Round the Rinks and more...

A few points before we start our trip round the rinks...

Way to motivate your team, Neil: Neil Black has chosen now to come out and have a public go at Mike Ellis in the Nottingham Evening Post, saying effectively that his job is on the line thanks to a few dodgy results against the smaller teams. This has received nothing but condemnation from Panthers fans on the Cage Forum, and I'd probably agree with them-Mike Ellis is probably the best young coach in the league, and is slowly building a strong foundation in Nottingham-winning two trophies in two years isn't the worst return in the world, considering that Belfast have won none, and Sheffield have only won one in the same period. With both Belfast (definitely) and Sheffield (possibly) on the recruitment trail this summer, Ellis will have plenty of options if Black does let him go...

Game on...just: The Steelers did their thing last night, completely making a mockery of my prediction by destroying the Giants 6-1, and moving within four points of the Blaze in the process. If nothing else it means that the title race will go on just a little longer.

Legal Issues: It appears that the issue with Euro law as regards to trades is indeed the "forced movement" side of things-the way round it would, I suppose, provide all contracts with a kind of "no-trade clause", so the move only happens if players are willing to move. Trouble is, that effectively nixes all trades because I really can't see players from top teams willing to move. Maybe it's worth having a look into Euro law...I still think that North American players at least would accept it purely as a hazard of the job, and British players would learn to live with it...it's a pity that an employment law is the only thing stopping the game potentially adding a whole new dimension to the British game...

Right, with that done, it's now back on to Round the Rinks....

Basingstoke: It's a big game at the Silverdome tomorrow night, as the Bison take on their nearest rivals for a playoff place in Edinburgh, in a game which has massive implications-if the Bison win they strike a vital blow to the Caps' playoff aspirations while at the same time doing themselves a huge favour...

Belfast: The Giants face Newcastle tomorrow in the hope of bouncing back from their tanking last night at the hands of Sheffield. However, with morale down amongst the fans after last night's capitulation and the Vipers still holding out hopes of a top three place, this will be no easy task for the reeling Giants...

Cardiff: The Devils have the ideal opportunity to earn themselves four points, with a double-header against a Hull team who are now only playing for pride, as their innumerable press releases this week have told us, and at the same time give themselves a bit of room in the battle for playoff seedings, being level on points with Manchester...

Coventry: Nottingham and Edinburgh are the latest teams hoping to do themselves and Sheffield a favour by halting the Blaze juggernaut. The Blaze have had some trouble getting results at the NIC this season, so the Panthers will be hoping to go one better than their overtime loss last weekend. Edinburgh will be no pushovers on Sunday either, but the Blaze will be eyeing maximum points to take them two wins nearer their third title in four years...

Edinburgh: Basingstoke and Coventry are the games which could see the Caps take a huge step forward in their playoff chase...a win and OT loss (in that order) would see them go above the Bison for the first time...an event which can't be underestimated for its psychological impact...

Hull: In their quest for nothing more than pride, the Stingrays take on Cardiff home and away this weekend. One wonders which Humberside team will turn up-they're not the greatest at winning whether playing for pride or points-their capitulation in the second leg of the KO Cup semi was only the latest example of that. It would be ironic if the Stingrays finally decided to put together a winning run now that all hope of getting something out of this season is gone...

Manchester: The Phoenix face Newcastle and Sheffield in their chase for sixth place-it could be a tricky weekend for the Altrincham side against two sides who have their own reasons for needing points this weekend. The Phoenix can give anyone a game, though, and will be looking for four points in order to give themselves a potentially "easier" playoff opponent by finishing higher in the league, so both games will be worth watching...

Newcastle: Two away games against Belfast and Manchester are on the agenda for the Vipers as they try and make up a almost-insurmountable ten point gap on the top three. Some may consider these games something of a hindrance in the run to the playoffs, but the Vipers need wins in order to get the MRA crowd behind them-the North East crowd have had a somewhat stormy relationship with their team this season and will need reassurance from their team going into the playoffs...

Nottingham: Coventry are the only opponents for the Panthers this week, coming to the NIC, where they've had considerably less success than elsewhere this season. The Cats will be hoping to continue that trend, and Sheffield in particular will be behind them...

Sheffield: The Steelers are after points at this time of the season, because every one counts in a title chase. They only have the one date this weekend, against Manchester at the Hallam Arena. With Blaze playing two games, this is a weekend where the Steelers can not only make up two points but also come one game closer to the Blaze in terms of games played...there will be as many Steeler eyes on the events in Nottingham tomorrow night as in their own rink, and all Yorkshire hockey fans will be roaring on Edinburgh on Sunday...

That's your Round the Rinks for this week...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Thursday Thoughts...

Another day, another lazy skate around the events and opinions currently floating around in Brit-hockey world...

One Minute Preview: Belfast Giants v Sheffield Steelers (tonight)
You know a midweek game could be an important one when it merits one of these, and this game could have an impact on the title-race. Steelers win and they go within two points of the Blaze, although with two games more played. Giants win and they still have a shot at second place-so both teams will be going hard at the Odyssey...
Why Belfast will win: This game looks like it could turn into a shootout between two of the top offenses in the league, but don't forget that the Giants have a fair bit of grit too in Carlyle Lewis and (to a lesser extent) Paul Moran (agitator par excellence)-hassle the Steelers D early and park the big Canadian in front of Jody Lehman's net and it could create a little more space and time for players like Mark Dutiaume and Peter Campbell to work their creative and goalscoring spells respectively-especially with the Steelers more of an "agitation" type of team rather than one with an out-and-out physical presence when it comes to the rough-stuff...Physical defence from players like Trevor Johnson (if he turns up) and the nous of Roman Gavalier will also ensure that the Steelers forwards, good though they are, may be bullied out of the game-especially creative hub Dan Tessier. If they can force Rod Sarich to abandon or scale down his usual creative game in order to help Steve Munn and Mark Thomas deal with the physical questions posed by Lewis, George Awada et al, then the offense of the Steelers loses another weapon, and you can only lose so many, even in a team as loaded as Sheffield...
Why Sheffield will win: They arguably have more to play for. Plus, the Steelers are on a streak and have the best creative player in the league in the aforementioned Tessier, as well as one of the most lethal scorers in Joey Talbot. And that's before you mention Ashley Tait and Ryan Finnerty, both of whom are no slouches goalscoring-wise...The D is mobile enough to cope with the fast-skating Giants if they're all on a good night, and in Rod Sarich and Ian Manzano have the players to drive the offense forward. If Mark Thomas and Steve Munn can deal with the physical threat posed by Carlyle Lewis and at the same time keep their cool, then the Steelers will be free to let their creative players play and, on the big ice of the Odyssey, Tessier, Sarich and co will relish the opportunity to run-and-gun...

Verdict: I can see the Steelers winning this one. Just. However, the margin is going to be close either way...and it's definitely worth catching the webcast if you have a hankering for some hockey this evening...

Next they'll be telling us how white our ice has to be: After my post yesterday about how allowing trades could improve the EIHL, it was commented that the North American system could actually be illegal in Europe thanks to European employment laws. Does this mean that two-way contracts are also illegal, as they also are a form of movement between two teams and appear to be pretty well-entrenched in the British system now...I have no legal training whatsoever so am unaware of the ins and outs, but I can't see how a player changing employer (effectively) mid-season could cause such problems under EU laws...unless it's considered a "consensual firing and re-hiring" or some such.

It's not going to happen-but in a perfect world...Continuing with the trade theme begun yesterday, I can see it being made to fit into the system of import restrictions with only a few minor tweaks to the current rules...the ten-import-at-one-time could still be held to, but teams could be allowed an unlimited number of ITC cards throughout the season...this leads to further intrigue because you could have the situation of "surplus imports" who would then have to be traded for Brits in order to keep within the rules or cut. Certainly it would stimulate player movement within the league, which could perhaps level the playing field somewhat-if a "top" team wants a "lower" team's top import or Brit then they'd have to give something of equal value in return.
Trouble is, I suppose that money would be the major factor getting in the way here, even if there are legal loopholes, and that's why news stories like "Panthers and Steelers in blockbuster trade" will only ever appear in the realms of fantasy...

Another step in the journey, at least...The GB team are taking on Sweden before travelling to Austria for the World Championships. Not the full team, before all you NHL fans get excited, but the under-20's, who will still provide a serious test, being one of the top teams in the world with every player drafted to the NHL or considered as a prospect. After my ramblings earlier on this month about the GB team needing to play quality opponents in order to progress, it's fair to say that the powers-that-be in GB hockey have continued, after the participation in the Mont Blanc Tournament, to make progress in breaking the habits the national team has fallen into in recent years and are now actively looking for ways to bring British ice hockey forward. This is excellent preparation and, not only that, a measure of the positive reception by the European community-the Swedes are also using this as preparation for their own u20 Worlds which run at almost the same time as the senior team. This, more than anything recently, will be a measure of just how far the GB programme needs to go in order to compete with the top hockey nations of the world, as well as giving British fans the chance to see some of the top players in the world at their level-a win-win situation if you ask me...

