Half-Term Reports

Given that I am off up to Sheffield for New Year tomorrow and may well not be posting until the second, now seems as good a time as any for the team-by-team review of the season thus far, as promised a few days ago...



Basingstoke: The Bison have settled well after having some major problems early in the season with money...at one point it was feared they'd go right out of business. Step forward Tomas Enerston, a straight-talking Swede who took the club off the hands of the Taylors in November and has brought a new optimism to Hampshire. Playing-wise the Herd are in their usual lower-mid-table position, but have been using the talents of the ageless Steve Thornton in order to win games they'd previously have lost. The league's "other" Danny Stewart and Derek Campbell have both been hugely impressive, Stewart in particular, while on defence Mikko Purontakanen is fast establishing himself as one of the league's premier d-men.The outlook is good for the Bison, as they can only continue to improve...



Belfast: Their start could only be described as nightmarish. But the Giants, like several other clubs in the league, have bounced back from a nightmare start to begin putting wins together. It's no coincidence that results began to improve after swapping the calamitous form of Phillippe deRouville for the steadiness of Stevie Lyle in goal, and the goals of Peter Campbell have been crucial in the Giant's return to form. Recent wins at the Skydome in particular have shown that the Northern Irish side, at least at home, are back to the tough proposition they always have been...



Cardiff: Like Belfast, the Devils started badly, then seemed to wake up and went on an unbelievable fourteen game winning streak (led by the rejeuvenated Sylvain Deschatelets, who was cut and reinstated in October) which saw them briefly go top before Phil Osaer and about half the rest of the squad suffered injuries at the same time, leading to the recent dry spell points wise which has seen the Devils slip to third. However, with Osaer back in January the Welsh dragons will hopefully be roaring again as the Devils continue the chase for honours.



Coventry: "Juggernauts" is the only word you can use to describe the Blaze so far this season-the Midlanders have seen their losses come few and far between, with the three-game losing streak seen recently the first time the club has faced any real adversity. That this streak coincided with the loss of captain Sylvain Cloutier to injury is no coincidence-the gritty centre has been the player of the season by a long way thus far, leading by example at both ends of the ice. Another unexpected gem has been the returning Matty Soderstrom, who has been immense in defence and gone from "d signed to save money" back to hero status among the Blaze faithful. The New Year should bring more of the same from many fans' tip to repeat their title...



Edinburgh: Hope was high for the Capitals at the beginning of the season, but this promise hasn't really materialised as the Scots sit bottom of the table, with only a shock win against Coventry at Murrayfield to liven the gloom. However, the indomitable Scots will keep pushing, and may, given luck and the failiures of others, still have a chance of a playoff place as long as Colin Hemingway keeps scoring...



Hull: Oh, dear. The chimes of Big Ben can't come soon enough on Humberside. This season has been nightmarish, both in terms of injury, mismanagement (at least on the coaching side) and dissatisfaction. The Stingrays are more like small fry in a league of sharks at the moment, with top scorer and one of the few bright spots of Hull's season, Paul Cabana, deciding he'd had enough in early December. I've already launched into the Stingrays at great length, so shall simply use that staple phrase of school reports...Must do better. Far, far better...



Manchester: Another steady campaign from the Phoenix, picking up points and dropping them as the mood takes them. Joe Tallari has been one of the finds of the season for them, along with the skill and grit of Omar Ennaffati on D...however, the Mancs still lack that one ingredient to truly take them from mid-table mediocrity to challenging for honours...although Luke Stauffacher looks like he could provide something judging by his recent form. Scott Fankhouser will need to improve a little, however, as the Manchester attack, apart from Tallari, is not the most prolific in the world, and this doesn't look like changing at the moment.

Newcastle: The Vipers are in something of a slump at the moment, and have been since November. Rob Wilson must regret his much quoted "we deserve to be where we are" statement with every puck that hits the back of Ryan MacDonald's net, despite the young Canadian's heroic efforts in goal. Vipers need something special in order to stop their slump, and will be hoping that the New Year brings a new attitude in the North East.

Nottingham: The Panthers are suffering their usual season of not reaching expectations, with PC Drouin and Rastislav Rovnianek already casualties of the thirst for success in the East Midlands. Tom Askey has been a major improvement in net, and recently the Panthers have been playing more like the team the fans hoped to see after the big money signings/re-signings of Johan Molin, Sean McAslan and Corey Neilson. With the Panthers also in the final of the Challenge Cup, perhaps this could be one of the better seasons of recent years after the playoff success last year set the trend...

Sheffield: And finally, the Steelers, who have quietly found their way into second place thanks to the fine play of Johnathan Phillips, Ashley Tait and Joey Talbot. They have an annoying way of cruising along un-noticed, having also made their way into the Challenge Cup Final while somewhat under the radar. And that's just fine with the team. Question is, can they keep it up?

And that's the end of the half-season review...more to come either tomorrow or Tuesday..

Keep keeping your eye on the puck..

Let the witch-hunt begin...

Just a very quick post following on from the Boxing Day Brad Voth incident...the video of the hit is now up on youtube here:

Brad Voth hits Ashley Tait

To me it looks nasty, but nothing like the attempt to kill some Steeler fans are calling it...the hit comes only half a second or so after the shot and thus, under the rules, it's not "late". However, it is high and very hard indeed-Voth makes no attempt to adjust for Tait being four inches shorter nor looking in the other direction.

Certainly it's not a lot worse than this classic...which is generally viewed as one of the best few hits of the past few years-the major issue is Tait looking the other way when the hit comes in....

And I notice Steelers have also been strangely silent about Jeremy Cornish sucker-punching Sylvain Deschatelets (right hand side on the last few seconds of the clip)-that DOES look nasty...

That's just my opinion, anyway...feel free to share yours-Steelers, Devils and neutrals alike.

For the record, Voth has received six games suspension...

