58-678: The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast , Northern Ireland . They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and are the current champions for the 7th time in their history. They play their home games at the SSE Arena (formerly known as the Odyssey Arena). Since their inception in 2000,
116-623: A challenge match against the Dundee Stars , with Ron Shudra 's number 26 retired in summer 2009. Tommy Plommer 's number 11 has also been retired. Eight people who have been associated with the Steelers have been inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame . Alex Dampier , who coached the Steelers from January 1993 to the end of the 1997–98 season, was inducted in 1995 and Mike Blaisdell , who coached and occasionally iced for
174-793: A computer-based reservation system. The first freight-focused route started between Gothenburg, Sweden, and Kiel , Germany . The ship was the MS Stena Transporter . During the 1980s, Stena acquired three other ferry companies. In 1990, Stena Line doubled in size with the acquisition of Sealink British Ferries from Sea Containers . This first became Sealink Stena Line, then Stena Sealink Line and finally Stena Line (UK), which now operates all of Stena's ferry services between Great Britain and Ireland . In 1996, Stena Line introduced its 20,000 tonne HSS ( High-speed Sea Service ) vessels, which operated: Belfast – Stranraer ; Holyhead – Dún Laoghaire and Hook of Holland – Harwich . In addition to
232-525: A full house. David Matsos was appointed as coach for the 2006–07 season. He led the Steelers to a fourth-place finish in the league and a place in the Challenge Cup Finals. In 2007 team Owner Bob Phillips and his wife sold their other Elite League club the Cardiff Devils in order to concentrate on building the Steelers. The club won that season's Elite League Playoff Championship after beating
290-542: A game against the Sheffield Steelers at Utilita Arena, Adam Johnson of the Nottingham Panthers sustained a fatal injury. The injury occurred when Johnson's neck came into contact with the skate of Steelers player Matt Petgrave . The game was halted immediately, and medical personnel from both teams, as well as medically trained spectators, rushed to assist. Players from both teams gathered around Johnson during
348-751: A person's political or religious affiliation were banned from the arena. The national anthem of the United Kingdom , traditionally played before games at other arenas in the Elite League, is not played before Giants games. These policies have been successful as the Giants have built a large and enthusiastic fanbase which has become known as the 'Teal Army'. As of 16 March 2020, the Giants have averaged an attendance of 4,387, ranking them 3rd amongst UK teams and 80th in Europe. The Giants have an official podcast, "A View From
406-704: A popular local rendition of the old children's folk song "I'll Tell Me Ma". This is mixed into " Song 2 " by English Britpop group Blur before face-off . Squad for 2024-25 Elite League season These are the Top 10 Points Scoring Leaders for the Belfast Giants: Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2021–22 2022–23 Stena Line Stena Line
464-638: A professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield , England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport ) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena . They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League . The club's main (title) sponsor is Sheffield Window Centre. Ice Hockey existed in amateur form in Sheffield, but the sport began its return to an era of arenas and stadium size crowds with
522-654: A suspension. The season was cancelled completely in February 2021. In March 2022, the Belfast Giants won their fourth Challenge Cup title after beating the Cardiff Devils 3–2 in overtime at the SSE Arena . The victory made head coach Adam Keefe the most successful in Giants history. The Giants then clinched the 2021–22 Elite League title in April, after a 2-1 shootout victory over the Sheffield Steelers. However they missed out on
580-660: A third assistant captain. The season began with an exhibition tournament, the BT Ice Cup, hosted by the Giants with invitations to the London Knights , Eisbären Berlin , and the Frankfurt Lions . In their first league game, the Giants suffered a 9–3 defeat to the London Knights. This would be followed by a succession of sub-par performance on the road. By late September, Whistle decided to bring in centre Sean Berens to bolster
638-456: A turn in fortune for the Giants mid-way through the season, playing in front of a consistently sold-out Odyssey Arena. The Giants would finish the season with a respectable 17-16-6-9 record, finishing in 6th place, and progressing into Group A of the playoffs to then be knocked out with a 3–3 record. The Giants saw more success in the Challenge Cup, finishing 1st in the group stage to progress to
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#1732848732613696-578: Is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark , France , Germany , the United Kingdom , Ireland , Latvia , the Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Finland and Sweden . Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere . It is a sister company to one of the world's leading tanker company Stena Bulk . Stena Line