Sheffield will try anything to get around the import limit...but this tactic, while not working in favour of the Steelers' import quota, will benefit British hockey hugely as it consists of Jody Lehman (that well known Canadian goalie) taking a British passport and becoming eligible to play for Great Britain in the near future after playing in the UK for six years...the Steeler has come out and asked Paul Thompson for the chance to be considered as soon as the formalities are completed. While not exactly a spring chicken at 32, there's no denying Lehman's quality, and if nothing else it'll give the current settled three (Lyle, Murphy and Watkins) a reason to step up their play even further now they're competing against one of the best goalies of the EIHL era. However, he'll still be counted as an import for league purposes, given that he was trained in Canada. Now-if we can just convince Adam Calder and Joe Tallari to do the same...

And finally...It's Andre Payette's new instructional video part one...how to check. Enjoy...

That's your Thursday Thoughts...check back tomorrow for Round the Rinks, and, as always...keep your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings: Trading Places...

On we go with your usual round of Midweek Musings...

Hey, it's some NHL talk on the Breakaway! Hop on and giddy up!: Yesterday was the trade deadline in the NHL, and in amongst the minor deals of the "Cam Janssen to St Louis for Bryce Salvador" variety came a few absolute blockbusters, which we shall analyse below...

Brad Richards (C) and Johan Holmqvist (G) to Dallas for Mike Smith (G), Jussi Jokinen (LW), Jeff Halpern (C) and a fourth-rounder:
Dallas get one of the best goalscoring centres in the league to take some of the load off Mike Modano, and a serviceable back-up to Marty Turco, while Tampa get two third-liners who can do a job and a very good young goalie to solve their possible starting problem. Trouble is, Dallas also get the weight of Richards' $7.8mil contract to renegotiate in the off-season-that is a lot in a $50mil cap...

Pittsburgh get Marian Hossa (RW) and Pascal Dupuis (LW) for Colby Armstrong (RW), Erik Christensen (RW), Angelo Esposito (C) and a fourth-rounder:
One of my Pens-supporting friends was so chuffed about this he rang me moments after the trade happened to discuss it, and we generally agreed we were happy with this one. This is a winner for the Pens-they get yet another offensive weapon for Sidney Crosby to feed, and a serviceable second/third-line winger who's still fairly young. With the monster that is Hal Gill being added in a seperate trade, it's worth losing Amstrong, Christensen, and the hit-or-miss prospect that is Esposito for two players who could push the Pens over the top in the chase for the Stanley Cup...

Cristobal Huet (G) to Washington for a second-round pick: This is a steal for the Caps-they earn themselves another starting goalie for nothing but a second-round draft-pick, and cover/replacement for Olaf Kolzig. It leaves Montreal with two young goalies with little playoff experience, though, which is a brave decision from the Canadiens GM Bob Gainey...

Brian Campbell (D) to SJ (with a 7th-rounder) for Steve Bernier (C) and a first-rounder: Brian Campbell is a damn good d-man. Steve Bernier is a quality young centre. This trade works pretty well for both sides, although Sabres fans will feel somewhat aggrieved that yet another one of their top players has been traded away...

Sergei Fedorov (C) to Washington: Fedorov and Ovechkin on the same line, anyone? The legendary Russian is on the downslope of his career now, but can still play-give him either Ovechkin or Alex Semin to feed and he can add something to the Caps which could push them into the second round of the playoffs if they can just make them...

Phew...wasn't that exciting? And it leads nicely on to the next point...

If the NHL can do it, why not us?: I know the EIHL is not really in the same league as the NHL when it comes to contracts, with the vast majority of players on one-year deals and thus things not really being conducive to it...however, wouldn't allowing trades in the EIHL or EPL make life a lot more interesting? Imagine the furore mid-season if Belfast offer Mark Dutiaume and Paul Moran for, say, Colin Hemingway and Ben O'Connor, and the GM's take it. The imports in particular are used to the trading system as a hazard of the job, and it would add an extra level of intrigue to things...especially for the playoff rentals for the last few games of the season...I'm realistic enough to realise that it's never going to happen, though.


So, that's your midweek musings...Tomorrow sees Belfast take on Sheffield in a game which I assume will be covered by the excellent Belfast webcast...and tomorrow's post will contain one of the famous One Minute Previews of that game, as well as a ramble or two. Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Tuesday Thoughts...

Before I start this post, many thanks to the several people who answered my question on netminder penalties, including Adam who took the time to email, and of course Becky and Matt. It's interesting to note that all three are Phoenix fans...maybe I should whisper this but if the niceness of those three are representative of Phoenix fans as a whole than I just might be building a second EIHL team into my list of "teams supported"...

And as far as Matt's comment about "it depends on the ref" goes-this is sadly true-there would be at least one EIHL ref who'd probably be sleeping on the couch at home for a while if he gave such a penalty against the Steelers...

Anyway...on to some Tuesday Thoughts...

And we begin with some sad news...John Crook, a long-time fan and trainer of the Blaze, has passed away this morning. You may not know the name but if you've ever looked at the Coventry bench during a game you'll have probably seen him in his usual position by the bench doors, usually with a grin on his face. He was an immensely popular figure at the Skydome even with those who didn't know his name-there was outrage a few years back when he took a stray puck to the face on the bench at (I believe) a Panthers game and it was believed people in the NIC were making light of the injury. From then on he wore a half-visored helmet on the bench and was known for having time for just about anyone before, during and after games-his habit of giving random high-fives to any young child who offered made him immensely popular with young and old alike. The Blaze will be holding a minute's silence before the Edinburgh game this Sunday in his memory, but I'm sure all the readers of the Breakaway will join me in passing heartfelt condolences along to the family...requiescat in pace...

Back in the old routine...Finally, I can return to the long running debate about what people want from their hockey teams...don't worry, there's not a rant going on here...however, it's interesting that there is now a long thread on the Elite Forum discussing why crowds, while not falling, are seemingly dropping off just a little. One comment that was very pertinent was this one...
Also, it's become routine. Many people started watching 5,6, 7 years ago, and many have dropped off.

Very true...there are lots of faces missing from when I started watching and indeed got to know-and there's always comments on away trips that most of the people appear to be new. As to why they've dropped off...

There aren't many new players in the league to go and check out. You don't see the players in the bar much - they come in later and mostly go straight round to their area. So you don't feel as involved and therefore don't have that burning tug that you really should be at the Skydome.

This is also true. I consider myself a passionate fan, but recently I've had to spend money on things other than hockey (hazards of the real world) and I've just not felt as bad as I would have done a year or two ago about missing the games-mainly due to the fact that it just doesn't feel as fun as it did even a year or two ago...I consider myself a fan of British hockey as a whole rather than specifically a Blaze fan now...the constant commercialisation and push for profit has alienated me...

Ticket prices increasing by over 50 percent in the 8 years I've been watching (from £8.50 to £13) has to be a factor also...

Also, amusingly...

a friend went to a game with me before he went off to uni and went to one last month after returning home from uni/travelling etc and was appalled at the change in the music from a rock fest to cheesy family stuff. said he enjoyed the overall experience much less than previously even though the hockey was better...

And people say music isn't important at a hockey game? :)

Seamlessly linking onto the next thought...

It's IceTunes! Yes, it's your regular-ish recommendation of more stuff that (should) be rocking the rinks of the UK, and/or be on the iPods of hockey fans everywhere...just because it's been a while...

New Year's Day: I Was Right: This bunch have found the impossible in Ashley Costello, in my view-a lead singer who's even better-looking than Paramore's Hayley Williams. But enough of the visuals and my taste in girls-the song is pretty damn good as well...perfect for keeping the energy up during a period break. Ready Aim Misfire is a nice one as well if you like what you hear...

Paramore: All We Know: I couldn't leave Hayley and friends out, however...most will know this band from the hit Misery Business, which also appears on NHL 08, or perhaps crushcrushcrush. However, this is from their first album, which is just as good if not better-Emergency is a piece of perfection, but this song just trumps it....

Bloc Party: Flux: Yes, it's been around a while...but it's still a tune...

Bullet For My Valentine: Scream, Aim, and Fire: This is a great warm-up song...full-on Welsh metal. The Devils would do well to slip this into the warm-up mix somewhere...if nothing else it gives Brad Voth something to do with his hair while he's standing around...:)

Damone: Out Here All Night: If nothing else it puts into words what it's like queueing at the NIC on a game night...:)

If you turn the tables upside down, the title races would possibly be more interesting: It's a curious statistic this time round that both the Elite League and the EPL are causing more interest at the lower end than the higher end of the table as clubs battle to get into the post-season. With both leagues only realistically having two teams in with a chance of the title (Coventry and Sheffield in the EIHL-and even that's an outside shot) and Guildford and Slough in the EPL..same gap, but less games in hand) attention is turning to the playoff races. In the EIHL Edinburgh and Basingstoke are battling for the final playoff spot, with only three points in it. All other positions are realistically decided. In the EPL things are a little more unclear, with any two from Romford, Chelmsford and Swindon in the running, and three points separating the three teams. It appears that, if you want any real excitement as a neutral in either league, it might be worth your while to keep a close eye on the results lower in the table even if your team seemingly has little more than playoff seeding to play for...