On Arrogance and Money

I was going to produce the Breakaway Awards today as promised, but my Update Christmas Special produced this very interesting post from Mark in the comments...

We deserve to be were we are" is sounding more like a premonition than a proclamation. The Vipers need Wins and convincing wins. The vipers were always a club that worked its socks off on the ice and wore its heart on its sleeve which seems to be lacking this season. On paper it is the most skilled side we have had in years but the on ice product is lacking. This maybe because (up until now) we've always had a strong contingent of local Players, the like of Weaver Leach Trumbley come to mind. Petr Kratky must be looking over his shoulder with a smile looking at our last 5 games. Rumor has it former players are on there way back-Hinks and Robinson have been banded about the arena. Rob Wilson needs to look at his Hockey clipboard and start doing something with the circles and x's because it's just not working.

This set me thinking somewhat, as up until a few weeks ago the general tone on Blaze forums was similar to Wilson's comment-"we're just that damn good" was the general theme. However, the recent injuries and several losses have provoked a similar reaction on Blaze forums to the above view from the North East...Barrie Moore is coming in for some stick yet again, there was a several page thread on who should be cut appearing on the Dragon's Den forum.
This has set me thinking. Is there a culture in British hockey whereby failiure is an instant cause for panic, especially among clubs who might be used to winning? I've been comparing the reactions in Coventry and Newcastle to those from Manchester, as the Phoenix also started very well indeed but have slipped off somewhat, and there's simply not the same worries...the Phoenix fans appear to be far more tolerant of their teams' mishaps. So is it a question of fanbase expectations, or is it arrogance, or what? I'd be interested to hear views on this one...

And now for the money section...It appears I'm on my own as far as the Christmas shirts go-all the comments thus far in response to my questioning their value have been fully in support of these special shirts. All the points made have been perfectly valid-however, I can't get past the old saying of "familiarity breeds contempt"...

Anyway-that is enough for now...more to come tomorrow, I hope...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

The Updates: Christmas Special...

Because of the high volume of games this week, I'm saving the Double Overtime covering Christmas and New Year's until New Year's Day/January 2nd, and not doing a Round the Rinks for this weekend, simply because it seems pointless to only preview half the games of a week. So instead you'll get the Double Overtime New Year Special on either Monday or Tuesday (calm down at the back-don't get too excited) which will review Christmas and New Year as a whole for each team.

So what will we do to fill the time? Well, in true cliché style, we'll have a look at what certain figures in the league (possibly) got themselves for Christmas-there will be a review of the season so far appearing on Saturday, and maybe an exclusive look at the EIHL new year's resolutions on Sunday. We'll also take a look at some of the major news stories which have appeared since the last update (and some of the minor ones) now, not least the one that sees Brad Voth at the centre of a witch-hunt from Sheffield fans. Oh, and sometime over the next few days I'll also sneak in the inaugural Breakaway Awards, which will take a look at both the serious and the lighter side of hockey life.

M'sieu, wiz zese Breakaway you are really spoiling uz...as the Ferrero Rocher lady would have said.

Anyway...on to the news items first of all...

Sheffield exclusive reveals Brad Voth also tried to steal Christmas: Leading off with the incident mentioned above-Cardiff's captain is in the dock yet again after leaving Sheffield's Ashley Tait unconscious on the ice with a massive hit/elbow in the Boxing Day game at the Hallam Arena-I personally haven't seen the incident, (as I was in Nottingham) but all hell has broken loose on the forums, with branding irons being heated and Steelers fans condemning the Calgary native as a danger to his fellow players. Depending on who you listen to, it was either a clean but hard hit or a blindside mugging intended to do serious damage. Or, if you read the Sheffield Star, a "hit immediately after Tait passed the puck" which was somehow "incredibly late" at the same time... The supposedly impartial Steelers report describes it as a "vicious late elbow". However, the reaction on the Sheffield site is worth a chuckle-observe this quote from Jeremy Cornish from the Steelers homepage...

"I was on the ice at the time and missed the hit, my back was facing Ash at the time, all of a sudden Ash was down and Munner had Voth, I wish I had got there ahead of Steve. How many times are we going to allow this man (Voth) to get away with this, the league has to deal with it or guys will take it upon themselves to sort this man out"

Trouble is, should Cornish be involved in an incident where Voth is injured now, he's left himself open for accusations of premeditated attempt to injure-which is just what he and others in the league (not least Sheffield and Coventry fans) are accusing Voth of being guilty of on several occasions this season and last in incidents involving Jani Virtanen of Hull among others. Not exactly taking the moral high ground, is it? Especially when we remember (and Cardiff fans certainly do) the outrage of those Sheffield fans when Mike Peron was attacked for apparently trying to break Jon Cullen's back a couple of seasons ago...now THAT was a nasty hit...

The good news is that Tait himself, while suffering a nasty concussion, is apparently recovering well, and should be back in two weeks or so...

Crash, bang...: Marc Levers will be looking for a new nose after deciding to elbow Danny Stewart during last night's game-however, it is interesting that there was very little complaint from Blaze fans nor any reaction from the notoriously short-fused Blaze agitator when Ryan Shmyr put in a big hit on him just before, which saw the Panther come in from behind after letting the Blaze player skate past and drive him into the plexi using a shove in the back-the trouble was that all the complaints that did come were of the "attempt to injure" variety....with all the furore regarding these late hits, maybe people should remember that hits from behind will happen in hockey, and often look worse than they are purely because the players tend to fall to the ice afterwards. A problem at the Skydome and other rinks is you get a lot of people who will condone anything from their players and scream "dirty" the moment their own team is hit, clean or not....it would help to remove a lot of guff from forums if people remember hockey is essentially a contact sport...

