Round the Rinks: Hallowe'en Special

And so it's the weekend where all the ghouls and ghosties come out, but will there be any teams suffering nightmares in the EIHL this weekend? Let's run swiftly through the news of the past few days in that Breakaway rambling style you've all come to know and (maybe) love...

Will the real Edinburgh Capitals please stand up?: Wednesday's game against Coventry was, quite frankly, a bit uncomfortable to watch. In fact, it was the hockey equivalent of watching any video of a particularly bad injury (such as Eduardo's for Arsenal last season, for all you football fans-Google it, but have a strong stomach first). Only, instead of a second of "Ohmigod!" revulsion, this was more the type of uncomfortable you get when listening to, oh, I don't know, Russell Brand make a phone-call to an ex's grandpa. As goal after goal went in and we watched Jacey Moore, Michel Robinson and Moore again have their confidence destroyed by the Blaze forwards and their defencemen, the overwhelming thought was something like "this just isn't fun"

Then Pasi Raitanen returns, and tonight they win 4-1 in Newcastle. I really don't know what to say now...so let's move to easier territory...

Hutchy Watch: Jeff Hutchins gave the Caps fans a taste of what to expect for the season-conceding a goal shorthanded on his first shift, going to minus two and then assisting both Caps goals, despite only playing about 25 minutes of the game (as in, only being on the bench for 25 minutes)...With Pasi now in too and the Caps winning four one, surely he can't fire the Caps up the table, can he? Speaking of signings...

Concorde is back!: Ed Courtenay signs for Newcastle. That could be interesting for the Vipers-and indeed the rest of the league, since when Courtenay is just playing and not making something of a hash of coaching, he's by far one of the best players ever to play in Britain. Sure, he's 40 now, but even so...

Oh yes, and he makes his debut, or is planned to, when the Vipers play Coventry. At the Skydome. As an enthusiast of the fine art of heckling (tastefully, naturally) I and many others simply can't believe our luck-Jeff Hutchins AND Ed Courtenay back in the EIHL and both making their debuts in Coventry? It's like a gift from the wind-up gods...

There we are then...on to the weekend preview now...

SATURDAY

First off this weekend, Basingstoke play Newcastle, in a battle which pits the underfunded against the underperforming.. Coming off contrasting fortunes (Basingstoke after their great win in Nottingham on Tuesday, Newcastle losing to Edinburgh on Thursday) you have to wonder which way this game will go. My money would (just) be on the Bison, believe it or not. And that hurts given that I tipped the Vipers to be among the top teams this year…

Belfast face Hull at the Odyssey in a game which, will of course be live on the web at the Giants Webcast here (which, by the way, has now become pay-per-view)…it may well be worth saving your shrapnel for this one, not so much for Hull as to see whether the Giants can cut loose against a team who, at least in the past week or two, look far happier now that they’ve jettisoned the millstones that were Rick Kozak and Jake Riddle…

Meanwhile, in South Wales it’s one of the most hotly-contested fixtures of the season, as Cardiff play Coventry. If you’re in South Wales, then nip along to the Big Blue Tent-with names like Prpich, Teplitsky, Calder and Weaver certain to be going at full-bore for the win (for pride as well as points) and a game which is known for the passionate but friendly rivalry between the two sets of fans, this game always has the potential to be a classic.

At the NIC is another game with “potential barn-burner” written all over it. Nottingham (struggling but skilful) face Manchester (skilful and flying). Goals are all but guaranteed, and so are busy goalies. With two pacesetters meeting, this game is arguably one of several highlights this weekend.

Finally is a game which, while not as attention-grabbing as the two above, could be worth following in its own right, mainly due to the fact that any one of four teams could contest it. Sheffield and Edinburgh are both teams with split personalities. With them you get good or awful-never just average. And for that reason alone, the sheer unpredictability of this game makes it worth a look…

Sunday only has four games, but two of them, like the above, could be beauties. Then there’s the Battle of Yorkshire. Let’s get the “other” game out of the way first...

It takes place at Murrayfield. Edinburgh play Newcastle with the Vipers seeking revenge for their loss on Thursday night, and the Caps hoping to give their home fans something to cheer on a cold night in Scotland. It may not hold other teams' attention but it'll certainly be keenly contested...

Moving south, we come next to Hull, who face Sheffield in the cross-Yorkshire rivalry which always produces a decent game. It's not a game you anticipate as a neutral, though...but as we travel further south, they appear...

Manchester face Cardiff in Altrincham, and are next on our trip down the country. What a game this could be if both teams are on fire...both Stephen Murphy and Peter Aubry will need to bring their A games to give their side a chance of winning-I can see this one being decided by one goal or a moment of individual genius...or madness.

Finally, we come to the Midlands, for Coventry vs Nottingham. The last time this fixture took place, we saw the Blaze win by the odd goal in eleven, and the evidence since then says that, if both teams are on their game, then a similar scoreline is a distinct possibility...that in itself is a reason why the Skydome's sure to be pretty damn full for this one...

There you are...once again there's your weekend previewed to within an inch of its life....and the amount of games worth watching this weekend alone is, quite frankly, scary. But then, what else would you expect on Hallowe'en weekend?

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings Three

It's now confirmed, everybody, despite the Caps webmaster denying it on THF even after people were effectively saying "you're lying"...

Jeff Hutchins is an Edinburgh Capital.

*laughs hysterically*.

If I were ridiculously cynical I'd say the Blaze themselves orchestrated this signing just in time for what would otherwise be a fairly poorly attended midweek game*...there will certainly be no shortage of Blaze fans (and Vipers, and Giants) willing to give him a "warm" welcome back to his old haunts...

*poor joke, people. Not a genuine theory.

Let's just see whether he'll last longer in Scotland than anywhere else, being mates with Doug Christiansen and all...

Midweek Musings Extra...

Just as an addendum to this morning's post...

Jeff Hutchins, that well-known beacon of sweetness and light and all-round good team guy (which he's proved in his four-season stint in the UK playing for Coventry. And Belfast. And Newcastle. And Bracknell for barely two months this season...clearly just too much of a "team guy" for some), has signed on a temporary contract with Edinburgh, and will ice tonight against Coventry. Or he hasn't, depending on who you believe on THF, but there is a rumour gathering pace. I really, really hope this is true...

*giggles*

As if the season couldn't get any worse for the Caps....

Midweek Musings: Shocks and Snow!

Hello all. I apologise for missing the preview of Tuesday's action, with an excuse that will likely be laughed at by anyone from...well, north of here-this might have had something to do with being turned into a human block of ice on the way home from work, thanks to Coventry being blanketed in an inch or so of the most evil slush/snow ever conceived by man. Our fair town looks like a bomb has exploded at the Skydome and showered the town in the ice/slush/insert epithet here that usually passes for the playing surface at the home of the Elite League Champions. In short, not that nice...

On the plus side, it does mean that I can post reaction to last night's events at the NIC as well as a preview of tomorrow's Coventry v Edinburgh game, as well as a quick look around the rest of the league, before heading off to the Skydome tonight...

On we go, then...

The Smiths would have written a song about this: First off, a quick tidbit from the Elite League forum, discussing the likelihood of Coventry qualifying for the next phase of the Challenge Cup...(bear with me here):

"can't see Nottingham losing twice (to Stingrays and Bison) which now seems the only way to knock us out. Bison not looking too great either atm, they might even fall to the Stingrays."

So, what was the score when Basingstoke faced Nottingham at the NIC last night?

Nottingham 4, Basingstoke 6.

Oh, hang on....

OK, this was a league game and not the Challenge Cup, but one thing this result proves is...well, form doesn't prove anything in the Elite League.

The Cage is not a happy place tonight, with everyone from Corey Neilson to Jade Galbraith to Davis Parley slated for the chop by various people. God only knows what'll happen if they lose to the Bison and the Stingrays when the Challenge Cup is on the line...which, by the way, will put the holders (Panthers) out too.

Yes, people. As Morrissey himself may have written, it's Panic in the Streets of Nottingham...

