inconsistencies. November’s form of two wins and three losses had been partly salvaged by two further wins leading into this weekend, but neither team were setting the league alight.
Oh, and some bloke called Riley was playing for the Devils.
Never heard of him.
Night one, and the Giants netted three powerplay goals to race to a 3-0 lead before half-way, with Goodwin adding an assist on his debut.
Defensive lapses re-emerged in 5-on-5 play. With a team as good as the Devils not needing to be asked twice, they tied the game 3-3 during a magical 5.29 spell in the third period. Their second was scored by *checks notes* Blair Riley.
Okay, might have heard of him.
To overtime, and a great pass from Lowney to an already streaking Bobby Farnham. Farnham deked Bowns and scored the overtime winner to cement his growing reputation amongst the Giants faithful. A great game of hockey to pick up two points from.
To Sunday. There is hope in a reshuffled Giants team looking good so far, mixed with the trepidation from the memory of earlier split weekends.
The teams trade powerplay goals in the first period. Into the second, and the Giants pull away into a 3-1 lead.
Third period. Here comes the comeback. The Devils always do that.
Not this time. The Giants add another. 4-1 win.
Four points from the Bay. Time to kick on.
*****
Two big results to get the team right back on track and build momentum after a tough few weeks, wouldn’t you agree?
Wednesday 27.11.2019
Sheffield Steelers 5:0 Belfast Giants
Saturday 30.11.2019
Fife Flyers 5:1 Belfast Giants
Ahh.
Maybe they were watching the Friendship Four.
Maybe they thought we wouldn’t notice if we were all watching the Friendship Four.
To be fair, it worked. I don’t really remember much about these two poor results, but the Friendship Four was excellent again.
The NeverEnding Group Stage
While the main EIHL focus remained on the league, the Challenge Cup goup stage was trundling on through November.
Group C was the closer of the two groups still to be decided. An 8-2 win over the Storm on 30th October saw the Steelers qualify, but Manchester and Nottingham remained level on six points and would contest a home-and-home series in the first weekend of November to go through. The Panthers won both games 4-1 and 1-3 to progress and send the Storm to the newly implemented play-in game between the bottom two teams in Groups B and C.
Guildford had impressed in October’s Group B games, earning early qualification. Cardiff’s shoot-out win on 30th October banished Coventry to meet Manchester for the last quarter-final slot.
After spanning nearly three months, the Storm won the game on 20th November 2-3 in an entertaining clash to finally end the group stage and set up the draw for the Quarter-finals.
November Standings
As much as the Giants strained to a 4-6 record through November, most of their title rivals didn’t do much better. Cardiff posted 5-4-1 results, while Sheffield split five wins and five losses. A missed opportunity to gain ground on their rivals perhaps.
Then again, November’s results further highlighted the parity up and down the table. Nottingham beat Belfast twice, Belfast beat Cardiff twice, Cardiff beat Sheffield twice, and Sheffield beat Coventry twice.
The Panthers were the main beneficiaries of their opponents’ woes, claiming nine out of the ten league points available to them during the month.
Coventry… Coventry went 2-6.
Guildford split two games with Sheffield and beat Glasgow, Coventry and Cardiff, winning four and losing three overall. Glasgow finished November with the same record.
Teams in the bottom half of the league table all had wins against the teams in the top half of the table too. Anyone putting a run of results together could still push themselves to the top of the standings.
| P | W | OTW | L | OT/SOL | PTS | PTS % | |
| Sheffield Steelers | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 26 | 59.09% |
| Cardiff Devils | 18 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 63.89% |
| Glasgow Clan | 19 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 60.53% |
| Belfast Giants | 19 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 57.89% |
| Nottingham Panthers | 18 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 20 | 55.56% |
| Fife Flyers | 20 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 20 | 50.00% |
| Coventry Blaze | 19 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 18 | 47.37% |
| Guildford Flames | 17 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 52.94% |
| Dundee Stars | 20 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 37.50% |
| Manchester Storm | 18 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 41.67% |
I’ll Be On My Way…
Into December. A Belfast away win in Dundee led into an important double-header against the Sheffield Steelers.
Christmas markets and friendships across hockey divides were all part of the craic over the course of the weekend. The Giants, the Steelers and the Blaze were all represented. Even another Cat’s Whisker was in town for the festivities.
First up though? Retro Night™.
When we first, saw, this.
I’ve been supporting the Belfast Giants for thirteen or so years now. I followed the early years, but I didn’t really venture up to the O for a few games until some guy called Theo rocked up.