...and wallop: Some of you may have got the impression that KC Timmons is not exactly my favourite Blaze signing ever. However, I have been seeing that I may have been just a little unfair to him in my initial reaction-particularly bearing in mind the amount of ice-time the third line are now getting. Then came Sunday night's demolition of Corey Neilson-for those of you who weren't there, Timmons and Neilson came together behind the net, there was a flurry of punches and suddenly Neilson was down, picked up, and down again as KC went absolutely psycho...Perhaps there is a new enforcer in the EIHL-certainly I don't remember hearing of him doing much in that vein for the Phoenix...

However, this new softening doesn't mean I'm liking Troy Neumeier yet...the Blaze are certainly missing the two import forwards out at the moment...

Christmas shirts-cynical marketing ploy or attempt to connect with the fans?: Interestingly, this year almost every EIHL team has produced a Christmas shirt (the Blaze one just consisted of sticking some snow on the numbers) and once again people are paying ridiculous amounts of money for them. With Cardiff also auctioning a Halloween shirt and Nottingham bringing out a third kit, as well as the playoff shirts, am I the only one who gets the feeling that the whole game-worn shirt market is a little saturated in the UK at the moment? Soon it'll be replica shirts which are the true status symbol at this rate...

and before you ask-yes, I do own a gamer-Steve O'Brien from the 03/04 season, thanks to the shirt raffle.

Fools and their ACL's are soon parted..or torn: Regular readers of this page will be falling over themselves right now...I'm about to praise a Hull Stingray. Cole Byers is the reason-or more to the point, his incredible mix of bravery and stupidity is. Barely three months after tearing his ACL in a knee which seemed to sideline him for the season (and has put players in the slightly more wussy sport of football out for a year, Michael Owen among them) the Stingray hardman is back on the ice, through his own decision. To put that into perspective, three weeks after suffering a possible "damaged" (ie not necessarily torn) ACL as part of my own knee ligament injury, I was told "if the ACL is damaged, you won't be skating until April or May, and playing hockey properly won't be an option until July or August". And Byers is back at a much higher level, with only a knee brace for protection. Brave, brave man...especially as, if he gets another whack on that knee, his career could be over at the frighteningly young age of 24. And all this in an attempt to save the Stingrays from finishing bottom? Many will be asking themselves "is it worth it?"

Cole Byers, the Breakaway salutes you...and hopes that you don't live to regret that decision...


Anyway, thanks to computer problems this Christmas mish-mash has appeared a day later than planned...however, the schedule of sorts still stands, so keep checking back over the next few days because there's a good chance there'll be something new on here, whether it be pontificating, a dose of (mostly bad) British hockey humour, or just the plain common-or-garden action reviews...

Meanwhile, keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Hockey Christmas! Double Overtime, 25th December

There was no way I was missing December 25th...in honour of the festive season, we shall be rating the teams on a scale of nice to naughty depending on just how good they were this weekend. Yes, it's cheesy, but the Breakaway should at least look like it's in the festive spirit...For those of you who aren't sure where on the scale things are, the grades will also appear beside them. :)

Basingstoke: Poor old Bison. Nine players fit as they travelled up to Sheffield led to the expected tanking on Sunday after a loss by two goals on Saturday...although nine-one is a little harsh on the valiant Herd-the five-three result on Saturday was nearer the mark as far as fairness goes. However, given that I have something of a soft spot for the Hampshire-ites, they don't suffer too much and get the grade of
Lovable Rogues (grade C)

Belfast: Two games in overtime, and the Giants win both, so they come out on top as far as the scales of justices fall this week-given that they gained some valuable ground by gutting out a win against Newcastle and also beat Blaze for the second time in a week, they just about scrape from into...
Postively Angelic (grade A-)

Cardiff: This will not be a Christmas run-in to remember for the Devils, although they haven't suffered too much thanks to the nip-and-tuck nature of the battle for second in recent weeks. This weekend must have seen some fairy dust sprinkled on the goalmouths in both Cardiff and Altrincham, because the Devils and Manchester combined for twenty-four goals in two games, with Devils avenging a six-five loss after OT in Cardiff with a seven-four win in Altrincham. Given the fact that Manchester are becoming tough to play again, they scrape the grade of
Teacher's Pets (grade B-)

Coventry: This is getting monotonous now...one win, one loss for the Blaze also, although the win was a demolition of Nottingham which was summed up in KC Timmons well and truly destroying Corey Neilson in a fight in a Biblical beating, the like of which is only usually seen in Westerns being administered by the hero behind a woodshed, usually with a horsewhip...However, the loss on Friday puts the Blaze back down into Cardiff territory grade-wise, as they also get...
Teacher's Pets (grade B-)

Edinburgh: Four-point weekend! Now there is a Christmas present Caps fans will be overjoyed to receive, even if it is at the expense of Hull. And, just to add the tinsel on the presents, the Sunday night saw JF Perras gain his first EIHL shutout as the Caps won 3-0. Thus, for being one of only two teams to earn the four-point maximum, the Capitals should pinch themselves as, like Belfast, they earn the title...
Postively Angelic (grade A)

Hull: I hope the fires need stoking on Humberside, because there's a lot of lumps of coal coming the Stingrays' way. Two more losses against the only side below them drive another nail into the coffin of the Fishies' season, and earn themselves the dreaded grade, once again, of...
Beyond Redemption (grade U)

Manchester: Credit to the Phoenix...this weekend saw the best and the worst of them at the same time-goals aplenty, but also leaking aplenty. One win and one loss, especially against Cardiff, is a creditable return, but the defensive shambles of conceding twelve in two games will never win them anything. In tribute to their two sides and also to Home Alone, that Christmas staple on TV, they earn the grade of...
Angels with Dirty Faces (Grade D)

Newcastle: Oh, Vipers, Vipers, Vipers. Those heady days of autumn must seem a way away now...Two more losses, to Nottingham and Belfast respectively, mean that they're not quite down in Hull territory, but they could start sliding there if there's not a noticeable improvement fairly quickly...
Naughty, naughty...(Grade E)

Nottingham: Tom Askey had a bad night on Sunday as the Panthers undid all the good work they'd done in winning in Newcastle by simply rolling over against Coventry in their five-two loss. However, revenge could come quickly on Boxing Day, so this second schizophrenic team also go into Christmas as
Angels with Dirty Faces (grade D)

Sheffield: Two wins, fourteen goals. All is well in Steelerville. The question now is, can they maintain it over a tricky Christmas and New Year stretch? No surprises as they go into Christmas Day as...
Positively Angelic (A)

And there you are. All that remains is to say...Merry Christmas to all...