Flattery will get you everywhere: In what is perhaps the only time, ever, that my name and Chris McSorley will be mentioned in the same sentence, the Breakaway wins the Quote of the Weekend award on Five Minute Major for the praise of the Phoenix yesterday, and also the accolade of "one of your best posts" from Becky, which is all very nice...but I'm still confused as to what QFT stands for....:)

Nottingham Panthers: leading the way in player benefits: Nick Toneys. Not exactly a superstar among Elite League d-men, is he? He's been plying his trade steadily and unspectacularly in Nottingham this season. But now he is, unwittingly, proof that, if you're an import who plays in Nottingham, you get treated with that extra touch of class. And the Breakaway has photographic proof, courtesy of Toney's very own Facebook page (via the Cage Forum)

Yes, people, the whining about the Panthers breaking the wage cap can stop. It's not the money, but something far more important.

I give you, as an example of the high level of funding the Panthers commit to making their imports as comfortable as possible, and something that must be standard issue for all Panthers imports...Nick Toney's toilet. Check out the chrome toilet seat.

David Simms, the bar has just been raised...:)

One Minute Preview: Coventry v Edinburgh

Batten down the hatches, people. This could get ugly quickly. If Michel Robinson continues his nightmarish run of form (and quite frankly, if he does then by the sound of things new backup Jacey Moore won't do much to help-he may be a Victoria Hockey League star (nope, I've not heard of it either) but when your d is as bad as the Caps have been this season you need a miracle worker in goal), the puck will be hitting the net often. And as for the Blaze? They need to get back on a run after a shaky weekend (three points from four doesn't look bad, but then, 3-2 was a score that didn't just flatter the Blaze on Saturday, it had them reclining on a chaise-longue being fanned with palm leaves while beautiful virgins fed them grapes-I cannot overstate how worried I was during that game)-and a team with hardly any defence and a shaky goalie is just the kind of team you want to be facing to build the confidence.

Why Edinburgh will win: Seriously? Erm...ok. Mark Hurtubise and David Nimmo have been the bright spots in the Caps' blackout of a season. If they combine, and the young Scottish Line of Iain Bowie, Ross Dalgliesh and Mark Garside play out of their skins, then the Caps may run the Blaze close for a while, assuming the defence turn up...

Why Coventry will win: I just can't see a way past Edinburgh's defence here. Trouble is, everyone else can, or has so far this season. And when you've got forwards like Adam Calder, Dan Carlson and Sylvain Deschatelets facing a defence and goalie that's conceded 77 goals in 14 games (that's over six a game) you can't see anything other than the red light being lit more often than the one above the door of a Hillfields brothel (a little Coventry local joke in there).

Prediction: I rarely commit myself so absolutely, but in this case I will...a Blaze win. By several clear goals. And Carlyle Lewis and Adam Stefishen to drop 'em...yet again. That battle, at least, the Caps have a chance of winning.

There you go-there's your Midweek Musings..

Keep keeping your eye on the puck.

Double Overtime, 27th October

Before we start this week’s Double Overtime, and in a continuing quest to bring a bit of culture to the British hockey scene, a bit of poetry, dedicated to those who follow Basingstoke in particular. Cardiff fans (and indeed any Welsh readers in general) may particularly appreciate this one…

"...And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light".

“Do Not Go Gentle…” by Dylan Thomas (1914-53)

The fate of EIHL hockey in Basingstoke is decided, according to the Basingstoke Gazette, with rumours that this weekend could be their last, at least in their current form, rendered untrue by Planet Ice agreeing to take over the team until at least the end of the season. This doesn't mean that the doors could not be closing on the Silverdome, but it's not going to happen yet, at least for this season. The question is-what happens if the problems rear up again and even the stalwarts have had enough? I'll tell you-watch the scramble for Greg Chambers if they do so-that fight could be brutal, particularly as both Newcastle and Hull will almost certainly be involved.

And so, on we go…

Things we learned this weekend:

Bison fans like a party-even if they think it’s a wake: Basingstoke v Edinburgh on Saturday-a meeting of two teams who, since then, have both come out and said that they are in serious brown stuff financially, was supposedly one of the best games of the season for atmosphere. It probably helped that the home side won quite handsomely. Which brings me on to my next point…

Edinburgh have more pressing problems then their back-up: The season just gets worse for the Capitals. seven goals conceded to a Basingstoke team who themselves could have other things on their minds (and, by the way, lost eight-nil to Newcastle the followingf night) and another nine to Cardiff on Sunday. Scott Neil has publicly come out and all but said “the money just isn’t there”, the fans are now in open revolt on the forums, and the goals are just not coming. Oh, and their next game? Coventry, at the Skydome. This could be the hockey equivalent of a massacre…they should just call the DVD “the EIHL Killing Fields” now and get it over with.

And boy, do I hope I’m wrong.

Even in losing, you can prove a point: Manchester Phoenix-best team seen at the Skydome this season…despite losing 3-2.

A wounded dragon will always spit fire: After eight minutes on Saturday, the Phoenix were leading two-nothing, and David Beauregard had several chances to all but put the game out of Blaze’s reach. Uncharacteristically, he missed. And that was as close as the Phoenix got to an upset-despite fine team play and heroics from Stephen Murphy in goal, the Blaze dragged out a win, hanging around and hanging around in a way that the Phoenix have made their own, and finally breaking their hearts with two goals in the final period. The impact they made on Blaze fans can be summed up by a text I got from a friend afterward which simply said "(puck) me, that was close...where did they come from?"

And still they deny the Phoenix...

The KO Cup: Mickey Mouse personified (unless you're still in it): Belfast prevailed over Sheffield in the KO Cup. Just. Despite the much-debated pointlessness of the competition itself, it's nice to see that the two teams went hammer-and-tongs at it over the weekend, with Belfast eventually squeaking through by the odd goal in seventeen. Just imagine what the games would have been like if it had been a cup that everybody considered worthwhile...

Every dog has his day (or weekend) in the EIHL: Want proof? Jeff Glowa: six goals in a weekend. For comparison, his highest total in an EIHL season to date is....eighteen. I bet some of you forgot he was still in the EIHL...

A big win will make anything better: Saturday-Hull Stingrays 4, Newcastle 3. Panic in the streets of Newcastle. Sunday: Newcastle eight, Basingstoke 0. Suddenly, there's hope again...
Funny, that.

And on that note-that's your Double Overtime for another week...

Round the Rinks, October 24th

Before we start this week's weekend preview, a little side note for a few new British hockey blogs that have appeared recently...(we told you this stuff was beginning to get popular)...:)

Neil Chiplen covers the Elite League for Sky Sports (I'd post a link, normally, but I have a feeling you all know where Sky Sports are), and has now started up Elite Hockey Today...which is, I believe, the first British hockey blog on t'Interweb written by someone who...well, actually writes for a living. The link is also in the Recommended Reading bar on the side, should you wish to peruse it yourself. I would recommend doing so...after all, it ain't half bad...

The next blog has possibly the best name thus far, nicked from a throwaway reference on a forum to the Phoenix logo. Written by "coyotes_uk" who you may have seen posting a thoughtful comment or two on here or the Phoenix forum from time to time, it's the fantastically-named "The Angry Budgie". And yes, he's another Manchester fan. There must be "summat in t'water" up there...

Don't forget the Benchwarmer from Scott in Belfast, too, and of course the F Block Blog, whose weekend previews in particular are well worth reading if your team's up against the Stingrays...

Speaking of weekend previews...on with our own...believe it or not, the vast majority of this weekend's games are actually league games, with only the Sheffield/Belfast double-header descending into KO Cup silliness, and Nottingham playing Coventry on Sunday in the Challenge Cup.

Trust one to be awkward: There's always one double-header to mess up my carefully-constructed train-of-thought in taking it a day at a time (say what you like about the BNL, but the home/away double-headers for everyone almost every weekend at least made things simple) and this time, it's Sheffield-Belfast, who meet twice at the Hallam in the "quick, let's make up a filler competi...", sorry, British Knockout Cup. The games themselves have the potential, like the last meeting between these two sides, to be barn-burning festivals of hockey. Trouble is, the vast majority of the league won't actually care because it doesn't affect them at this stage...it's the hockey equivalent of the LDV Vans Trophy. PLEASE, EIHL, can we invite EPL teams to join in, play it midweek and restrict it to four imports? That way, you might get everyone to take it seriously as a competition rather than, secretly, thinking it's a bit of a wooden-spoon trophy.

And now to the league and proper cup games.

Saturday:

Hull v Newcastle is the game to watch this weekend if you like your hockey rough and ready...don't be too hopeful of any highlight-reel moments here, but settle in and rub your hands if you like your outright violence mixed with a bit of hockey rather than the other way around...