I had more interactions with Giants fans in Belfast coffee shops when they mistook me for Ed Courtenay, than I did at games I attended.
I loved hearing the stories of the early days when I started going regularly, but that was all they were, stories of the history of the club.
I was rushing to get to the rink that night and just about got to my seat in time for the start of the video.
I was grinning from the first shot of the O being built. The first lyrics. Schulte, Hoad, Whistle. The pillars of the club I knew, but didn’t really know, not until later.
Then, a jersey I know. Leigh Jamieson skating into the bench celebrating.
It was odd. I was never this emotional about Leigh Jamieson before.
Pete Campbell and Carlyle Lewis’ numbers skate into focus.
Thornts. Wally.
Awada. The 2009 Challenge Cup.
Mo.
Peaks.
Chevy.
Someone was talking to me, but I couldn’t tell you what they said. It was just me and the video.
Clip, after clip, after clip, after clip.
The friendships, the faces around the rink, the highs and lows of following the team.
Those we’ve lost along the way.
Clip after clip. A story behind all of them.
The big nights. The away trips.
The people I have met around the league, in Nottingham, Sheffield, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff.
Everything came back.
Every Giant’s fan, whether you’re a first night veteran or if last season was your entry point, you likely have some connection to that video. A little bit of you is in it.
The Giants have always been more than a sports team. They’ve given so much to so many people here. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think it is. The song pulls on the heart strings a bit too, sure. But it’s perfect. This video is a special tribute to a special team.
Liam Reddox scored after twenty-two seconds that night.
We were never losing that game.
…Or We Could Stay In
Quick trivia question: What did the 2001-02, 2013-14, 2018-19 Belfast Giants squads all have in common? Answer shortly.
Retro Night served up a dominant 6-2 win over Sheffield. A win on night two would see the Giants go level on points with the Steelers again, still with three games in hand.
The result?
Belfast 0-4 Sheffield.
Clearly unconnected trivia answer: Consistency.
It wasn’t pretty. And to make matters worse it was teddy bear toss night. That extra energy of the bears raining down with the crowd celebrating the home team’s first goal was replaced with a despondent shower during a muted break in play in the third period.
Operationally that was maybe necessary, but it did feel like we were admitting we weren’t going to score that night, with time still on the clock. The final score might show it was the right call… but not our finest moment.
Maybe the odds were always stacked against the Giants. It was also “Retro Skate with the Giants” night.
The curse continues. We never had a chance.
Reigning and Defending
The Giants had to regroup quickly, with the first leg of their Challenge Cup quarter-final just four days later.
I didn’t go with the obvious Kevin Raine pun in the title here because he missed the game, his second in a row after being unavailable for the defeat to Sheffield. He would not return to the Giants line-up until 04th January against Coventry. The Giants still had six defencemen, but Raine would be a big loss.
Both teams contributed to probably one of the most entertaining 1-0 games you’ll see, another great tactical battle between Coach Keefe and Andrew Lord. The Devils’ dump and forecheck game forced the Giants defence to chase a lot of pucks, but Belfast improved as the game wore on and created some great chances off the rush. They deserved something out of the game. The difference came down to a legitimate snipe from Joey Martin just as a penalty expired against a fatigued Giants PK unit.
A good bounce back game for the Giants, a good road win for the Devils. Both teams could be content, with all still to play for in Cardiff.
*****
The Giants announced the signing of another import before the second leg, adding the skilful Rickard Palmberg from Berani Zlin of the Czech Extraliga to the Giants forward group. Another Giants signing, another debut in Cardiff Bay.
Alongside Raine, Patryk Wronka would be an eyebrow-raising absence from the match-day roster.
Both teams brought intensity to the early moments of the game, Pelech flooring Mike McNamee, Matt Myers flooring Pelech in turn. Another good game was in prospect. But defensive lapses would see the ice tilt in the Devils’ favour, and they skated into the first break leading 2-0 on the night.
Belfast’s response in the second period was to continue to be outworked below the goal line, leading to being outworked on a powerplay and giving up a third goal to Joey Martin. The Giants then took a too many men penalty fifty seconds later on the same powerplay for good measure. Night and day compared to the first leg.
The third period? Cardiff played the game out and Belfast got grumpy, the usual blowout fayre.
The Giants played an extra game between the two legs, playing four games in eight days to Cardiff’s three, which had an effect, but the Devils brought their intensity from the first leg and the Giants couldn’t match it.
