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...