However, if you prefer the skill side of the game, you may wish to head for the Skydome, where I'm looking forward to Coventry v Manchester like this kid looked forward to getting a Nintendo 64 back in the late 90's. So, quite a bit. Don't worry, though...there will be no such hysterics from me at the Skydome...I'll be too busy admiring the skills of David Beauregard, Adam Calder and co.

Basingstoke v Edinburgh is the first half of Brad Cruikshank's farewell weekend, so there may be the odd lump in the throat in Hampshire. The game itself, however, looks intriguing after the last meeting between the two sides was only won by a Greg Chambers goal in overtime. And, of course, there's the latest instalment of the Bison soap opera to look forward to as well-who's playing, who isn't, and what does it all mean? The rate the Bison players are leaving, they could soon be skating out on the ice to this. Just to save time...

*cheap shot? maybe...

Sunday

Cardiff v Edinburgh looks an interesting one. Mainly because we'll get to see just how Tyson Teplitsky settles back into British hockey, particularly when the Caps will be skating at him from the off... Expect a close-fought meeting in South Wales...

Nottingham v Coventry makes for a hell of an early game, and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon in the Lace City. Add the fact that, should Blaze lose, they're out, and bear in mind that the last time these two met saw a 6-5 thriller, and you can see why people could be panting like a dog in the desert over this one...

Manchester v Hull: Top and (near) bottom in the same weekend-talk about visiting both ends of the spectrum for the Phoenix...Depending on the result on Saturday this could either see the Phoenix go second or try to recover at least two points from the weekend...*

Newcastle v Basingstoke, on the other hand, is possibly not one of the glamour games of the weekend. Now that the Bison have, in fact, lost Brad Cruikshank even for this game, you have to wonder just how much chance they have, especially against a resurgent Vipers.

There you go...that's your weekend previewed to within an inch of its life. Now, let's play hockey....

*thank you, Kyle-it was indeed a schoolboy error of the worst kind...

Coming Soon...

Hi all...

Just a quick note to apologise for there being nothing new on here tonight-I'm working on the Round the Rinks for the weekend and have only had time to add a link or two to the Recommended Reading section (of which more in Round the Rinks tomorrow)...

However, this weekend is looking like a good 'un, so I'm thinking it deserves a good preview rather than some more ramblings for the sake of it. It should be up by tomorrow early afternoon if all is well.

Until then, as always...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings...

This one's very, very simple. It's me, firing off random thoughts about the week so far in hockey. That's it. No complicated disciplinary processes here-let's jump in....

Trade fever!: Rod Hinks has been released by Cardiff. Interestingly, the rumour mill hasn't exactly been slow in linking him with none other than Basingstoke, perhaps to replace Brad Cruikshank, who is on his way up north to Sheffield by all accounts. Or, slightly more left-field...

Danny Stewart becomes a Devil, Rod Hinks to Bison, Cruikshank to Steelers.

This makes sense, since Stewart is said to be on the verge of leaving Bison anyway and would fit in nicely as a second-line centre behind Mike Prpich. It would also add a bit of creativity to a Devils side which, in all honesty, drops off a little in it after the top line (but then, when you've got the league's dominant power forward in Brad Voth, that's perhaps not so much of an issue). The merry-go-round in Cardiff continues as (and I know I'm a bit late in mentioning this) Tyson Teplitsky returns to Cardiff for the injured Likit Andersson also...

Gallows humour is alive and well in the EIHL:...especially in Nottingham, it seems. Our fellow blogger Jono over at The Cat's Whiskers has responded to the rumours of Brad Cruikshank heading for Sheffield with this short-but-sweet beauty...

...and over at Five Minute Major...photographic proof, it seems, that Brett Clouthier is, in fact, a giant among men. Either that or the ceiling in Altrincham, at least in the foyer, is somewhat lower than intended...

And by the way...Cardiff have gone up in my estimation from mid-table to suddenly looking like they could be in the running for a trophy again. Yes, Voth and Teplitsky are that good.

Down in the basement, something stirs...but it could just be the last twitches of life in a dying team. Basingstoke beat Edinburgh 5-4 last night to leave the Capitals floundering in the mire and provide a spark of hope for their beleaguered fans. With rumours of players leaving the ship faster than Panthers fans leave Sheffield after a loss, though, you get the feeling that all someone needs to do to doom this team of Titanic battlers now is to deem them "unsinkable"...

Sometimes, even a 15-0 loss is a cause for pride: Remember my blog last week about women's hockey? I went to watch the Coventry Phoenix again this week (some unwise soul even gave me a microphone to announce with) and saw one of those performances you can't quite believe. The home side played pretty damn well, winning 15-0 (two players scoring hat-tricks) but their opposition, Oxford Uni, won the hearts of the (small but enthusiastic) crowd-mainly because they had just eight players. That's a goalie, a line and two over, for those of you who aren't that good at maths. Some evidence of how hard they worked can be gained from the fact that the second period break had to be extended "in case an Oxford player collapsed"
Needless to say, the shot count was something like 57 to 2 in favour of the Phoenix. But it was one of the gutsiest team displays I've seen, anywhere.
And no, contrary to earlier comments, I'm not even remotely connected to any of the Oxford players...:)

If this had happened in the EIHL, Dave Simms would have gone nuclear and wiped out half of South Yorkshire: And those EPL diehard fans say that the EIHL is a league where sportsmanship goes by the wayside?

My lord, I present as evidence Swindon vs Wightlink from two weeks ago. Watch the third fight (from 1:16) for something I still can't quite believe happens...then remember it's Gareth Endicott, Wightlink's coach. Classy, ain't it?

And people say Brad Voth is a thug...

There you go. I know it's short, but short things are, as the saying goes, very sweet...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Tuesday Thoughts

Hello again, all...

We go straight into a stream-of-consciousness ramble through the news currently passing through British ice-hockey, including a bit of effusive praise of the Phoenix, a belated One Minute Preview and, as promised, the topic of fans doing their media thing being first on the list...

If the TV companies won't do it, we will: One of the major gripes at any level of hockey in Britain is the lack of media attention it gets, particularly compared to other sports which are, supposedly, of a similar popularity, at least spectator-wise (when was the last time you met someone who, say, declared their biggest spectator-sport passion in life to be snooker? Or darts?). Up until now, this has simply been an accepted problem of following hockey...in Britain until a few months ago you had IH-update, the team websites, a few forums and that was about it if you wanted to see anyone talking about your sport.

Compare this to across the pond, where the hockey blog and other types of fan journalism has established itself as a massive part of the experience. It's got to the point now where the NHL have this page as a major part of their website. And celebrities writing for them. Long gone are the days when blogs were considered the haunt of friendless nerds...

And recently, in the UK, similar things have started to happen. You can see by the links page on the right of this very blog that there's a slowly-growing community of British fans who have thought "sod sitting waiting for the clubs to feed us opinion, sod bitching on a forum...we'll write our own". Becky over at Five Minute Major (one of the leaders in the British hockey blogosphere) says it far better than me in this post as to what's changed recently.

Well, now things have taken another step forward-someone is working to get all these sites in one place so there's no excuse for not knowing where they are. Born out of a post on the Phoenix Forum, FanMedia is intended as, if you like, a directory of the "new" voices in British ice-hockey...those of the fan-writers themselves. It's only in its early stages at the moment, but the fact that someone (well, two people, actually-Kate, posting on the Phoenix forum as Lifson, and Ben Knight who also does the Phoenix Podcast) and has managed to get one slowly up and running shows that, clearly, something is happening that perhaps the clubs would be wise to take note of sooner, rather than later.

Keep an eye on this one...it could get interesting...

It's not just me, then...You know that people are listening to you when people start sending "long-time reader"-type emails. Here's one from Kyle Green, who's a Manchester fan (the Breakaway seems to have quite a few readers up in Phoenixland, or maybe they're just the noisiest :)), commenting on yesterday's Double Overtime:

I've been reading your hockey blog for a while now and have noticed, like yourself, that Manchester Phoenix seem to be overlooked when it comes to a possible title push or even just nudging our way into the top 4. If I'm perfectly honest, i never would have expected Phoenix to be looking this good early in the season. I'm guessing the majority of the Blaze, Panthers, Giants and (of course) Steelers organisation and fans would be thinking the same..

Indeed. But the Steelers and Panthers at least, one feels, won't be thinking that any more...:)

...I believe i heard one Dave Simms point out on his friday evening South Yorkshire radio Steelers slot this past week, that Phoenix had 'no chance' of beating the Panthers (you'd think he would wish for EVERYONE to beat the Panthers?!) as Phoenix were a 'one line team'.

