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The Big O welcomed the Devils
Okay so I was quietly confident going into the Big O on Saturday evening, the Devils weren't a guaranteed win but with recent form I knew there was a better than not chance of beating them. All day in the draughty store I work in I was clock watching knowing that there would be a great night ahead of me. Wrapped up warm in my jersey, leather jacket and my least slippy pair of shoes I cautiously but quickly headed to my favourite place. It was freezing, the coldest I can ever remember it being. The brightly lit building was like a beacon leading me towards my destination.
Buying my tickets and sorting myself out with a pint of Magners I settled down to watch the pre match skate. I was hoping that Jeffrey Szwez would be back but there was a distinct lack of his presence on the ice. I know that the last time we faced the Devils they beat us in the Challenge Cup semi final so a win at home was vital. To not only boost the morale of the Giants and to dent the confidence gained by the win at the Tent the Devils now possessed. In order to win the league this season it was vital that we won every match and that the top two; Coventry and Nottingham lost all or the majority of their matches.
There was a threat of a scuffle from McMorrow from the outset, his long standing grudge match and battle of nerves with the 'part time hard man' Big Bad Bradley Voth. There was a certain amount of tension on the ice with some looks being exchanged, it was almost funny in a nervous laughter kind of way. So the players left the ice and the zamboni came out, the annoyance of Kirstie McMurray drove me to the concession stand for a coffee, I only returned when the failed Mexican Wave had finished and the entrance video had started.
The first period had come and gone with no goals passing Murph or Steevie Lyle, both goalies making awesome saves and protecting the scoreline for their respective teams. There wasn't much anger and it passed quite uneventfully. The second period was when the pressure started and both teams knew it was now or never, George Awada stepped up to the plate and knocked in a shot from Pat Bateman. George who has only recently returned from injury was playing his ass off. Personally I think he's being played too much instead of being eased in gently, but he's producing the goods so maybe I'm wrong!
Chevy made it two nil less than five minutes later with assists to Cook and Jacobsen. Michael Jacobsen has been playing fast and hitting hard and is seriously impressive, I'm sure if he's going to stay in the Elite League he'll have a hell of a lot of interest from the other clubs. As the season is almost over I'm sure that there will be much speculation in who we're going to keep and who will move on. I personally think we should hold onto as much of this season's players as possible, it's probably not going to happen but I hope upon hopes that we can keep Benedict, Walsh,(especially Walsh ;)) and Jeffrey Szwez.
A powerplay opportunity afforded the Devils to use their man advantage and Matt 'it's Miller time' Miller to slide one past Murph placing the score line at 2-1. Matt Miller is a seriously impressive player, not that the Devils are short of impressive players. Latiluppe, Miller and (I'm sorry but I highly rate him!!) Bradley Voth make for an entertaining game of hockey.
The third period was a shining testament to the skill of Murph as he denied every shot that careened towards him. Lyle wasn't so lucky however Shieldsy picked up a pass from Thornton and cannoned a shot past Steevie, he hadn't a chance of saving it. A last ditch attempt at a goal paid off when Benny set George up for his second goal of the game and sealed the score at 4-1. A highly entertaining match all round, credit where it was due though the highly defensive play of the Devils always make it a 'down to the wire' match. Trapment hockey mustn't be pleasant to play against but the Devils do it so well (even though the NHL side New Jersey have been accused of 'ruining hockey' with trapment style hockey) it puts pressure on the opposition team, and the Giants play best under pressure. As for Sunday night against Coventry, I wasn't there, but the less said about that the better.
Bring on the Steelers next week, a must win game, come on Giants you can do it!!
blog comments powered by Disqus0-3 |
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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 |
||
| 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
