In the 2023/24 season, Mark Cooper laid out his goals for his first campaign as captain of the Belfast Giants and, having done so the previous two seasons when he didn’t wear the ‘C’, right at the top of the list was lifting silverware.
Unfortunately, fate intervened to leave that dream unfulfilled for multiple reasons. Missing their captain for 25 games in the middle of their season due to a lower-body injury, the Giants floundered, and by the time Cooper was fit to return to the line-up, they were already out of the Challenge Cup and well adrift in the Elite League title race.
Further agony was to follow as they rallied to reach the Play-Off Final in Nottingham only to come up shy against the Grand Slam-winning Sheffield Steelers, leaving Cooper trophyless in his first campaign as Giants captain.
So, when he was the first man to get his hands on the Cup trophy on Wednesday after the Giants’ 4-0 win over the Cardiff Devils, it was a sweet, sweet moment for the Canadian winger, who accepted it with the biggest grin in the entire SSE Arena.
“It hurts your eyes getting all that champagne in there!” laughed the 32-year-old.
“No, it was unreal. Last year, we had a chance at the end of the year but we weren’t successful, and that stung. This game and this group, we put on a clinic and it was special to watch.
“I was talking to Laker (Ben Lake) on the bench after every shift saying we’re shutting everything down. It was so fun to be a part of it.”
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Having come into the game with just one win in their previous five outings, how the Giants would rise to the occasion was very much in question, but after weathering an early Cardiff storm they answered any doubts emphatically in a positive fashion.
The game was put beyond all doubt when Cooper himself scored the Giants’ fourth just 2:45 into the second period – his ninth goal of the Cup campaign – and he was proud of how his team approached the tie.
“Before the game, there was a nervous energy, and I think a good way to describe our group is we have a calm swagger. We were calm, played on our toes and it was so fun,” beamed Cooper.
“I don’t think any guy stopped their feet until around two minutes to go, I grabbed Laker and said… well, I can’t say what I actually said!
“We haven’t been focused on the result, we’ve been focused on the journey to get there and it was fun to be a part of. I’m so happy for this group.”
More could yet follow. The celebrations lasted long into the night on Wednesday but, after a day’s recovery, the Giants were straight back to work on Friday morning ahead of a massive Scottish double-header away to the Fife Flyers on Saturday (7.15pm) and Glasgow Clan on Sunday (5pm) as they look to maintain their bid for the League title as well.
Adam Keefe’s side are three points clear at the top of the table with nine games remaining, one of which is a game in hand over the chasing pack who have eight left to go, and after the weekend and a trip to the Devils on Friday, five home games follow where they can launch an all-out assault on winning their fourth title in the previous five seasons which, after tying the Steelers and Nottingham Panthers on 14 trophies with their win on Wednesday, would make them the most successful team in the Elite League era.
First, though, is getting their mindset back in gear for their trip to Scotland to firstly take on the League’s basement dwellers in the Flyers, who have won just four of their 45 games all season, but motivation won’t be in short supply.
“We want more. We need to be hungry for more,” maintained Cooper, who has lifted six trophies in his four seasons with the Giants.
“The last time we won the Challenge Cup (in 2023), it fuelled us for more (the Giants went on to win the Grand Slam that season) and we want more.
“The guys are celebrating with their friends and family, but we know that come Saturday, we have to put our League hats back on and get back down to business, and we will.”