I didn't hear that myself-but can believe it coming from Simms. Then again, this is the same group of fans who are trying to pass Andrew Sharp off as a competent hockey player, so you do have to wonder what games they watch...And anyway-for a team that look half the attacking force they were last season now they're without Dan Tessier, that's a bit rich....

the second line (Kyle Bruce, Nathan Ward, Bruce Mulherin) has suddenly caught fire. i'm not getting to carried away however, it is early days of course. I believe that if Phoenix were to break into the top 4 and stay there or thereabouts for the remainder of the season that can only mean a good thing for the league.

Interestingly, Matt (another Phoenix fan and one of the two responsible for Five Minute Major) mentioned in pre-season, when I picked Bruce as a player to watch, that Luke Fulghum (who doesn't even get a mention alongside the Big Two of Beauregard and Hand) was far more worthy of the honour...it just goes to show that, sometimes, even people who disagree can both be right-Fulghum's not exactly a slouch himself...

If the Phoenix were to break into the top four and break the monopoly of the "big" teams, it would be fantastic for the league as a whole, in much the same way Coventry doing similar in the first EIHL season was...it proves to the EIHL detractors (and there are many) that their view of the league as continually dominated by the Arena teams (i.e those with supposedly the most money) is utterly flawed. It won't solve the problems of the EIHL at one shot, but it will at least prove that the top league is moving on from being a league of haves- and have-nots. Slowly.

All is not lost, the BBC (ice hockey rookies that they are) have recongnised the Phoenix potential by stating "Manchester Phoenix continued their Elite League title charge" - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/ice_hockey/7679741.stm

Realistically (at least at the moment) I can't see the Phoenix winning the title-there are still questions in my mind as to how the loss of Beauregard and/or Hand for a few games would affect them. I also, as mentioned earlier this summer, still have a question or two about Stephem Murphy. However, I will now come out and say this...

Manchester will win a trophy this season.

There. If everyone else outside of Phoenixland will still continue to ignore the revolution going on in Altrincham, then fair enough. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Fuel to the fire: According to reports from Edinburgh (the game is also being webcast live, by the way) Basingstoke have arrived with just eleven skaters, with Mark Richardson being unaccounted for through injury or suspension as far as people are aware. Brad Cruikshank is still a Bison player for now. With rumours of Danny Stewart going to Cardiff, though, in place of the underperforming Rod Hinks, you wonder how long this uncertainty will last...

...and bridges over troubled waters: The roles are reversed at EIHL Towers this week, with Cardiff putting in a query and asking for review of the Steelers' Joey Talbot's game penalty for spearing Jay Latulippe on Saturday. Interestingly, though, there's no mention of "vendettas", "dangerous play" or the like, unlike when the boot was on the other foot in an incident involving a certain Brad Voth. It's nice, sometimes, to read match reports where only one line is given to a piece of play that is generally agreed to be one of the ugliest penalties you can get in hockey. One thinks that if the spear had gone the other way, the wailing and gnashing of teeth would be keeping people up at night still...

That's your Tuesday round-up done for another week..tomorrow we'll look at events in Edinburgh as they take on Basingstoke tonight, and maybe even consider the NHL...

Double Overtime: 20th October

You know the drill by now...let's get back to the on-ice stuff...

Things We Learned This Weekend:

However you call a game, there are some things that are just too blatant to miss: And for proof, I present, sadly not from the Belfast webcast of the game v Coventry, but still, fairly clear...Number eight, Malcolm MacMillan: Game for third man in.

Anyone who seriously doesn't think this is a rivalry to rival Sheffield v Nottingham, just hasn't been paying attention: It got pretty tasty last season too...

The Phoenix enjoy being ignored: Everyone seems to be talking about the perceived problems of the big teams (well, Coventry and Sheffield). Meanwhile, Manchester have gone up to third. Oh, and they beat Nottingham in the NIC (4-1) to do it, before sticking seven past Edinburgh. I'm looking forward to Saturday's visit to the Skydome already...

Meanwhile, the Panthers are mortal: Two games, one point. 4-1 loss at the NIC, followed by a 1-0 loss in Cardiff, has somewhat halted the charge from the East Midlands. Now we shall see whether they're a "sing when you're winning" team or whether they have the grit to pick themselves up from a bad weekend.

And as for Sheffield...: Why the panicking? Three points from four isn't that bad a weekend. Except when, like the Steelers fans, you're used to a regular diet of four...

When you're in a slump, any crumb of comfort helps: The Stingrays lose their franchise player, play an import down, and contrary to the wailing and gnashing of teeth, beat Basingstoke on Sunday. After, that is, the Bison pull out a win on Saturday. Suddenly, for many, the future looks a whole lot brighter. Erm...sorry, lads (Basingstoke in particular) but two points a week won't get you that far up the table. It definitely won't pay the bills. And Stingrays fans...no matter how many points you get, you've still got Rick Strachan as coach.

Cardiff need Brad Voth: Well, we knew that already. But I reckon beating the Panthers proves it, because this is a game that they couldn't have hoped to win without someone to steam in and hit anything that moved, while also being able to play a bit. And whatever you think of him, there's no-one who can argue that Brad Voth doesn't do both of the above pretty damn well. When he doesn't have the Steelers, their fans, and anyone who has the remotest connection to anything teal and orange trying to lynch him, that is.

Wounded snakes still have venom: Need proof? Newcastle Vipers. From a laughing stock a week or two ago, to running Belfast all the way in the Odyssey on Saturday, and then beating Sheffield at home on the Sunday. Would you have predicted either result a week or two ago?

Somewhere in an attic in Altrincham, there's a picture of Tony Hand withering away: Hat-trick in Nottingham on Saturday, and heartbeat of his Manchester team. At the age of 41. Enough said.
If Oscar Wilde had been alive today, he'd have called this classic the Picture of Tony Hand instead.

There you go-that's your reflections on another weekend in British hockey...

Tomorrow will see musings on the rise of fan-media (following the excellent post on Five Minute Major) and what it means for hockey, and in case that's too boring for you, there's your usual randomness too...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Withdrawal Symptoms

So, we're halfway through the weekend, and the Blaze are already done until next week, which means no Elite League hockey at the Skydome this week. This meant that last night saw me at the Skydome, along with a few hundred other hardy souls, for a dose of hockey methadone in the shape of the ENL.

And, despite even the thought of only having an ENL game to watch at the Skydome only existing deep in my darkest nightmares even as recently as the summer, it wasn't that bad...

But that isn't the main point of this post. Yes, it's another "what the hell is going on in British hockey" post...which'll ramble through economics, psychology and perhaps even romance before we're done...

"I see....a bad moon rising.
I see...trouble on the way"
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Bad Moon Rising

Unless you've been under a rock for the past week or two, you can't have failed to notice that all is not well at the lower end of the EIHL table. Hull have lost their franchise player Rick Kozak (some say down to his reluctance to be "Strachanized", some say because he's an arrogant sod who threw a hissy fit at Jake Riddle being cut, and some claiming money issues-you can follow the reaction in Hull at the F-Block Blog) and we all know what's occurring at Basingstoke at the moment.

And of course, now the solutions are flying. The best one I've read thus far comes from Robb over at The Pyre-but the point he makes about some saying that everyone should drop to EPL level is relevant because, believe it or not, that's precisely the debate going on in Basingstoke at the moment, and it's got three camps.
The Bison will survive the season-sod discussing the future, let's get behind them (otherwise known as the Happy Bunch)
The Bison don't deserve (harsh view)/can't sustain (reasonable view) being in the EIHL any longer, and should drop for the good of themselves and the game (almost everyone else).
The Bison made their beds. Sod 'em. (Some EPL fans)

I find it amazing that any mention of a team dropping or climbing leagues, even when there's compelling arguments for them to do so (and in Basingstoke's case there certainly is) can provoke such an emotional response-even from people not remotely connected to them-on THF and other forums the third camp is extremely vocal, with their arguments being along the lines of "Why should the EPL accept Basingstoke anyway-they chose EIHL and we're fine without them"

I have one word for that argument...Bollocks. The essential fact is that no team in British hockey is guaranteed to be stable. The hard-line EPL fans seem to take great delight in the troubles of EIHL clubs, while conveniently forgetting that, this season alone, Telford were within 24 hours of death, Chelmsford have already gone (at least from the EPL) due to money issues, and Romford have their backs to the wall. That makes the fact that the EIHL only has one club in seeming real trouble look positively rosy, does it not?
Some are far more stable than others, but this season in particular is evidence that it only takes one or two events to push teams over the edge, business plan or no business plan.

