Giants expecting a storm in home double header says Jordan Kawaguchi

Last weekend’s hat-trick hero believes the Giants will be ready for the Storm.

“Games like these don’t come around too often, so it will be nice to be at home and have your routine and know what to expect,” he said.

“Any time you get to play a new team it does bring that excitement a little. You don’t know what sort of game that they are going to bring, you don't know what they have on their line-up and how it will perform against your own line-up.

“Admittedly at the start there will be a process of learning in the first game. After that it will be right down to the business of beating them.”

He agrees that home double header create an amazing atmosphere, something players can use on the ice.

“Any team that comes to the SSE knows how important our home crowd is to us,” he explained.

“They are always so loud and are always there to support us. I think its a very special place to play because of the atmosphere, the culture and the community that is has created.

“Every time we step on to the ice in front on the home fans it is so much fun, they are a big reason why we have a big third period push or comeback in games to get the job done.”

He added: “Manchester have put together a good team this season, you can see that with the standings.

“We know that they are going to come in and try to play their game right from the start.

“No doubt they will be excited to play against us. We welcome the challenge that they are going to bring into the games.”

Looking back at last week's games Kawaguchi said: “We have had quite a few injuries already this season for sure.

“But that is very much part of playing ice hockey and part of the UK league I guess, it is about how to adapt to that adversity.”

He added: “Hopefully we will start to get bodies back in the line-up in the coming weeks, but in the end of the day we have to play our style of hockey.”

While every game is important in the season the focus last week was very much on a big Challenge Cup qualification match against the Dundee Stars on Sunday.

He said: “We had lost three games against Dundee this season in the cup. We feel that we could have won all of those games.

“But not to take anything from them, they played extremely well in those games. They played well again in the last group game too.

“They are an opportunistic team and they took their chances to score. We gave them way to may scoring opportunities than what we would like to be doing in a game.”

Kawaguchi admits that it feels good to get on the scoresheet but it adds those scoring chances wouldn’t have come his way without his line mates creating those opportunities.

He explained: “To be honest there is much more than goes on behind every hat-trick, last Sunday I benefitted so much from great plays from my teammates which presented those scoring chances to me.

“It is always nice to be able to help and contribute goals in that way, especially in important games like the one against Dundee.

“There is no doubt when you are on the scoresheet and contributing that it gives you a good feeling.

“Our line-up can produce on any given night but on Sunday it was my turn. Heading into this weekend’s games, it could be someone else’s night anyone is capable of it.”

He adds that he pleased personally with how his season has been going so far.

“For me part of it comes down to it being my second season here in Belfast. I know what to expect and I know what Keefer expects of me too,” he said.

“I like being able to help the new guys who have joined the team this season to settle into life here in Belfast, especially since that was me last season.

“Personally, I enjoy that responsibility. I will take the goals and points when I get presented with those chances, but in the end it is a long season ahead of us.

“I will do all the little things that need to be done to help the team win.”

Kawaguchi agrees that there are going to be no easy games this season.

He said: “When you look back at the league before I joined last season, say five or six years ago, there was always the top five consistent teams who were always sitting up at the top of the league at the end of the season.

“I think in the last few years that the league has steadily got better, to be honest even if we look compare the talent that is in the league this year to last year, all the teams have recruited great talent. I think it's even better this year again.

“There are definitely not going to be any easy games this season, we have already experienced that early on and we have seen in other games in the league and cup too.

“Being Belfast and the returning champs, the other teams will be keen to cause upsets against us.

“Everyone is going to bring their A game against for us and we need to do the exact same too. It is a good challenge.

“You don’t want to be playing in meaningless games, you want to be playing in hard fought games that come right down to the wire.

“That is what gets your adrenaline pumping. We need to learn how to play consistently every night.”