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Challenge Cup defence gets underway Belfast Giants face Fife Flyers double-header

Mark Cooper hopes the Belfast Giants can maintain their standard of play in their Champions League matches as they prepare to get their domestic season underway
Mark Cooper hopes the Belfast Giants can maintain their standard of play in their Champions League matches as they prepare to get their domestic season underway Mark Cooper hopes the Belfast Giants can maintain their standard of play in their Champions League matches as they prepare to get their domestic season underway

OFF the back of their Champions Hockey League heroics, the Belfast Giants head into domestic action for the first time this season hoping to ride a wave of momentum into the start of their Challenge Cup title defence.

Adam Keefe's side face the Fife Flyers in a weekend double-header, welcoming the Scots to the SSE Arena today (7pm) before heading to Kirkcaldy tomorrow for the Group A rematch at Fife Ice Arena (6pm).

There is, of course, a danger that they could take their eyes off the ball given that the standard of opposition will decrease from what they have come up against in the CHL, with Ocelá?i T?inec and Davos two of the most feared sides in Europe.

However, on the other side of that is the confidence they will have gained from how they performed in their four games against the Czech champions and Swiss heavyweights, which saw them earn plenty of plaudits for their performances.

And it culminated in a much-deserved win in their most recent Group H game, taking T?inec to overtime at the SSE Arena and beating them in the shootout as Peyton Jones' four sudden death saves and Mark Cooper's winning goal secured a 3-2 victory.

Now they look to translate that into domestic success as they prepare for the challenge of the Flyers, and Cooper in particular is keen for them to do absolutely nothing different in the Elite League than they did in the CHL.

“We need to keep going the same way. Even though we only got one win, I think we’ve been playing really well," said the 30-year-old winger.

“We maybe need to tighten one or two things up a bit — our powerplay hasn’t been great, even though we scored one against T?inec — and then just keep building.

“It’s a long season, every game matters, but if we continue to build and grow and learn then we’ll have a successful season.

“We just have to come out and be confident. It’s important we don’t have a lull coming out of the CHL and keep the ball rolling and play for each other.”

Goalie Jones concurred, adding: "We just have to keep playing with high intensity and trust our game, keep dictating to other teams. We've shown that we're willing to put our bodies on the line and block shots, guys doing the little things to be successful.

"If we keep doing all that then we can definitely be in the mix for silverware at the end of the season."

For the first time this season head coach Keefe will have a tough decision to make on which imports will sit out the two games as, although the Giants have 16 on the books, they are only permitted to have 14 in their starting line-up for each game.

After his heroics against T?inec a week ago, Jones is almost certain to start one of the two games, but starting Jackson Whistle in the other would solve one of the import slots. Beyond that, however, it is unclear who Keefe will designate as the other healthy scratch.

"(The win over T?inec) certainly makes my decision a lot tougher, for sure. A lot more difficult for me to make that call. Everyone was great and contributed to that win, and that was great to see," said Keefe.

"We're going to take our time on those decisions to make sure I get them right and, to be honest, I don't think there's a right decision. We'll work through that as we go and the depth will pay off in the long run."