754-571: The Coventry Blaze 2–0 in the final with goals from Johnathan Phillips and Dan Tessier. The Steelers were knocked out of the following season's Knockout Cup and Challenge Cup early, but finished first in a league campaign that saw them lose just three times in regulation. They made this a double by beating Nottingham Panthers 2–0 in the Play-Off final. The Steelers season ended in the Quarter Finals of
812-530: The Marketing Director at the club and set about promoting ice hockey to a city raised on the footballing success of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday . Wood had a specific target, seeking to attract children and families to the city's new sporting Arena. They also began taking players to local football matches and together with mascots in an attempt to pull in football fans too. The Steelers' announcer David Simms gave certain players nicknames in
870-532: The 1991–92 season to help the crowd associate with the players such as 'Rocket Ron Shudra, 'Stormin' Steve Nemeth and 'Magic' Mark Mackie. The Steelers were named in honour of Sheffield's industrial past, much like the American football team of the same name based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , the sharing of nicknames is merely a coincidence. The American football team actually predates Sheffield's team by 58 years and
928-598: The Arena to meet the growing demand. The Manchester v Sheffield game in 1997 saw a UK record 17,245, such was the passion for the game at that time. On Sunday 3 December 2006, the Steelers played in their 1000th ever game. The game was against the Basingstoke Bison at the Hallam FM Arena, for which special orange jerseys had been made for the match. The Steelers lost the game 3–2 and the jerseys were all auctioned off at
986-677: The Backroom Staff Hall of Fame. Ken Priestlay, Tommy Plommer , Scott Allison and Tim Cranston were inducted to the Players Hall of Fame in 2005 and Ron Shudra and Mike Blaisdell were inducted in 2006. David Simms, responsible for press and media at the club, and Andy Akers, Equipment Manager, were inducted to the Backroom Staff Hall of Fame in 2006 and Mike O'Connor, general manager, was inducted in 2007. League Championships Play Off Championships Autumn Cups Challenge Cups 20–20 Hockeyfest Tournament Player of
1044-475: The Belfast Giants at that time as 'Black Sunday' A reference to the jersey worn by the team during the match, introduced for the occasion of their inaugural Challenge cup as well as the day it was played on and the heavy defeat by a team that had suffered crushing losses to them during the regular season. Hockey fans who watched that game and also watched the Winter Olympics Men's Ice Hockey final later on/in
1102-580: The Bridge", hosted by fans Patrick Smyth, Davy McGimpsey, Simon Kitchen, and Gareth Martin. There is also an official supporters club known as the Giants OSC. For many years, the Giants have been introduced onto the ice with the song "Rise" by English rock band The Cult . In recent years, " A Warrior's Call " by Danish band Volbeat has also been used as the team's entrance theme. Their goal song begins with The Irish Rovers ' version of " The Belle of Belfast City ",
1160-402: The Challenge Cup. In 2002–03, the Giants altered their home jerseys to feature red shoulder piping with teal and black stripes. For 2004–05 the Giants replaced the red shoulder piping with black piping on home jerseys and changed away jerseys to mirror these except with teal as the primary colour. Ahead of the 2021–22 EIHL season, the Giants unveiled a refreshed primary logo and alteration to
1218-411: The Elite League grand slam with a 4-1 victory over Cardiff in the play-off final - becoming the first team to win all three domestic trophies in the same season since Nottingham in 2013. Since 2000 the Giants' main logo has depicted a stylized version of the mythical warrior Finn McCool , who is commonly portrayed as a giant in popular folklore. The original logo had Finn brandishing a hockey stick with
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#17328487326131276-542: The Fife Flyers on the final day of the season to take the title. Paul Thompson left the Sheffield Steelers on 1 October 2018, citing personal reasons. He was replaced as head coach by Tom Barrasso . On 16 April 2019 the club announced that Aaron Fox had been appointed as head coach and general manager of the club. On 8 March 2020, the Steelers won the 2019–20 Challenge Cup beating Cardiff Devils 4–3 – their first Challenge Cup title for 17 years. On 28 October 2023, during
1334-512: The Fife Flyers. They were lead to victory by head coach Adam Keefe who previously played for the Giants. The Belfast Giants Ltd. was founded in 1997 by two Canadian businessmen, Bob Zeller and his associate Albert Maasland, after Zeller was in talks with the British Ice Hockey Superleague (BISL) to launch a new franchise in the United Kingdom. The city of Belfast was chosen, with its new £92 million Millennium Commission project,
1392-444: The Giants have won fourteen major honours, including seven British league championships , three British championships by winning the play-offs , and five Challenge Cups . The Stena line Belfast giants have a very interesting history. The biggest moment in the teams history would be winning the treble in the 2022-23 season. Then winning the league, followed by the league playoffs against The Cardiff Devils and The challenge cup against
1450-405: The Giants made their debut on 16 September 2000 against the Nottingham Panthers losing 5–1, with Kory Karlander scoring the club's first ever goal. The next evening, the Giants would travel to Bracknell in an unwelcome return for Whistle and his former Bees core. The Giants came out on top 6-5 after a shoot-out for their first ever win. However, the Giants would win only 4 out of 15 games to start
1508-583: The Giants offence. Berens' arrival and subsequent placement on the first line with Riehl and Ruff would prove a catalyst for the Giants' success to come. The Giants would go on a 9-game unbeaten streak shortly thereafter, which was broken by two losses, the first away in London and the second at home to the Nottingham Panthers on 16 October, which would be their last home defeat of the season. The Giants would then win 7–2 at home against Ayr to gain 1st place, where
1566-496: The Giants were welcomed at Belfast City Airport by over one thousand boisterous fans. Unfortunately the Giants would struggle with a championship hangover as the team botched come playoff time, not making it past the qualification group. The Giants would, however, advance to the Challenge Cup final for the first time in their history, only to be stifled 5-0 by the Scottish Eagles. That particular match became known amongst fans of
1624-437: The Giants' wordmark in the foreground. The inaugural Giants uniforms featured white home jerseys with red and teal striping, matching socks, and black shorts. The inaugural away jerseys featured their now famous teal with red and white striping, matching socks, and black shorts. For the 2001–02 season the Giants introduced red jerseys with teal and white striping for the BT Ice Cup, and black jerseys with teal and red striping for
1682-698: The Odyssey Complex, due to be completed with the addition of a deal brokered between the Odyssey Trust and facility management company SMG to house the new hockey team in the arena. On 22 March 2000, the BISL confirmed that the Belfast Giants had been accepted into the league to begin play in September for the 2000-01 season . In order to build a competitive roster for the new club, Bob Zeller approached Bracknell Bees championship-winning head coach Dave Whistle to become
1740-617: The Play-offs after being knocked out by the Cardiff Devils . The 2010–11 season was preceded by a "walk-out" of Steelers management and office staff, after a vote of no confidence in Owner Bob Phillips. Phillips put the club up for sale, and in December 2010 Paul Ragan, the CEO and owner of the Cardiff Devils, finalised acquiring the rights to the Sheffield Steelers. The Steelers were at the top of
1798-449: The Sheffield Steelers would clinch the Elite League title for the first time since the 2015–16 EIHL season qualifying them for the 2024–25 Champions Hockey League season. Squad for 2024–25 Elite League season The Steelers have retired the numbers of six players. Ronnie Wood's number 7 and Tim Cranston 's number 4 have been retired. Tony Hand 's number 16 and Ken Priestlay 's number 9 were retired on 21 January 2003 at
Belfast Giants - Misplaced Pages Continue
1856-445: The Steelers between 1999 and 2004, was inducted in 2004. On the player front, Chris Kelland was inducted in 2002, Rick Brebant in 2004, Paul Adey in 2006, Scott Neil in 2007, and most recently, legendary players Tim Cranston and 'Rocket' Ron Shudra in December 2010. The Steelers started their own Hall of Fame in 2005 in which honoured members are voted for by the fans. There are two Hall of Fames: The Players Hall of Fame and
1914-528: The Steelers incorporated this in their match night celebrations At the end of season 2014–15 they beat the Cardiff Devils to clinch the Elite League title with 74 points. On 20 April 2015, they parted company with coach Gerad Adams . They soon brought in Paul Thompson , former GB coach, as head coach and general manager. At the end of season 2015–16 they became only the second club in the history of ice hockey to become back to back champions when they defeated
1972-645: The Year Trophy Coach of the Year Trophy The Ice Hockey Annual Trophy (Leading British points scorer) First Team All-Star Second Team All-Star The Steelers have won the Grand Slam of all available trophies three times in their history. In the 1995–96 season they won the Benson & Hedges Cup , the league championship and the playoffs . In the 2000–01 season they won
2030-598: The autumn of 2010. On 10 May 2023, Stena has announced that they had ordered two NewMax freight hybrid freight vessels for the Belfast to Heysham route. They are due to begin service in Autumn 2025, giving a 80% boost in capacity to the current ships at 147 metres (482 ft) long with 2,800 lane meters. The NewMax vessels will be methanol powered and have built in electrification including for shore power and battery propulsion. Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are
