The Bel-fast and the Furious: A Weekend in Preview
Belfast again, eh. I can’t deny it’s become a favourite destination for the discerning hockey traveller, and by that I of course mean me. It’s my second of three planned trips to the Northern Irish capital this season, the Giants being granted the pleasure of the lion’s share of my attentions partially due to me actually liking them as a team and partially because it’s just a great place to have a drink or six.
This weekend I will take in another two live hockey games in an attempt to convince myself that the Elite League really is as thrilling live as it looks on paper. I have to admit though, I harbour more than a little trepidation about the chances of this coming to pass, given this particular pair of fixtures. Let’s be brazenly up front about this: we haven’t picked the best weekend for it.
On paper it has the potential to be about as exciting as a bag of spanners (and for those of you unsure as to my meaning – I’m a girl. And I hate DIY. And plumbing and stuff). Belfast will face two sides in the Hull Stingrays and the Fife Flyers who, in ten attempts between them, have not taken a single point from the league leaders this season. Not a sausage.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a daunting prospect for any team. The stats don’t lie: the Giants have not lost a league game in 2012, their only defeat of the year so far coming in the first leg of the Challenge Cup semi-final in Cardiff, and their last league defeat the arguably freak, probably turkey and mince pie-induced result against Braehead on 27th December. In the same period this time last season, by comparison, they lost five whole games, against a variety of opposition, including none other than the little old Newcastle Vipers. And they were still contenders for the title at that point. The contrast is marked. This is a team on a mission.
Their last three games have seen them take all available points against their two main rivals for the league title, winning their double header against the Panthers in dramatic fashion last weekend to dash the Nottingham side’s hopes of challenging for the top spot, and beating the Steelers the weekend before. And all of those on the road. They are a formidable prospect and have thrown down the gauntlet to all those around them – they want this, badly. And what Giants want, Giants usually get.
The question remains as to whether or not either of their bottom half opponents can mount any sort of challenge on Belfast this weekend and be potential Davids to their Goliath. In their comfort zone, at the Odyssey, it seems highly unlikely. The Giants fans, on a high from recent successes, will be in good spirits and will expect two sound beatings. I’m doing my best to come up with reasons why these games may not be as easy as they should be, but to be honest, I’m struggling.
First up are Hull, who, whilst experiencing a mini-resurgence, enjoying a four-point weekend last weekend in their double-header against Dundee, have not been setting the world alight. They were rocked this week by the news that star goalscorer Jereme Tendler has failed a drugs test (he has since been suspended), and despite their success last weekend, I don’t see Sylvain Cloutier’s men causing the Giants any real problems. They sides have only met four times in the league and the results have to date not been too shameful for the Stingrays, however I fear this may change on Friday night. Prediction: a good thrashing. Probably 6-2.
Next up the stumbling Fife Flyers, who despite pulling some key results out of the bag a couple of weeks back have been suffering from a bit of a slump in recent weeks. Like the Vipers last season, they are plucky and fearless on home ice, but in the expanse of the Odyssey they have not fared well, and I predict a similar result this weekend. In the six meetings between the sides this season, the Giants have won by an average margin of more than four goals, dishing out some sound beatings along the way. Prediction: a good thrashing. Probably 8-2.
It gives me no pleasure to bring you this news. I love a good underdog story as much as the next man. I was a Vipers fan after all. And I’m a Watford FC fan. And a Calgary Flames fan. It’s old hat to me. But the quandary I find myself in is that I actually want Belfast to win the league. So despite it being a distinctly un-British thing to do, I’m cheering for the favourites. Boring, aren’t I. This must be what it feels like to support Manchester United.
That being said, in my capacity as Chief Nomad of the Elite League, I will as usual be supporting the sport of ice hockey, and as such, am hoping and praying to the icy gods that the games aren’t as straightforward as I’ve predicted. I genuinely hope one of these two underdogs can make a decent fist of it, rather than being mere also-rans in the story of the Giants’ dominance. Belfast may be fast and furious, but there’s no reason why with a similarly feisty attitude and a temporary suspension of fear, any team might not be able to at least scare them a little bit. And I’m hoping it will be Fife. I can’t deny that with the Vipers connections in Danny Stewart and Toms Hartmanis, and the similarities with our situation last season, I do have a soft spot for the Kirkcaldy outfit, and I hope they can shake up the Giants on Saturday, even if only for a period. I’m not expecting miracles. Just a little magic.
Anyway! I will be back throughout the course of the weekend with thrilling match reports, so prepare yourselves. I hope the games exceed my expectations. If not, I will as usual attempt to entertain you in other ways. By describing my breakfast for example. And not writing about bags of spanners. ‘Bye then!
