SSE Arena, Belfast – The Belfast Giants won the Viaplay Challenge Cup for the second season in a row, defeating the Fife Flyers 9–3 in front of a capacity crowd at the SSE Arena.
Mikael Johansson created the first moment of drama virtually on his own, circling the offensive zone twice before hitting the post with a wicked wrist shot on three minutes.
However, the Flyers were immediately made to pay for their missed chance by David Goodwin, who raced away on the transition and evaded the backcheck to score unopposed at the back door.
While Fife continued their offensive push, the quality of the Giants told on the ice and – most importantly – the scoreboard.
Belfast doubled their advantage while shorthanded after nine minutes, with Gabe Bast pouncing on a loose puck in neutral ice before feeding Donovan Neuls with another back door play.
Steven Owre added a third to the Giants’ tally as the first period wound down, deking through the offensive zone and poking the puck beyond a sprawling Shane Owen.
2023 Challenge Cup: Scott Conway, Belfast Giants (Image: EIHL)
After the restart, Belfast continued their fine work and scored in short order – albeit in controversial circumstances on the powerplay.
The Flyers felt there was netminder interference before Matt McLeod stabbed the puck into the net, but their appeal was shot down by the officials after a four-minute review.
But Fife never called it quit and were rewarded for their efforts midway through the second period, when a scramble in the crease sent the puck onto the stick of Jonas Emmerdhal, who hammered a slapshot into the net to break the shutout.
The Flyers struck for the second time at 38:18, with Janne Kivilahti sending the away crowd into raptures with a tenacious finish on Tyler Beskorowany.
When Fife headed to the powerplay just one minute later, the Flyers’ end erupted – only to be silenced by another shorthanded strike, this time from Ben Lake, to make it 5-2 just ten seconds later.
The Flyers and Giants exchanged blows in the opening minute of the third period, with Janne Laakkonen dragging Fife back into touching distance before Ciaran Long extinguished any hopes of a comeback.
Mark Cooper, Grant Cooper, and David Gilbert rounded out the scoring on a night to remember for the Giants.
Quotes as Belfast Giants second Challenge Cup in a row
Adam Keefe, Belfast Giants Head Coach:
“I can’t rank [my wins as Belfast head coach] because they’re all good. It’s extra special to win in front of the fans, for sure. We spoke about the importance of having a big start and making sure that we used the crowd to our advantage and the guys certainly did that.”
Todd Dutiaume, Fife Flyers Head Coach:
“I’m incredibly disappointed for our fanbase, who came out in huge numbers tonight. I thought we had a little bit of momentum in the second period, but allowing to come out and get the fifth goal was a dagger.
“We knew we were going to be up against some serious depth tonight and it only became more difficult when we lost Dillon Lawrence to a concussion.
“Unfortunately, we have to get ready to go again on Saturday, when we have a huge game against the Glasgow Clan. They [the players] need to find a way to get up for it and focus on a playoff run.”
Now the Belfast Giants have lifted another Challenge Cup, how do you see the season unfolding? Reply in the comments.
