Stop, drop and roll!

This past weekend was another one of those “road trips home”. Following what was a stunning weekend in Germany watching DEL hockey, stood on the Fankurve in a pretty filled 14000 capacity stadium in Berlin, shouting hockey chants in German (I don’t speak a single word), drinking fabulous German beer and watching some of the most skilful hockey I’ve ever seen.

 

To say that by following this up with a home double header against the Panthers, that my expectations were not that high, is an understatement. The Giants were deservedly booed off by the Odyssey faithful the previous Sunday, due to letting a reported overly-complacent display lead to defeat at the hands of a 10 man Vipers squad. The Panthers, in contrast, had taken top spot in the league by beating Paul Thompson’s Blaze.

 

A slightly delayed flight from Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport to George Best Belfast City Airport was a rocky one, especially the landing which involved a bad skid on the runway and a fly around. However when safely down the party could begin.

 

The Panthers have always been on the Giants radar since back in the days of the Superleague. Incidents between Nieckar and Schulte, between Clarke and Kruse, between Norris and, well, Schulte again, have since the early days of the Giants, given the Belfast crowd something to pick at.

 

A semi-final penalty shots elimination in the Playoff finals weekend only a few seasons ago, all heaps on how some fans feel when the Panthers roll into town.

 

A good crowd was expected, what wasn’t expected was the size of the travelling support. Taking up over a whole block, it was certainly one of the best away supports seen in the Odyssey in around 8 years. Not since the Ayr fans travelled for the 2002 Challenge Cup final in the Odyssey arena have the Giants seen as great a travelling support.

 

This was quite apparent when arriving in Rockies bar pre-game. Two hours before the game and the bar was rammed. Panthers shirts everywhere and the Panthers victory the previous weekend in Coventry being broadcast on all TV’s courtesy of “Sky Sports 4”. A loud cheer coming up every time the Panthers put the puck in the net, and a look of disgust coming from yours-truly as I began to get in the mood for the game.

 

And what a game it was. Quick end to end play in the opening period, dominated by the Panthers. The first game as a whole was probably the Panthers for the taking, but it was a mixture of a defensive lapse and sub-par netminding that allowed Jeff Szwez to nip in and take the game winning goal. An empty netter sealed the victory for the home side, and the Giants truly stole the game from the Panthers grasp.

 

But the real craic came up in the stands. Stood with “the usual suspects” at the back of Door 17, the songs, shouts and chants were flowing as readily as the beer. A school group in front of us caught on quickly to a lot of the more readily accessible tunes, while the atmosphere slowly whipped into a frenzy. This was the type of atmosphere I remembered from years ago in the Odyssey. It had been a while since noise levels had reached such a height at home. The win spurring us on for the next game, the very next night.

 

(The remainder of that evening is a bit of a blur, I believe “the Captain” was involved, but I woke up safe and sound, if a little confused, in my parents guest room the next morning…)

 

Saturday, day two, game two and after a few games of pool, we returned to Rockies to find, once again, the bar to be filled with Panthers fans, mouths whet with revenge in their sights. They knew how they should have taken the points the night before and tonight they were relying on their side to even the weekend up.

 

It didn’t quite work out that way however. The Panthers never showed up and the Giants put on a confident display reminiscent of early in the season. A bit of a tangle at the 2^nd period buzzer was as physical as the game got, but the result was nothing but handbags. Panthers showing frustration at their own play. Individual mistakes, poor passing and ineffective trap (unlike the disciplined one the night before) conspired to annoy the visiting fans and give the home team momentum to gain 4 points from the weekend.

 

Giants were first to every puck, and again some lapses by Kevin St Pierre (in my opinion a very poor standard import netminder), gave the Giants a convincing win and 4 points from the weekend.

 

But that wasn’t the best part of the game. The best part of the game came from the craic had once again in the stands. I’ve found this to be quintessential in the whole hockey experience. The atmosphere and noise made in the Fankurve in the O2 World Arena in Berlin is one thing, but being surrounded by friends who know what to shout, who to shout at and when to shout it make it all the more worthwhile.

 

From “Keeeevvvvvvvinnnnnn” at KSP, to the Pat Bateman song, to “Stop, Drop and Roll!”, the repertoire can be as long as your arm. The creativeity was apparent even mid-game. Piere Luc Faubert (though not a personal favourite player of mine) finally got a song, composed and performed “on the hop”.

 

Meanwhile a banner displayed “26.10.02, Never Forgive, Never Forget”, A reminder of the night Nieckar, Charron, Clarke et al came to the Odyssey and following the final buzzer proceeded to mug Paxton Schulte in some disgraceful scenes not seen since on Queens Island. The banner, a light hearted reminder of that night, considered by many to be one of the “character games” in early Giants history, was not considered so by the Odyssey security. Their over-zealous approach led them to remove the banner at the end of the 1^st period. Their hilarious excuse being that “it wasn’t a banner sold as part of the official Giants Merchandise”.

 

A great atmosphere, a great result and the Giants, after the incomprehensible slip the week before, were right back on track. The party continued to the bar and beyond.

 

12 noon flight back to Liverpool Airport was a tough one. But memories, of what was probably one of the best hockey weekends at the Odyssey Arena since the ISL days, kept a wry grin on my face. This wry grin became a smug one as a batch of unhappy Panthers fans filed into the departure lounge. And all I could think in my head was the Cadbury’s Roses advertisement tune, a tune we were singing as the defeated Panthers team left the ice.

 

“Thank you very much for a four point weekend, Thank you very much, thank you very, very, very much”

 

Next week. Sheffield.

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