It’s been a while. As time wears on I find myself further and further removed from all things Elite League, yet once in a while circumstances conspire to throw me right back into the lap of British Ice Hockey, and this weekend was one of those times. Belfast was the destination, and a catch-up with my adopted EIHL team the Giants as they took on two different opponents in a home double-header that was vital for them to stay in contention for the league title.

Game 1: Belfast Giants v Dundee Stars

With two games in hand on leaders Nottingham, but trailing by six points, the Giants needed a strong showing in both their weekend fixtures, and they would undoubtedly have felt quietly confident going into the first of these against Gardiner conference side the Dundee Stars.

It was my first viewing of the Stars this season and on paper, they are arguably a far better side under coach Jeff Hutchins than they were last season. They arrived in Northern Ireland having won their last two games, including an impressive win against the Cardiff Devils, and sat second in the Gardiner conference and seventh in the league overall.

It was clear from face-off that Dundee had not made the trip across the Irish sea to make up the numbers – the opening exchanges between the teams hinted that it would be a physical, hard-fought match-up, and that Dundee would be no pushover. Belfast had bested them on both their previous meetings this season but as the first period wore on, it wasn’t clear who were the side pushing for league top spot were. Belfast had a fair amount of pressure but not enough quality chances on goal, and certainly nothing to worry breakout young netminder Nic Riopel, a prospect who I had been excited to view and he lived up to expectation in the opening period.

His teammates acquitted themselves well against the league champions, having their fair share of the play, not afraid to get in amongst it, and they killed a couple of early penalties comfortably.

The deadlock was broken 13 minutes in, just 15 seconds into Dundee’s first powerplay – captain AJ Maclean capitalised on Belfast’s disadvantage, leaving the large contingent of Tayside fans jubilant. Their joy was not to last for long, as Belfast levelled the score within a minute, Daymen Rycroft sniping a clinical first goal for the home side.

The Giants certainly were not having things all their own way, and they would need to up their game in the second period. It looked as though they would do so, Robby Sandrock giving his side the lead with a blistering shot from the blueline on the powerplay less than four minutes in. It started to feel as if it was just a matter of time before they took a stranglehold on the game.

Even more surprising then, that not only did Dundee score the next goal, their second, but 90 seconds later they scored yet again to take the scoreline to 3-2. I’m still not entirely sure where Dundee’s two goals came from – and neither was Stephen Murphy. They came somewhat against the run of play, the visitors launching two electric counter-attacks and making no mistake with their shots to leave their hosts stunned.

The Giants were in disarray, taking a penalty for too many men leaving Dundee on the powerplay again. Something was sadly lacking in the Belfast camp. Powerplays were aimless and unstructured, forward lines seemed to be lacking in chemistry, and there was a distinct lack of quality end product. Darryl Lloyd was the standout Giants player, checking like a steam train as always, battling and creating on every shift. Others faded in and out, Rycroft and Noah Clarke having some good moments, the likes of Colin Shields relatively anonymous.

The teams traded powerplays and Dundee were a force to be reckoned with, checking tightly and not giving the Giants any breathing room. Defenceman Matt Baxter stood out – a big, physical presence for the Stars, involved in many of their positive moves. At the end of the second period, Dundee may not have extended their lead but they had left Belfast scratching their heads, more questions than answers to find in the third period.

The Giants began the third sloppily but quickly took a hold of the game and exerted a period of sustained pressure. Tense times for the Stars and their fans. Lloyd had a breakaway effort that sparked an attack that seemed as though it HAD to result in a goal – it didn’t, but the resulting melee in the goalmouth left the fact in question for some time.

Going the other way, Sami Ryhanen had a breakaway effort of his own, a one-on-one with Murphy that was missed but followed up by Mike Wirll to make it 4-2. The Giants had just 10 minutes remaining to come up with a solution to a problem like Dundee Stars. They had a powerplay, Lloyd once again providing the majority of the pressure, but there was nothing doing.

5 minutes… the time was ticking away and Belfast’s attack was still impotent, key players still conspicuous by their absence and Dundee soaking up the pressure, Nic Riopel’s flair netminding equal to the task. Murphy was pulled for an extra forward as the last ditch effort was launched, but in a sloppy move that typified Belfast’s bad day at the office, the Giants turned over possession to Dundee who scored in the empty net, Mike Wirll claiming his hat-trick and the Stars fans over the moon with a historical away victory, 5-2 the final score.