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...