Would reducing the number of imports make economic sense? Perhaps. But this is of course assuming that the standard dropping (and it will, at least in the short term) doesn't drive those who've only ever been used to a high level of hockey, or even those who can remember a high level of hockey (i.e the Scottish clubs, particularly Fife and Dundee) out of the door-which I don't think it will, at least for those who actually love the game rather than the simple fact that their team is always winning because it pays the most. So, we're agreed that dropping the level of imports isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least in pure economic terms. As long as the standard doesn't drop dramatically.

Now to part two-the psychology-this is the thing that's been causing most of the arguments-and indeed the problems.
People always like to think they're watching the best product available. EIHL fans claim it's theirs due to the higher quality (in general) of import attracted. EPL fans claim theirs, because the games are closer. However, both sets of fans are similar, in that they are now almost psychologically programmed with the mantra, beaten into them for many years by teams arguing why they want to play with as many imports as the budget and rules allow, of "less imports = worse hockey". This is particularly true among those fans who have perhaps never seen their team climb a league (or, to be fair) drop one since they've been watching. Which leads me to conclude thus...

The only thing holding back change in British hockey to a system that works for everyone, at least from the fans' side, is this:
Mass fear of the unknown.

I'm not saying that no fans want change. Quite clearly the opposite is true. But many only want change which will keep that which they already know and are used to, whether that be Sheffield playing Nottingham and hyping it up ridiculously five or six times a season, Guildford being one of the big fish in the EPL, or ENL and Scottish teams playing to only a few hundred people.

And that is an attitude which is eventually going to kill the sport.

Too many woes are placed squarely on the shoulders of the fragmented governmental structure of hockey in this country, or on the egos of a few owners. But while there is no doubt that these are issues, the main problems, and perhaps the reason that nothing substantial ever gets done, is because there are two few people such as Robb at the Pyre, who will stand up and say "actually, both parts of the current system are rubbish. What is needed is a way to bring them together. And if you don't want to commit to that, then clearly you have no interest in seeing the sport thrive in this country".

The moment the fans of British hockey, as a whole, stop dividing themselves into camps such as "EPL fans", "EIHL fans" or God only knows what else and simply say "we support British hockey, and we want it sorted NOW!" is the moment things will eventually start happening.

But, to be honest, I'm not holding my breath.

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Blood in the Water...or Round the Rinks

Tonight's Round the Rinks is, as expected, opened by the goings-on in Basingstoke. And then goes off on a patented Breakaway ramble...



Déja vu...of the worst kind: There's trouble down south again. Ryan Aldridge has resigned as Basingstoke coach following the Bison's nightmare start to the season, and suddenly there's blood in the water from all sides...the Bison fans are split between EPL-bound doom-merchants, happy-clappy "we'll survive fine" fans who seem just not to see the problems currently facing their team. Or won't (I mean, how obvious do the problems have to be, if having to buy a stick from the opposition for one of your own players (Danny Stewart, up in Manchester) isn't a problem. The talismanic Brad Cruikshank is supposedly heading for Sheffield according to a rapidly-growing rumour, now that Nathan Gillies has left the Steelers an import short with an unlucky season-ending injury. And Eric Braff is coaching.
A double header against Hull is probably the best way to welcome him to the job as well...win that and suddenly the clouds lift a little, if only briefly.
The door may be closing slowly on EIHL hockey in Basingstoke, if you believe the forums, but Braff and friends will try to prove this weekend that it ain't dead yet. Good luck to 'em.

If you want excitement, head for the Odyssey...as Belfast face Coventry (in progress now) and Newcastle tomorrow. One game is a meeting between two traditional EIHL rivals, and the other is a game given extra spice after the Steve Thronton-inspired melee of the last meeting between the two sides. Both games are live at http://www.giantslive.tv/ should you not be able to make it to Northern Ireland...

Manchester v Nottingham: game of the weekend?!: Easily. Tomorrow's meeting between the two sides could see some of the most open, fast-flowing hockey the EIHL has been treated to to date, as two skilful sides battle it out, one to keep their traditional status as one of the best teams in the league, and the other to prove that this season they well and truly belong in the same boat.

Powerhouses collide: Meanwhile, Sheffield v Cardiff is a meeting of two traditional British hockey powerhouses who have both started somewhat below their usual standards. Cardiff are unlucky enough to face Nottingham the following night so will want to take momentum into that game and need the points desperately. Oh, and Brad Voth is back, just to add a little extra spice to the meeting. Ryan Finnerty for one has been on the Steelers website claiming that he's not even on the Steelers radar as a threat, but you can bet that when he places his 6'5 frame in front of Jody Lehman, he'll appear on it in one big hurry...Sunday sees Cardiff meet Nottingham and Sheffield meet Newcastle, which also makes for a pair of games where just about anything could happen. And probably will. Pity Manchester and Edinburgh-their meeting on Sunday night will be the least-watched game of the weekend, at least outside of those two fanbases...

And there's your speedy preview of the weekend in hockey...all that remains now is for the puck to drop...

The Posting Crunch

Hi all.

Apologies for missing yesterday...but just to give you fair warning, set aside a few minutes to read the next one...it crunches the Basingstoke news of the past week, a bit of randomness and Round the Rinks into one long rambling post, which will hopefully be complete some time this evening for your literary delight...

Just to keep you confident that I haven't forgotten...:)

Phoenix Rising, or Here Come The Girls...

First of all on this Tuesday...a correction or two, since my shins are black and blue from kicking myself...

Rick Kozak, of course, was playing Nottingham at the weekend when he scored twice, rather than Sheffield, since he's a Hull Stingray, not a Belfast Giant...(thank you, Yotes, for pointing out my rookie error...)

Speaking of the Stingrays, they scored three on Sunday at the Skydome, not two. Since the third came twenty seconds from the end, my mind was perhaps already on the pub afterwards. Or playing hockey...

With those two duly corrected, and with a promise that tomorrow will see the news of Ryan Aldridge resigning as Basingstoke coach, and all the questions it rises about the future of hockey in Basingstoke, given the full attention it deserves rather than being tacked on in the bottom part of a post. Apart from anything else, things aren't exactly clear yet so I'd like to let the dust settle a little on various forums before writing. So on we go, changing the subject entirely...

"She's getting high on you
Watching you die gives her a thrill
...There is always more blood to spill..."

Arch Enemy: "Diva Satanica"

Come on. Given that this post is getting in touch with the feminine side, you had to expect a bit of balance, didn't you? It was either that or a quote from the Sugababes, for God's sake...:)

Anyway, the (very slight) relevance of today's random song-lyric is to what we're going to look at today...women playing hockey.

A few years ago, I got involved, through friends and circumstance, in the newly formed women's team in Coventry. Not knowing anything about women's hockey or the skill level, I went along to watch (kind of hard not to when you're the person announcing) and was left with a hugely positive impression of it compared to the lower levels of the "men's" game-the play was far more toward the "enthusiastic" end of the spectrum rather than the "skilful" end, but there wasn't the same nastiness as the men's game can have, you got the sense that everyone genuinely was playing for the love of the game and there were flashes of genuine skill. Apart from anything else it was nice to watch a game in which size played no part-you had players who barely reached five feet in skates lining up against people a foot taller, and not being thumped out of the game through sheer size. I genuinely enjoyed that season as much as any hockey I've ever watched. Then, I went to Germany for a year, and so I lost touch with the women's game...although I was somewhat aware that the team were rising through the ranks of the smaller nations almost as fast as the far-more-hyped men's team...weren't.

Last Saturday was the opening game of the women's season in Coventry, and I was invited along again, as a few people I knew (including one from that first season) were playing. And so I went along, with no idea what to expect...

Well...

The play was not for the purists (the Phoenix play in Division 1 South, which is apparently a bit of a step lower in terms of overall skill level than the WPL), but enthusiastic isn't the word...I've never heard so much yelling of encouragement between teams, never seen such desperate defending or hard-charging attacking play, and certainly can't really remember a time when I've seen a game in which two teams were so evenly matched.

I could waffle on all night, but given that brevity is the soul of wit, I'll simply say this for now.

