Adam Keefe needed only two words to sum up why the Belfast Giants clinched a ninth trophy of his reign on Wednesday night.
“Winners win,” smirked the head coach after lifting the Challenge Cup for a remarkable fifth time under his stewardship, before continuing: “The number one thing we look for in the off-season is character and winners and we’ve got a lot of them.”
The Giants do have winners aplenty in their locker room. Eleven of their 24 full-time players have won silverware in Belfast before. Of the remaining 13, only Karl Boudrias, Bo Hanson and Joe Cassetti had no experience of a title-winning season before.
They can no longer say that.
With a consummate 4-0 win over the Cardiff Devils in Wednesday’s Final, the Giants are well on their way to a potential second Grand Slam in three years after completing the first part of what could be a memorable treble, and they did it some style, too.
Jackson Whistle was immense in goal in saving all 37 shots that came his way. Three of the four lines grabbed goals as Ciaran Long’s game-winner saw the fourth line chip in, J.J. Piccinich notched the top line’s strike and Jordan Kawaguchi and Mark Cooper both fired in from the third line. Even the penalty kill, running a perfect 5-for-5, was on song.
After just one win in their last five games, this was the performance that the Giants knew they had in them, an innate ability to produce the goods when they need to, as they have for much of this season already. It’s why they’re three points clear at the top of the Elite League with nine games to go and a game in hand over their rivals.
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And now they have the silverware to prove that this is a championship winning team.
“Keefer, Steve (Thornton, head of hockey operations) and Robert (Fitzpatrick, owner) bring in good people,” said winger David Goodwin.
“We have a culture here that is unique. We have words up in our locker room – integrity, passion, commitment – those are the words that are the bedrock of this organisation. When times get tough, thankfully we have good leadership in the room.
“We had good buy-in, which I think was the difference. We’ve had a few ups and downs over the last few weeks of the regular season but we knew coming to the SSE we were going to have a good performance.”
There is a winning culture and then there is what the Giants have cultivated. Under Keefe, not only have they won nine of the 17 trophies available during his reign but they have been runners-up in a further three Finals in that time, too.
While there is no denying that the Challenge Cup favours the Giants as it pairs them with the three Scottish teams in the group stages, they still have to get the job done and they have time and time again. To have come out on top in six of the nine Finals they have played shows a determination not to come up short.
“It starts from the top down, it comes from Adam Keefe, Steve Thornton, all of our coaches, Taff (equipment manager Jason Ellery),” praised netminder Whistle.
“For us, we’ve built that winning culture. We’re not going to win a trophy every time but we’ve built a culture that gives us the best chance of winning every time. The organisation has done a great job of that.”
Belfast Giants’ JJ Piccinich celebrates scoring against the Cardiff Devils during Wednesday night’s Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena
That is why the Giants know that the job is only a third done. The players will have enjoyed their celebrations – now with a shattered trophy – but once they reconvene for their first practice session since their Cup glory on Friday morning, a new page is turned and it is straight back to their Elite League push.
Keefe’s men are in a very enviable position, already top of the pile but with a favourable run-in, too, with three games remaining against the bottom of the table Fife Flyers, whom they play on Saturday, and one clash with the ninth-placed Manchester Storm at the SSE Arena as well.
Indeed, once they’ve gotten this weekend – which also sees them head to the Glasgow Clan on Sunday – and a trip to the Devils next Friday out of the way, it’s five straight home games to follow, at the end of which they will hope to have the second piece of their Grand Slam bid resting in the trophy cabinet.
“We’re going to enjoy tonight first and foremost, they deserve it,” Keefe said after Wednesday’s win. “Friday, we’re going to make sure we get our heads back on straight because we have a huge weekend in Scotland.”
Never one to rest on his laurels, Keefe’s determination won’t be beaten. Fortunately for the head coach, he has 24 players who are ready and willing to match it.