That's your thoughts for this Tuesday...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime-25th February

Interesting point before we begin today's round-up...I'm really not sure about the result in Coventry last night...the scoreboard shows Coventry won on penalties thanks to Curtis Huppe being the only scorer in the shootout after a pulsating game ended three-three. Simple enough, right?
However...
I'm really not sure that Tom Askey didn't "save" the decisive penalty-this is how it unfolded...
Huppe comes in at speed, goes roughly level with the left hand post on the way in and then cuts across goal at the last possible second, dragging Askey with him before finding the smallest of gaps on the right hand side and scoring. Thing is, as he heads in originally and then pulls across (I'm stood behind the goal at that end) there's a distinct "thump" of puck hitting pad, before Huppe switches across to the backhand, finishes pulling the puck across and sticks it in on the forehand. This picture from Mark Tredgold shows the decisive moment, or at least immediately close to it-that puck is bobbling having just clipped a pad, in my view...Speaking to people afterwards, the general consensus even from Blaze fans was that Huppe may well have had two bites of the cherry and got away with it-there's more than reasonable doubt...
My point is-if that's called as a save, then it's a whole new set of three, after Marc Levers misses the next penalty. I'm not saying Blaze wouldn't have won the game, but I am saying there is a very good chance that they got out of jail with that one...

Anyway. On to the review...

Basingstoke: The Bison may have lost to Cardiff on the Saturday, but they managed to win the game they wanted to, putting themselves through to the KO Cup final with a solid performance for a 5-2 win in Hull. The league is now a little tighter after Edinburgh gain two points on them in the playoff race. With the Bison now in a final, however, many will be seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, and the grade reflects this...
Grade: C+

Belfast: Ouch. A 5-1 loss in Nottingham is not what the doctor ordered for the Giants, who appear to be in cruise control on the way to the playoffs now that their brief chance at the league title is gone. This weekend will have hurt the pride of the Northern Irish...
Grade: D

Cardiff: The nightmare is over for the Devils, as their fifteen game winning streak finally comes to an end with a win over Basingstoke away from home on the Saturday. Sure, it was a depleted Bison team, but even so, the win was well-earned-with two more goals from our Best Supporting Player Sylvain Deschatelets, and so the grade is the best the South Wales side have earned for a while...
Grade: B

Coventry: The less said about Saturday's performance against the Steelers, the better. Giving away two points to your closest rivals due to a complete lack of discipline is not the way to go. The discipline was somewhat lacking on Sunday against Nottingham also, with the Panthers given twelve powerplays and scoring all their three goals on them. However, thanks to the lottery of penalty shots (and a slightly dubious winner from Curtis Huppe-see above) they earn a vital two points...
Grade: C+

Edinburgh: One step forward, two steps back. A win on Saturday against Hull was followed by a nasty loss in Manchester as they became the latest side to meet the Joe Tallari Express. However, another two points gained on Basingstoke mean that the playoff dream is still alive as the Capitals lion continues to roar...
Grade: B-

Hull: You can tell it was a bad weekend-we get not one, but two consecutive press releases on the Elite League home page with Rick Strachan talking about his disappointment in the team. Does anyone actually read them anymore? As for the action on the ice-the Stingrays managed once again to throw away the chance to make something of themselves as they didn't turn up in the BKO Semi and lost to Edinburgh, the day before. One of these days, the Stingrays will earn themselves a decent grade, but the season is well and truly over for them now...
Grade: F

Manchester: One loss and one win for the Phoenix in what is becoming a familiar pattern, although if they could have had the powerplay firing against Newcastle it could have been a different story. A 7-4 win against Edinburgh on the Sunday is not to be sniffed at, particularly with the Scots on something of a tear. The Phoenix now look in good shape for a playoff run, but they still need to build some momentum and turn these close losses into wins...
Grade: B-

Newcastle: A win against Manchester and then a loss to Sheffield mean the Vipers, too, enjoyed a mixed weekend. They're still targeting a top three place, but are perhaps too far away from Belfast (ten points) for this to be realistic. Like the Phoenix, though, if they want any chance to get near them they still need to keep turning these narrow losses into wins...
Grade: C+

Nottingham: Beating Belfast and earning a point in Coventry is a good weekend by any standards-the Panthers keep earning themselves vital points in the chase for the top three-they're now only three points behind the slumping Giants and can still influence the league title thanks to their remaining game against Coventry...
Grade: B+

Sheffield: Four points are just what are needed for the Steelers, including two points gained against the Blaze at home perhaps the most vital two points of the season thus far. The Panthers failed to do their rivals a favour on Sunday night, otherwise the league race could be even closer this Monday morning.As it is, six points is not an insurmountable gap by any means, particularly with the Steelers and Blaze due to meet again at the Hallam next Wednesday...
Grade: A

The one midweek game this week sees the streaking Steelers meet the stuttering Giants in Belfast on Thursday in yet another game which could have ramifications on the title race...

That's your Double Overtime for this week...keep keeping your eye on the puck..

Pop Quiz...

Just a quickie, born out of reports of tonight's game between Blaze and Steelers (which I annoyingly couldn't attend due to monetary issues)...I notice that Trevor Koenig managed to earn himself a misconduct at some point in the game-and yet stayed in net, with James Archer sitting the penalty. Now, scouring the far reaches of my memory, I recall Jody Lehman having to leave his net for a 2+10, which was almost instantly upgraded to a game when he kept going (the original offence being a blocker-shove to the face of an opposition forward.) So, do goalies have to serve major pens or misconducts or not?

Hopefully someone can tell me...keep keeping your eye on the puck in the meantime...

The EIHL Goes To Tinseltown

With the Oscars taking place this weekend, I couldn't let them pass without adapting them for the EIHL. Obviously it'll be a somewhat shorter ceremony as it's kind of hard to adapt film terms to ice hockey, but I shall do my best. In natural Oscar fashion, we'll start with the minor awards first...

Best Costume Design: (otherwise known as "nicest kit"). Now that the Capitals seemingly don't wear their saltire shirt any more, or at least very rarely, this season's crop are a little...well, ordinary. The only one that really stands out (and annoyingly I couldn't find a pic I could use of it) are Nottingham's white third shirts, which just look good-uncluttered and just like a hockey kit should be. However, they were run very close indeed by Manchester's warm-up shirts...the huge Union Jack in particular is a nice touch...

Best Soundtrack: Cardiff. Not for the in-game music itself, but that intro still makes hair stand up on the back of my neck, even though it has lost something with the demise of the cauldron that was the WNIR. Manchester (again) get close, and it's a toss-up between Sheffield and Nottingham for the worst in the league-it's like choosing between shooting and stabbing as a method of execution picking between those two-either way, you suffer unbearably.

Best Visual Effects: (or, "most fun player to watch"): You can usually rely on Andre Payette to do something stupid, and it's always amusing to see someone collide with Trevor Koenig, purely for his reaction-throwing his hands up and yelling like an Arab woman at a funeral is always entertaining to watch, purely because you know it's going to happen at least once in a weekend. Then there's Phil Hill, who is convinced he's as intimidating as Brad Voth when...well, he isn't. But the winner, by a gnat's wing, is Matt Myers. Don't get me wrong, he's a very good player, but God does he have a mouth on him...you can usually rely on him chirping away incessantly...

Best Song (Crowd Participation): This goes to the funniest heckle of an opposition play that I've heard, given that the quality of singing at games has gone downhill a little recently...Memorable was one aimed at the (somewhat slow by EIHL standards) Troy Neumeier when playing for Belfast in Coventry, as he turned behind the net to head up-ice..."Start skating now, and with a following wind you'll be over the blue-line by March" This was made funnier by the fact we were in September at the time...Panther Eric Nelson's facial hair was recently targeted with the short but sweet "Take that dead hamster off your face!" in Sheffield, but the king is still a comment on (Basingstoke's) Greg Chambers' silhouette. Given that his head is...well, quite large compared to his legs, someone shouted "Chambers, with that head you look like a melon on a cocktail stick". This is an old one, coming from the end of last season, but it still makes me smile when the GB international comes to town...

Best Direction: The coaching award has several possible candidates, with Paul Thompson the overwhelming favourite. However, given the miracles he's achieved despite having his budget cut by a third mid-season, it goes to the Bison's Ryan Aldridge-anyone who can get a team of ten players playing like he has clearly has some serious motivational skills...

Best Player in a Supporting Role: You can't consider this award without mentioning Dan Carlson. Without his play, Adam Calder would be half the player he is, since the Blaze pairing are joined at the hip in the eyes of many. Calder is the one who gets all the press but Carlson is the one who toils away to feed him...58 assists are proof of that. (Yes, I know Ed Courtenay has 60, but that's because he's feeding Peter Campbell). However, Cardiff's Sylvain Deschatelets wins it by a nose...mainly because he doesn't have a prolific sniper to feed-indeed, half the time he doesn't know which import will be injured next-and yet he's still earned himself 53 assists in a Cardiff team which has struggled for form thanks to injury for large parts of the season...