Round the Rinks, 21st December...

Apologies all (especially Ringer who commented below :))...the last week has been nightmarish what with physiotherapy for my injured knee, Christmas shopping, work and Lord only knows what else. I simply haven't had time to keep up with all the news floating round the hockey world, and refuse to post anything simply for the sake of it...However, I have grabbed myself a spare half-hour in each evening, and hopefully something approaching normal service will be resumed...beginning with this week's Round the Rinks...

Basingstoke: Happy Christmas, Steve Thornton-here's a broken hand for the festive period...an event which somewhat took the shine off Bison's 5-3 victory vs the Blaze yesterday, and will make this weekend's games against Sheffield a much trickier proposition despite the Herd being on a good run of form recently. However, with Sheffield also up and down at the moment form-wise, don't bet against the Hampshire side taking at least two points...

Belfast: After the fine win in Coventry last Saturday, the Giants meet Coventry again tomorrow, this time at home, in a game which is live on the web at this address (full details on the service are in this post) before visiting Newcastle on Sunday, a rink where they won 6-3 last time out. The Northern Irish looked a completely different side from the early-season shambles last seen at the Skydome in winning last weekend, and with the Blaze in something of a mini-slump and the Vipers still trying to find their form after losing it spectacularly, Irish eyes could be smiling for more than just the obvious reasons come Christmas Eve morning...

Cardiff: Beaten twice by Hull, nicking a win against Newcastle in overtime-a goalie coming back from injury and uncertainty because of this-the Devils have finally come back to earth. This weekend sees a double-header against Manchester, which would seem a tricky task given the Phoenix's slow resurgence recently. I can see a split weekend on the cards and festivities being a little more subdued than they were a few weeks ago...

Coventry: Meanwhile, Blaze fans are also learning that their team is mortal, with another loss away to Basingstoke on Wednesday night pegging back the league leaders. It could get worse this weekend as they face two form teams in Belfast and Nottingham, although a Saturday off will at least give a day's recovery time. I can foresee Christmas being good to the chasing pack, though, with two more losses a real possibility. If they happen, suddenly the Midlanders will seem all too generous in giving away presents to their rivals just when they need them, at least to those of a Sky Blue persuasion...

Edinburgh: The Caps will be hoping for some Christmas cheer against Hull this weekend, although with the Stingrays on something of a mini-run they will have to work hard to win the battle of the basement clubs. However, it can be done-after all, miracles happen this time of year...at least if you believe the TV fare...

Hull: Just three weeks ago I ripped into the Stingrays, writing this blistering post after they lost 9-1 to Sheffield at home. And frankly, I'm still baffled by the incompetency shown on Humberside. Yes, they're on something of a mini-run recently, with two notable victories against a (weakened) Cardiff, but the latest twist sees Marlon Joseph signed and then released barely three weeks into his contract, with Rick Strachan admitting he "wasn't what we needed, but we gave him a chance". Erm..why sign him, then? Edinburgh are perhaps the ideal opponents as confusion reigns supreme by the North Sea, as they will merely beat the Stingrays if given the chance, and not hammer them. However, Christmas cards for Rick Strachan will be few and far between from the Stingrays fans-he'll be lucky if they don't start hurling lumps of coal should the Capitals win...

Manchester: Cardiff are the opponents for the Phoenix this time out, and with injuries receding and Luke Stauffacher finding the net, the holidays could be happier than expected, particularly if the Manchester side play to their full potential-four points would go down very nicely as a present to the Altrincham faithful right now..

Newcastle: The Vipers need wins-or are they still "where they deserve to be" as carols hang in the air like fog over the Tyne? Nottingham and Belfast are the Grinches looking to steal points from the North East this weekend, and you really wouldn't bet against them doing so, despite Ryan MacDonald's heroics and Andre Payette's desperate attempts to put the weight he'll gain from the pre-Christmas party buffet to intimidatory use. Certainly the Vipers should be looking to people other than their opponents if they want to receive anything gift-wrapped this weekend...

Nottingham: Christmas is spent away from home for the Panthers, in Newcastle and Coventry...both teams they've proved they can beat even without being on top form. So now they are running on all cylinders, and have faith that the high-powered Coventry attack can be held off by more than just luck thanks to Tom Askey, look for the Panthers to roar and try to make Christmas an unhappy one for their near rivals...

Sheffield: Finally, the Steelers face Basingstoke twice this weekend-they've already received a boost thanks to the bad luck of Steve Thornton, but can they capitalise on that and Cardiff's stutter to haul themselves back into the slipstream of Coventry and leave their Midland rivals to deal with a bitter-tasting Christmas dinner? Certainly they have the talent-but at this time of year, all that glitters isn't necessarily useful, and two losses will leave the decorations without their sparkle...

So, the games then...

Friday

Belfast v Coventry

Saturday

Hull v Edinburgh

Basingstoke v Sheffield

Cardiff v Manchester

Nottingham v Newcastle

Sunday

Manchester v Cardiff

Sheffield v Basingstoke

Edinburgh v Hull

Coventry v Nottingham

Newcastle v Belfast

Let's play hockey...:)

And of course, should this be the last post you read before the festivities next week (there will be a Double Overtime on Christmas Day and a Round the Rinks for the midweek games appearing on Boxing Day should the kids get too much, however...:0)), merry Christmas to you and indeed all other hockey fans in the UK...

