Blood In The Water...

...and it appears the sharks are circling.

Ben O'Connor (see the rumour post below) is the latest player to leave Basingstoke as confirmed here, which makes two in as many days after Slava Koulikov was released on the signing of Curtis Cruikshank. Panic is beginning to spread in Hampshire as rumours spread of players not being paid for three weeks and refusing to train until they get paid, while posts like this are becoming the norm on fan forums all over the Internet. I cover the ongoing difficulties on Basingstoke in posts here, here, and here, with the Taylors (Bison owners) responding to the concerns here. Over the past few weeks things, while not exactly rosy, have at least looked better in the deep south, but now the silence is deafening from the ownership, and Bison fans everywhere are seemingly bracing themselves for the worst.

Off on a personal tangent here-some of my best memories of watching hockey come from following the Blaze down to Basingstoke-not so much because of the games themselves (although, in the eight years Bison and Blaze have been in the same division, the Silverdome has always been a fairly happy hunting ground) but because of the feel you got from the place. Sure, the rink isn't the best-it's bloody cold, the puck can get lost in the rafters and the view from the away section is only tolerable if you're right down the far end thanks to the siting of the DJ box. But it's a hockey town-the crowd aren't the biggest but they're passionate, the team always work hard, and unlike some teams (Hull, anyone?) you never go to a game thinking "oh, God, it's Basingstoke tonight", no matter how low in the league they may be.

In Coventry we've been pretty lucky-we've watched other teams die slowly and said "oh, how terrible" (although Manchester, one of the teams, has now returned and is running nicely), but for some reason this one has worried me more than all the others, maybe due to the fact that games against the Bison have become a part of mine and others' personal hockey landscape, like that friend who you just get used to having around. They may not be the best, the funniest or the most lively, but even so, when they're not there for whatever reason, everyone notices their absence, and the parties or whatever event is taking place are the poorer for it.

I have the feeling the Bison (along with the Capitals, perhaps) are that "unsung friendship" team for a lot of fans (or will be if they do go bankrupt), whether their team is in the Elite League or used to face them in the old BNL-and that's why it would be such a tragedy if the team were allowed to die.

For now, though, the Bison survive, although few people know for how long. For the sake of hockey in the UK, I hope it will be for many years...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Locker Room Chatter: Big Cats on the prowl...

I should rename my rumours section-the in-season rumours are flying around again after a quiet couple of weeks, and we start with someone making their traditional appearance...

Return of the Prodigal Tess?: Dan Tessier is off to Nottingham. Or Sheffield. Or Belfast. Depending on who you ask. This one comes from no less a source than Dave Simms, who in his usual "mischievous" fashion mentioned that Nottingham have contacted their former star centre as things are not going well for the little speedster in Germany this season, and he's not exactly popular in Duisburg. Panthers fans have reacted to this news with an almost-universal "yes, please!"...with this a flavour of the comments from the Cage Forum...

" any player who can provide Shaun Sutter (!) with a 35 goal season is clearly an expert setup man." (This one made me laugh a little...:))

Some are claiming that he's selfish and only interested in himself, but this comment put that into place, also from the Cage...

"Anyone playing for self-glorification who can post 70+ assists on an average EIHL side is my kind of ego-maniac."

It makes sense as a rumour-Nottingham are crying out for a creative centre, and the prospect of Tessier feeding snipers of the calibre of Sean McAslan and/or PC Drouin will raise the screaming ab-dabs in opposition defences. Money could stop this, though.
Mark it as a "possible"

Ben O'Connor to Edinburgh: Another Bison strays from the Herd? It's possible, especially as Slava Koulikov has also recently been released from the Bison. According to Dave Simms (that man again) this is already a done deal with the young (but very polished already) d-man set to make his debut this weekend...
Mark it "very likely"...

Edinburgh to announce new signings on Monday: Fact, as it's come from the Capitals webmaster. No details on who or who goes, but the changes are finally happening north of the border...

That's the two biggies...admittedly not much of a rumour-fest but rosters are all but settled for many now...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Round the Rinks 2nd November

This lateness is becoming a habit-I might just move the preview day to Friday unless there are any midweek games...This weekend, however, has some pretty important fixtures, so let's get on with the team-by-preview without further excuses from me...

Basingstoke: The Bison finally have a starting goalie. And, somewhat unsurprisingly, it's Curtis Cruickshank, who returns to the rink where he made his reputation in Britain for the third time. He's being thrown in at the deep end with a tricky game against Cardiff on the Saturday, before a meaningless (now that neither team can qualify) Challenge Cup game against injury-ravaged Belfast on the Sunday marks his home debut. Dan Green has performed heroics for Bison recently, so the Canadian has much to live up to, and as if that wasn't enough, he'll have the Bison hopes of a resurgence now they've replaced at least one of the gaping holes in their roster resting on his broad shoulders...