Best Player: The pinnacle award, and there are several very strong nominees-Sean McAslan is lethal for Nottingham, Adam Calder will score and score and score, and at EPL level Slavomir Sojak (before injury) sneaks into this company because he's singlehandedly kept Wightlink in the playoff race before his season-ending injury. However, due to the fact that he's picked up the Phoenix goalscoring load and carried it on his back again and again, and doesn't have the benefit of the supporting cast that Calder and McAslan do, the winner is...Joe Tallari. Manchester will have a real struggle holding on to him when the off season rolls around and Nottingham, Sheffield and Coventry come calling...

And there you go...a shortened Oscar ceremony for the weekend...Check back on Monday for Double Overtime, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Round the Rinks, 22nd February

Are you ready? It's another whirlwind trip round the EIHL as we go team-by-team for a weekend crucial at both ends of the table...

Basingstoke: The Bison face Cardiff and then their biggest game of the season so far against Hull in the KO Cup semi on Sunday. Steve Thornton is still out but apart from that the Bison are at full strength-although they may still be feeling the effects of a very busy week. However, with the Devils on even more of a losing streak than the Bison's four game streak, the Herd will be confident of two wins which can keep their season alive...

Belfast: Just the one game for the Giants this week-it's the resurgent Nottingham at the NIC on Sunday, which should be something of a humdinger with two strongly offensive teams battling it out. With both sides still holding out distant hopes of finishing second in the league, the game is sure to be hotly contested and in my view could still go either way.

Cardiff: Just Basingstoke for the Devils this weekend, away from home. With two arguably evenly-matched teams meeting and both desperate for points, this game is hard to predict, particularly with the Devils on a long, long losing streak and the Bison having one eye on the KO Cup semi-final. Certainly it's a good chance for the side from South Wales to end their losing streak if the Herd are caught looking ahead...

Coventry: This weekend can see the Blaze take another huge step towards the league title, with a very tricky pair of games against Nottingham and Sheffield, both of whom can and will take points from the Blaze given a chance, particularly as the Steelers still have an outside chance at the league title. This is one of the rare weekends when two deadly rivals will both be supporting each other in the hope they can do each other a favour or two...

Edinburgh: Points mean prizes for the Capitals-they simply cannot afford to lose any more games if they want to catch the Bison and make the playoffs. Hull and Manchester are the opponents, which means the points will be tricky to get, but perhaps not so much as, say, a Sheffield double-header. Every game is a four-pointer for the Caps now...

Hull: Edinburgh and the big KO Cup semi against Basingstoke are on the agenda for the Stingrays this week. Surprisingly we haven't been buried under a raft of press releases about how the players are ready for it yet...With injuries all survived and out of the way, the Stingrays will no doubt be hoping they can salvage something from the season, but the Bison will make it harder than they can probably handle...

Manchester: Newcastle and Edinburgh are the Phoenix's next adversaries, or, as they're more popularly known "the next teams to get scored upon by Joe Tallari". Two wins will settle the Altrincham-ers down nicely after their 5-1 loss to the Blaze on Wednesday night. The Vipers are on something of a run themselves at the moment, so stopping them will be a perfect spur into the Sunday night meeting with the desperate Capitals-especially with all injury worries seemingly out of the way...

Newcastle: Manchester and Sheffield make the trip to the MRA as the Vipers still eye a top three place. With Colin Shields on fire at the moment there's definite potential for the Vipers to take the points and have an influence on the league title at the same time-that is if they can stop the pattern of sublime to ridiculous which has characterised their season-they haven't been doing a bad job of doing so recently, however...

Nottingham: Belfast and Coventry are the opponents for a buoyant Panthers this weekend as they try and carry momentum along from their Challenge Cup triumph and force some more attention on them as they try to end one team's title hopes for good and dent another's, while at the same time actually helping their biggest rivals. It's a surreal weekend for the resurgent Black Cats...but four points will be very well received in the East Midlands

Sheffield: Calling Saturday a "big game" is like calling a hurricane "a bit windy". It's impossible to overstate the importance of their meeting with Coventry at the Hallam tomorrow night in the context of the league title race-and the Steelers players and fans will know that. Sunday's game against Newcastle, while being somewhat forgotten in the rush to comment on Saturday's game, is still not to be sniffed at-every point is precious, particularly if the Blaze slip up at home against Nottingham. Four points will be worth their weight in gold for the Steelers...

There you go-a nice long preview to get your teeth into before going out of a Friday evening...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Song and Dance part II

It's Thursday...and yes, I know I missed a day. This is thanks to the router in my house deciding to forget it knew about every computer in the house being able to connect to the internet, which led to lots of techie-type stuff being done yesterday which stopped me getting on until now. Luckily, it now works again, so normal service has been resumed. The second half of the song-lyric run-in preview will follow, but first...



Cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria, and Brad Voth winning a fair play award: All good signs of the apocalypse...but surely a real reason to stock up on the tinned food is that I got a prediction right! Yes, my prediction that Sheffield would win the second leg of the final but Nottingham's three-goal lead would hold out came through as Steelers won 4-3 last night. However, Nottingham take the Challenge Cup, and this time they didn't even need penalties to do it. Congratulations to the Panthers, and I'm sure the Steelers fans are looking forward to hearing about this victory for...oh, the next ten years or so...



Meanwhile, in other games: Coventry beat Manchester 5-1 in what was a spectacularly boring game, mainly due to the curse of the midweek matches...apart from a few beautiful goals, including Joe Tallari's consolation for Manchester. Bracknell won themselves the EPL Cup against Slough, and Hull somehow stuck eight past Basingstoke to give themselves a little more respectability in the league. Pity they've driven so many people away that only 300 or so were reportedly there to see it...



Lyrically blessed...and now for the second half of the lyrics-to-teams run-in preview, starting with Hull...



Hull Stingrays

"Baby, we can talk all night....but that ain't getting us nowhere"

Meatloaf: "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"

The Humbersiders tried to convince us last night that there's still life in the North East. Trouble is, like their innumerable press releases, these rare flashes of promise just aren't convincing any more. The Stingrays will finish bottom-I'm willing to stick my neck out and say that now. The sooner this season is over and the Stingrays can look forward, the better.



Manchester Phoenix:

"Don't act like you can't see me, darling, I'm coming"

Taking Back Sunday: "Spin"

I know that results say otherwise, and I know that the Altrincham side are not ones for making waves in the league, but something about them still convinces me that, when they get firing, they can pull off surprise after shock after great result. No-one ever mentions the Phoenix in connection with any trophy, but they've got one of the most lethal finishers in the league, a fiery, under-rated spark-plug who can score, and a defence which is big and criminally under-rated-mainly due to the fact that it can't hit form as a unit for longer than a few games at a time. They may not make a huge amount of noise during the playoff run-in, doing just enough to make it, but once the playoff time starts and the players know that they go home if they don't perform, underestimate the Phoenix at your peril...



Newcastle Vipers

"If we don't take action now...We settle for nothing later"

Rage Against the Machine: "Settle for Nothing"

The Vipers need to buck their ideas right up for the run-in. At the moment they're nicely set in mid-table mediocrity, cruising along picking up just enough points to do well. But that doesn't get you anything when the games become important. The Geordies, more than any other team, need momentum going into the playoffs, and discipline, otherwise they'll collapse into anarchy and make a tame exit...

Nottingham Panthers
"I want a piece of the cake, a piece of the action
I'm gonna take it to the limit
And get more than I bargained for...There's no regrets make no mistake
I gonna get what I want"
Republica: "Bitch"
The Panthers have won something. And now they'll have the taste for it. It's always been something of an advantage for them having the playoff weekend at their home venue-and with this year's team, expensively assembled and put together with much fanfare, winning is the only option. Watch them fire themselves right up for the run-in in the hope of a playoff repeat...

Sheffield Steelers
"My hand is on the trigger I'm ready to ignite.
Tomorrow might not make it but everything's all right!"
Avenged Sevenfold: "Bat Country"
The Steelers have to go for it now. Eight points behind the Blaze with one game less to play, the title is all but gone, but not quite. They have the fire and attacking power to win all the games they need to, and with the Blaze taking them on twice in the next few weeks, four of those points are eminently winnable. With the disappointment of the Challenge Cup defeat fresh in their minds, the fuel for the fire is there...all they need to do is use it.

Writer's block: I'm annoyed at the moment. I've spent several days attempting to write a long, reasoned post over just what people want or indeed should have from their hockey teams in order to improve the fan experience further. It's not quite coming out the way I want, though. Still, hopefully I'll end up marshalling my thoughts and coming out with it soon. However, given that there are a fair few supporters from all levels who read this blog, maybe I should throw it open to you all...The question is how can your hockey experience be improved by the clubs and, by extension, the leagues?

You can answer in the comments...and as always, keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Song and Dance...

Happy Tuesday. I've spent the past few hours trying to craft a reasoned and logical response to people asking just what I want from EIHL clubs which would improve the fan experience, but I'm still not satisfied with it-there's just bits in it that even now I'm not happy with the sound of...thus this column is something of a fall-back-but no less interesting for it...Just because now is the real business-end of the season, it's time for one of PW's patented song-lyric-to-team matches, part one...beloved of all of one person on the Elite Forum! Anyway...these lyrics are my way of summing up my views and reflections on each club's prospects for the run-in...Plus, the famous One-Minute Preview returns for the Challenge Cup Final Semi

Basingstoke Bison
"Voice so true inside calling...To pick you up and march you on..Keep from falling...Hear me now!"
Machinehead: Imperium

The Bison, this season at least, are a team driven along by the passion of their crowd. Even with only eleven men and no starting goalie for nearly a quarter of the season, the Hampshire side keep going, forced along on a wave of new support. And this will stand them very well for the run-in and playoffs...the Bison are well worth a punt to make the playoff weekend and definitely worth a punt on the KO Cup...the revolution is not over down south by a long way...

Belfast Giants
"It doesn't make a bit of difference if you start what you can't finish....
Every story needs an ending, after all."
Motion City Soundtrack: Can't Finish What You Started

The Giants came so close...but now the chance of league glory has all but gone. Question is-with the team all seemingly on the same page, can they pull themselves together for the stretch run, recapture the form that took them to the brink of genuinely challenging for the title and pull off an unlikely playoff title? Don't bet against it-but don't put your house on it either...

Cardiff Devils:
"Let's dance to Joy Division, and celebrate the irony...
Everything is going wrong, but we're so happy"
The Wombats: Let's Dance to Joy Division

Let's be honest here...had the Devils not been hit by injuries, they could well be up chasing for the title. Yet, you won't really find a huge amount of moaning in South Wales. The Devils are getting their team back to full fitness just in time for the stretch run. Playoff glory is the Holy Grail for the Devils side now-they've come oh-so-close to it on several occasions recently, and but for penalties would have done so last year. The Devils look like a team who, if they finally hit form at the right time and get everyone firing, will win the playoffs. And they'd deserve it.

Coventry Blaze
"You got me begging you for mercy...why don't you release me?"
Duffy: "Mercy"

The current UK number one could be a message from the rest of the league to the Blaze...they just roll on, and on, and on. The league title is looking more and more likely with every narrow win, they're in the KO Cup Final yet again, and it seems like nothing can stop them. But, for the league's sake, someone had better at least give them a run...this must be the first time the majority of the league wants Sheffield to make a damn good run at the league title...

Edinburgh Capitals
"I so want to get back on track
And I’ll do whatever it takes...Even if it kills me"
Motion City Soundtrack: Even If It Kills Me

The Capitals are still hanging around...hanging around...five points is not an insurmountable margin by any means when chasing the playoffs, even with the games running out fast. The Scots have won themselves a lot of friends this season with their mix of skill, youthful Scottish energy and a little grit, even if the points return has been somewhat less than hoped-for. With all the teams but Basingstoke cruising slowly into their playoff positions, the Capitals still need to pull off a miracle in order to make it to the post-season, but I for one think that they just may be able to do it if the Bison aren't hyper-vigilant for the remainder of the season...

One Minute Preview: Challenge Cup Final Second Leg

Why the Panthers will win: First and foremost, they have a three-goal lead from the first leg. Secondly, they have the second leg at home, and have five or six thousand Panthers fans roaring them on to a cup victory. They've also well and truly laid the ghost of losing to the Steelers with that 6-1 victory on Saturday.
Why the Steelers will win: Revenge will be uppermost in the mind of those from Sheffield-Hull caught some of the fury on Sunday night but with a trophy on the line and their biggest rivals the opponents, let's just say that motivation will not be a problem. However, the three-goal deficit just might be...

Verdict: I can't see past the three-goal deficit in this one. With Steelers-Panthers games always close, and the incentive of winning a trophy against their biggest rivals in front of a raucous home crowd, the newly-resolute Panthers will turn up for this one and, though the Steelers may win on the night, they won't win by enough. Steelers to win on the night by one-Panthers to win the cup.

(translation, given my prediction record....put your money on Steelers) :)

That's your Tuesday update-check back tomorrow for the second half of the run-in summary and (if I can get it perfected) my manifesto for all EIHL clubs...

oh, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 18th February

And so we go with another weekend review...

Basingstoke: Not the best outcome to the "weekend from hell" for the Bison-three games, and three losses. You can blame fatigue for some of this, and you can definitely blame the fact that the team have had to play four games in five days for a lot of their current woes, but you can't blame injuries so much any more-the Bison Ten are slowly growing in number...

Belfast: Two wins for the Giants, and yet you still get the sense their season continues to fizzle a little. A win against Basingstoke is praiseworthy, a win away to Manchester equally so, but I sense they've left themselves too much to do as far as the chase for the league title goes...

Cardiff: Fourteen straight league defeats for the Devils. Sure, injuries don't help (and if any team can claim to have been unlucky with injuries this season, it's the Welsh) but at some point even wounded teams have to step up and start winning, and the Devils just can't find a way to do that at the moment...

Coventry: One game, two points, and the march towards yet another league title continues apace. All is well in the Midlands despite the continuing absence of Jonathan Weaver...

Edinburgh: The Caps are getting closer to that elusive playoff spot, but a loss to Nottingham on Sunday couldn't have come at a worse time. Five points out of the playoffs now, with time fast running out, it looks like a season of so near and yet so far...

Hull: A one-goal loss to Manchester is bearable. A 10-1 hammering by Sheffield the night after is the act of a team who've simply rolled over and died. If the team name were Horses and not Stingrays, then someone would have shot them by now-they're firmly rooted to the bottom and playing like a team with the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads...Not even the most die-hard of Hull fans are believing the press releases any more...

Manchester: Can anyone stop Joe Tallari? The Ontarian simply cannot stop scoring, and he is one of the major reasons the Phoenix are where they are. This weekend, one win and one loss follow the usual pattern of a Phoenix weekend, but even in losses Tallari keeps scoring. The Phoenix are now settled in the playoff spots-it's just a question of whether their top gun can claim the scoring title away from Adam Calder and stop the Blaze sweeping league honours...

Newcastle: The Vipers win both (sorry-managed to misread the Basingstoke score from Friday when checking back through swiftly, hence the earlier error). They're staying strong in the run-in, but with the scrum for playoff places being what it is, they need to keep doing so for at least the next month...

Nottingham: Beating Sheffield 6-1 will have them dancing in the streets of the East Midlands, winning down in Basingstoke considerably less so. However, you get the same number of points no matter which team you beat, and thus, as far as the league goes, there's no difference between the wins. Four points for the Panthers will be very welcome at this time of the season, as they keep chasing Challenge Cup glory...

Sheffield: Hell hath no fury like a Steeler beaten by their rivals. The 6-1 loss to Nottingham will have stung. In fact, it stung even to the point where they moved out of 3rd gear for a Hull game, and hit them for ten. With Blaze winning and gaining another game in hand on them, however, those two meetings between the two sides just get bigger and bigger...

That's your weekend review for this week...midweek games this week see Blaze take on Manchester and the Challenge Cup decided between Sheffield and Nottingham.

Check back tomorrow evening for your usual mix of comment and controversy...

Round the Rinks, 15th February...

Feel the love! It's a day-after-Valentine's Round the Rinks....

Basingstoke: After nicking a win against the Panthers on Wednesday, the Bison face Newcastle, Belfast, and Nottingham in a gruelling three-game weekend. There is absolutely no reason why they can't take a four-point weekend from this, which would be perfect given the way things are getting a little crowded down around the last playoff place...six points would be unbelivable, however. With players now coming back from injury, the little team that could are getting stronger all the time, but they will need to dig very deep indeed over the next three days

Belfast: The Giants, on the other hand, need a little pick-me-up after stalling recently. Basingstoke and Manchester will be in no mood to provide one, however, and unless the Giants drag themselves back to their recent winning form sooner rather than later, even second place could fall out of their reach...

Cardiff: Opposite ends of the table for the Devils this week, as they take on Edinburgh and Coventry with a team that is still not up to full strength, if nearly there. The Devils would like nothing more than to put another spanner in the works of Blaze's chase for the title, so Sunday's game in particular should be a humdinger...

Coventry: Blaze have just the one game this weekend, against Cardiff on Sunday. This is a game which always guarantees a huge rivalry and some awesome hockey, and Coventry will want two more points to keep Sheffield from breathing down their necks...

Edinburgh: Cardiff and Newcastle are the opponents for the Capitals as they chase another four points to try and catch Basingstoke. These are both teams that the Capitals can beat, so Doug Christiansen needs to rally his troops to play the way they've proved they can and claw their way closer to that last playoff spot...

Hull: Manchester and Sheffield are on the cards for two Northern derbies against the Humbersiders. Two more games to get out of the way as the Stingrays play out a miserable season...

Manchester: The Phoenix face Hull and Belfast in games which will have impacts at either end of the table. With Scott Fankhouser back from injury, don't bet against a four-point weekend, particularly after the Phoenix's dismantling of the Giants two weeks ago...

Newcastle: The Vipers quietly slither along, with Basingstoke and Edinburgh the latest two to risk snakebite from the North East. The Viper's season has fizzled a bit, so these games are all about building momentum for the playoffs...

Nottingham: The Panthers, too, are ending not with a bang but a whimper as far as the league season goes. There's still the matter of the derby with Sheffield tomorrow and a return meeting with Basingstoke on Sunday to deal with before the glamour of the Challenge Cup, however, so the Cats can't put their claws away just yet...

Sheffield:...and the Steelers definitely can't. Four points this weekend would not only earn bragging rights over Nottingham and Hull but would also keep the Steelers right in the title race. Like a bad smell the Sheffield side just keep hanging around, and refuse to go unnoticed-two wins this weekend, coupled with a Coventry loss, and they really will start making some noise...

That's your preview for this weekend....let's play hockey...

Midweek Musings...

Is it Wednesday already? It must be time for some midweek musings, then...

Well, that's one finalist all but decided: Coventry won 5-1 in Edinburgh last night in the first leg of their KO Cup Semi, which makes tonight's second leg at the Skydome something of a foregone conclusion...to the point where one of my season-ticket holding friends has sent me a text today asking if I'd like to go and see Cloverfield with them, as it's likely to be far more interesting that watching two bored teams play out a meaningless game. When someone who doesn't miss a game and even made the trip to Sheffield for the quarters would rather go and see a bad monster movie than a semi-final, even when the price is slightly reduced, you know a competition has problems...
The British KO Cup. Feel the passion!

Auditors? Why not?: After yesterday's post, a comment mentioned that perhaps an independent audit of clubs finances would be a better way of doing things. Maybe it would. But that wouldn't allow for the public release of the figures so that everyone could see just where the money was going and just who is spending what-which is the whole point of things in the first place. It's easy to do...you just put them in a news item in the Elite website, in a simple list. "Wage bills. Basingstoke, £x,000. Belfast, £y,000, Cardiff, £z,000....." But of course I'm going to be told that this is unrealistic. Why? Because the people who will decide on this are the same people who have a vested interest on people not knowing if they're cheating the league by breaking the cap...the owners. The EIHL is a boys club, with three or four powerful owners dominating by force of personality/money/influence on friends.
Open-ness. Apart from wages, clubs need to tell people why they make decisions. If ticket prices go up, there should be a concrete reason, rather than just "operations" which is a nice vague term that anyone can use. PR-speak is not enough any more for the vast majority of fans, because they'll simply turn round and say "cover-up".
Discipline for the league should be an open process, not something where the EIHL board make up the rules as they go along.
And can we please stop certain clubs trying to shove stuff they're selling right down your throat?

Ouch (warning-these links are pretty graphic-not for the weak of stomach): The NHL, and indeed the whole hockey world, was rocked this Monday as Richard Zednik gets his throat slit by a skate. Thankfully, he's OK and is recovering in hospital, but stuff like this reminds you that those things on hockey players feet are bloody dangerous if they come up in the wrong way...ask Clint Malarchuk. Maybe that also explains something to you about why part of the hockey code is "never, ever target a goalie" and also why, if you've played and accidentally caught the oppostion goalie and then had half the opposition team pile onto you, just why they did so.
I'm not going to give a sermon about this because I don't wear a neck-guard when I play. But you get close to it when you see stuff like this...

And on that downbeat note-keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Tuesday Thoughts: Coaches, Clubs and Cups...

It's Tuesday, so it must be time for Tuesday Thoughts!

Whoever it is, Blaze fans'll find something to poke fun at:
As has been hinted at several times in recent days on these pages, Belfast are in imminent need of a new coach-this is likely going to be one of the dominating issues of the off season, so I should really donate some coverage to it.
First, let's look at the candidates from within the UK, or at least those who've coached in the UK before. Dave Matsos from Sheffield would seem to me to be very much among the front runners-he knows the players, knows the league, and knows Belfast. Also, he's already coached pretty successfully in Cardiff and Sheffield, so is fairly well grounded in the way things work from the other side of the bench. Notwithstanding the fact that he would form a fairly instant bond with Belfast fans, having played there already in a title-winning team in the last ISL season.

On an outside note, some have mentioned Paul Thompson-it may be almost sacreligious but, putting it brutally honestly, he's won everything he can win at Blaze now, with the exception of the Knockout Cup, and could, deep down, fancy a new challenge-especially as the trips into Europe for the Continental Cup have been nothing more than expensive (if enjoyable) jaunts. If so it would be a massive blow to Blaze but superb for the league itself. Maybe it would also shake up things at the Skydome something rotten...and intensify the Belfast rivalry far, far beyond its current level.

Then of course there's the chance of Rob Stewart coming back after cutting his teeth properly down in Romford. He did always seem much like Rick Strachan in his approach to systems, however, which perhaps isn't something the Giants fans would accept after becoming used to run-and-gun hockey.

Other coaches currently out there are Paul Heavey, Dave Whistle (if you pay him enough) and Paul Adey as others who've done well in the British game...hell, even Enio Sacillotto if you can tempt him out of retirement and fix up a permanent ventilator...

Jason Ruff is the final ex-player in the frame-although he's joined and left the Giants so many times in the past few seasons, one wonders just how reliable he'd be.

There has been talk on the Giants Elite Forum of bringing in a coach who is entirely new to the UK-following the line that a new broom sweeps clean, and other such proverbs. The thing with signing coaches from abroad-just how high a level are you going to get-ECHL assistant? Lower league assistant? College assistant/minor head coach? It's a conundrum but I can see it involving someone who's coached in Brit hockey before...

Christiansen! Thompson! It's the coaching battle of the season in the third-most-important-cup in British hockey! Feel the excitement!
Yep. It's the British Knockout Cup semi this week, with Coventry and Edinburgh playing back to back. In true Hull Stingrays style, let's try and put a positive spin on this game in the style of a fifties film press release...
Gasp as you watch the league leaders desperately try and pretend they care as much about this competition as all the others!
Scream in surprise (at least if you're a typical Blaze fan) as Edinburgh do what every other team in the league hopes they will and play like bats out of hell for 120 minutes in their hunt for silverware in order to beat the Blaze!
Marvel at the cauldron atmosphere of a half-empty Skydome! (after all, this isn't a final, or one of the big three teams)
Shiver because Murrayfield, while a fine old rink, is still bloody freezing no matter what the time of year or the temperature outside...
I think I've extended that analogy just about as far as I can now...:)
Some of you may be getting the idea that I don't like the KO Cup. This isn't entirely true. I don't like the KO Cup in its current format, which is basically "Challenge Cup without the group stage or two EIHL teams". If the league genuinely made it a proper competition rather than something that looks like it was drawn up on the back of a napkin at a slightly-too-liquid lunch for the EIHL board, then I might change my view. If they can't get the EPL or ENL involved, then scrap it altogether-or at least change the format so every team is involved-something like the old ISL Autumn Cup. Here's an idea, actually...

Two groups. Five teams each, split geographically on a line crossing just north of Nottingham/Sheffield (I know there's a grey area in the fact that five of the ten EIHL teams are in the Coventry-Manchester belt, which makes it tricky to group. Sheffield and Nottingham must be kept apart, however-to keep all the hype down if nothing else). Each team plays every other ONCE-two points for a win, no points for a loss-nothing in between. Two of the games are at home and two away, dictated by ice-time issues etc...Tied games go straight to penalties. Top two teams in each group qualify for a one-leg, winner-takes-all semi at the home of the first team in each group (which plays second in the other group). The final is also one game, winner-takes-all. But it's held at a neutral venue, sometime in December.

Of course the owners would likely never agree to it due to money issues...after all, the two-legged system is a moneyspinner ticket wise. But tell me people wouldn't turn up and the exccitement wouldn't be high for such a sudden-death type competition. By my count, it adds only an extra six games to the season, which is two less than the current KO Cup. And it's far more unpredictable...anyone can win on any night.

Who knows-the EPL teams might even be interested...

"What do you want?" "We want information." "Whose side are you on?" "That would be telling. We want information... information... information..."
With apologies to fans of The Prisoner, and with full expectation of being chased by the modern equivalent of Rover, I'm finally replying to people who've asked just what the fans should be being told that they don't already get. This in my view is reducing things to simplisticness. I'm not going around saying "tell us what so-and-so earns, and what he spends it on"-that's unreasonable and I'm fully aware of that. One thing that is constantly being complained about by fans, however, is the culture of telling people one thing, others another, or saying one thing and then denying it later on (as with the Taylors in the Basingstoke problems, the shenanigans in Cardiff, and any number of other clubs). I talk to a lot of fans about various things hockey-related, and there have been a few occasions over the past year or so where clubs have said one thing, it's come up in conversation and other people (those who should know, since they're directly involved in some way with them) have turned round to me and said "that's rubbish". For example-the general consensus put out is that the Blaze won't look at changing a winning team if they can possibly avoid it. Funny, that, as Dan Tessier was asked just how much he would take to play for the Blaze a few months ago-the only reason he didn't sign was because the answer was in the region of nine hundred quid a week.
Then we have the strange case of the disappearing PR executive. Phil Andrews was brought in after a successful stint at Basingstoke with great fanfare, and promises of new and revolutionary PR and fan stuff. He's seen regularly round the rink for a month or two and then...pop, he's gone. Disappeared into thin air. No mention of anything whatsoever...in a 1984-esque thing there's no mention of him ever existing on the website-I can't find the PR's or anything. Did the Pod People of Wood End take him?
And that's just at my own club-I'm sure there are examples of similar things at other clubs...
Basically-I would like every owner to be open and honest all the time, much like Tomas Enerston is and Neil Morris (edited after I somehow manage to confuse the owners of Manchester and Nottingham-thank-you to the person who put me right) and co are attempting to be at Manchester. A start would be asking every club to tell every other what their total wage spend actually is-and even make this publicly available. After all, footballers have their wages splashed all over the papers every single week, and no-one bats an eyelid. Why not wait until, say, the second week of the season and then post on the EIHL site-these are the declared wage bills (as a whole, not player-by-player) of each EIHL club. That way, there is no chance in hell of anyone breaking the wagecap, because not only are they breaking the rules, but the integrity is called into question...and that's what every businessman and woman values most, right? Once that's up and running, we can go from there...

And finally-if Michael Hicks was a football referee:
You know some hockey referees seem to think that we pay our 13 quid every week to watch them perform? Well...here's what they'd look like if they swapped skates for football studs...(note-this is not a comment on their personal lives. Don't take it as such)

I know this post is a bit heavy going, and kudos to you if you've made it this far...but hopefully theres some food for thought in there..as well as a laugh or two at the end.

Tomorrow will see a review of tonights KO Cup semi, as well as your usual mix of thoughts and comment...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 11th February

Well, I'm just about back up and running...so on we go with a review of the weekend. Belfast will be getting something of extended coverage thanks to the news that Ed Courtenay is resigning at the end of the season. And we're off...



Basingstoke: One 3-1 win, one 3-1 loss. Not a bad weekend for the Bison Eleven, who were boosted hugely this week by the return of Kyle Peto after months out with injury. Perhaps the most amazing changes have come off the ice, however, with the Bison packing nearly 1400 people into the Silverdome to see them beat Manchester on Saturday-nearly double their average attendance last season. There appears to be something genuinely amazing happening in Hampshire. And the loss? Well, that was Sheffield away, which is a very tough game for any team...Long may the revolution continue down south...
Grade: B


Belfast: Meanwhile, things are slipping again in Belfast. With it being public knowledge that the coach is on his way out and a demoralising 6-3 home loss to Sheffield in their only game of the weekend, the Giants have gone from a purple patch to a slightly darker hued part of the world...things are looking all in Sheffield's favour in the race to catch the Blaze now...
Grade: E


Cardiff: Two battling one-goal losses for the Devils, who must surely believe that, if karma exists, next season should already be guaranteed injury-free. 4-3 to Newcastle and 5-4 to Coventry are two genuine heartbreakers, and with top scorer Jason Silverthorn the latest casualty the hospitals of South Wales must be sick of seeing Cardiff Devils cars in the parking lot...

Grade: D



Coventry: The Blaze were really made to work for their points this week-first by Hull and then by Cardiff in two tight one-goal victories-the kind that win you titles. Trouble is for the Midlanders-Sheffield have been digging out the same gritty wins recently, and they still have to travel to the Hallam Arena. Twice. Game...on...
Grade: B+

Edinburgh: Winning away at the Panthers and then losing to the Phoenix means that the Capitals are still just about in the running for a playoff place, being five points down and two games back on the Bison. However, the win in Nottingham shows that they will not give this season up...
Grade: B+

Hull: The Stingrays pushed Blaze hard in their only game of the weekend...but, as has become more predictable than the sun rising in the East...they lost. And excuses just aren't good enough anymore.
Grade: D

Manchester: The Phoenix, meanwhile, are fighting tooth-and-nail to climb the table, and with Scott Fankhouser back in net they got past Edinburgh fairly comfortably to make up for their loss in Basingstoke the night before. I think I shall come out with it now...if you fancy an outside bet on the playoff trophy winners, you could do a lot, lot worse than picking the team from Altrincham...
Grade: C+

Newcastle: Beating Cardiff and losing to Nottingham sums up the Vipers' season-they just can't put a run together to save their lives, or ever get up any momentum. And this weekend was no exception. Just like their stuttery, stop-start approach to playing hockey, the season has juddered along for the Vipers...
Grade: C

Nottingham: For this weeks review, see Newcastle's-all you need to do is substitute "Newcastle", "Edinburgh" and "Panthers" in the appropriate places. The hockey may be fast and flowing in Nottingham, but the points are still coming at more of a trickle...
Grade: C+

Sheffield: The Steelers are coming. Two more wins including a 6-3 win in Belfast means that they're now level on points with Belfast and two games closer to Coventry above them...which makes the two remaining games in the Hallam look like they could be absolute epics...
Grade: A

That's your Double Overtime for this week-apologies it's a little shorter than usual thanks to your writer still being slightly fragile, but hopefully I shall be back on form tomorrow...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Sick and (slightly) Twisted...

Sorry that Round the Rinks didn't appear this week...this was due to me going to see the Kerrang Tour in Birmingham on Thursday night (best moment was either watching the crowd of 3000 or so all go absolutely mental when Fightstar paused a few seconds before just smashing into "Palahniuk's Laughter" or Coheed and Cambria randomly performing a cover of Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" in the middle of one of their own songs!)...and then getting back just in time to have one seriously nasty sod of a flu virus which has left me unable to do much more than lie on my back and throw up for the past 48 hours. Plus I had a cough the likes of which Bill Simmons describes perfectly thus: you know when you have those killer coughs where you feel like you're giving yourself a concussion every time you cough? That was me for three days. There's nothing worse than the concussion cough. Obviously it's now a bit late for that...however, Double Overtime will appear as normal tomorrow...along with my thoughts on Ed Courtenay's announcement of his resignation as Giants coach at the end of the season...check back then...
and, as always, keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Thursday Thoughts

Viking raid: GB come back down to earth after beating Lithuania, with Norway winning by the same score of five to three last night in the Lion's second game. On the surface this is a step backwards, but given that this GB incarnation was even younger than that of the night before, and contained a strong EPL presence in James Archer, Robert Dowd, Ben Morgan, and Gary Clarke amongst others, this is no disgrace against an experienced Scandinavian squad which contained several players who'd made it to the NHL, even as only bit part players. Tonight sees the team take on France's B side (looking at the roster it is very much a team of the younger French players, plus one or two who maybe reach the age of 26) so it will be interesting to see just how this cross-Channel battle pans out...

Or we could just tar and feather him now and get it over with. Either way...: Andrew Sharp has really stirred up a hornet's nest on the forums with his habit of firing pucks at the opposition in the warm-up...there's now an eight-page-and-growing thread on THF on the topic split between those arguing he should be banned from the league and those arguing it's just a part of the game. Somewhat more serious is the allegation that several Romford officials (including one who is also responsible for discipline in the EIHL) appeared on the bench laughing at Sharp's actions. Maybe this explains a few of the strange decisions relating to discipline in British hockey recently...

Sorry for the somewhat short post today-real life has intruded once again. However, check back tomorrow afternoon for your usual trip Round the Rinks, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings GB Special...

Whisper it, but maybe all the hard work done behind the scenes of the GB system is starting to bear fruit. Despite missing Jonny Weaver, Dave Longstaff, and Paul Dixon (i.e three of the major experienced heads on a young team) the GB squad nicked a win against Lithuania yesterday by five goals to three. The Lithuanians had a few names familiar to British hockey fans, including Edinburgh's Dino Bauba, ex-Edinburgh and now MK Lightning Mindaugas Kieras, and ex-Solihull King Sarunas Kuliesius, as well as Romford's "Bomber" Andrius Kaminskas. GB goals came from Greg Chambers, Jason Hewitt, Dave Clarke, Colin Shields and Ashley Tait...five different scorers is not bad for a team supposedly lacking a true offensive punch...

Let's not get carried away here-Lithuania and tonight's opponents Norway, while no slouches, are not the best teams in Europe (as can perhaps be seen by the fact that they only have one player who's been judged good enough to play EIHL level in Britain thus far-with the exception of Dino Bauba they've only reached BNL level at the most). Norway will provide a tougher test with France perhaps being the strongest in the group. However, they are all teams who have been significantly more active in European hockey circles up until now, and are all teams GB have to become better than in order to make some serious noise on the international scene...winning the Mont Blanc Invitational may raise a few eyebrows amongst those who are unaware that the British Isles have a hockey pedigree of sorts.

What is encouraging, and will be even more so should GB actually go on and win the thing, is that this is a squad missing several of its acknowledged best-it will give hope that the much-maligned depth of British talent is stronger than detractors of the national team realise.

Ideally, this tournament can be used as a stepping stone to participation in events like the SKODA-Cup, facing teams like Germany and Switzerland. The French roster will already be doing so next week after the Mont Blanc event-for British hockey to truly progress this team must follow their cross-Channel neighbours and test themselves against the best in Europe sooner rather than later, rather than perennially playing pool B nations, which will kill any momentum gained from any success in southern France this week.

Of course, there are still two games to play, so we shall see what occurs, but at least a positive start is finally being made to drag British hockey up by the bootstraps...

