Double Double Overtime...

This weekend saw a hive of activity in British hockey both at home and abroad, as the EPL finals took place in Coventry and GB went into action at the World Championships...and so, without further ado, let's review them, along with some other comings and goings...

J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!: Shamelessly nicking one of the most famous chants in American football fandom, we commemorate me being completely wrong in my EPL playoff predictions on Friday as Slough win the EPL finals 4-1 over Bracknell...at least I picked one of the finalists right-and was right about the Slough-Guildford semi being too close to call as it ended 4-3 with a Jets goal in the final few minutes. It must be said, though, that all the EPL defenders' arguments that their league isn't dictated by money like the EIHL supposedly is don't really hold water when you bear in mind that the Jets, Flames and Bees are three of the top-budget sides in the league and the "other" side, Sheffield, although they battled hard, were never really expected to do more than make up the numbers. By all accounts the best game of the weekend (although perhaps the worst-reffed) was the ENL final between Whitley and Peterborough, which the Northern side took to take at least one trophy in British hockey north of Nottingham this season...

Paying the Polish Penalty: Meanwhile, in Innsbruck, the GB squad opened their World Championships with a penalty-shot loss to Poland, thanks to not being able to score when it mattered (indeed, the sole GB goal was scored by Greg Chambers, a transplanted Canadian). However, one point is better than none against one of their major rivals in the group, and means that the team can go into tonight's game against Austria (Thomas Vanek and all) with some hope, even after the Austrians opened their account with an 8-0 victory over Korea last night, while in the other game yesterday Kazakhstan beat Holland by 6 goals to three. Currently today Poland have beaten the Netherlands 6-4, the Kazakhs are 3-0 up against Korea in the second period, and GB play Austria live on the BBC around 7.30 pm British time this evening-go to bbc.co.uk/coventryandwarwickshire for the links...

Auf geht's Haie: Staying in Europe briefly before returning to domestic news, my Cologne team are in the DEL finals against Berlin having beaten Frankfurt in a five-game series-this is one finals I'll have to follow from afar because there's no way I can afford it at short notice-however, you can follow the series (and games when they're on thanks to the liveticker service) at www.del.org or www.haie.de.

Transfer news: Meanwhile, some rumours have already been quickly scotched with early-off-season player movements in the UK...Joe Tallari has jumped ship on the Phoenix to go and play in Italy (which seems to be a popular destination recently for UK-based players when they do leave-in the last few years Steve O'Brien, Dave Clarke, Tallari and several others have headed to Southern Europe on the backs of good seasons in the UK. In somewhat more surprising news, Romford Raiders are raiding the EIHL for next season, with Jeff Hutchins rumoured to be stepping down a league from the Newcastle Vipers to go and play at Rom Valley Way. The big story of the week so far, though, is...

Shields signs for Belfast: Not bad work from Steve Thornton thus far-not content with snapping up arguably the best young British defenceman in Dave Phillips (from Hull) he's convinced Colin Shields (arguably the best British forward) to return to the Odyssey after two seasons away (one in the ECHL and the last one in Newcastle) on a two-year contract...things aren't looking too bad for the Northern Irish fans at this very early stage of the off-season...

Forget the men-GB women are the hockey team to watch: Congratulations to the GB women's squad, who this weekend did what the men have failed to do for far too long and win an international competition. Not only that, but it was their division of the World Championships, beating Slovenia on penalties in the final and thus being promoted up to the next level, with Solihull and ex-Coventry player Katie Henry (who I've had the pleasure of watching when I used to announce for the Phoenix) being a key part of the squad. With an average age of late-teens, the GB women are certainly on the up and are doing their bit to put hockey on the map in this country-well done, ladies...

And linking seamlessly...Given that I'm not exactly a fount of information when it comes to women's hockey, I have found someone who is in order to cater for the readers of this blog who may be interested in the fairer sex's exploits in British hockey-the Women's Hockey Blog is a very good read indeed, and well worth checking if you want to keep up with all aspects of the sport in this country...

Finally, shameless plug time: Next Tuesday in Coventry sees the Beth Davis Festival of Hockey taking place at the Skydome, in aid of a Kingston player (both in junior and senior women's hockey) who suffered a broken neck during a game between Coventry and Kingston a few months ago. All the Coventry teams will be taking part, including the team I play for in the Coventry Chaos (and yes, before you ask, I will be icing), from U10's to members of the senior Blaze squad-that means that you'll be able to see seventeen different teams on ice during the evening...

Coventry Blaze
Blaze ENL
Coventry Phoenix (women's Div I)
Recreational and uni teams)
Coventry Chaos (The original Coventry rec team)
Coventry Chargers
Warwick Panthers (Warwick Uni)
Coventry Uni Eagles

Mercian Menace (all squads)
Coventry Blaze Juniors (all squads)

Apparently each team will play in four ten minute games-entrance is free but you'll likely be asked to make a donation to the fund, and the fun starts around 6:30 pm...if you're in the Coventry area that night, then come and see just how big a sport hockey in Coventry is...

That's your lot for today-tomorrow we reflect on GB v Austria and (finally) review the EIHL season...until then, keep keeping your eye on the puck...