With four wins under their belts in the Challenge Cup — three of which came against the Dundee Stars — it’s time for the ‘real’ action to start for the Belfast Giants this weekend when they finally begin their Elite League campaign.
As much as Adam Keefe will play up the knockout competition as just as important — and quite rightly, as it is still one they want to win — there is no doubting the League crown is the one everyone wants above all and this weekend’s English double-header at the Manchester Storm and the defending Champions Sheffield Steelers is where his roster get their first true test.
And as he approaches it, Keefe has his first real decisions to make. While over the last few weeks, he’s been able to tinker with his line-up due to the repetitive nature of facing similar opposition, this weekend he needs to get it right in his bid to put four road points on the board early doors.
The skaters should work themselves out, with the defence likely to remain unchanged after their shut-out display in Dundee on Sunday, although the potential returns of Grant Mismash and Pierre-Olivier Morin could necessitate some alterations in the forwards.
But the biggest question undoubtedly comes at netminder and who gets the nod for which game.
Jackson Whistle has enjoyed an impressive start to the season
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Keefe will be delighted that Tom McCollum and Jackson Whistle have both started strongly, but that also makes it a tough decision as to how he will split the two games, particularly since it is not as simple as going with the hot hand given the first game is in Manchester.
While Whistle has been statistically better, conceding just two goals on 52 shots and backstopping that shut-out in Dundee on Sunday compared to McCollum’s eight in 78, the Storm Shelter can be an unforgiving venue for new goalies given it is much narrower than other Elite League arenas and working out angles can be a significant adjustment.
So will Keefe go for Whistle in Manchester, where he has played before, or will he reserve him for Sheffield instead? Or does he believe McCollum can shake off that five-goal game against the Stars on home ice a couple of weeks ago and rebound in a big way at the Utilita Arena?
It is also worth remembering that at the weekend, Whistle played behind a defence that was blasted by Keefe after that 6-5 game two weeks ago and was drilled all week before shutting out the same opponents a week later, a luxury McCollum has yet to be afforded.
Certainly, it will lay down a marker of how the Giants see their netminding tandem. Keefe insisted before the start of the season that he would play whichever netminder he thought would give them the best chance of winning games — here we find out who that is.
Either way, the Giants are confident they have two excellent options at their disposal regardless of who plays. We wait to see who.