And that's the musings over for today...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Monster! Double Overtime + Tuesday Thoughts

Apologies to all those of you who have already logged on expecting a Double Overtime this week-I got back from an Internet-less Sheffield a day later than planned as a two-day trip turned into a three-and-a-half day trip. Still-included in it was a highly enjoyable Steelers-Panthers meeting, so I'm claiming I was "working" for at least some of the time...scouting Jon Coleman and Eric Nelson as they made their Panthers debuts (Nelson, by the way, has the worst piece of facial hair I've seen watching in Britain-it even beats Joe Tallari's moustache).

Any-way...on we go with team by team and a few random extra thoughts...

Basingstoke: Drawing with Hull and scaring the hell out of Coventry? Not bad, but for a weakened team who are still nowhere near a full roster, it could have been so much better, especially with the KO Cup Semi now on a knife-edge as the Bison travel to Hull...by all accounts it appears tiredness was a major factor in losing the two-nil lead gained early on Sunday night at the Skydome. Saturday's draw is more important in the scheme of things, however, as it keeps both the Bison and the Stingrays still in with a chance of silverware this season...
Grade: C-

Belfast: "One step forward, thirty yards back". So sing the Wombats in "Moving to New York", and it's a pretty good summary of the Giants' weekend-losing to Coventry in OT on Saturday before the Phoenix did the Blaze a huge favour on the Sunday with a thumping 6-3 win that definitely puts the Phoenix on the current champions' Christmas card list (there you go, Becky..:)). The Giants now need to regroup fast after this nightmare of a weekend-beaten by two teams who played extremely well, they need to get back to winning ways almost immediately in order to keep up the chase for the title...
Grade: D-

Cardiff: Poor old Devils...they just can't buy a win at the moment. Nottingham were the latest beneficiaries, putting five past the returning Phil Osaer on Sunday. The rest of the league season is a perfect chance for the Devils to rehabilitate all their injured in time for the playoffs, but I have a feeling there is still a loss or two to come by the Bay-what a difference three months makes...
Grade: D

Coventry: Phew. The title chase is back on course despite Jonny Weaver sustaining a broken foot-two come-from-behind wins show that, if the form has dipped, at least the will to win hasn't. Curtis Huppe will have enjoyed scoring against his former employers to set up the OT win on Saturday night, and Sunday was another brick in the title wall against the resilient Bison. Weaver's injury could be crucial to the next month's action, however...how will Blaze cope without one of their "big five" offensive threats?
Grade: A

Edinburgh: The playoff miracle is still on...just. A 4-1 win against the Vipers will have brought hope back to the Scottish capital while at the same time annoying those just south of the border. With Hull losing even more ground and Bison suffering a defeat in Coventry, the Caps have gained two crucial points in the race for the last playoff spot...
Grade: B+

Hull: The league is slipping away from the Stingrays-another loss to Sheffield on Sunday, however heroic, pushes the Humbersiders ever further into wooden-spoon territory. However, a battling draw on Saturday in the KO Cup means that, incredibly, the Rays still have a chance of reaching a final this season-all they need to do is beat the Bison at home in the return leg...
Grade: C+

Manchester: On behalf of every hockey fan in the Sky Blue City...thank you, Phoenix. The Mancunians played only one game this weekend, but what a belter it was-sticking six past the league's form team while only conceding three in reply thanks to a performance which, from the look of Becky's comment on the post below, has already made Steve Fone a hero in Altrincham. Let's not lose sight of the fact that, as well as having an impact on the title race, this win has done no harm at all to the Phoenix's position-and this is why they earn the highest grade of the week...
Grade: A+

Newcastle: Oh, dear. Another loss. New signing Burt Henderson couldn't prevent the Vipers crashing to Edinburgh on Sunday-Rob Wilson admitted his team were outworked by the Scots as they appear to have pressed the cruise control button on their way into the playoffs. Although, given my track record for predictions this season, they'll probably come out with the bit between their teeth this weekend...
Grade: E-

Nottingham: Losing the derby against Sheffield will have hurt (and even today Marc Levers must be wondering how he managed to fan on the puck with the net gaping and the score at 1-0) but a win against Cardiff on Sunday will have gone some way to making things better in the East Midlands. Now that Jon Coleman and Eric Nelson have played two games with their team-mates after making assured debuts despite being flung in at the deep end on Saturday, the Panthers faithful can be confident of more wins than losses before the end of the league season...
Grade: B-

Sheffield: Four points will do nicely, thank you. But boy, did the Steelers have to work for them. Pushed all the way by both Nottingham and Hull, the Yorkshiremen relied on luck, skill and just a bit of well-placed cheating (Ryan Finnerty wielding his stick like a rapier in order to stop Sean McAslan shooting with the goal gaping and a minute left in Saturday's derby) in order to gain their quota this time out. Hey-whatever you gotta do to win, right, lads?
Grade: B

That's your Double Overtime for this week...now onto a few random Tuesday thoughts and titbits...well, a single one, really...

The compensation lawyers will have this guy under 24hr watch before we know it...Andrew Sharp, currently playing in the EPL for Romford under a two-way with Coventry, has come in for some stick recently for his habit of shooting pucks at opposition players during the warm-up. Up until now, Romford fans have defended him under the guise that the shots aren't hard enough to injure and are just a bit of a scare-tactic. Then we have this photo from the Romford-Peterborough game last weekend. That looks to me like a full-blooded slapshot fired inches from a unsuspecting opponent's head...and that is bloody dangerous. Even at rec level you will not be popular with either your team-mates or the opposition if you do something like that, because everyone is aware of the damage it can do. Although...he'll probably get lionised by the crowd if he does it at the Skydome-especially against Cardiff or Belfast...

Due to the fact that my timetable is a bit screwed up for today, that's all for now. Tomorrow will see a reaction to GB's first game in the Mont Blanc Invitational, as well as your usual mix of news, comment and just a little strangeness..

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Round the Rinks, 1st February

There's a new top dog in the EIHL, and an absolutely massive pair of games on Saturday...so let's dive right in to this week's preview...

Basingstoke: The Bison, strengthened by the return of Steve Thornton, face Hull and Coventry this weekend as they chase the playoffs-two games which will see the opposition also desperate for points, although for different reasons. It's not often a team can all but end one team's season and put a big dent in another's title hopes on the same weekend, but that's the position the Hampshire side are in right now. With the Bison having proved they can beat anyone at any time, don't count out a four-pointer...

Belfast: Now the hard work starts for the Giants. Coventry (live on the webcast) and Manchester are the next targets for Ed Courtenay's side, and with the Blaze in particular wobbling slightly now they've been knocked off the top, the Giants will never have a better chance to take a big step toward the league title than if they take two more points off the Blaze-beating the Phoenix as well will just add to the force of the psychological hammer-blow a win on Saturday will inflict...

Cardiff: The Devils just have the one game this weekend, facing Nottingham at home. With players slowly returning from injury, and Dion Darling possibly making his debut if Hockey Canada release his ITC card, the Devils will at least be closer to full strength as they take on the Panthers...

Coventry: This weekend is huge. Four points and the recent wobble will be forgotten. Lose in Belfast on Saturday and suddenly the grip on the title will look like it's slipping. Lose to Basingstoke on Sunday as well, and suddenly the jitters will start to spread through the notoriously unforgiving Blaze fanbase. Four points is the only target-and failure is not an option this time out...

Edinburgh: The Caps only play once this weekend, against Newcastle at home. It's a game that's eminently winnable, but lose and those playoffs will look as far away as they ever have done...

Hull: KO Cup semi action in Basingstoke on Saturday will be the focus of the Stingrays' weekend, with the visit of Sheffield on Sunday looking like a loss even before the teams step onto the ice. However, a win on Saturday could just provide the boost the Humbersiders will need to pull off an improbable double-win weekend...

Manchester: Belfast visit the Ice Dome on Sunday, with all in Coventry becoming Phoenix fans for the night in the hope the home side can put a spoke in the wheel of the Giants' march towards a potential title. Steve Fone performed very well indeed last weekend, and will bar the way again in an attempt to help his team-mates down south...

Newcastle: Edinburgh away for the Vipers-a game that they can win with or without Cory Morgan. However, it remains to be seen just how they'll compete for the rest of the season while being an import down, especially now the signing deadline has passed...

Nottingham: Two big signings this week have strengthened the Panthers' D a thousandfold as they go into "Britain's biggest game" against Sheffield-it's not a bad time for Eric Nelson and Jon Coleman to make their debuts...After the Challenge Cup victory in the Hallam, the Steelers will want revenge-can the new boys bed down quickly and provide a wall that not even Dan Tessier and co can break through? Cardiff on Sunday seems almost an afterthought, but it would be just like these Panthers to win on Saturday and then suffer a surprise loss thanks to tiredness on Sunday...

Sheffield: The Steelers face Nottingham and Hull this time out...no prizes for guessing which game they'll be concentrating on after Randy Dagenais openly admitted that the team barely got out of second gear against the Stingrays last week. Saturday, however, will see both sides in top gear in what could be an epic battle...

I will definitely be in Sheffield for some part of this weekend, so Double Overtime may be late on Monday, as will my replies to the comments occasioned by yesterday's article. However, they shall appear early next week...

Let's play hockey...:)