Belfast: Two dead games for Belfast this weekend, at least in terms of their own hopes in the Challenge Cup. However, with the outcome of the group resting on tonight's game against Coventry at the Odyssey, the Giants will be hoping to stir their battered roster into putting one over their bitter rivals. As mentioned above, however, Sunday's game against Basingstoke will be a chance for the British players on Giant's roster to get some ice-time as the walking wounded (not that there are many of them with the Giants only able to ice 12 outskaters) in red, white and teal are given the chance to heal their wounds in anticipation of the league campaign beginning in earnest next weekend.

Cardiff: Two tricky league games for the Devils this week, as they welcome Basingstoke at home before travelling to Nottingham on Sunday in a battle of two of the league's under-achievers. The Welsh side won't be taking the Bison match lightly, and certainly going out with a point to prove against the Panthers, as they look to ride their recent good form further up the table and kickstart their challenge to the top three before they open up too much of a gap...

Coventry: This is a huge weekend for the Blaze this early in the season, as they face a do-or-die game against Belfast tonight in the Challenge Cup, followed by one of their biggest title rivals as Sheffield come to the Skydome on Sunday. As several players are still carrying injuries and playing hurt, it'll take more than just firepower for the Blaze to win this weekend-guts, guile and grind will be the order of the day. With captain Sylvain Cloutier leading by example by continuing to play his hard-hitting game despite carrying a ruptured stomach muscle (!), however, this team is resilient as well as lethal in front of goal, so if any team can take a four-pointer in this situation, they can...

Edinburgh: It's do-or-die time for the Caps this weekend, with the whole team playing for their jobs as they face high-flying Newcastle at Murrayfield. Last time the two teams met, the Vipers edged the Scottish side out by four goals to two-a win in this game will show just how much motivation the two weeks notice has given the leagues basement side...

Hull: Boosted by the return of enforcer Cole Byers to the lineup, the Stingrays try to turn those close losses into wins this weekend, but it won't be easy as they face Nottingham and Manchester, both of whom need the points themselves in order to keep in touch with the leading group. Can the Stingrays suffocating style finally start paying off, or will their lack of firepower tell yet again, particularly against the stern defence of the Phoenix on the Sunday?....

Manchester: With qualification for the Challenge Cup semis still wide open in group B, the Phoenix will look to put themselves in the best possible position with a win against Sheffield on the Saturday, which as a side effect will make the Steelers' qualification much less certain than it is currently-this is a game which the Vipers, as the third team with a chance to qualify from that group, will be watching closely. On Sunday the Phoenix face Hull for the umpteenth time so far this season, and will be hoping for another confident performance in front of their home fans to keep in touch with the title-chasing pack.

Newcastle: The Vipers are joint-top, and will be doing their level best to stay that way as they travel to Edinburgh for their only game of the weekend, hoping that the Caps will still be reeling from their capitulation against Basingstoke last week. With the Blaze also only in action once in the league this weekend, the Vipers could go top by themselves if they win and Sheffield do them a favour against the Blaze on Sunday, so they won't be in the mood to show the Scots any mercy...

Nottingham: The Panthers face Hull and Cardiff this weekend as they hunt for some consistency and some morale-boosting points against two sides immediately below them in the table. The Big Cats faithful finally had something to be pleased about last weekend as the Panthers nicked a 1-0 victory against the Blaze, but these are games that the NIC residents will need to start winning now if they have any serious ambitions of challenging for honours this season.

Sheffield: Just like Coventry, the Steelers face a big weekend and will be hoping to produce offensive fireworks on the ice this weekend, rather than just watching them bursting over the Hallam Arena. Manchester are the visitors on Saturday before the top-of-the-table clash in Coventry on Sunday-a four-point weekend will mean that Monday's celebrations of Bonfire Night will really go with a bang around the Steel City...and it just may light a fire under the rear-ends of their title rivals also. With the Steelers at full-strength and Ashley Tait returning to the club he captained to five trophies, Sunday's game in particular promises to be an absolute barn-burner...

So then, the fixtures in full...


Friday
Belfast v Coventry (Challenge Cup)

Saturday
Hull v Nottingham

Sheffield v Manchester (Challenge Cup)

Cardiff v Basingstoke

Sunday
Nottingham v Cardiff

Manchester v Hull

Edinburgh v Newcastle

Coventry v Sheffield

Basingstoke v Belfast (Challenge Cup)

Let's play hockey...:)