If you have a women's team near you, and you fancy something different, go and watch them. It's a very pleasant and even exciting way to spend an hour or two at a hockey game...And, at least you can never complain about anyone on your side not putting the effort in.

I shall return to this theme at a later date, but something's come up down here in the sunny Midlands, and so I shall be off until tomorrow...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 13th October.

This is already a fun week after a weekend that went back, forth and then back again in terms of momentum, arguments and an absolute hammering for at least one team...let's jump straight in...

Things We Learned This Week:

Feelings of injustice = backlash from hell: You have to pity the Edinburgh Capitals. They cruise along, playing the "plucky small team that could" role perfectly all season, and then run into a Coventry team still stinging from a hotly-disputed loss to Belfast last week, and get completely and utterly steamrollered. Michel Robinson's star has faded just a little after conceding seven goals on 17 shots (Blaze scored eleven in total, letting in one) and the Caps will have to go back to the drawing board for the next time they face the Blaze. Oh, and just for good measure, the Midlanders went on and scored seven more while conceding just two against Hull on Sunday. The message is "don't pee the Blaze off, EIHL".

Someone has to lose. But do it often enough and people start getting worried: Basingstoke Bison. Twelve games, twelve losses. And now more rumours of trouble behind the scenes.
And we thought that this was all over...

One win doesn't get fans back on your side. But it's a start: Rob Wilson is no longer getting eggs thrown at him in the streets of Newcastle, thanks to winning down in Basingstoke, and against Edinburgh back at home. And one of the causes of this? Playing Marek Ivan as a d-man. I never thought I'd see the day...

Sheffield really don't like to lose to Nottingham: 30 minutes gone in Sheffield on Sunday night, and Nottingham lead 3-1. 30 minutes later, the Steelers have scored five, the Cage Forum has had a collective heart attack, and the game ends 6-3 Steelers. Cue wildly differing reactions at opposite ends of the M1 (well, Junction 24 and 32, anyway), and much boasting about what, when all's said and done, is just another league game.

Still, no-one rates Manchester: The Phoenix are now fifth in the league with three games in hand, in a strong position in the Challenge Cup, and have a player who is second in scoring in the league for goals, despite having played three games less than the only player above him (David Beauregard with 11 in 11-Paul Deniset has 14 in 14 for Belfast). So why is no-one talking about them as a potential silverware-winner?

Paul Deniset is very, very good: 14+12 in 14 games means that, so far, the new Belfast sniper is scoring at the rate of almost two points a game. I can't remember a player ever starting this quickly in the EIHL, short of Adam Calder last season. If the injury fairy stays away, then Adam Calder's EIHL points record of 125 (58+67) could already be under threat...

Cardiff will battle. And battle, and battle: Of twelve games, the Devils have already been involved in three overtime losses-that's 25%, and one more than any of the rest of the league have been involced in. They've only lost three games by more than one goal (and two of those involced empty-netters). Certainly, winning is better than losing, but the fact that no team apart from Nottingham (once) has been able to put daylight between them and the men from South Wales bodes well for the Devils faithful if the team should manage to start scoring a few more...

Rick Kozak is more than just "that Stingrays bloke who skated through the blood": He returns after a long layoff through suspension, and immediately scores twice against Sheffield. Admittedly, he was fairly anonymous against Coventry the following night (Steve Slonina and Matt Reynolds were far more effective than. the hyped wind-up duo of Kozak and Kostadine) but even so, there clearly is some talent there if he wants to use it.

"We shall inherit the earth-our foot's in the door": This is the only time you'll find a Sylvia Plath poem referenced in a hockey blog for...well, ever. But it has a point when you think about the fact that more and more hockey fans are actually producing their own media from content, such as the blog you're reading now.
This post from Becky at the Breakaway's good "friends-in-blogging" at Five Minute Major sums this up rather nicely. And has some very good links in it too...

And finally for this week...

You can have the best intro in the world, but...one player can ruin it for you. A random EPL tangent, I know, but watch the Bracknell Bees player intro video, and just try not to laugh-however well produced it is (and it is) the players posing is priceless. I actually managed to watch with a straight face until Andrew Hemmings (number 21) and then I utterly lost it...

There we go-another double OT over with. Check back tomorrow, as the Breakaway gets in touch with the feminine side of hockey...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Round the Rinks, etc...10th October.

This weekend could be an interesting one, so let's tie up the loose ends and get on with previewing it!

"Wake me when it's over"...The Belfast webcast (it's here for those of you who are still unaware of it) is a fine tool for making games look worth watching...but it was given a Herculean task yesterday with the game at the Odyssey featuring the Giants and the Devils, which was given a merciful ending by Andrew Martin 58 minutes and 41 seconds into a scoreless game. Not a bad goal, either...but God, was the preceding 58 minutes and 40 seconds tedious...a total of around 40 shots in the game, a bit of handbags between Bobby Robins, Doug MacIver and Wes Jarvis, the goal, and that was about it.

But don't switch off yet...Luckily for those of us who like our EIHL on the Internet, there's a choice of two games being broadcast on Saturday-what should be a far better game between the Giants and Sheffield, or, if you prefer your webcasts paid for, Edinburgh v Coventry. The Giants one can be found on the link above, or you can go through the Caps website and watch a battle of two teams which, while perhaps not having the offensive fireworks of the game at the Odyssey, will be an intriguing game in which, frankly, I can't pick a winner at the moment...Both should be up and running from around 6pm or so...

And now on to the weekend preview...

The biggest match-up since Good looked at Evil, spat and said "come on then, tough guy"...It's Steelers v Panthers on Sunday! And thus, were I Dave Simms, this preview would be a few thousand words about everything from "why Dan Tessier is a traitor for leaving Sheffield and rejoining Nottingham" to "Come and watch Andrew Sharp sacrifice Corey Neilson's children to Satan on the ice pre-game, in front of him, cause THAT's just how much he hates Panthers, and quite right too. Oh, and by the way, should Neilson react we'll complain to the league until he's banned." But I'm not...for a start I couldn't really care less about this one-just like every other Steelers/Panthers game. But it should still be a game worth watching-if Panthers can nick a win then the calls for changes in Sheffield will begin...



Meanwhile, back where people have perspective:...there's some pretty interesting hockey to be played....

Saturday

Nottingham travel up to Hull on Saturday just in time to welcome Rick Kozak back after his ban, sustained for nearly breaking the neck of Marc Levers. Who...erm..plays for Nottingham. If you don't think there's going to be a few Panthers looking for (legal, or at least an accepted form of illegal) payback against him, then you're insane.

Meanwhile, as mentioned above, Coventry face Edinburgh in a battle of two teams of whom perhaps more was expected than has been seen thus far-the Scots have shocked the Blaze on their home ice before, and may fancy their chances of doing so again, particularly as many of them will know the weaknesses of JF Perras after he was their team-mate last season, and will be doing their best to use this to their advantage...

Sheffield meet Belfast in the other webcast game, which should be good for a goal or two, as well as some exciting end-to-end play...one team flying high and one really believing they should be will make for a game which is hopefully well worth watching....

And finally, there's Basingstoke v Newcastle. The positive thing about this one is...well, someone's got to win. And both teams need to. Desperately.


Sunday-in which every team actually plays!


Basingstoke face Manchester in Altrincham...which would seem to be a golden chance for the Phoenix to keep their winning run going, particularly if Basingstoke get a little knocked around by Newcastle the night before.

Coventry come back from their long trip north just in time to face Hull at the Skydome. I may be going to burn in Blaze fan hell for this, but part of me is hoping for Michael Hicks as referee, just for the fact that we may well see the first "fan attacks referee" moment in ice-hockey history given the opposition and the fact that some Coventry fans simply can't convince themselves that Belfast being a better team may have had something to do with their win last Saturday also. And, like most home crowds, the Skydome gets pretty hostile when refs call legitimate penalties against their side or miss calls from the opposition...god only knows what'll happen if the Stingrays try and wind the physical side up and get away without being instantly tarred and feathered...Plus, it's always fun to shout angrily at the opposition-at least with the Stingrays there'll be legitimate reason...

Sheffield v Nottingham has its own bit at the beginning of this post-nowt more nieeds to be said.

Cardiff v Belfast part two is on offer at the Blue Tent-which could be more of a game given the cramped confines and the passionate home support...the smaller ice is a little different to the wide-open spaces and expanses of the Odyssey...and Cardiff have a team built for it....

