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Hull never an easy win

Hull never an easy win by Seanna Murdock

 Blog from door 8

There have been no easy games this season and Hull at Dundonald was certainly not a guaranteed win! The acquisition of a new goal tender Raitums and British forward James Archer, the Stingrays put up one hell of a fight against the Giants on their home turf. I settled onto one of those little plastic pull down seats and prepared for the game to start, the woman behind me can only be described as having a voice like the female Grim Reaper on forty cigarettes a day, delighted in shouting abuse at Shane Johnson all night. (even when he wasn't on the ice) I have to say that the little 'Bring on the MoTrain' banners cellotaped around the plexi glass worked on getting Mo iced at least but that was short lived.

The short shift was killed as Mo was put in the sin bin for tripping handing Hull a power play opportunity and the Stingray's opening goal netted by Archer himself. Mo wasn't iced again after that, which is no big surprise! The atmosphere was great, Sean McMorrow going toe to toe with 'that boy' Knight and beating him down, getting the crowd really going. After nine minutes Pat Bateman had enough of the cheap shots being made by the Stingrays, the sneaky trips, the down right visible cross check to the back of Chevy's head and the hard 'goonish' hits showing the change in style and attitude of the Rays. After taking exception to a hard hit by Burns, Bateman let him know who was boss and taught him a hard lesson, rivaling McMorrow in the tough man stakes

Kalmikov scored almost immediately as the second period started, and the period dragged on as the Stingrays kept a hold of their two goal lead, forcing the Giants to pull out all the stops and at the 36 minute mark Shieldsy scored the home sides first goal of the game. We were back in the game and the pressure lifted a little.

Home boy Graeme Walton tied the game in the third period, it was as if he won the lottery, everyone gave him the biggest cheer, its not often that Wally scores but when he does it lifts the roof. Makes a difference from my last trip to Dundonald when some girl with a voice that could melt plastic was yelling 'don't give it to Walton' that same girl was cheering- but what would I know, KOTG, 'I'm not from a sporting background!'

Well, perhaps not, but that doesn't make me unworthy. I'm learning. Give me a break. If you like you can blame my husband - I have taken his sporting insight on board. He's been a sports fan since childhood and even he's sick of the moaning. Between the ages of seven and thirteen in the early 90s, he sat in the Stacey West Stand at Sincil Bank, Lincoln City's home ground. That's where he learnt where pride in your team comes from; the most he had to cheer in his 6 years in Lincoln (who have been in League 2 since 1988) was Matt Le Tessier and Southampton coming for a cup tie and scoring first but eventually losing 3-1. It was all about enjoying the sport of football, unspoilt by glory-hunting fans and overpaid players who earn an African country's debt in one week. Sorry, I've gone off-topic. Hockey's no different - yelling "do something" and "put the puck in the net" is unfair to teams like Hull, as you assume that they are so terrible that the Giants should be able to walk the puck past a immobile goal tender while the other players stare at them. You might as well put the silly song from Benny Hill on over the tannoy. Close games make hockey good. Where would the fun be in winning every match 11 or 12 nil? Obviously the moaners would love that - it would certainly keep them quiet, but assuming the Giants can win everything is not only short-sighted but also insulting to all of the other teams with awesome players. My loyalty and rosy-tinted view of the Giants is not down to my "non-sporting background", but down to a basic need for a team's fans to get behind them. All of my detractors are nothing but glory hunters who need wins to feel good for whatever reason, I imagine fans of the "Big 4" in football, gurning whenever they don't win and asking for the manager to be sacked (see Steelers, Sheffield). Get over yourselves and get behind your team for once.

Anyway... The third line proved their worth as Peacock scored from Tom Walsh, the atmosphere was tense as it was still touch and go whether or not the Giants would beat Hull, all it would take would be a breakaway by one of the Stingrays, it wasn't certainly looking as if the Giants were going to flat out win especially with Raitums between the pipes for Hull. The final nail in the coffin of this match came courtesy of Tim Cook, tying the game up at 4-2. Walton got a well deserved man of the match and we left the Icebowl with the 'Waltons' theme tune playing. It was a good match and a good night, I still had the 13th to look forward to.....

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