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Blog from Door 8

Friday Belfast v' Nottingham 4-2

The day from hell at work and five coffees later I was finally at the Odyssey nice and warm in the back bar sitting under one of those halogen lights, clutching a pint of beer and watching the snow flurrying down. I was finally free from work for the evening and the place was buzzing. The shocking response from the fans after Sundays match was leaving me with dread, I mean what sort of people boo their own team off the ice?...I think anyone could answer that question whatever way they want. I was severely impressed by the nerves of steel displayed by the Panthers fans coming through the snow wearing tights dressed as Robin Hood! Would be surprised if they didn't catch hypothermia by the end of the weekend.

So I headed to my seat and sipped the remnants of my pint and out skated the Panthers, an incredibly impressive team, they made their presence known and the hundreds of fans that had loyally travelled over with them filled the arena with cheering and chanting drowning out the boos from the Belfast fans. The Giants stepped onto the ice and, lo and behold the selective memories of the Belfast fans had forgotten their disgraceful booing last weekend, they got a heroes welcome and that no doubt lightened the atmosphere.

The Panthers were at the top of the league so it was a must win game. Panthers such as McAslan, Clarke and D'Amour made them a dangerous team to play. The opening period was an incredibly balanced, defensive game and it looked as if there was no chance of either team scoring. Both teams were hungry for a win and both teams were giving it their all. Neither goal tender were faltering, Murphy and St. Pierre were making fantastic saves, picking pucks out of the air and keeping their teams in the running for a win. Both defensive sides were working their asses off and it looked as if the clock was going to run down to a nil all end of the period. Sean McAslan ruined the hopes of the Giants side by scoring in the dying minutes of the first and setting the Panthers up for a win, ending the period at 1-0.

I went down to get my shirt off the back tickets and ended up chatting to an away supporter, and jokingly telling her that I was going to steal her D'Amour jersey, little did she know that I would have given half the chance! Settling back into my seat I waited for both teams to ice for the second period. I had a feeling we could pull it back, even a point from tonight's match would have been better than nothing. We didn't have to wait long for the Giants to pull one back, Szwez and Faubert set Jacobsen up for a sneaky goal breaking St. Pierre's resolve, there was a sigh of relief as the Giants were back in the race.

The celebrations were short lived as 'Dave Clarke Five' regained the lead for the Panthers, and the travelling fans erupted with cheers. Pierre-Luc Faubert, proving that he was a fantastic signing and that he deserved his place on the ice, netting a rebound from Jeff Szwez, he tied the game with less than two minutes on the clock. The period ended with a draw. Was it possible that we could beat the 'mighty' Panthers? Could we have a shout at the league? Could we make the amazing comeback that fans would talk about for years?

The third period began with a lot of pressure on both sides, the fans from each team raising the roof, and I had again retreated to the Bridge. The reason for this can be explained by a poster's signature on the Panthers' Cage forum 'Shoot.....Shut up!' You wouldn't get that unless you went to the Odyssey but trust me you would head to the Bridge for a period beginning on a draw. Szwez's frustrations were alleviated as he converted a saved goal from Colin Shields and netted a rebound putting the Giants back in front and looking to win the game! The Panthers predictably pulled the goalie and there was an inevitable conclusion that the Giants would get a breakaway and score. Enter: Pat Bateman, effortlessly netting a goal with the score finalized at 4-2. It was a fairytale ending to a tough, tough match. The cherry on the cake would come tomorrow evening if it could all be done again. The Panthers would be back for round two.

N.B. Funniest moment of the Evening: On the Bridge you get a good view of the Fanzone members picking out the draw tickets, you also get to hear some funny comments. The girl from the Fanzone table was screaming at Marc Levers 'Levers You Suck' every time he had the puck, on Saturday she confirmed that she lost her voice but, and I quote ,'It was worth it, like!"

Saturday: Belfast v' Nottingham 3-1

Well I was bloody exhausted, I had the lovely task of closing my shop on Saturday night, and its a good thing I was there to close as well, because the zero shoppers couldn't possibly manage on their own. So I ran over to the 'O' and got there just after George Awada's goal before two minutes had elapsed! Gutted! I missed the first three minutes, but was just in time for the Panthers to equalise. The most annoying player (in my opinion) Bruce Richardson scoring on the power play and building the tension. Again both goal tenders were on top form with no more goals being scored and it looked as if the period was going to again end in deadlock until Shieldsy unleashed the cannon and put Belfast ahead 2 to 1.

I had to grab a massive pint of beer, I didn't care what it was as long as it was alcoholic and relaxing. The four point weekend was in my sights and I was happy to be in my spiritual home; the Odyssey arena! The second period was full of opportunity with St. Pierre and Murphy holding their own until Pat Bateman netted a sneaky goal in the 37th minute. Could the unthinkable happen? Could we beat the Panthers? Twice? Could the Giants win twice in a row at home? The answer was YES! The end of the second ended with a lot of, lets just say 'discussions' on the ice. Johnson and Tommy Walsh, the two most mild mannered men in the league were swinging digs and George Awada was holding his own against Bruce Richardson, earning himself a ten minute penalty for abuse of official in the process. It was a spectacle to say the least.

The third began with both teams wanting the win and chasing the two points on offer, the mighty D'Amour was striking and not reaping any goals from his efforts. The scoreless third held one very entertaining event; Phillips versus Galbraith, and our Kev may have lost a tooth but he won some major man points. We did it, Belfast proved that they could win back to back against the Panthers, now bring on Hull on Thursday, Lets Go Giants! Lets Go!

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