Finally, Newcastle take on Edinburgh, and will either be buoyed having broken their losing streak down in Basingstoke the night before or under serious pressure to give their home fans something, anything, to be optimistic about. Either way, the Capitals will not be pushovers and could easily take advantage for two more precious points...

And there you go-your EIHL weekend previewed in bitesize chunks. Let's play hockey!

Midweek Musings...

Just as a quick heads-up to everyone-due to the hours I work, if there is going to be a post up here on any given day then nine times out of ten it won't be up until at least 7pm, so if you check when you come home from work and there's nothing new on here, then don't despair...there could be sooner rather than later.


Anyway-stream-of-consciousness style, let's run through what's going on in the EIHL...


Look, people...just sort yourselves out so we can play some bloody hockey: The EIHL discipline farce continues anew, with Brad Voth being granted a second appeal as Cardiff simply won't let it drop, now claiming they have a letter from the EIHL which guaranteed the original ban would be six games-if this is true than the EIHL need to tear up the rule book, start again and get people who aren't connected with any of the clubs (like...I don't know...the referees) to sit on the discplinary panel, since they're the ones who call the penalties in the first place-and just tell the world and his wife club officials who are currently involved to stick to something like making sure their clubs survive or, and here's a novelty...getting on with playing the games themselves. The Devils fans resemble the Lone Gunmen of the EIHL, everyone else just believes that the league are now frantically trying to cover their rear-ends while at the same time benefit the clubs who have the most influence on the board (i.e: satisfy those with the biggest egos) as much as possible, and quite frankly they now simply look like they couldn't manage a piss-up in a brewery. But, on the plus side, at least their incompetence hasn't meant that teams may have won games thanks to a player who is technically susp...

*pause as realisation sinks in at EIHL Towers*

oh, bugger....


"Hey guys, surely we can work something out here...":...and literally half an hour after I wrote the above, we have the official decision, which, conveniently, realises that maybe twelve games for a slash and a fight was a bit much and brings it to an end in time for the weekend. At the same time, it sorts out the lingering Steve Thornton issue but halves the ban he'll actually serve. Of course, this decision will have nothing to do with the fact that the original ban would run into GB being away in November and, as the EIHL are a member of the IIHF, any disciplinary sanction would render him unpickable for the same GB squad about which the EIHL were so excited he'd agreed to return to-hence the glowing press release about it at the time, and anyone who tells you otherwise is nasty, cynical and probably a Cardiff fan with a chip on their shoulder.

Trouble is-this means, even in line with the other reduced bans (Rick Kozak has had his reduced from ten to six, which he's already served), the EIHL now look like they consider a slash and a fight (Brad Voth) worse than a stick swung at the head (Thornton) and about on a par with potentially breaking someone's neck with a sucker-punch that causes a wound needing 25 stitiches (Rick Kozak).

So basically...if you want to hurt someone for the least possible punishment, Elite League players, don't punch them, stick them in the head. It's only worth four games.

And we wonder why people say that team owners running the league and doing everything else, rather than appointing neutrals or people who have no connection currently with any of the teams beyond, perhaps, having played or coached in Britain in the past, is a bad idea.

Well, now you have your answers.

"This is a local game, for LOCAL people"...Well, not quite that parochial, but the League of Gentlemen had a point, or at least a pithy way of summing up why I don't consider it a hardship when the "superstar" Brits in Coventry disappear for their weekend in Poland...players like Chris Wilcox and Tom Ledgard (names that may not be familiar to you, but are if you keep an eye on the Coventry ENL team) get to step up to the Elite League and show what they can do. And we get to see them-something that realistically is not going to happen when all the Brits are around...in a competitive situation at the top level in the UK. Surely that's a good thing, right-after all, once people would have considered watching players like Jon Weaver and Ash Tait part of an "understrength" side, if they got more than a few minutes on the top line, and you can bet there were mumbles about them playing instead of more experienced players too...

I know this is a fairly short post, but there you go...I have to cut it there for fear of things just turning into a long anti-EIHL-disciplinary-panel rant. And quite frankly, there are enough of those on the forums already...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 6th October...

Well...that was interesting...Belfast met possibly their biggest speed-bump yet and cruised right over it, leaving the wreckage of the Elite League's discipline process in their wake, Manchester drove a nail into the coffin of any hopes the Vipers have of winning a title at the moment-certainly on the fan side (oh, and my pre-season tipping of them as a team to watch-really should have picked the Phoenix there). Let's run over the weekend in now traditional fashion, then...

Things We Learned This Weekend:

Bobby Robins + Malcolm McMillan + Paul Deniset = monster: People will talk about Paul Deniset's four goals, but by far the standout Belfast player, for me at least, is Bobby Robins. He scared the living hell out of the Blaze defence on Sunday with his strength and snarling-bulldog style of play, ably aided by the slightly smaller but even-fierier Malcolm MacMillan. Paul Deniset, while slightly more refined in his style (the rapier to the other two's club, if you will) did the same. People talk about Steve Thornton's dubious winner, but quite frankly the Giants had steam-rollered the Blaze already, with the three players above being most effective in doing so (Robins showing intent by plastering the 15lb-heavier and two-inch-taller Carlyle Lewis over the plexi like a fly on a windshield thirty seconds into the game, followed swiftly by MacMillan doing the same to Corey Leclair (a mere three inches taller and 23lb heavier) is as effective a message-sender as I've ever seen at a Blaze game)-if the Giants win the league this season, then these three players will be a massive part of them doing so. And as for the three of them on the same line-well, that's just a frightening thought if you're not fortunate enough to be their team-mates or a Belfast fan...

The appeals process is open to...manipulation: Steve Thornton. Game winner. 59:41. While technically serving a nine-game ban, delayed thanks to a useless appeal. Rick Kozak, possibly returning before his ban is served. An appeal process which is already under review. And the big teams seemingly able to manipulate the process at will, should they wish to. Would you like some bread soldiers to go with that egg on your face, Elite League?

Basingstoke need help: Ten games, ten losses. The Bison have, perhaps not been helped thus far by losing both Curtiss Patrick and Brad Cruikshank to suspension...but then, there are fifteen other players on the ice...

Edinburgh are a player away...from being a team to really reckon with. If they find a goalscorer to go with David Nimmo, Mark Hurtubise and Doug Christiansen, and/or someone who can pull the defence together and/or dispirit the opposition just by his efforts, such as an Adam Calder or a Steve Munn, then with two dangerous lines and arguably the best young Brits out there to back them up, there will be happy times up north.

Nottingham aren't perfect...but they are lucky:..because, seemingly, they have the ability to play badly and win-as witness their game in Edinburgh on Sunday night. That is the kind of team that wins championships. It remains to be seen, perhaps, whether Belfast are the same.

The worst is over for Hull: Yes, they lost twice. Yes, they've cut Jake Riddle. Yes, supposedly there's a bit of argument in the dressing room. But the Stingrays actually look like a team this time out, Konstantin Kalmikov was heavily under-rated while at the Panthers, and they have a team who appear to have more than just fighting in their locker...we shall see if the improvement continues over the next week or two.

Referees are never good, but when they're bad, it's better...because then any deed of your players, even up to and including sucker-punching someone in the face, stick in hand, and narrowly being prevented from landing a flying elbow, while skating halfway across the ice to do so, has an excuse...at least in the eyes of some. Watch out for Scott Kelman going after Evan Cheverie in the Sky game this week-and then try and work out just how frustrated at a ref's performance you'd have to be in order to do the same...I haven't managed to yet. However bad Michael Hicks is (and god, he's annoying) that's the first time I've ever seen him blamed for a targeted act of violence...

Manchester: team of many weapons: Offensive depth? You may rave about teams such as Coventry and Belfast, even Nottingham, but Manchester had ten players with at least one point in their game against Newcastle, on seven goals. It seems that the creative abilities are nicely spread out in Altrincham...

Live Elite League > televised NHL: Despite all the hoo-ha about the great games in Stockholm over the weekend, and despite me being a Pens fan, the highlight of my weekend was still a Sunday night at the Skydome-even if my team lost. You simply cannot beat live hockey for experiencing the game in Britain-anything else is just a poor imitation.

Goalies are insane: Yes, this is a fact every hockey fan and outskater knows, but I never really believed it until seeing Stevie Lyle smiling after taking a point-blank slapshot right in the five-holes...even with the protection, that would have the vast majority of hockey players blessing their equipment. Having checked it still existed...Lyle, on the other hand, simply stares up at a glowering Carlyle Lewis with a grin on his face, as if to say "more!"