Round the Rinks, 16th December

Another quiet Saturday (only three games) leads into another packed Sunday on the penultimate weekend before Christmas, as off we go around the EIHL…

Basingstoke: The Bison face two struggling teams in Hull and Manchester, while being on something of an upward turn themselves-although with Hull pulling off the shock of the year in Cardiff last week, the Stingrays in particular will be a proposition not taken lightly by the Hampshire side. With Manchester coming off a tanking from Coventry in their last home game, Sunday should see the Bison tested to the full also, injuries or no injuries…

Belfast: The Giants face Nottingham tonight in the Odyssey in a meeting of two of the league’s form teams, before renewing hostilities against Coventry at the Skydome on Sunday in one of the EIHL’s bigger rivalries. With the team now settled and Shaun Sutter and Peter Campbell in particular on dangerously hot streaks, Northern Ireland will see this weekend as a major chance to get back into the pack immediately below the top two…

Cardiff: Revenge is on the Devils’ minds as Newcastle visit on Saturday before the trip to Hull on Sunday. Neither opposition side will be relishing the contest, although the Devils are weakened by Phil Osaer’s injury in goal, the EPL’s Gregg Rockman deputising. Wins are vital in order to prove that last Sunday was just a blip-the Vipers visit on Saturday as an example of just what can happen when a hot team goes off the boil. South Wales fans will not long tolerate things if the Devils appear to suffer the same fate…

Coventry: Blaze only play once this weekend, but what a game-Belfast at the Skydome, with the now-signed Troy Neumeier eager to impress against his former club after being released this week by the Giants. With Michael Tasker also returning, only Curtis Huppe’s injury and Sylvain Cloutier’s rehab (which has seen Neumeier brought in short-term to cover on defence) will be missing as the Blaze look to pull ever further away in the league race…

Edinburgh: What do the Caps have to do? A torrid weekend against Belfast last week is followed by a further pair of tough games against Nottingham and basement rivals Manchester. With Hull winning last week the Scots desperately need something from this weekend, or even reaching the playoffs will become nothing more than a Christmas dream….

Hull: The Stingrays need to continue winning, now they’ve proved they can in the most unlikely fashion. A midweek loss to Newcastle could see normal losing service resumed unless the Humbersiders really buckle down against Basingstoke and Cardiff. If so, then another shock could be on the cards. It is the season for miracles, after all…
Manchester: The Phoenix need to bounce back after shipping twelve goals to Coventry last weekend, and their chance will come in games against Edinburgh and Basingstoke-two teams who are very close to them in the league standings. As the fight for the lower end of the playoff places gathers speed, this weekend is more important than it seems at first glance for the Lancashire men...

Newcastle: Vipers need wins, fast-the victory against Hull was a start but the early-season form is a long way away from the Metro Radio Arena at the moment. This weekend the opponents are Cardiff and Sheffield-the two teams immediately above the Vipers. In the fight to catch up on Coventry, the Geordies need to win right now, or they'll find themselves dragged into the lower end of the playoff battle very quickly indeed...

Nottingham: The Panthers are a new team since the arrival of Tom Askey, and this weekend have a chance to continue the charge against Belfast and Edinburgh. All eyes in the East Midlands will doubtless be smiling in the hope of a result on Sunday, but first of all the Panthers have to beat a resurgent Belfast-a game which could set the tone for their performance for the next few weeks. Win and the good feelings continue-lose and the revival could be brought to a crushing halt...

Sheffield: The Steelers have just the one game this time round-Newcastle away. Sheffield will be fully aware of just how close behind them in the table the Vipers are, and thus this game will be a bitterly-fought battle as the two sides scramble for position in the pack chasing Coventry...

The games, then...

Friday:

Belfast v Nottingham

Saturday

Edinburgh v Manchester

Basingstoke v Hull

Cardiff v Newcastle

Sunday

Nottingham v Edinburgh

Manchester v Basingstoke

Newcastle v Sheffield

Hull v Cardiff

Coventry v Belfast

Let's play hockey...:)

Mea Culpa...

Apologies all if you've come here today expecting to find Round the Rinks...it will be up byt just not until around 6pm this evening thanks to time pressures...
Check back later on, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Tuesday Rumours....

There aren't that many rumours floating around now as rosters begin to settle, but there are still a few items of news to get your teeth into...

Giants release Neumeier: Belfast have solved their import surplus by releasing defenceman Troy Neumeier, after deciding that he was the d-man surplus to requirements. To almost nobody's surprise, after he was generally viewed by the opposition as the weak link in a shaky Belfast defence during their nightmare start, and was even nicknamed "Nightmare" by many of his own fans. However, he may not have played his last in British hockey....

That sound you hear is two thousand Blaze fans swallowing their own tongues in amazement. At the same time:...because good old (at 37, he really is in hockey terms) Troy is coming to...Coventry. That is, if you believe the rumours of the Blaze bringing in another d-man for this weekend. On the plus side, he actually is a d-man, which makes him more suited to the position than KC Timmons (who to be fair did score three on Sunday as a forward), and he used to be very good. On the minus side, he isn't good any more, and on the evidence of this season can be left behind by continental drift in a skating race. Blaze fans have already been worried about the signing of Matty Soderstrom (proved to be groundless as the little Swede has played out of his skin and regained folk-hero status at his favourite club), KC Timmons (in this corner at least, the jury's still out) and now we sign a player who was the target of roughly 30 million pensioner jokes and offers of Zimmer frame hire the last time he came to the Dome. Merry flipping Christmas, Coventry...

Please, is there really no way we can just plant a Christmas tree on the blueline instead? At least it would be more mobile...

(you may be thinking that I'm not happy about this rumour. You'd be wrong. I'm way beyond unhappy...grief-stricken is nearer the mark)...

Still, we shall see. I have been proved wrong before, and, for the sake of my blood pressure and that of everyone else in the Skydome, I hope I am again...

