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As Belfast Giants embark on their first final under Adam Keefe, we spoke to A View from the Bridge’s Patrick Smyth to get the view on what may lie ahead.

Paddy has followed the Giants since they began in 2000 and has been part of the AVFTB team since it started in 2005.

Now the 36-year-old gives us an insight from Belfast ahead of the big game.

 

EIHL: How do you think your coach will approach the final on Sunday?

PS: By snow-mobile by the looks of things. The Giants will play the road game they have been accustomed to all season.

It was that gritty road game that got away from us last Sunday in Ice Arena Wales, but previous visits have proven successful. Focus is needed to get back to that.

Throwing hits, blocking shots and giving the forwards space to play. These are two of the best teams in the league, both have found ways through the season to unlock each other’s game and if the Giants can get back to that Sunday's final will be quite the spectacle.

 

EIHL: Will the game being in Cardiff be an advantage for the Devils?

PS: Ha, Of course it will.  How could it not? 

Home comforts, no travel, familiar surroundings, familiar game day routines, familiar dressing room and an arena where almost 90% of the attending fans will be wearing your colours and cheering you on.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not throwing out any early excuses, you've asked a straight forward question and I'm extrapolating the answer, but we will have 350 Belfast fans in Cardiff, probably more than we've had there in many years.

They will make themselves heard. But you can't ignore the benefits to Cardiff with the game being at Ice Arena Wales.

Though we've beaten Cardiff there before this season, more than once, with all these factors in play. Therefore there is zero reason why we couldn't do the same again.

 

EIHL: Which players will your coach look to if the going gets tough in the game?

PS: This team has a lot of successful leadership on board. From Jonathan Ferland, former EBEL Championship winning captain of the Vienna Capitals, to Colin Shields, EIHL Playoff Winning captain, to our own leader on the ice, Blair Riley.

Yet Adam Keefe, a successful club captain in his own right, is ably supported by his coaching lieutenants in Rob Stewart, Jim Vandermeer and Brandon Benedict – all with immense amount of experience who, if the going gets tough, are at hand to offer their ideas, plans and advice on and off the ice.

Vandermeer is certainly a miss on the ice, as the most experienced NHL player in the EIHL, any team would miss his presence on the blueline. But he is still on hand with Adam on the bench to help motivate and direct the guys.

Let’s hope the going doesn't get tough though... and I'm stunned I answered that question without quoting Billy Ocean once.

 

EIHL: Which opposing player is one you regard as a threat?

Joey Martin. Easy and probably lazy answer I know, but still true.

Of the last 30 league games, Joey Martin has only failed to score a point in five of them. That included a 16-game point scoring streak. The man is a danger to every team in the EIHL and has been since he arrived.

Yet the real strength of the Cardiff Devils is the fact that shutting down Martin doesn't completely nullify the threat.

They have a depth in scoring throughout the team, that is why they demolished the Sheffield Steelers in the second Leg of the Semi-Finals and is why they are strutting to back to back EIHL titles.

 

EIHL: What do you think is the key to victory for your team?

PS: Scoring More Goals than Cardiff or stopping Cardiff from scoring more goals than us.

 

EIHL: Belfast won it in 2009, but have lost in three finals since? In your opinion, should they have won it more?

PS: Of course. To be honest I'd blanked a couple of them out. The Challenge Cup hasn't been that happy a hunting ground for the Belfast Giants, reaching right back to 2002 and that 5-0 defeat by Ayr in the Odyssey when we were already league Champions, a dark day early in our history that we still call "Black Sunday" and I wasn't that bothered back when we decided to "Opt-Out" of the competition for a few years. 

Yet winning it is a priority, winning every piece of silverware should be a priority. I remember thinking we had the opportunity to make that grand old trophy a more permanent fixture in Belfast after winning it in 2009.

Unfortunately what actually happened was a remarkable run of cup victories for the Nottingham Panthers that included three wins in the final over ourselves, the worst being the penalty shots win in 2014 at the NIC when, once again as league champions, we squandered a three- goal lead from the first leg.

So should we have won it more? Yes, we have had every opportunity to, and I have little doubt that we will have more opportunities to in the future, but for now, let’s win on Sunday, that's the only one that matters at this time.

 

EIHL: Who will score the game winning goal?

PS: That's a question I don't think I can answer. The depth of scoring on both teams means that plucking a single name from the ether wouldn't be fair on any one player picked or not.

What I can hope for is a high scoring barn burner of a game. These teams, as I've said, have fought tooth and nail on more or less every meeting.

Yet it would be disingenuous of me to feed you the clichéd "I hope it’s a tight and entertaining game for all"... I don't.

I actually hope we batter Cardiff in their own rink, just as every Cardiff fan hopes they batter us. I don't think it will work out that way. However, I believe in the ability of the Belfast Giants side, we've seen it all season and I'm sure the Giants can bring that trophy back over the Irish Sea! Roll on Sunday!