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.