That is your lot for now...more to come later in the week...

Double Overtime, 10th December

Saturday ran to form, but Sunday saw several shocks including one massive one-on we go with the review of the weekend...there may be a few curious grades this week though as several teams only play one game...

Basingstoke:...and we start with one of them-the Bison nicking a win against the Sheffield Steelers at home this Sunday evening to put a bump in the Yorkshire side's winning run. Ryan Aldridge will be faced with a tough decision soon, with Mikko Purontakanen scoring yet another goal this evening. Three to two was the final score in Hampshire, which does the Bison's playoff chances no harm at all-they really do look like the dark times of September and October are now well behind them.
Grade: B+

Belfast: Two wins in Edinburgh and a seven-goal weekend for Shaun Sutter mean that all is well in Northern Ireland. There was a big scare with enforcer Carlyle Lewis sustaining a suspected sliced femoral artery thanks to a skate blade during the Saturday night game, but thankfully, after treatment the injury was nowhere near as severe as first feared and it is believed he'll be back in three weeks or so. It's amazing what releasing one old, slow millstone of a defender in the shape of Troy Neumeier can do...
Grade: B

Cardiff: What the...South Wales will be in shock this weekend, as the Devils lose their only game of the weekend two-one. To Hull Stingrays. At home. Somehow the worst team in the league has beaten one of the best in their own rink with two very early goals, in what is by far the biggest shock of at least the month if not the season. It must be said, though, that as a result of this, no team will want to be the next to play the Devils because the backlash will be very nasty indeed.
Grade: D-

Coventry: Injuries? What injuries? Despite missing Curtis Huppe, and Sylvain Cloutier playing his final weekend before disappearing for a much-needed operation, the Blaze scored twelve goals this weekend in two games against Manchester, including a KC Timmons hat-trick on Sunday night in Altrincham. Saturday's game will definitely not go down in history...in fact it was dire and the 4-0 scoreline flattered the Blaze insanely-however, their eight goals in Altrincham tonight show what they can do. Staying top with a five-point gap and four games in hand, the Midlanders are well set as they run into a tough month of games...
Grade: B+

Edinburgh: The Capitals ran into a Belfast side who simply wouldn't be denied this weekend, and a Shaun Sutter who was unable to stop scoring, taking the Capitals for an almost unbelievable seven goals by himself in the two games. With Hull actually winning this weekend, the Capitals stay rooted to the bottom and actually lose ground on the team immediately above them, so sadly they only earn..
Grade: D-

Hull: Stingrays win! Stingrays win! Stingrays win! I've said it three times and I still can't quite believe the result in Cardiff on Sunday night. Maybe all the criticism is finally getting through-but being a cynical young-ish sod I refuse to go overboard and start praising them to the skies. However, and much as it hurts to say it...
Grade: A

Manchester: Ouch. Literally and figuratively, this was a painful weekend if you're a Phoenix fan-shipping twelve goals in two games against Coventry including a hat-trick from a player you've released earlier in the season isn't ideal. But there are positives for the Phoenix-they stifled the Blaze on Saturday night for the majority of the game before the floodgates opened, and they're still nicely settled for the playoffs. However, for this weekend I can't see further than a grade...
Grade: E

Newcastle: Panic! What is going on in the North-East? They lose 8-3 in Sheffield, 4-0 at home to Nottingham, and by all accounts look disinterested. Rob Wilson must be haunted by his foolish words, which have seen the Vipers drop like a stone since he said that Vipers deserved to be high in the table three weeks ago. These low grades are becoming all too familiar now...
Grade: F

Nottingham: One game, one win. Nothing more to be said for the Panthers, who appear rejeuvenated since the signing of Tom Askey, the American getting himself a shutout tonight in the North East. I'm sure there''ll be no argument in the East Midlands for this...
Grade: B+

Sheffield: The Steelers get one win, one loss-it appears that they far prefer playing at home to playing away, particularly in Basingstoke, as they lose three-two tonight after their 8-3 demolishing of Newcastle back in Sheffield. They gain another two points in the title race, however, and are now only three points behind Cardiff in second place with a grade...
Grade: B

Midweek games this week see two struggling teams face each other on Wednesday, as Hull face Newcastle...

And that's your weekend review...check back throughout the week for more updates..

Round the Rinks, 7th December

Apologies for the lack of updates this week…real life has intruded in the shape of work, which means the blog has taken something of a back seat briefly. I shall try to incorporate the team news into the previews, however…team-by-team as off we go on another EIHL weekend…

Basingstoke: The Bison only have the one game this weekend, versus Sheffield at the Silverdome. This will be tricky given that the Steelers are on close to top form at the moment-the Hampshire side will be hoping that the Steelers get a workout at the hands of Newcastle the night before so that tiredness will become a factor. Don’t bet against something of a surprise result, however. The Bison seem to have overcome their early-season problems and are more than a match for any team on home ice…

Belfast: Two games in Edinburgh for the Giants this weekend-so four points will definitely be seen as a distinct possibility in Northern Ireland. But the Caps will push hard as they try to overhaul Hull in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon, so even a full-strength Giants side will find that there are no easy points in this league unless you’re playing a certain team from Humberside, it seems…

Cardiff: Just the one outing for the Welsh side, and it should be two points as they face the abject Hull at home on Sunday. With Coventry making up one of their games in hand this weekend, the Devils will want a win to minimise the gain for the Blaze, and with Stingrays in the state they’re in, it would be a huge shock if they didn’t get it…

Coventry: Manchester are the opponents this weekend in the battle of the injury-ridden-Sylvain Cloutier and Curtis Huppe are the two missing for the Blaze as well as Michael Tasker, with the Phoenix missing two d-men in Scott Basiuk and Jeff MacMillan. The Blaze will be hoping not to lose any points in the chase for the title, but the Phoenix are always tough opponents, and Sunday’s away leg in particular will be a game that will require the Blaze to dig deep if they want to come away with the points…