A tired Giants team making mental mistakes on defence combined with a Devils team in full flight was only going to end one way. Cardiff advanced to the Semi-finals alongside Nottingham, Glasgow and Sheffield.
*****
The Challenge Cup has it’s detractors, with the early group games sometimes seen as an extension of pre-season. The groups being played in November and December, Quarter-finals in January, Semi-finals in February and the Final in March would streamline the competition. I do like the Final being played at the start of March, as I think if a team is gunning for a Grand Slam they should have to run the gauntlet at the end of the season to earn it.
But with every league game counting towards the main championship in the UK, I think the teams are probably happy with the group games where they are.
I’ve always enjoyed it, it has given me some of my fondest memories of following the Giants. Mike Burgoyne going coast-to-coast in 2009 on St. Patrick’s Day, those celebrations in Dundonald ice rink and back in Rockies, and the two recent Cup wins and their celebrations are all special for their own reasons.
So it hurt to lose the trophy, and it hurt to get knocked out by the Devils considering they’ve been our biggest rival for honours these past few years. We’ll be looking it back next year.
*****
Belfast did beat Dundee and Glasgow between the two Cup legs to keep their league title defence ticking over.
Coach Keefe was still looking for more from his roster though, and one last player would leave the squad on 20th December. Patryk Wronka.
By now Wronka was still contributing through his transition game, but was not putting up the points he was expected to bring from Katowice.
He totalled 14 points in 31 domestic games, adding two goals and an assist in the CHL. Coach Keefe spoke about Wronka making other players better when he signed him, so you would expect to see more than 11 assists in all competitions.
I had a short Twitter conversation last year with the brains behind the excellent Magnus Corsi tableau page, an analytics project covering the French Ligue Magnus, who were able to sum up Wronka’s season pretty well:
I highly recommend checking out the site, it’s a fascinating deep dive into the analytics side of the game.
That points per season equivalent in the Ligue Magnus includes both Belfast and Gap, and, well, that’s where he ended his career in Belfast, playing an effective third line transition game instead of being the first line scorer that the Giants signed him to be.
I was a big fan of his signing, and it’s a shame it didn’t work out after he started off so well in the CHL, but it’s hard to argue with the results..
Wronka’s replacement would be announced that same day with the signing of Elgin Pearce from Dundee. Pearce’s more direct style added 21 points in 24 games by season’s end, so much like the Lowney and Goodwin additions it’s fair to say that yet again the replacement Coach Keefe brought in arguably made the team better.
Pre-Christmas Standings
| P | W | OTW | L | OT/SOL | PTS | PTS % | |
| Sheffield Steelers | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 32 | 61.54% |
| Cardiff Devils | 22 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 68.18% |
| Belfast Giants | 24 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 30 | 62.50% |
| Guildford Flames | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 63.64% |
| Nottingham Panthers | 24 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 26 | 54.17% |
| Glasgow Clan | 24 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 25 | 52.08% |
| Coventry Blaze | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 50.00% |
| Fife Flyers | 25 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 22 | 44.00% |
| Manchester Storm | 24 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 20 | 41.67% |
| Dundee Stars | 25 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 15 | 30.00% |
Pearce would impress on his debut the next night at home against… Yep, basically Adam Keefe was just throwing players at the Cardiff Devils at this point.
The Devils won again to beat the Giants for the first time in league play. The Giants regrouped to win their last game before the Christmas break in Fife, to end a mammoth six games in eleven days run.
They added two wins against Glasgow and a loss to Dundee before the New Year to end December with a 7-3 league record.
The Devils and Steelers had bounced back from the previous month’s .500 hockey to 8-0-1 and 8-1 records respectively. Nottingham continued at a 7-4 pace, while Coventry recovered from their rough November with an improving 4-3-3 record.
The Flames actually started well in December, with a better 6-2-1 overall record, but a poor festive period scuppered my prediction of Guildford having the best record over Christmas and scuttled their own championship hopes.
Early leaders Glasgow imploded, with a 2-8 record in the month of December taking them out of contention.
*****
A refreshed Giants side had lost ground to the surging Devils and Steelers, but overall their form was still reasonably good. Splitting the Steelers double-header and losing to Cardiff both in the league and the Cup hurt, but three wins against a free-falling Clan side had kept the team in the hunt to retain their league title.
Could the Giants keep up Coach Keefe’s record of winning a trophy in every season as coach for another year?
FC Hockey Media 