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{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox ice hockey team
| team = Belfast Giants
| current =
| bg_color = background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#004d59 5px solid; border-bottom:#bc2f2b 5px solid;
| text_color = #000000
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}}
The '''Belfast Giants''' (known officially as the '''[[Stena Line]] Belfast Giants''' due to sponsorship)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Partners & Sponsors |url=https://www.belfastgiants.com/our-partners |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Belfast Giants |language=en}}</ref> are a professional [[ice hockey]] team based in [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} History |url=https://www.belfastgiants.com/about |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Belfast Giants |language=en}}</ref>. They compete in the UK's [[Elite Ice Hockey League|Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL)]]
Since their inception in 2000, the Giants have won sixteen major honours, including seven [[British ice hockey league champions|British league championships (by finishing top of the regular season standings)]], three [[British Championship (ice hockey)|British national championships (by winning the post-season play-off tournament)]], and five [[Challenge Cup (UK ice hockey)|Challenge Cups]].
==History==
=== Background and creation of franchise ===▼
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 [[Ice Hockey Superleague|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, the Odyssey Complex, due to be completed with the addition of a deal brokered between the Odyssey Trust and facility management company [[SMG (property management)|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 ISL season|2000-01 season]].▼
▲=== Background ===
▲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 [[Ice Hockey Superleague|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, the Odyssey Complex, due to be completed with the addition of a deal brokered between the Odyssey Trust and facility management company [[SMG (property management)|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 ISL season|2000-01 season]].
In order to build a competitive roster for the new club, Bob Zeller approached [[Bees IHC|Bracknell Bees]] championship-winning head coach Dave Whistle to become 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 (ice hockey)|Shane Johnson]], [[Todd Kelman]], Rob Stewart, Todd Goodwin, [[Kevin Riehl]], [[Paxton Schulte]], and [[Colin Ward (ice hockey)|Colin Ward]]. The captaincy was awarded to incumbent signing [[Jeff Hoad]], with assistants [[Jason Bowen (ice hockey)|Jason Bowen]] and Colin Ward.
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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 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 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.
==== First Championship ====
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 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 (UK)|London Knights]], [[Eisbären Berlin]], and the [[Frankfurt Lions]].
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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, the Giants were welcomed at [[George Best Belfast City Airport|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 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 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.
==== Playoff title and Superleague's demise ====
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 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).▼
▲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 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).
=== Elite League era (2003-present) ===
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=== Logos and uniforms ===
Since 2000 the Giants' main logo has depicted a stylized version of the mythical warrior [[Finn McCool]],<ref name="Grdn"/> who is commonly portrayed as a giant in popular folklore and has a close association with Ulster. The original logo had Finn brandishing a hockey stick with 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<ref name="Grdn"/> 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 the Challenge Cup.
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===Team culture===
[[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.<ref name="Grdn"/> Football colours, clothing, and flags which may have displayed a person's political or religious affiliation were banned from the arena. The [[God Save the Queen|national anthem of the United Kingdom]], traditionally played before games at other arenas in the Elite League, is not played before Giants games. The colours of the team, notably the dominant 'teal' used in both its logo and uniform, was chosen specifically because it had no national or political connotations in Northern Ireland.
These policies have been successful as the Giants have built a large and enthusiastic [[Fandom|fanbase]] which has become known as the 'Teal Army'. As of 16 March 2020, the Giants
The Giants have an official podcast, "A View From 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.
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| style="text-align:left;"| [[Saint Mary's Huskies]], [[U Sports]]
|[https://www.belfastgiants.com/news/cam-pound-signing-2425]
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|'''71'''
| {{flagicon|GBR}}{{flagicon|CAN}}
| style="text-align:left;"|Karl Boudrias
| L
| 2024
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Chateauguay, Quebec]], [[Canada]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[HC Nové Zámky]], [[Slovak Extraliga]]
|[https://www.belfastgiants.com/news/karl-boudrias-2425]
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|- style="background:#eee;"
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