And on that shocking truth, here ends tonight's review-tomorrow we'll plunge back into the club-v-country debate...

You'll come back-it's got to be better than working out the Elite League appeals process, surely?

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Mea Culpa

Apologies all-due to a nightmarish day at work, Round the Rinks has fallen by the wayside this week-you'll simply have to be satisfied with the preview of the weekend on the official EIHL site, which, if I'm honest, pretty much says what I was going to say anyway....in not quite as irreverent a manner, I feel, but the substance is there. I'm sure you'll all survive...:)

However, there will be a posting at some point over the weekend looking at the current state of play in the EIHL, as well as reacting to the cutting of Jake Riddle by Hull and maybe even previewing the games even as some of you are on the way to them. It also seems that the club-v-country debate, or at least my stance on it, has raised a few eyebrows, so I shall do my best to respond in a somewhat more coherent manner than the ranting of yesterday...

Once again, apologies...occasionally real life gets in the way and there just aren't enough hours in the day...

Thursday Thoughts: Figure-Watching.

I like reader feedback. Mainly because it lets me know how well (or badly) I'm doing. And I particularly like emails that point out errors or gaps in my knowledge or contest my viewpoint-a) because the ones I've got up until now have almost uniformly been the kind that are a pleasure to read even as they're saying "you're stupid-how did you forget this?" and b) because they feed ideas into my mind.

And here is another such email from long-time reader Adam in Manchester (he of the epic analysis of my points system for imports in March) responding to yesterday's Club v Country post. He says...

Hi Paul, When you say 'to a lesser extent' Manchester will be affected by this, did you actually look at our team? We will be without our starting netminder and a first line center and head coach and possibly a good D player if Boothroyd goes too! How is that 'to a lesser extent' affected!?! That means we're going to have to either sort cover out or put 'doesn't even look old enough to shave' Adam Summerfield in net! I know Belfast will have to ice Craze as well, but at least they aren't without a first line center and head coach! And making us even consider what would happen if Beauregard left - ouch Paul, ouch :)


Firstly-my shins are now black and blue for kicking myself-perhaps "to a lesser extent" works for player numbers but not their worth to a team...secondly, yes, maybe the Beauregard dig was a little cheap. :)

3rd, let's look at the GB squad and consider who plays where, numbers-wise, based on the Euro-Challenge team from last season....

As far as goalies go, it's simple. Belfast, Manchester, and Coventry. Two starters gone from the league in Lyle and Murphy, and a backup from Coventry. The Giants, however, can bring in Nathan Craze, who should arguably be a squad member himself...the Phoenix will feel the loss of Stephen Murphy more keenly than any other team or player in the squad-they will, as Adam says, need to draft in a replacement or give Adam Summerfield his big chance. To those saying this is madness, I give you three words...Mark, Lee, and Newcastle. Yes, the Phoenix may suffer, but in a league where very few British goalies get to play beyond the warm-ups night in, night out, Summerfield must be licking his lips-and he's guaranteed to have the whole crowd behind him that night willing him on.

D-men sees Coventry lose three from six, Belfast two from six, and the losses spread among the rest. Fairly evenly, since most Brit d-men in this league are paired with an import-the holes will be there but the real team affected by this will be Coventry-perils of having Jon Weaver...

Forwards are where the losses really get noticeable, with the likes of Tait, Shields, Hand and Phillips really hurting their teams by their absence. However, given that all the teams have lost key players by this point (with the possible exception of Hull) it can be argued that, far from some teams suffering and others getting off scot-free, all the teams are losing key players/contributors. It simply means that the young talent will be even more noticeable if and when they shine. Belfast and Manchester have the most right to complain by a long way, but far from looking at the negatives I'm still genuinely excited by the prospect of seeing how all teams will cope without, perhaps, the players they rely on in British terms-in Manchester and Belfast in particular, and to an extent in Coventry, the emphasis will be on team-play as a whole rather than simply which team has the best Brits or "best" individuals, imports being much of a muchness in this league apart from a few obvious exceptions. Certainly it will make life much more intriguing and throw a certain element of randomness into that weekend. Certainly any team that plays either Coventry or Belfast that weekend, even missing players of their own, will fancy their chances-and unpredictability, even if it's because your best players are away, is a good thing, right?

I know this is fairly short and fairly controversial, but so be it...have to nip out tonight...Round The Rinks will be on tomorrow evening, though...

Club vs Country...Midweek Musings

So, it's Wednesday, and there's not much happening in the British hockey world beyond the usual complaining about referees, arguments about wage caps and, somewhere, someone saying that the only way British hockey can survive is that if all imports are physically prevented from entering the country and blasting the Elite League with a torrent of such virulent xenophobia that Enoch Powell is wincing in his grave. All in all, a normal day.


Except there's another row rumbling around at the moment-that asking why the EIHL is continuing to play its games despite the GB team being away in Poland in November-a move which will see at least one weekend in which some teams will lose large chunks of their roster and (in some cases) some of their most skilled players. Naturally, fans of the teams most effective are almost uniformly against this, while those "for" it argue that the EIHL would be unpatriotic if it didn't release the players, they should be proud to represent their country and who cares anyway because it's only the Elite League and no-one cares about the Brits when they do play...


Me? I think it's a great idea to keep playing.


Let's look at the teams likely to be most affected: Coventry, Sheffield, Belfast, Nottingham, and to a lesser degree Manchester and Edinburgh, as well as piecemeal players taken from the other teams. That weekend will see some of these teams face each other with only their imports and any Brit not considered good enough or too young to go to Poland-but still making up the numbers. Not to mention the fact that all the "best" Brits, due purely to economic factors, have gravitated towards the team who pay them the most. Suddenly, we have two teams made up mostly of imports and a few token Brits facing each other in games that no-one can predict...a straight shoot-out between imports with a few young Brits brought in to shore up the numbers. And people are complaining about having to pay money to see this...

Hang on a minute. The last time we had a similar template for teams, it was called the Superleague, and 17,000 people once packed into the MEN arena to watch that. How is that suddenly an object of scorn just because the players are paid a little less now, or there's a few less foreign accents on the bench in these games? Aren't imports supposed to be be the only reason the standard of EIHL hockey is what it is? And if the young Brits everyone is so "dedicated" to seeing progress/love to watch don't get a chance to ice in the top league and prove themselves against top opposition with half the players who are being preferred to them away on international duty, just when are they going to? And just when are people going to get to see their "local lads" playing in the top league alongside the imports-the goal they all claim to be the ideal solution? There's no better chance for British kids to get noticed then then...

My view on whether there should be games that weekend in Britain, despite people whinging about their teams being "understrength" thanks to missing the few British players so far settled at the top level, is simple-and it comes mainly from the fact that there will be youngsters getting the chance of taking their places on the teams alongside their import role models and proving that the British kids belong there. And quite frankly, if you're not off with GB, and are not at least thinking of paying just to see if this is the case, then maybe you should get off your self-imposed "understrength = automatically inferior quality product" high horse and change your mind...you might even be glad you did. Win or lose.

As the crowd at the Houston Astrodome chanted to the Bad News Bears....

"Let them play! Let them play!"

On to other tidbits...

CHL: also stands for "Could Hastily Leave": Another player signed from the CHL has decided to go back Stateside after a month of hockey to get himself in shape. After Austin Sutter backed out on playing for Basingstoke before the season even began, Grant Jacobsen has put a 6'3 210lb-sized hole in Manchester's plans by doing the same just six games into the season...citing a "better offer". It would seem, going on thus far, that signing players from the CHL for supposedly lower wages than ECHLers, for this season at least, is turning out to be something of a false economy-it will be interesting to see if these are isolated incidents, the start of a trend, or just two players with a lack of loyalty. It'll be even more interesting to see how the Phoenix react-and just who they'll bring in. I'll now attract the wrath of every Phoenix fan by voicing the thought they're all desperately trying to squash "just how much would it affect them if David Beauregard does the same?"

Edinburgh hockey mourns...: as Glenda Horne, one of Scottish hockey's best known fans and the mother of Caps d-man and GB stalwart Kyle Horne, passed away on Saturday-marked by a two minutes silence at Murrayfield. Condolences from me to Kyle Horne and his family...

I know that's fairly short for a midweek...but tomorrow night will see Round the Rinks and IceTunes, so don't despair too much, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...