Edinburgh: The Caps spend the weekend at home, facing Belfast after scaring the heck out of Coventry last weekend, and looking to build on a good performance against the league leaders. I can see them at least getting one result to please their fans, but the Giants will ask some very tough questions which the Capitals defence will need to answer convincingly in order to have any chance of moving closer to Hull in the table…

Hull: The Stingrays face Cardiff away in a game which the supporters will be dreading, particularly with Paul Cabana (their second top scorer and one of the few bright spots of this season) jumping ship this week after becoming disillusioned with living in a nightmare season. I’m sorry, but I really can’t see anything other than a convincing Devils win and yet more misery for the Humbersiders-if the Hull season were a horse, they’d have been shot by now…

Manchester: Home and away against Coventry is a tough weekend by anyone’s standards, and when you’re missing two of your top d-men, it’s even more so. However, with their opponents suffering their own injury epidemic, the Phoenix may be hopeful of nicking at least two points and doing Cardiff a favour, as well as helping their own chances of making the playoffs. A win at the Skydome on Saturday would be a major boost to this team-and set things up nicely for the return leg…

Newcastle: Out of the Challenge Cup, with Petr Kratky released (a casualty of his recent poor form) and Todd Jackson doubtful for their games against Sheffield and Nottingham, this is the time the remaining Vipers need to find their form and dig out some points, particularly after their recent and continuing slump has left some questioning whether the early season was a false dawn, and this appears to have spread to the players, with their workrate suffering as a result. A win this weekend would go some way to helping them turn the corner, however…

Nottingham: After knocking the Vipers out of the Challenge Cup thanks to a 5-1 away win, the Panthers return up north to Newcastle in their only game of the weekend to try to do the same in the league. And with a new optimism coming in with new goalie Tom Askey last week, you wouldn’t bet against them doing it…

Sheffield: The Steelers are on fire, and through to the Challenge Cup final thanks to winning 2-0 against Cardiff on Wednesday. They face Newcastle at home tomorrow looking to rack up another two valuable points as they strive to catch Coventry and Cardiff, and Basingstoke on Sunday in possibly the trickier game of the weekend. Four points is a definite possibility, but with both the Bison and the Vipers needing wins desperately, obtaining them will be a struggle and a half…

So, the games, then…

Saturday:
Edinburgh v Belfast

Sheffield v Newcastle

Coventry v Manchester

Sunday
Manchester v Coventry

Newcastle v Nottingham

Edinburgh v Belfast

Cardiff v Hull

Basingstoke v Sheffield

Let’s play hockey…

Double Overtime, 3rd December

A slightly shorter review this week, but still we go team-by-team:

Basingstoke: Two losses for the Bison in their first no-points weekend for a little while, but there's no disgrace in that given that their opponents were Newcastle and Cardiff. The Bison are cruising along in the last playoff place, and with Hull and Edinburgh below them, can more likely look above rather than below them. However, the two losses mean that, under my grading rules, they earn a...
Grade: C

Belfast: Losing to Coventry in overtime is no disgrace, nor losing to a Sheffield side on a high from their tanking of Hull the night before in front of a partisan opposition crowd. However, there's still the issue of Belfast being in a position far below that which the Giants fans would expect, and with both the Challenge Cup (definitely) and the league title (seemingly) already out of reach the Giants need a run of results quickly just to get the feelgood factor back in Northern Ireland. As above, my grading criteria rather than their actual performances mean that the Giants earn themselves...
Grade: C

Cardiff: A hiccup of a weekend for the Devils, with just the one win (a hard-fought victory in Basingstoke) followed by Nottingham nicking a point in the lottery of penalty-shots on Sunday. The OT loss means they lose a point in the race for the title, with Coventry now back on their own at the top. However, the Welsh side will not be too unhappy with themselves...and given that they only dropped one point, and that only due to the unpredictableness that is the penalty shootout, they earn...
Grade: B-

Coventry: Four more points, including a win in the Odyssey in a difficult Friday-night fixture, mean that all seems well in the Blaze camp. However, with the Capitals giving them a big scare on Sunday night by scoring three goals in six minutes, and the possible loss of captain Sylvain Cloutier to injury as well as several other walking wounded, there could be leaner times ahead for the Midlanders. However, the four points this week mean that they earn...
Grade: A-

Edinburgh: The Caps win! The Caps win! Manchester Phoenix were the victims this Saturday as the Scots pulled out an overtime win, before scaring the living hell out of me and a thousand or so other Blaze fans with three goals in six minutes to almost pull back a 4-1 deficit on Sunday night...and based on their performance, the Caps leap up in their grading despite the losses, for yet another...
Grade: C

Hull: The Stingrays lost again. Twice. Rather than rehash old ground-for this week I'm simply using this post, which I wrote on Saturday night, to explain why Hull make Breakaway history by gaining the first-ever (and possibly the only ever)...
Grade: U

Manchester: Phoenix earned themselves a win to break themselves out of their slump-while adding fuel to the fire burning under Rick Strachan's seat, but this could be seen as putting a sticking-plaster on the Berlin Wall given that a) it was Hull, who everyone in the league beats with seeming ease, and b) the loss on Saturday was to the only team below Hull in the league. Still-two points is two points, and so the loss in Edinburgh is somewhat offset to earn the Mancunians a...
Grade: C-

Newcastle: The Challenge Cup dream ended in somewhat abject style with a 5-1 home loss to Nottingham in Friday night, but bounced back with a 6-3 win against Basingstoke on Sunday to finally bring a halt to their losing run. Now they need to prove this wasn't a false dawn, but for now the Vipers earn themselves a...

