OFF the back of their 9-3 hammering of title rivals the Cardiff Devils last weekend, the confident Belfast Giants are preparing for a lengthy road stretch that could make or break their season.
Adam Keefe's side begin a run of six games away from the SSE Arena tonight when they take on the Manchester Storm at Planet Ice, Altrincham (7.30pm) before making the short trip down the road to Nottingham to face the Panthers at the Motorpoint Arena tomorrow.
Those games are followed by a massive double-header with title rivals the Sheffield Steelers at the Utilita Arena next weekend, before another extremely testing pair of games against the League-leading Guildford Flames and impressive Coventry Blaze the following weekend.
With the Giants nine points behind the Flames in the standings, but still with five games in hand that would take them top should they win all of them, a set of big results this month could set them up nicely going into the festive period and looking ahead to the end of the season, when they have a run of home games to look forward to.
For winger Steven Owre, he's prepared for a testing run of fixtures as they look to put their Elite League title defence firmly on track, starting tonight in Manchester.
"It's huge," says the 26-year-old Canadian. "We're on a few straight (road games) now, so it'll be a tough month. Lot of travel, lot of games on the road. Going on the road is difficult in any League so it'll be a big few weeks for us."
After the win over the Devils last weekend, head coach Adam Keefe also highlighted the importance of having a strong road trip having experienced it plenty of times himself both as a player and behind the bench, knowing it could be the difference behind a title challenge and simply gearing up for the play-offs.
"I noticed the road trip coming up and I knew it was important that we finished well at home, especially against Cardiff. The real challenge now is to go on the road and set ourselves up for success," he said.
"We've all been around for this November road swing and when you come out of it with a good record, you're setting yourself up for that home stretch down the very end. That's something we're looking to do."
The Giants will also be pleased that, after a few weeks of struggling to find the back of the net, they finally found some secondary scoring at the weekend as they put four past the Glasgow Clan and then exploded offensively with a seven-goal second period against Cardiff.
Owre led that scoring surge with four against the Devils, ending his own 11-game scoreless streak, and he believes they have finally found the key that will unlock their full scoring potential.
"The secondary scoring hasn't been there but we knew we have a lot of skill in that room," he added.
"Big relief, really. It was a struggle to start the season but we know we have a lot of skill in that room. It was bound to happen.
"It was good to get a couple off my back and it was good for the confidence. I knew I was struggling offensively but one was bound to go in eventually.
"I felt like I'd been playing pretty well and doing the little things right and battling hard. I'm confident in who I am as a player and I knew one would eventually go in. To get one at the right end of the ice... that was a good feeling."
