Belfast Giants: Adam Keefe sets sights on play-offs after Giants win league title to complete double
- Published
Conway penalty clinches title for Belfast Giants
Belfast Giants head coach Adam Keefe has set his sights on a treble after his side won the Elite League to complete a double.
The Giants beat Sheffield Steelers in a shootout to clinch the title for a record-equalling fifth time.
It added to their Challenge Cup success earlier in the season and Keefe's thoughts turned to the play-off trophy after the match.
"The play-off is one that has eluded myself and Jeff Mason," he said.
"The play-offs are a tough one to win, obviously everyone wants to win it. Not everyone gets to win the league title or the Challenge Cup.
"All eight teams have an opportunity to win that play-off. We want to first of all make sure that we are in that final four, and the quarter-final won't be an easy one.
"We are going to enjoy this trophy and then we will worry about the next one."
Belfast Giants won the Elite League for a record-equalling fifth time
Sunday night's dramatic encounter with the Steelers ended 1-1 after Mark Cooper gave the Giants an early lead only for Tanner Eberle to equalise in the second period.
The game was then decided on penalties, with the Giants' Scott Conway the only player to score with the 12th attempt of the shootout to secure the title.
Keefe was full of praise for the courage displayed by Conway, and also for his netminder Tyler Beskorowany, who saved all six of the Steelers' efforts.
"Scott is a special player and he is a guy that wants to go," he said.
"When you have a player like him and he wants to go and he wants that shot, and he looks confident, then it is pretty easy to pick him.
"He said to me 'I'm going five-hole, I got it' and he did it so kudos to him as it was a very big goal. There were obviously six big saves by Besko to give us that opportunity.
"The thing about the Elite League title is that you can win it all sorts of ways and we have seen that first-hand over the years.
"To win it in a shootout is a little bit different but we had nothing to lose in that shootout.
"We have protected ourselves a little bit for the following weekend and we just just wanted to make sure we ended it. Now we have the opportunity for our guts to have a little bit of a rest."