2088-601: The club's home, away and Challenge Cup jerseys. One corner of the SSE Arena has been dubbed 'Boomerang Corner' – named in memory of long time Giants fan, Stewart Boone – and was left unreserved for a large group of fans who generate noise, bang drums, and start game night chants until the 2022–23 season when these seats became bookable. Originally there was a traditional four-sided scoreboard suspended over centre ice. This has recently been replaced by two large screens for scores and video replays; one behind Boomerang Corner and one at
2146-434: The company, thus becoming the sole owner of P&O Stena Line, which soon changed its name to P&O Ferries. In 2000, Stena Line purchased yet another Scandinavian ferry operator: Scandlines AB. In November 2006, Stena ordered a pair of "super ferries" with a gross tonnage of 62,000 from Aker Yards , Germany for delivery in 2010, with an option for two more ships of the same design. The new ferries will be amongst
2204-437: The coronavirus pandemic. The Challenge Cup was the only competition to see a winner crowned. The 2020–21 Elite League season - originally pencilled in for a revised start date of 5 December - was suspended on 15 September 2020, because of ongoing uncertainty over coronavirus pandemic restrictions. The EIHL board determined that the season was non-viable without supporters being permitted to attend matches and unanimously agreed to
2262-467: The early hours of the next day would have seen Theo Fleury, a later Giants signing receive his gold medal as part of the winning team. With the eventual demise of the Superleague in mid-2003, there were concerns that the Giants organisation would not survive because of developing financial issues. The club ran up debts of approximately £1.4 million, with Maasland saying that the Giants were "by far and away
2320-479: The emergency response efforts. South Yorkshire Police are conducting an investigation into the incident and have urged the public to avoid speculation while inquiries continue. On 13 March 2024, the Sheffield Steelers brought an end to their four year trophy drought by winning the Challenge Cup at home against the Guildford Flames 3–1, their second Challenge Cup title in the Elite League era. On 24 March 2024,
2378-462: The end of their fast lap. This tradition was then called "the Eddy" named after the player who originated this tradition Cullen Eddy . Some sources say that this was originally a prank devised by players at the time Mark Thomas and Jason Hewitt who skated over to Eddy and told him that it was a 20 year tradition at the club to do a fast lap around the perimeter of the ice. The prank paid off and after that
Belfast Giants - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-578: The first EIHL team to win a medal in Europe after their appearance in the Continental Cup superfinal. Tony Smith took over as sole owner in August 2011 after buying out Paul Ragan. The Steelers won the 2013–14 Play-Off final 3–2 against Belfast Giants. From 2014 onwards any time that the Sheffield Steelers win a game the player dubbed Man of the Match does a fast lap around the ice with a pre-planned celebration at
2494-834: The first head coach of the Belfast Giants. Initially, Whistle was sceptical, deterred by having seen the violent footage of The Troubles on North American news media. In response, Zeller invited Whistle to visit Belfast and experience the changing city first-hand. Following his visit, Whistle agreed on a 3-year deal to coach the Giants. Whistle's roster recruitment began by looking toward his championship team in Bracknell, signing seven core players from that team to build upon in Belfast: Shane Johnson , Todd Kelman , Rob Stewart, Todd Goodwin, Kevin Riehl , Paxton Schulte , and Colin Ward . The captaincy
2552-647: The game. In the 2000–01 campaign the Steelers completed a Grand Slam, becoming only the second club to win the Autumn Cup , League , Challenge Cup and Playoff Titles in the same season. They retained the Play-off title the following season, the first team to achieve this in the Superleague era, beating Manchester Storm on penalties in the Play-Off final, held at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham in front of
2610-580: The largest in the world, to be operated on Stena's North Sea route from Hook of Holland to Harwich . The existing ships from the North Sea were to be moved to the Kiel–Gothenborg route, whereas the ships from Kiel would transfer to the Gdynia to Karlskrona route. The new ferries were launched in 2010, with Stena Hollandica entering service on 16 May 2010, and Stena Britannica planned to enter service in
2668-494: The league for the majority of the season, battling it out with the Cardiff Devils, .and won the league after back-to-back victories against the Braehead Clan . The Steelers were tied on points with Cardiff but won the league having more regulation time wins. After several rounds of negotiations, Simon decided not to renew his contract, and Ryan Finnerty was installed as player/coach after. During that season Sheffield Steelers became
2726-512: The most recent of which came during the 2022-23 campaign, five Challenge Cup titles (including in 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22 and 2022–23), and two play-off championships. Belfast Giants were added to EA Sports' NHL 20 game, enabling players to take control of the Giants in the Champions Hockey League . The 2019–20 EIHL season was cancelled on 13 March 2020 with the remaining league fixtures and subsequent play-offs scrapped due to
