Belfast Giants storm home to trophy triumph against Flyers

By Darryl Armitage
Published 3rd Mar 2023, 10:35 BST
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Fever pitch gripped fans of the Belfast Giants ahead of the Challenge Cup final against the Fife Flyers at the SSE Arena.

While the Flyers saw an opening shot bounce of Tyler Beskorowany’s pipes it was the Giants who dominated the majority of the game which saw them storm home to a 9-3 win.

Speaking to the News Letter on the ice after the game forward Mark Cooper said: “I am delighted to get this cup win. There has been a great buzz around the squad, the fans and the city all week going into tonight’s final. It is a very special feeling.”

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A little battered up after the game, he said: “I picked up the knock in the first period but it didn’t bother me in the slightest, but when the champagne started to flow after the cup presentations it made itself known again, so I had to deal with it. But it has been fun to be able to celebrate a trophy tonight. Hopefully we can win a few more before the end of the season.”

Belfast Giants’ Mark Cooper and David Goodwin celebrate after defeating the Fife Flyers to win the Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/PresseyeBelfast Giants’ Mark Cooper and David Goodwin celebrate after defeating the Fife Flyers to win the Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/Presseye
Belfast Giants’ Mark Cooper and David Goodwin celebrate after defeating the Fife Flyers to win the Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/Presseye

Cooper said it was so important to have the home advantage for the final, he remarked: “It’s incredibly important to have home ice in a final.

“We have the best fans in the league and they have been showing out all year long.

“It is so much fun to play in this building and you know that you will always get a great lift from the fans.”

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He agreed that getting the early goal in the game helped to settle any nerves.

Belfast Giants’ Ciaran Long celebrates scoring against the Fife Flyers with Mark Cooper during Wednesday nights Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/PresseyeBelfast Giants’ Ciaran Long celebrates scoring against the Fife Flyers with Mark Cooper during Wednesday nights Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/Presseye
Belfast Giants’ Ciaran Long celebrates scoring against the Fife Flyers with Mark Cooper during Wednesday nights Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/Presseye

He remarked: “We knew that the start of the game was going to be huge and our captain led us there and he got the opening goal of some really nice play.”

He added: “Fife pushed back in the game. We knew that they were a team that would fight right to the end and they did.

“Even a four goal lead wasn’t a comfortable one and we knew that they would find a way to get some life back into their game.

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“So we had to just keep applying the pressure to them and we got the job done.”

Belfast Giants’ Steven Owre with Fife Flyers’ Shane Owen during Wednesday nights Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/PresseyeBelfast Giants’ Steven Owre with Fife Flyers’ Shane Owen during Wednesday nights Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/Presseye
Belfast Giants’ Steven Owre with Fife Flyers’ Shane Owen during Wednesday nights Challenge Cup Final at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/Presseye

He added that it was good to get the job done in regulation rather than being pushed to overtime in last season’s final.

Cooper said: “It was a little more comfortable than last season’s final against Cardiff. You never know how a game will turn out until the very final buzzer. We had some push back from Fife tonight but we were all focused on getting the job done.”

Related topics:Fife FlyersFifeCardiff