Round the Rinks, November 28th

And so on we go...straight into the weekend preview...

Friday

It's Friday Night Lights time, as Belfast take on Coventry at the Odyssey in a game which, naturally, will be live this evening on www.giantslive.tv for the very reasonable outlay of a fiver...go to the site before the faceoff of 7pm and follow the instructions to register. Not only that, but you can also catch the highlights of all Giants games now on http://downtown.bigcityweb.co.uk/giants/, should you be elsewhere when the actual webcast is on...
With the Giants supposedly missing their top line and the Blaze smarting with the "phantom goal" in Bolzano (which, quite frankly, is looking less and less like one the more evidence becomes available), this is a good chance for the Blaze to get a rare win at the Odyssey. Trouble is, they're up against one of the deepest teams in the league-missing their top line is not going to hurt them as much as many others. It's going to be a good one...

Double Headers

Before going north to south and writing the same thing twice, let's look at the one double-header this weekend, as Sheffield play Basingstoke. Normally you'd say there's only one likely winner of this-the Steelers, strengthened by ex-Bison Brad Cruikshank, simply appear to have too much power on paper.
However, this is the Bison team who have recently beaten Coventry and Nottingham (twice) despite leaking imports left, right and centre, so quite frankly, anything could happen...particularly on the Saturday night in Basingstoke...

Saturday (North to South)

We start our trip in Murrayfield, for Edinburgh v Cardiff. This is a game the Caps need to win, and possibly can, despite the Devils being one of the form teams in the league since the arrival of new import Marc Fulton. With Michel Robinson now just a memory, and Pasi Raitanen proving that he has his very own fountain of youth in his back garden (how else do you explain his performances) the Devils will not take the Caps lightly...

Next on our journey down the country is Hull v Manchester, a game that would normally pass relatively unnoticed. However, tonight history could be made at the Hull Arena, as Tony Hand needs just one point to get his 4000th in domestic hockey-an incredible achievement. With the Stingrays being under-strength and the Phoenix being a team who have more than adequate offensive depth to take care of them, you can't really bet against the British Great One doing it, either.

Finally, with the Sheffield v Basingstoke games already dealt with on a seperate trip, our trip this Saturday night ends in the East Midlands, for Nottingham v Newcastle. Michel Robinson will make his Panthers debut, and the Vipers may well fancy their chances against the slumping Panthers...especially with master sniper Ed Courtenay lurking in the slot and the Panthers defence seemingly unable to prevent teams getting a lot of shots away...

Sunday (South to North)

Going back the other way, we go from the East Midlands to the West Midlands to start at Coventry v Newcastle, a game which always guarantees entertainment. The potential for hi-jinks will only be enhanced by Ed Courtenay's first meeting with the Skydome crowd since he left Belfast, Jeff Hutchins returning and Andre Payette being his usual self-the Vipers really are the team the Blaze fans love to hate. In terms of the actual game, however, it could be a good one-the Geordies are always strong at the Skydome and the Blaze need to get back to winning ways quickly to maintain momentum in the title chase...

Travelling further north we arrive in Altrincham for Manchester v Cardiff. This is one of those games that promises a little and usually delivers far more. Tony Hand will either be feted for having got his 4000th point, or for getting it during the game-two teams who are very similar in talent and style should mean that this party should well and truly go with a bang...

Finally, we end up in North Yorkshire for Hull v Belfast, with the Giants looking for revenge after the Stingrays shocked them on home ice last time out. This time round you have to back the Northern Irish side, especially with the Stingrays having several players missing in action, but the last result shows that this could still go either way...

There you are then...that's the weekend previewed to within an inch of its life...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings

Straight in. No messing today...I've been suffering a bit from writer's block recently, so I'm not going to waste time on an introduction

The EIHL equivalent of spilt milk: The Steal of the Century (Bolzano Foxes version) saga continues-there has been much debate over the past day or two among Blaze fans over the "goal that never was". Judge for yourself thanks to the photographic skills of Mark Tredgold...and the exhaustive analysis of Graeme Mulvaney (click backwards through the stream to see which outcome you agree with...but be warned that if you don't instantly say "goal" then you're somehow a poorer fan for it in the eyes of many.

For what it's worth, I think that the original decision of "goal" was the right one, now, based on such evidence (which, by the way, was the same two pics used on the Blaze site-I did them a dis-service on Monday with my comments about "using the same photo" for which I apologise). However, I can see where the doubt is-and thus the goal wasn't given. There will be days when it goes the other way. That's the nature of hockey...or karma, if you will. These things have a way of evening themselves out in my eyes...and deep down, everybody knows it.

Sunday November 23rd just wasn't the Blaze's day...and anyone who thinks that simply finds such misfortune easier to accept...

But, to misquote the Big Lebowski "that's just, like, my opinion, man...". And I shouldn't have to apologise for it.

Final word on it.

Laugh, Panthers fans...otherwise you will likely cry: Davis Parley (save percentage 88.8%, GAA 3.35) has been released by Nottingham, as a goalie change has been needed for some time there in the eyes of many. Naturally, his replacement has to come in quickly and inspire confidence in both his defence and the fans...

And so, this mythical figure who the Panthers believe will steady the ship is...

(drum-roll)

Michel Robinson. Ex of Edinburgh.

Save percentage: 87.8, GAA 5.29

That's nearly two goals more conceded a game.

That sound you hear is every single fan on the Cage Forum swallowing their own tongues in disbelief. With a backing track of pure, mindless joy from fans of every other team in the league.

This is either going to be one of the most inspired signings ever, or destroy the Panthers' season.

Well, let no-one say Corey Neilson doesn't have guts...

Words of Power: Already this season Bobby Robins has made an impact on the league with his style of play...a 205lb whirling dervish of a winger who has been one of the stand-out players in the league, never mind the Belfast Giants...

This, however, is not the main reason he's suddenly become my favourite player in the EIHL (although it's one of the major ones). After all, there are several players equally as good at his style of play (including the Blaze's own Danny Stewart).

It's something, in fact, about as far away from the ice as you can get.

The man has the soul of a poet. And, as someone else who finds joy in writing about this great game of ours and hoping to spread it to others, and plays the game, I read the post linked to with a sense of mounting amazement and joy...Bobby Robins can write about this game with the best of 'em.

I shall be back to the Robin's Nest, I think...and I urge you to go too...

Dulce et Decorum Est: And, continuing on the writing theme...those of you with any interest in the GB team may wish to have a read of this gem of a post over on Five Minute Major. It pretty much sums up how I feel about the GB system too...

I accept that this post is rather short, but I reckon there's enough in there for you to be going on with...

Double Overtime, 24th November

Hi all…apologies that there was no Round the Rinks on Friday-this was due to real-life getting in the way yet again this weekend. We’re back now though, and so come with me as we take the plunge into a weekend filled with success, failiure and even the odd bit of controversy home and abroad…

Isn’t it nice when things just….work?: There are a few things in life that give me pure, unadulterated pleasure. These include the company of a beautiful, intelligent girl (she knows who she is), autumn sunshine, the music of Sigur Ros and Arcade Fire (particularly the four minute slices of musical perfection that are “Hoppipolla” and “Wake Up” respectively) and the work of culinary genius that is Kendal Mint Cake. Another one, and the most relevant to this post, is seeing a result which sticks a finger right in the eye of the established truths of British hockey. We saw such a result on Saturday as Basingstoke came back from 3-0 down to beat Nottingham-in the process sending the Panthers out of the Challenge Cup and ensuring that we wouldn’t have to suffer either them or Sheffield in the semis. Why is this a good thing? