As the adage says, all good things must come to an end.
Having enjoyed an eight-game winning streak which saw the Belfast Giants climb to the summit of the Elite league table, the men in teal were served a wake-up call on Sunday evening when their unbeaten run came to an end after a 3-1 defeat in Dundee.
All is not lost however, as the Giants still sit comfortably atop the league standings with a seven-point cushion over last season’s grand slam champions, Sheffield Steelers, who moved into second place over the weekend.
Saturday evening’s goal-fest against Fife Flyers saw Keefe’s men see off a late resurgence from the Scottish side to escape with a 5-7 victory and two points in the bag.
With the business end of the season in full swing, the title race is heating up with three teams - Sheffield Steelers, Nottingham Panthers and Cardiff Devils - in the chasing pack.
The Giants have played one more game than their rivals which means the gap could close even further this week as Sheffield play Cardiff in a pivotal game on Wednesday evening to determine which side will be breathing down the neck of Keefe’s side in the home stretch.
Saturday’s game saw five different scorers - Karl Boudrias, Elijiah Barriga, Cameron Pound, Scott Conway, and a hattrick from J.J. Piccinich - secure victory for the Giants at the Fife Ice Arena.
The Giants got off to a strong start and JJ Piccinch notched the first goal for the visitors followed by a strike from Karl Boudrias to double the lead.
The Flyers struck back in the second period but Elijah Barriga restored the two goal cushion minutes later. A further effort from JJ Piccinich extended the lead however it would not all be plain sailing as the game entered the third period and the floodgates opened for both sides.
The frenetic third period started with a strike from Cameron Pound which looked like it should have put the game out of reach for the hosts, but a late resurgence started with a Giants mix-up resulting in gifting a goal to Massimo Carozza.
A further strike from Michael Cichy continued the fight-back from Fife and when Kieran Craig rifled a shot past Giants’ goalie Jackson Whistle, it was game-on at 4-5 with 10 minutes to go.
The drama continued with a remarkable comeback as Tyler Heidt slotted in an equaliser with only minutes to go.
However, the Giants salvaged the game with J.J. Piccinich completing his hat-trick before Scott Conway added the Giants’ seventh goal of the game as Adam Keefe’s side escaped with two points despite Fife’s spirited comeback.
After the late scare against bottom of the league Fife, the Giants had to regather their composure for another test the following evening in the second part of their Scottish double-header against Dundee.
Despite the Giants dominating possession in the early exchanges, it was Dundee who took the lead with goals from Spencer Naas and Cole McDonald.
A timeout from coach Adam Keefe failed to spark an immediate comeback. Indeed, the Giants had to wait until the third period to get on the board from a Zak Galambos strike.
However, it wasn’t long before the Stars restored their two-goal lead with Dominico Alberga slotting a skilful finish home to seal the game for the hosts.
Head coach Adam Keefe expressed his frustration with his side’s loss of momentum as their winning streak came to an end.
“Not good enough, clearly,” lamented Keefe.
“Obviously Sabol had a great game. We didn’t score on our chances and they did. Those two freebies as I like to call them, in the first period puts us behind.
“I thought Dundee were battling all night, winning foot races, winning stick battles in and around the nets on both ends.
“Did we do enough to fight back? No, because we didn’t score. We had our opportunities but we didn’t score. That third one, that takes the wind out of our sails a bit. It would have been nice to score one with the goalie out but not good enough.
“We had too many players not having very good nights and you become a very average hockey team especially when you play a fast, skilled Dundee team that’s working like they were and we didn’t match it… it cost us two points.”
With 19 league games remaining, the Giants will dust themselves down and get back on the horse as they prepare to enter the home straight.
Keefe’s side have back-to-back home games against Guildford Flames and Manchester Storm next weekend followed by a home Challenge Cup semi-final against Nottingham Panthers on Wednesday next week.
