Prize winner Sylvestre urges Giants to build on momentum

FOUR goals in two games — including a match-winning strike with just 22 seconds to go — have won Belfast Giants forward Sebastien Sylvestre the Elite League Player of the Week award.

The 24-year-old scored twice in last Friday night’s 5-2 victory over the Nottingham Panthers at the SSE Arena and repeated the feat 24 hours later in the second leg of the double-header, but this time in dramatic circumstances.

Adam Keefe’s team had surrendered a 3-1 lead and were pegged back again after going 4-3 up. With overtime looming, Sylvestre (right) finished off some great work by his line mate Brendan Connolly before John Kurtz made it 6-4.

Now, with the Giants five points behind the Cardiff Devils at the top of the Elite League table and three games to come in as many nights this weekend — a home double-header against Coventry Blaze on Friday and Saturday before a trip to Guildford on Sunday — it is all about maintaining that form.

“I’m delighted to be given this, but I’m much happier with the four-point weekend we got against a really good team,” Sylvestre said.

“For the winner on Saturday, I’ve been playing with Brendan Connolly and he’s good when he does his thing.

“Plus I have to mention Colin Shields’ pass with his skate that nobody sees. It was a great play and I was fortunate to be the guy in front of the net.

“We’ve been on a roll and it’s all about winning those games. We’ve got a big weekend coming up and if we play the way we are, the chances of all the points are on our side.”