Belfast Giants: Home side make winning return in front of almost 5,000 fans

The return of the Belfast Giants attracted a crowd of nearly 5,000 to the SSE Arena

It had been 573 days since the Belfast Giants last played at the SSE Arena.

Since the start of March 2020 their home venue had been transformed into a food bank and then a vaccination centre were over 400,000 Covid-19 jabs were stuck in arms.

It had been a long wait but finally the fans were allowed back in the arena and after the relaxation of the social distancing regulations this week, almost 5,000 had dusted off their Giants jerseys and were ready for the return of Northern Ireland's most popular indoor spectator sport.

Keeping with the regulations that remain in place everyone was wearing their face covering and had to show confirmation of being double vaccinated or proof of a negative Covid test.

To accommodate the checks and the large attendance the face-off was delayed by twenty minutes.

But no one cared. The chants of 'let's go Giants' soon rang out as the team took to the ice and the puck was dropped.

Giants take early lead

It wasn't long before the plexi-glass shuddered to the first heavy hit and Giants goalie Tyler Beskorowany made his first save on his return to the Giants after two and half years away.

It took just 4:16 into the game for the first powerplay for the Giants and for JJ Piccinich, one of 10 new players on the roster, to pounce on a lose puck and open the scoring beating Dundee Stars netminder Adam Morrison who was producing heroics for the visitors.

Morrison could do nothing to stop Lewis Hook from making it 2-0 before the end of the first period.

The intermission entertainment - chuck-a-puck and the Sub-cannon - returned as the majority of the crowd heeded the call to not congregate in the concourses and close to the concession stands and chose to stay in their seats.

Dundee, to their credit, weren't just in Belfast to make up the numbers.

The game was tight and physical and the Scottish side gave as good as they got and they dominated the third period but couldn't find a way past Beskorowany.

The Giants faithful returned to the SSE Arena 573 days after the team's last game at the venue

The last few seconds saw a scrum and new Giants defenceman Griffin Reinhart jump in to protect his team-mate Jordan Boucher. The crowd loved it.

It is 2021 and things are different but indoor sport suffered through the pandemic and this felt like a little bit more of normality was returning.

No one can predict the future and what a winter may bring in terms of Covid but it is hoped the Elite League season can move ahead without disruption.

The Giants fans certainly haven't forgotten how to celebrate.

573 days later and having been through so much, this was worth the wait.

The standing ovation for the players at the end said all that needed to be said.

The Belfast Giants are back.