THE Belfast Giants head into this weekend's clashes with the Cardiff Devils and Dundee Stars looking for a much-needed pick-me-up after a turbulent week of change at the SSE Arena.
Two players have left the club over the past five days, with Colby McAuley following fellow forward Chad Butcher out the door yesterday afternoon as the Giants responded to last week's harrowing home double-header defeats to the Manchester Storm.
The 5-2 and 5-4 losses to their opponents left head coach Adam Keefe fuming and threatening changes, while also demanding that things must improve dramatically if they are to get back in the title race.
“In our own building that’s unacceptable,” he blasted after Sunday's defeat, which leaves them 13 points behind Elite League leaders the Guildford Flames with two games in hand.
“Our execution was off. The preparation clearly wasn’t good enough and I need to shoulder the load on that. It’s going to be corrected this week.
“The compete level, the desire to win wasn’t there. We didn’t match Manchester.
“I didn’t recognise this weekend’s team. The back end did not get it done for us and it’s difficult to maintain a lead when that’s happening. That doesn’t solve the desire to win and desire to compete. I thought at times on the bench it just looked like a lifeless group that quit. That’s disappointing.”
This week the team have been forced to work hard, grinding through multiple 'bag' skates in practice - essentially forcing them to skate repeatedly until a coach feels they have made their point - as a result of their displays against the Storm.
But beyond that there have been changes, some which probably needed making in order to try and spark a misfiring roster into action now that they are facing a mountain to climb if they wish to defend their EIHL title.
Butcher - who has since been snapped up by the Allen Americans in the ECHL - was the first to go on Monday, the 26-year-old Canadian expected to play a key offensive role this season but instead proving a disappointment.
The British Columbia native scored just four goals and eight points in 22 games for the Giants while also posting a -1 rating in domestic play and was slated to be the healthy scratch in the line-up when everybody was fit and available.
That was followed by the rather hasty announcement yesterday that McAuley was joining him out the door, the Giants not even thanking the 26-year-old Alberta man in their brief statement on Twitter confirming his departure.
This one came as more of a shock given McAuley had scored five goals and 10 points in 17 league games for the Giants following a slow start to the campaign in the Champions League and Challenge Cup, and his style of play fit well into Keefe's system.
But now the Giants head on the road to Wales tonight (7pm) to take on the Devils before returning to the SSE Arena tomorrow (4pm) for a clash with the Stars knowing that, realistically, it needs to be two wins to get them back on track again.
New signing Josh Roach - the 30-year-old Canadian who has re-signed for the rest of the season - is unavailable, meaning Belfast will likely only be playing with three full lines in the two games, but Keefe will hope that the motivation he has instilled in his side will see them through.
He may get some injury relief, too, with defenceman Sam Ruopp nearing a return but it is believed his availability will be determined on game day.
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