Into The Final Stretch

Posted on Thursday, January 27th, 2011 at 3:24 pm

First of all, I would like to congratulate Shane Johnson on a great career and excellent night. It was great to see so many Giants fans attend his game. It is a true testament to Shane as a person that so many people attended. I hope our current players saw the relationship between Shane’s team and the fans. It was obvious there was a great connection between the fans and players and I hope it is one that continues to grow and develop.  Shane’s first couple of seasons laid the foundation for what the Giants are now and I know that we all truly appreciate his dedication to the Giants and Belfast.

Last weekend was a very emotional weekend. Our team put a lot of emphasis on the Sheffield game and it was a very important game. Anyone who was there knew that we controlled the game and played extremely well. Unfortunately, a couple of bad minutes cost us dearly. Out-shooting a team 46-16 on the road is an accomplishment but it was not good enough to get the result and I can assure you Ben Simon felt better after the win than we did.  We are at the business end of the season and we need to pull out wins in games like that.  I was proud of the effort but very disappointed that we did not get the win.

On Sunday, we dominated Newcastle from the drop of the puck. As Newcastle’s win last night against Nottingham shows, they are a team that can win on any given night. I was very happy to see some of the players who had not scored recently get on the score-sheet. We will need all our forwards contributing down the stretch.  It is also quite an accomplishment to set an all-time EIHL record for fewest shots against in a game with 8.  I know Dan Stewart’s team is short benched but you can only beat the team that is across from you and as last night showed, Newcastle is still a dangerous team.

This weekend we have a big weekend against Braehead. They are hot at the moment and we must play our best if we are to get the points we want.  Braehead has talented forwards and a goalie who can steal a game.  Braehead has a knack for rising to the occasion and I am sure they will be up for a big weekend against us.

Tim Cook is unlikely to play this weekend as a result of his upper body injury suffered at the end of 2010.  He is improving but it is important he is 100% before he plays again.

Finally, I would like to thank all the fans planning on coming to Braehead. It is great when we play on the road and have a loud road section. This is our last game in Glasgow this season and I hope our fans have a great night and enjoy the game!

Doug Christiansen
Stena Line Belfast Giants Coach