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Bradley Voth is coming to town - Part 1
My parents can be described as, what you may call, “passive” sports fans. They hold no allegiances to any particular football team, they don’t keep track of the ongoing trials and tribulations of any individual sporting venture. The most they enjoy are their regular games of lawn bowls over the summer.
So it comes as no surprise that they hadn’t attended a Belfast Giants game in 8 years, despite the fanaticism of myself, their eldest son. As such I took it upon myself to try and re-introduce them to the sport I hold so dear. And for such a demanding feat I chose the visit of the rampaging Cardiff Devils. A team vying for the summit of the Elite League where my own team currently teetered.
I say ‘teetered’ because since I returned home from Manchester for Christmas the form of the Giants had taken an unfortunate downward turn. Talk leading up to December was of how the Giants would be strengthened as more and more of the injured players picked themselves off the treatment table and back onto the ice. The appearance of Brandon Benedict and Mark Garside would be a boost to any side, let alone one holding court in the league leading position, but to the Giants they were seen as a vital piece of the title-chasing puzzle.
However, things were not as straight forward as they may have seemed to be. The cancellation of the visit to Nottingham the week before Christmas due to snow meant that the visit of the Braehead Clan on Boxing Day was the Giants fifth consecutive game against Scottish opposition. Having won 3 of the previous 4, the faithful congregated at the Odyssey for what they hoped would be a belated Christmas present. What they witnessed was more a case of the post-Christmas hangover.
A disjointed, unorganised and obviously fatigued Giants side were slowly unravelled by a Clan side both disciplined and well organised. The Clan, led by Player-Coach and former Panther Bruce Richardson, capitalised on the loose pucks and sloppy passes that all of a sudden became prevalent in the Giants game. The new EIHL outfit have gained strength since their fledgling beginnings and the Giants were subject to some neat finishing. Stephen Murphy’s game seemed unconfident, while his defense gave little coverage.
The Clan, in their first of back to back meetings against the Giants, gave their travelling support some Christmas cheer, coming away with a 4-2 win, while the home fans were left frustrated by the overall performance. A post-mortem among fans came to the conclusion it was hopefully no more than a turkey and mulled wine infused ‘blip’ in form.
The festive period delivers the games thick and fast, a hope by franchises to capitalise on the holidays, get folk through the door and boost the revenue as the business end of the season approaches. Thus the Giants, and a number of fans, boarded the boat to Scotland the very next morning. Bound for the middle of three games in as many days. A return fixture to the Clan’s home of Braehead.
I myself was in said fan number. A superbly organised bus trip departed on the Stenaline HSS to Stranraer with hopes of an improved performance and, most of all, enjoyment. The bus was full and songs were plentiful. Time was spent talking of the previous nights fruitless endeavour and desire for revenge.
Braehead’s arena lies in the centre of a major shopping mall, kind of like putting the Phoenix arena in the Trafford Centre, but a large crowd witnessed a more gutsy performance from both teams. The Clan retained their organisation, but to it added some feisty physical play. The Giants, understrength in the physical department due to Mike Hoffman’s family bereavement, found themselves being out played for a good part of the first 2 periods. JF Perras, the former Coventry and Edinburgh netminder, once again playing north of Hadrians Wall, was on top form and was able to eal with all the likes of Welch, Peacock and Lambert had to offer.
The Giants were further hampered by the fact that recent returnees were being rested in order to face the Devils the following night, joined by Colin Hemmingway. As such, all creative nuance was channelled through Simon Lambert, the Giants latest addition struggling to provide that little bit of magic due to the constant Braehead shoulders and sticks impeding his space and ability.
The travelling fans grew impatient, not only with the Giants seemingly impotent powerplay, but also some of the seemingly physical, if a little dirty, tactics and handbag nature of the Braehead attack. Referee Moray Hanson handed the Clan over twice the penalty minutes the visitors received. Yet the Giants powerplay unit has proven static and sloppy, drawing no end of derision from this fan in particular and a number of others besides.
The game seemed lost, but this sport can be cruel at times. Braehead had done more than enough to take both points from the match, but a moment of magic from Josh Prudden and a well worked goal by Tim Cook around 90 seconds later stole the game for the visitors, much to the abject delight of those in teal and white behind the goal. The outcome was therefore a split series, both sets of travelling fans sailing home happy, if a little jaded by the long days travelling and effect of alcohol on the system.
Further talk ensued on the Giants performance now over the two nights. It appeared that despite the extended break facilitated by the cancelled game in Nottingham, the Giants were struggling with speed and sharpness. The result in Braehead did little to paper over the cracks forming in many opinions on the bus back and all too few held much hope for a result against the in-form welsh visitors the following night.
Which brings us to my parents and their re-introduction to the game that very next night. Despite my fatigued state of mind, I was pleased to bring them along to the wonderful Odyssey Arena. A few pints around town to whet the palate before making our way to Rockies pre-game.
The sales of tickets are usually high over the yuletide break and today seemed no different with queues already long at the Box Office. The clock ticked down to face off as we took our seats. A cold pint and a burger for each member of my family (my two brothers had joined us also), a 50/50 ticket all round, and a copy of the programme for my dad who was delighted to find my article contained within concerning the forthcoming visit of the Newcastle Vipers.
My mother had heard all about the infamous viral Christmas video by the Giants and was very entertained by what she saw. The Giants marketing coup had spread across the world, but this was the result, an arena with faces both old and new to the game.
Their anticipation grew as the teams emerged and the puck was dropped….
To Be Continued…
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-3 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-5 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
1-4 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-4 |
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| 11th March 2006 19:00 | ||
2-4 |
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| 11th March 2006 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|
5-8 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-2 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
3-7 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
1-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|
- Adam Walker
- Alex Birch
- Andy Pierce
- Chris Gent
- Christopher Beal
- Craig Simpson
- Dave Simms
- Elliott Stanley
- Gareth Chalmers
- James Broughton
- James Gordon
- Katy Madgwick
- Luke Catterson
- Mark Briggs
- Mark Duell
- Mat Young
- Patrick Smyth
- Promotion
- Russ Morrell
- Seanna Murdock
- Stephen Dowson
- Stewart Roberts
- Tom Forster
- Vicki Smart
- William Lyon
