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The recent international break was a chance for those Belfast Giants not called up for GB duties to take a well earned breather, recharge their batteries and refocus. But first there is the matter of a certain cup final.

One of the Giants’ players who was able to enjoy the welcome break was forward and workhorse Mark Cooper.

He explained: “Break are awesome, sometimes they can be fearful especially when games are going your way and you don’t want to mess to much with the routines you have built up.

“The break has allowed us to refresh our minds and recharge the batteries.”

Belfast Giants’ Mark Cooper with Nottingham Panthers' Niko Lahtinen during Sunday’s Elite Ice Hockey League game at the SSE Arena, Belfast. Photo by William Cherry/Presseye

Unfortunately Cooper said that he didn’t get a chance to pick up on any of the GB games which were played during the break.

“While I wasn’t able to watch any of them I have definitely got updated by our guys who had been called up,” remarks Cooper. “It seems like the games were good results for the guys involved and hopefully they can keep it rolling into the world championship qualifiers at the end of the season.”

Cooper says it has been great to see the Giants get out of the rough patch that they had experienced mid season. And now won nine games in a row confidence is high.

He says: “We always believed in what we could do and now that we have a winning run underway we need to keep that going. It doesn’t look like anyone else in the league are going to slow down. Its just a matter of points which separates those top four teams.”

Reflecting on the new bodies that have been added to the rosters over the last few months, he remarked: “It is always nice to add depth to a team. That hurt us this time last year when we ran into a number of injuries late in the season.

“At the end of the year fatigue can really set in, so you need as many bodies as you can.

“Having the new guys on the roster will be huge coming down the stretch this season. Depth always yields good results when you have it.”

The hunt is definitely on for the Giants for more trophies. Cooper said: “We have definitely found ourselves table watch the last few weeks.

“We are in a great position were we can control our own destiny and we are also sitting at the top of the table too. If we continue the way that we have been play as of late we will have good results come the end of the year.”

Welcome break for Giants but back to business now