Nottingham: The Panthers growled, and their fans were left purring after two victories which saw them through to the Challenge Cup Final and also gain some ground on one of the rivals above them in the league. With a new import still to come, things just might be looking up in Nottingham-their fans certainly seem to think so...
Grade: B+

Sheffield: The Steelers had by far the best weekend this time out, scoring fourteen goals and conceding only three as their high-powered attack hit top gear...delighting fans and coach alike. There's not really much else you can say that doesn't sound like cliched praise, so I shall let the grade speak for itself...
Grade: A+

Midweek action this week sees Sheffield and Cardiff battle it out in the second leg of their Challenge Cup semi, and Nottingham take on Manchester in the league...

Due to the fact that I'm now working 9 to 5, the updates will now be appearing in the evenings rather than the daytime as they have up until now...so check back tomorrow evening for your weekly dose of rumours and idle speculation...
Grade: B-

That's gotta hurt...

It wasn't just the Stingrays who had a painful weekend this weekend-last night your good writer was playing hockey himself when an awkward fall caused him to tear his right medial collateral knee ligament (or MCL). Which means I'm currently on crutches and taking the odd painkiller. It also means that, due to being back up the hospital today, Double Overtime won't appear until around 6pm tonight...for which I apologise. I shall do my best to get it done for then, though...

Humberside, thank you, and goodnight...

Normally I avoid posting too much at weekends, either because I'm watching or playing this great sport we all love. But tonight's events in Hull deserve their own post-my weekend review on Monday simply will not do it justice.

Friday night in the Hull Daily Mail saw a Hull Stingrays press release. Anyone who keeps an eye on the Elite League will know this is not exactly a rare event-in fact it would be more notable if there was a weekday without Rick Strachan's name and a cliched quote appearing on the front page of the Elite website. But in this one, things were different-there was actually some steel appearing, it appears. This quote jumped out at me.

"I'll be looking for consistency, there'll be no excuses now we have lots of guys."
"We've brought in Slava Koulikov and Marlon Joseph so we've got two more players." (There goes the excuse used up til now, which has centered on the Stingrays' admittedly harsh injury problems this season.)

Then, just to prove how intense he is to his growing army of critics, the article finishes with Strachan saying this...

"It's just about the last roll of the dice. It's crunch time. It's time for players to stand up and be counted."

Now, if I were a long-suffering Hull fan I'd be hopeful of changes in the way things are done-an improvement. Even as an opposition fan I read this article and thought "maybe all my sniping and jokes at the expense of the Stingrays (which culminated in me admitting I really couldn't find anything nice to say about them at the end of last week) would be proved wrong. And so I kept an eye on the scores this evening with interest.

So, did we see the expected improvement? Did the Stingrays come out hell-for-leather and did Rick Strachan finally deliver on his promises to force changes?

Erm...well...the final score from Hull Ice Arena was...

...wait for it...

Hull Stingrays one, Sheffield Steelers...nine. That's nine as in one less than ten. That's not just a loss-that's the team (as an collective entity) being taken out behind the woodshed, their pants being pulled down, and the snot being well and truly beaten out of them. With ex-TREME prejudice.

And it gets worse for the Hull faithful. In 22 games the Stingrays have scored 47 (least in the league) and conceded an incredible eighty-eight. That's nearly double. And this is a team whose stated aim is to play trap hockey and rely on their defensive game!
I genuinely can't find the words to sum up just how many problems there are with the Stingrays right now. But as a shortlist...

• They have a budget which means that new signings are not likely to be on the horizon...at least not of the quality that is desperately needed.
• The fans have lost all confidence in the coach.
• The rest of the league's fans (perhaps justifiably, although I refuse to join the crowd because I can see the odd flash of skill in players such as Paul Cabana) see them as the most boring team to watch in the league-mainly due to Strachan's suffocating system.
• The crowds are dropping like a stone.

The only thing the Stingrays have going for them is that they are run extremely well by owners who genuinely love the sport. But how long before their patience runs out? It can't be too long-otherwise there will be no-one left to watch hockey in Hull-they'll have been driven away as shown by comments like this on the Stingrays forum, from a poster called Hollie:

"some thing really needs changing, after coming for years, i am actually thinking of missing a few games. ive never seen the place so empty tbh. and when the steeler fans are singing can we play you every week, embarrasing doesnt even begin to cover it. imo strachan needs to go!"

And this gem from "adrock"...

Disappointed? Good night and God bless Hull Stinkrays. I dont care how they do tomorrow, the biggest ever waste of money. Men versus very very small boys No passion, no balls, waste of a night. cannot comment anymore apart from feelings go out to Mike and Sue.

That's clear enough, I think...but rather than go off for another few hundred words, I will let the feelings in Hull be summed up in this short and sweet posting from "markg"

"After 16 years...goodbye".

Hockey in Hull is in big trouble.

Vipers Mauled. and Giants Cut Down to Size

The weekend started early in the EIHL, with Coventry nicking an overtime win in Belfast thanks to goals from Jonny Weaver and Tom Watkins (Peter Campbell replied for the Giants)-which puts them back on top until at least half-nine this evening, depending on the Cardiff-Basingstoke result. But the real question is...what on earth has happened to Newcastle in the past few weeks? With a Challenge Cup final place on the line and their home crowd roaring them on, the Vipers battled the Panthers to a glorious...erm...5-1 home defeat which sees the Nottingham side through by ten goals to five on aggregate. Not only that, but Derek Campbell and Kevin Bergin had an absolute humdinger of a fight which can be seen here. This after Rob Wilson said in the press that the Panthers would bottle it because all the pressure was on them. If I were a Newcastle fan, then right about now I'd be begging my team's coach to just shut up and do his job, as his memorable "we deserve to be where we are" comment just before facing Coventry at home led to a 6-2 home thrashing, followed by Belfast winning 6-3 the night after-it seems that any time he promotes his team in the press or makes confident statements, they don't turn up. As an opposition fan, it's one of the most hilarious running jokes of this (still fairly young) season...but I doubt the hockey fans on Tyneside can see the humour in it at the moment...

Aye well, on with the weekend...keep keeping your eye on the puck...