It’s taken the Belfast Giants around four months to hit top spot in the Elite League so, understandably, the desire is not to give it straight back to the Cardiff Devils within the space of a week.
And so begins arguably the biggest seven days of their season thus far as Adam Keefe’s men, fresh off their victories over the Sheffield Steelers and Manchester Storm at the weekend that elevated them a point above the Devils who were off winning the Continental Cup, look to consolidate their place at the summit.
Wednesday night’s game at the Guildford Flames (7.30pm) is the first hurdle to navigate, followed by a return to home ice with the Coventry Blaze on Saturday.
Deal with both of those successfully and they will get the chance to open up a five-point lead on the Devils should they win what is now a massive meeting between the League’s top two in Wales on Sunday.
By no means would that mean the Giants are home and hosed. Even after this weekend they still have 21 more games to contend with before any silverware is handed out, but it is always better to have your fate in your own hands rather than relying on results elsewhere.
And even in the short-term, being top in January is a rare feat for the Giants. So used to being the chasers rather than the chased due to their backloaded schedule that sees them spend most of the first half of the season on the road, this is the best position a Belfast roster has been in at this stage of the season for many years.
“It’s a big deal,” confirms defenceman Gabe Bast.
“We’ve got 20-something games left and we’ve got to keep chipping away and keep putting good efforts together and remain in top spot.
“In the room we’ve got to take it on a game-by-game basis. There’s a handful of guys in there who know how to come from behind but now we know every team is coming for us, so we’ve got to have that mindset and put together solid efforts all over the ice.
“We want to be in first place and have other teams chasing us. We don’t want to give any points back. Going into Guildford, it’s a tough building to play in, but both teams have to skate in the same rink so we just need to go out there and play hockey.”
Armed with the League’s stingiest defence (71 goals against in 30 games), second-best offense (112 goals) and the best powerplay (24.42 per cent), it’s not hard to see why the Giants have found themselves in this position, and with netminder Jackson Whistle having found a groove in net, too — the Great Britain international has a .947 save percentage since the turn of the year — things are clicking at all ends of the ice.
“It’s a lot of fun when you’re winning games. It’s a long, stressful season but when you’re winning games and getting in a groove, it’s a pretty special feeling,” adds Bast, who contributed a goal and an assist over the weekend
The ambition now, though, is trying to put what head coach Keefe described as a performance lacking energy against the Storm on Sunday behind them in order to peak against the Flames at the Spectrum tonight.
Despite picking up the 3-2 win that took them top of the table, the Giants were decidedly lacklustre after racing into a three-goal lead at the end of the first period, being forced to hold on for the win in the dying stages as the visitors threw everything at them.
In the end, Bast’s well-placed slapshot with just 30 seconds left in the first period proved to be the game-winner, but it left the mood after the game somewhat bittersweet.
“It was an ugly effort but a win is a win,” points out the Canadian.
“You come from a pretty emotional game against Sheffield and then you have a little bit of an emotional let-down playing Manchester. But it’s points on the board and we have to move forward and build.
“We have to put that behind us and get ready for Guildford.”
Meanwhile, Giants forward Bobo Carpenter won the Elite League’s goal of the week for his powerplay goal against Manchester, while also seeing his goal against Sheffield rank sixth.