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.

(Catch Katy’s take on Game 1 here)

Game 2: Belfast Giants v Coventry Blaze

The last time I saw these two teams face one another, what ensued happened to be nothing short of the best hockey match I have ever been privileged enough to witness. Was I wrong to have high hopes for tonight’s rematch? It was unlikely to live up the brilliance of ‘that’ meeting at the Skydome back in October, but at the same time, it had potential. Belfast’s poor showing against Dundee the night before made tonight even more important to them – a loss tonight could potentially be a turning point in the season and see them kiss goodbye to their precious league title.

Add a little spice to the mix in the return of Brian Jurynec and Derek Campbell and the physical element of the game could not be underestimated. This could be a feisty, fiery and fierce encounter – it seemed unlikely it could rival the fireworks of the October meeting, but it was not out of the question.

Belfast had to come out fighting, and there were signs early on that the friction between these two sides was very much alive and kicking. There was plenty of niggles right from the off, hits aplenty and accelerating tension. There were not a great deal of early chances but it was clear that this game had plenty of twists and turns to play out.

The teams traded penalties, neither side able to capitalise on their powerplay, Coventry looking the more likely to score as the Giants continued to struggle with their special teams, and the Blaze were first to get off the mark, an even-handed goal scored by returnee Derek Campbell. This was quickly followed up by a second Blaze goal, a sniper shot from nowhere scored by Brad Leeb. Coventry were on the march, Dustin Cameron beginning to show his skill particularly on the powerplay. The man has a beautiful set of hands. As for the Giants, all was not well in the Odyssey camp. Crowd morale was low, Stephen Murphy looked jittery, and they were two goals down once again – could this be the weekend the champions gave away their crown to the Panthers?

Not if Robby Sandrock had anything to do with it – he seemed to have had a personality transplant and had turned into Darryl Lloyd, desperately trying to rile up his side by throwing hits left, right and centre. Would it be enough to get the Giants going in the second period?

Said period started by delivering what the tetchy, niggly first period had promised. Just a minute in, Giants defenceman Davey Phillips tied up Dustin Cameron behind the Giants goal – the altercation resulted in a fight. Cameron took an easy win but was Phillips taking one for the team? Removing Cameron from the ice for five minutes would certainly do the home side no harm.

Just half a minute later at the other end Captain Adam Keefe couldn’t resist throwing himself into the blood and thunder spirit of the game, practically dragging old adversary Brian Jurynec into a protracted fight following a mass scrum in front of goal. The fight was great value for money, lasting quite some time but bringing Keefe a ten minute instigator penalty in addition to the five for fighting.

Despite literally fighting to remain in the contest, nothing could stem the flow of Blaze goals as they slotted home once again on the resulting powerplay, leaving the Giants reeling once again. It seemed as though the wheels had truly come off of their title defence campaign and fans were left shaking their heads as despite conceding penalty after penalty, the home side could not make the man advantage pay.

Belfast’s powerplay had been woeful all weekend, with precious little in the way of movement or creativity, and the Blaze, like Dundee yesterday, were solid on the penalty kill. Slowly but surely however, they started to up the pace, pull together and after a few unlucky misses, more than one coming off the woodwork, the Giants powerplay finally yielded a goal. After almost six minutes of 5-on-4 play, Mark Garside spared the Giants their blushes as they finally got off the mark. The fact the house DJ played ‘Hallelujah’ instead of the regular goal music goes some way to reflecting the frustration in the building.

Finally the Giants had joined the party, and now back at 5-on-5 the game could pick up where it had left off, the niggling, hitting and general aggression right back on the menu. Robby Sandrock and Benn Olson DIDN’T fight despite going through most of the motions and both sat for mutual slashing. Belfast finally started getting some decent shots away but Peter Hirsch had no problem covering them and with one period remaining, the score sat at 3-1 Blaze.

The third period continued in the same vein, with the Giants exerting most of the pressure as the hard-working Blaze presumably started to feel the exertions of playing the majority of the second period short-handed. There was still plenty of physical stuff, Keefe and Olson chirping one another almost constantly, the two of them like magnets for one another on the ice, although nothing came of the conflict in the end. Clearly they are fond of one another, really.

It seemed as though Belfast would never find a way through, that they were destined to endure a pointless weekend in their own barn , but lo and behold if they didn’t score again from a powerplay, Greg Stewart not messing about to bring his side within one goal of the tying the game. Game officially back on.

The third goal you could feel coming. Blaze were tiring up, sitting too deep, no longer taking the game to the Giants. The sting was sure to come and with just 6 minutes remaining in the period, it arrived, courtesy of newest addition to the squad Kevin Saurette, who took a simple clean goal from a neat Greg Stewart pass. A tied game. Would Belfast be able to hammer home their alarming change in momentum and finish the game off in regular time?

With less than five minutes remaining, Greg Stewart took out Peter Hirsch seemingly by accident, but the penalty was given and luckily for the Blaze, the resulting powerplay is probably what kept them in the game and assured them of a point. They hung on by the skin of their teeth, and we were going to overtime.

The five minutes was played at breakneck speed, end to end with even more hits, neither team wanting to give up after a fantastic battle. Almost fittingly, the game would be decided on penalty shots. Even they took some time, Robby Sandrock the only scorer for the Giants, but he scored his second penalty to take the win for Belfast and complete an incredible comeback. Doug Christiansen must have sold his soul to the hockey gods for that one, and the Blaze would be right to feel somewhat aggrieved; it wasn’t quite a mugging but they would certainly have hoped for more than just the one point given their strong showing in the first two periods.

So did it live up to ‘that’ game back at the Skydome in October? Well, yes, almost. It was the second most entertaining game I’ve seen this season which says it all. What is it about these two teams? Where hockey is concerned they are a match made in heaven. A perfect pair. Whereas Belfast and Sheffield tend to neutralise one another with heavily disciplined, systems-based styles of play, when the Blaze bring their hard-working, physical yet quick and skilful game to town, Belfast cannot resist the challenge. Blaze are breathing life into the Elite League this season and I for one hope they go on to make the play-off finals weekend – it would be a poorer show without them.

As for Belfast, they still have an uphill struggle ahead of them if they hope to retain their precious league title. With just one game in hand and still six points adrift of contenders the Nottingham Panthers, the Giants are going to have to win every remaining game and hope one or two sides upset the Panthers to even have a chance at reaching the promised land for a second successive season. And with an injury to goaltender Stephen Murphy incurred during the penalty shots against the Blaze, they now have even more to worry about. It’s an intriguing prospect and the final part of the season will be a fascinating fight.