GAME THREAD: Steelers v Belfast Giants: LEAGUE: 18th November

[ginger]

I thought we looked really solid.

I feel Belfast came out and threw the body a fair but, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sato gets looked at for his hit on Neuvalienen. That felt reckless.

We didn’t retaliate with petulance, we didn’t go into our shell like we have in past seasons. We took the game to Belfast and really could and should have had more. I feel we had an extra gear but didn’t need to use it.

Let’s not forget, last season, we lost twice to a short benched Belfast Team.

I feel Diffley and Tansey are the players we’ve been screaming for. Diffley is such a clever DMan, very calm and thinks so far ahead.

From what I've seen this year, Fox has got the D spot on. Tansey has been excellent - physical, smart and a better puck carrier than expected. Diffley reminds me of Bolibruck - smooth skater, makes smart plays in his own zone and good simple first pass. Not quite as offensive but a lot of similarities.

[ekt]

The Giants actually out shot us, although I thought we did a good job of keeping the majority to the outside, whereas I thought our shots/chances were in better areas.

Looking at the stats on the Elite website we were at 1.58 expected goals based on shooting locations, whereas Belfast were at 1.36......so not much in it.

Pre game my mate brought out his usual stats and he made the point that Besko might be the Giants problem at the moment, because the actual goals conceded is a lot more than the predicted based on where shots have been taken against him.....is he carrying an injury?

I think the other possible problem with the Giants is they might not have the players to carry out Keefe's style of play. They like to play a high press and pin teams in their own zone, but that also leaves them vulnerable to the counter.

Last season they had Conway winning the faceoffs, so they immediately had the possession to carry out their tactics. Last night they only won 35% of faceoffs, so we gained possession and by good play and a slower Belfast team, we were able to break the high press time and time again.

It will be interesting to see what Belfast do next, because their defence looks weaker than last season, they need to be stronger at faceoffs and clearly Besko is struggling. ....I predict 3 or 4 changes.

Regards

Doom

I agree with all of that.

Belfast need to improve, something they usually do as the season progresses, but this year they may have dropped too many points early season for them to be a challenger.
Its only one game but based on their other recent results they dont look to be a serious threat this year.

Cardiff look to be our main threat this season.

[smbmetal]

Enjoyed watching the highlights of this having not being able to catch the game.

The difference in speed compared to the Glasgow game was night and day for me, including the desire to win the puck battles.

My favourite part was Keefe's post-game interview.........the definition of a unhappy coach there.