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Last season, the Great Britain center was the one who led the Giants to the title, scoring the game-winner against the Sheffield Steelers to clinch the trophy, however he couldn’t fully enjoy it, because he didn’t know that goal. he was the winner!

Almost exactly one year later, Conway hopes to repeat the feat, perhaps this time in regulation rather than the drama of a shootout, and this time he is determined to know that he has accomplished it.

“After scoring, I didn’t realize I was the winner of the game until I saw everyone coming towards me,” he laughs.

Fast forward a year and the Giants are back in the same position. This time it’s not the Steelers, and this time it’s down to last weekend, but they know a win over their closest rivals on Saturday will clinch the league championship.

Instead of Sheffield, it’s the second-placed Guildford Flames who arrive in Belfast to try and crash the party. But a win for the Giants would see them lift a trophy in front of a sold-out crowd for the second time this season after lifting the Challenge Cup earlier this month.

It’s been quite a turnaround for Adam Keefe’s side, who at one point were 15 points behind the Flames in the title race, but managed to turn it around with some smart acquisitions before the transfer deadline and won 25 of his last 29 to take a two-point lead coming into the weekend.

“We got rid of a lot of the dead weight from earlier in the year and that helped us in the long run. We’ve since picked it up and everyone is taking their chance to contribute,” Conway explains.

“We have three complete lines. Before we didn’t have that, we had the same thing from last year, which was a line and a half. The signing of key components has really helped us.

“It is difficult for other teams to face us when we have three healthy lines. They can’t focus on one lane because, at the end of the day, we have three lanes that can score goals and they all bring something to the table.

“We just had fun with it. All you can do is smile when you come to the track, try to put everyone in a good mood, and race as hard as you can. Try to improve each other.”

Conway himself has been front and center on that and is having a career year with the Giants, becoming the first player in team history to score 40 league goals in a season and contributing an outstanding 89 points in only 50 games, which comfortably leads both the team and the entire League.

After being the most prolific scorer in the league last season, there was always the possibility that Conway could have season two syndrome, but he has emphatically put those fears to rest.

“I’ve been hitting the net more, creating more offense. Just doing what I was doing last year and this year it’s been settling in,” she said.

He hopes he can keep that form for one more weekend to extend the Elite League trophy’s residency in the Giants’ cabinet for at least one more season. And how he would like to be the man who scored the game-winning goal for the second straight season.

Guildford are a good team. They have speed, they have offense, they have talented guys there,” he said. “But so do we. We are excited for the challenge.

“The opportunity to win it at home is something special. It’s not just the team involved, it’s the city, the fans. It’s exciting to play at home, possibly a night where we lift the trophy. The boys are excited.”

title permutations

There are three ways the Belfast Giants will win the Elite League title: — They win one of their last two games against the Guildford Flames on Saturday or the Dundee Stars on Sunday — They lose both games in extra time or in a shootout — They lose both games but the Flames also lose their last game against the Fife Flyers on Sunday.