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!