Belfast Giants 3 - 4 Coventry Blaze

 Coventry Blaze's Adam Calder in action against the LMB Belfast Giants courtsey of Mark Tredgold: www.tredders.com.

Last Saturday night saw the LBM Belfast Giants and the Coventry Blaze battle it out for top spot in the Elite League – the first of their two encounters of the weekend. In what was touted to be the biggest game of the season, the atmosphere in the Odyssey Arena was quite reflective of this.

The Giants came out strong in the opening period, registering a lot of shots on goal in the first couple of minutes, and also controlling possession of the puck. This was broken by a penalty, with Kevin Phillips picking up 2 minutes for roughing. On the powerplay, the Blaze contained the puck in the Giants’ zone, with a few opportunities on goal, with Stephen Murphy denying all in the Giants’ net.

Coming out after the penalty kill, the Giants again hit Peter Hirsch with a barrage of shots, all of which failed to find the back of the net. Within a few minutes, the Giants’ chances looked up, as the Blaze lost Danny Stewart for hooking. On the powerplay, Michael Jacobsen showed his worth with a slapshot from the point, with Hirsch just getting to it.

Just before the end of the Giants’ powerplay, Steve Thornton picked up a 2+10 penalty for checking to the head, in front of the Blaze net. This left the play at 4-on-4, until Dan Carlson picked up a 2 minute penalty for hooking, which had a 10 minute unsportsmanlike penalty added to it as he shared his opinion with the referee. The Giants again managed a few good opportunities in front of the Blaze net. Most notably, a pass across the net to Jeff Szwez left him with an open net. Szwez made an attempt at the puck, missing the net completely.

With both teams at full strength, the play continued, end to end, with very little scoring chances from each team. The Giants got the final powerplay of the period, as Aaron Nell visited the box for hooking. This powerplay gave the Giants the majority of their chances of the period. Colin Shields made an appearance, with three excellent shots from the point, playing on Hirsch’s nerves. Jeff Szwez again passed up a perfect opportunity, as he had the netminder beaten in the slot, only to miss the net – again. Craig Peacock also had his share of the shots on net, with two high shots, both gloved by Hirsch.

The period finished 0-0, with the Giants clearly in the lead in the shot count – 21-4.

The start of the second period completely contrasted the first, with the Blaze quick off the mark, firing shot after shot on the Giants’ net. The Giants again were first to pick up a powerplay chance, as Greg Chambers went to the box for hooking. This left the Giants in the Blaze’s zone, playing the puck between them, with very few shots.

The Giants were next to lose a man in the penalty frenzy, with Sean McMorrow finding the box for hooking. This gave the Blaze the lead, with a quick powerplay goal from Adam Calder off the faceoff. A scramble in front of the net gave Calder the chance to fire the puck past Murphy in the Giants’ net, with Chambers and Stewart picking up assists, at 26:19.

With the Giants back at full strength, they picked up their game, gaining a few chances on the Blaze net. This proved to work, as they picked up their first of the night, and equalising goal, at 29:12. The goal came as Evan Cheverie carried the puck into the Blaze zone. A pass to Brandon Benedict on the wing left Pat Bateman open at the front of the net. A pass across the net gave Bateman a perfect shot past Hirsch’s blocker.

The Blaze were quick to answer, only 43 seconds later, at 29:55. A pass from Stewart to Campbell in the Giants’ zone left Murphy out of position in the net. A pass from Campbell to Robinson left an easy tap-in for the goal.

The Giants were quick to jump back on the penalty wagon, as McMorrow picked up a 2 minute penalty for roughing. This was a short-lived powerplay for the Blaze, as Calder joined in with a 2 minute penalty for interference, leaving the play at 4-on-4 for just under a minute. The 4-on-4 play was held in the Blaze end, with very few shots on goal.

The Giants then picked up another penalty with Benedict visiting the box for tripping. The Blaze managed to hold on to the puck in the Giants’ zone, cycling the puck and passing around. The Giants got one chance, with Cheverie on down the ice, firing a shot on Hirsch – denied.

Another penalty for the Giants - Cheverie for hooking – saw the Blaze pick up their second powerplay goal of the night.  A pass from Weaver to Calder at the point, saw Calder rifle a shot, which was deflected into the net by Chambers, past Stephen Murphy’s pad, at 37:14, to end the period 3-1 Blaze.

The third period started dull, with end to end play and neither team being able to keep possession of the puck. Within the first 5 minutes, the Giants hadn’t had much of a chance, and started to pick up their game. This led to their second of the night, at 46:48. A pass from Jacobsen to Szwez left Shields in the slot, with a space in the bottom left corner of the net, as Shields fired the puck home.

Shields was quick to fire on net again, as he got on the end of a pass from Szwez, for a one-time shot, which was saved by Hirsch, and quickly followed by a slapshot from the point by Szwez.

The Blaze were quick to extend their lead, at 56:04, after passing in the Giants’ zone left Murphy out of position in the Giants’ net. The pass from Carlson to Fulgham then onto Chambers left an easy shot for the Blaze.

The Giants were determined to get back into the game, with another goal, bringing it back to a 1 goal game, just 29 seconds later, at 56:33. A pass from behind the net from Shields to Walsh at the point left space for a slapshot. Walsh rifled the low shot, giving Szwez the opportunity to tip in into the net past Hirsch.

This left the score at 4-3 in favour of the Blaze, the final score of the night. Colin Shields picked up man of the match for the home team, while Greg Chambers took the Blaze’s.

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• Giants sign Hoffman at the deadline
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