2784-587: The opening of the Sheffield Arena in 1991 and the creation of the Sheffield Steelers ;— the ice hockey team that was to occupy the new arena. The Sheffield Arena was built as part of the city's facilities for the staging of the World Student Games , and is a sizeable stadium originally seating 8,500 and located close to the city centre. Ronnie Wood and David Gardener-Brown were at the helm as
2842-557: The opposite corner of the rink. Two traditional scoreboards are located in the two remaining corners. Sectarianism has long been a significant problem with sports in Northern Ireland. When the club was established, Giants' management was committed to ensure the club did not attach itself to any particular faith or community, instead aspiring to represent Belfast as a whole. A number of policies were introduced to achieve this. Football colours, clothing, and flags which may have displayed
2900-453: The team would remain for the rest of the season. Following a 4–1 win at Sheffield on 17 January 2001, the Giants travelled to Bracknell needing only 1 point to win the league. On the 19th January, in a poetic return to Bracknell for Whistle and his former Bees core, the Giants would force a 2–2 draw with the home side to clinch their first ever championship with a league record-breaking 16-game unbeaten streak. Upon their arrival back in Belfast,
2958-513: The three 1,500-passenger HSS vessels, Stena Line ordered two smaller 900-passenger HSS vessels to operate on the Gothenburg – Frederikshavn route. Due to the bankruptcy of the shipyard, only the first of these vessels was ever completed. In 1998, Stena's operations from Dover and Newhaven formed a joint venture with P&O European Ferries as P&O Stena Line , owned 40% and 60% respectively. In 2002, P&O acquired all of Stena's shares in
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#17328487326133016-534: The treble after losing the 2022 EIHL play-off final 6-3 to the Cardiff Devils. The Belfast Giants won their fifth Challenge Cup in March 2023 following a 9-3 victory against the Fife Flyers in a sold out SSE Arena. The following month they clinched the 2022–23 Elite League title with a 6-1 victory against the Guildford Flames , thus making them the most successful team in the Elite League era as of 2023. They then completed
3074-596: The two-leg semi-final against the Sheffield Steelers . The Giants won the first leg, 2–1, and lost the second leg, 7–0, for an 8-2 aggregate loss. Dave Whistle re-signed ten members of the original line-up for the Giants second season, adding only six to the new roster; defencemen Chad Allan and Terran Sandwith , forwards Curt Bowen, Dave Matsos and Jason Ruff , and Mike Bales in goal. Jeff Hoad, Jason Bowen, and Colin Ward would retain their roles as captain and assistant captains respectively, to be joined by Sandwith as
3132-524: The worst business [he had] been involved in". One partner company was believed to be owed nearly £65,000. However, facing the threat of liquidation, creditors voted to accept a 20p-to-the-pound pay-out, allowing the club to continue under new ownership of local businessman Jim Gillespie and join the newly established first-tier of British ice hockey dubbed the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). The Belfast Giants have won six EIHL regular season titles -
3190-497: The year. Finally, the Giants played their first home game against the Ayr Scottish Eagles on 2 December 2000 to a sell-out crowd of 7,300 in what Whistle described as an "awesome spectacle" despite a 2–1 defeat. In the first period, Paxton Schulte would score the only goal for the Giants and fought Trevor Doyle shortly after, cementing his overnight status as a cult player for the hometown fans. The home ice proved to instigate
3248-490: Was already popular worldwide due to their dominance in the National Football League in the 1970s. Sheffield and Pittsburgh are considered sister cities . The Steelers have continued to fill the capacity of the Arena nearly every season since, including over 9,000 vs Nottingham on Boxing Day 2021. Sheffield began breaking several British ice hockey attendance records, and in March 1996 added an extra 1,200 seats to
3306-405: Was awarded to incumbent signing Jeff Hoad , with assistants Jason Bowen and Colin Ward. The beginning of the inaugural Giants season was marred with difficulties as the opening of the Odyssey Arena was delayed until early December 2000. This meant that the Giants were forced to play their first 15 games of the season on the road, without consistent ice-time for training or practice. Regardless,
3364-403: Was founded in 1962 by Sten A. Olsson in Gothenburg , Sweden , which still serves as the company's headquarters, when he acquired Skagenlinjen between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn , Denmark . In 1972, Stena Line was one of the first ferry operators in Europe to introduce a computer-based reservation system for the travel business area. In 1978, the freight business area also started operating
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