The devil will be in the detail for Belfast Giants roadtrip

On the back of last weekend's 7-0 thrashing of the Coventry Blaze at the SSE and then having to dig deep for comeback the following night as they eyeballed a defeat in the Skydome, the Giants will be eager to build more momentum as they get their defence of their EIHL crown underway.

Cooper said: “We saw them in the pre-season games and we did quite well against them. But now that we are heading into the EIHL campaign it will be different for sure.

“I am sure that they will be a lot better than when we met them earlier in the year and eager to go against us.”

He added: “They have started to build a roll in their season so they will be wanting to ensure that that continues for them, and they won't want us stopping them.”

Cooper is expecting a demanding game from the Devils.

“It is going to be a great challenge for us heading over to Cardiff, we certainly won't be underestimating them in anyway.

“Both of the games this weekend are massive, we will be wanting to come home to Belfast with all of the four points.”