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...