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My first away trip to Sheffield
Blog from 102/Door 19
Belfast Giants vs Sheffield Steelers (away) 22nd Jan 2011
I got to the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield after a very loooooooong day! Travelling from 6am on trains, planes, trams and buses it was exhausting, but also very exciting. It was my very first away match and the day had started well as to my delight the Aer Lingus Belfast Giants were on the same (bmibaby) plane as us. After a trip to Meadowhell (that’s not a typo by the way) and the depletion of most of my trip money I caught a tram to the Arena. It was strange to be an away fan but an experience that I'd never had before, taking my seat in the away block I pulled on my Tyrone Timberframes jersey and waited for the action to begin. It was a must win match, every point is precious, and the Giants could not afford to drop any matches to the Steelers or the Devils.
The support for Mustukovs was astounding, Latvian flags emblazoned with his name hung across from us with the home fans. Moose had a fantastic match saving 42 shots from the 46 against him. The Giants had the disadvantage of 'away' ice, but the fans that travelled from Belfast, I think, did the boys proud, never wavering in their support and making their voices heard through the arena. The Giants came out strong, it was strange seeing them in their teal jerseys being so used to the white, but due to the great time I had as an away fan its an experience that I'll be repeating several times next season. The Steelers skated out cheered on by their out of sync cheerleaders, and the booming voice of Simmsey over the tannoy. Despite being the visiting team the Giants dominated the first period, every time a Steeler got control of the puck, the Giants were marking them and protecting Murph. Benny scored after ten minutes and it was looking as if the Steelers were looking at a home defeat.
At the end of the first I grabbed some shirt tickets and 50/50. You never know, if I had won Steve Munn’s jersey I could have thrown it up on ebay (apparently I’m renowned for that). The second period was where it all changed 27 minutes into the match one of the worst players in my opinion scored, Derek Campbell, taking advantage of a dodgy pass in our own half. It was almost as embarrassing as the moment where Andre Payette scored against Stevie Lyle two seasons ago. Globke extended the Steeler’s lead four minutes later and the crowd went wild, Simmsey’s over exaggeration of the word ’GOALLLLL’ was still resonating in my ears as play resumed. Jeff Legue scored in the 39th minute to cement the lead and to add insult to injury, ten seconds later, the man known as “Steeeeve” smashed in a shot from distance to assert their dominance in the match 4-1 ahead.
My favourite Peaks waited less than a minute into the third to pull a goal back for the Giants. It was looking as if the travelling team had come back out after the period break with gusto and the drive to win. We sensed a comeback, but that was shot to pieces as Rod Sarich hit the puck top shelf to score the Steelers’ fifth and ultimately the game winning goal. Peaks waited less than a minute from Sarich’s last goal to answer and to score the Giants third. Both teams tussled it out for thirteen minutes, the defence for the Steelers working well, Murph was pulled and there was a six on four powerplay. C-Way found the net with less than a minute and a half left in the match. Again the Giants were just seconds from tying up, but couldn’t clinch it.
Although it was a loss for the Giants my spirits were high and I was enjoying my stay in Sheffield. Feel sorry for Peter, who had been to see Sheffield United lose that afternoon as well. Waiting for the tram back it was cool to see the guy from the Derren Brown experiment who landed the aeroplane. It was going to be a long weekend with another early flight and another match in the Odyssey the next day at five.
Belfast Giants vs Newcastle Vipers (home) 23rd Jan 2011
I was up at 7am and had to catch my National Express bus to East Midlands airport. I was bleary eyed but after a large latte I was set for the day ahead. Arriving at the departures it was great to see the Giants were on my return flight. Listening to my podcast I enjoyed the short flight home, got the train and made my way to the Odyssey. A nice bottle of Bulmers on the Bridge before the match had become a ritual and it was nice to be back at the Mighty O. The Giants despite their travelling looked anything but lethargic as they took to the ice for their warm up. The Vipers looked weak, they had twelve men dressed including their two net minders. However they can never be written off, the Magnificent Eleven comeback from last season and the defeat of the Panthers on Wednesday in the Challenge Cup semi final spring to mind.
With only one goal in the first period fifteen minutes in, Gleed and Benny set B-Way up, it was nice to hear the Giant’s goal celebration music rather than Simmsey’s gloating! 19 minutes in tempers were frayed and Hoff took on Schwarz. Hoff got the better of him, beating him and pulling his shirt over his head. Hoff earning 2+2 for being the aggressor and Schwarz getting 2+2 for illegal equipment, his fight strap could not have been attached the way the back of his shirt was over the FRONT of his face. It was funny to see the photograph of that in the Belfast Telegraph on Monday.
The second period was...well it was a mild steam rollering, the Giant’s second goal came 21.24 minutes into the match with Sample in the box for a 2 minute penalty for holding of the stick. Lambert was set up by C-Way and Jacobsen to put the home team 2-0 up. Six minutes later C-Way added to the Giants tally, set up by Lambert and Garside. The Giants had the game all sewn up, they had the upper hand from the beginning but the Vipers showed grit and determination. Ten minutes later Shieldsy capitalised on an assist from B-Way and Benny.
The third period had five goals, surprisingly one came from the Vipers. 6 minutes into the period Prudden converted an assist from Benny and Welch, it was beginning to get a bit embarrassing for the Vipers. There was barely any atmosphere and it was a foregone conclusion that the home side would win, but it was admirable that the Giants didn’t run up the score to something as ridiculous as 18-1..... Walton and Prudden set Jacobsen up for the Giants sixth goal two minutes later. Sibley was serving a two minute penalty for hooking allowing the man advantage and for Mason and Benedict to set Prudden up for the giants seventh goal. The Viper’s saving grace came from Prpich set up by Hartmanis and Sibley to get the Vipers onto the scoresheet. Two minutes from the end of the match Jacobsen and Walton assisted the Gaint’s eighth goal scored by Mark Garside.
The weekend was fantastic, I wouldn’t have traded it for the world despite all the travel. The next trip to the Odyssey was for the testimonial and Shane Johnson’s last match supported by such greats as Schulte, Ward and Bowen. It was a fun match with skill tournaments, however the joke of having Kirsty McMurray behind the bench cheapened it slightly. There was quite extensive coverage of the testimonial on U105 on Thursday morning with a recorded interview with Shane, whereas Cool FM mentioned Nigel Ringland’s drinks consumption (G&T’s if you’re interested) and that was as deep as the analysis went. Joke of a sponsor.
Stay tuned for an interview here with the man of the moment Shane Johnson.
BGFL
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3-7 |
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1-1 |
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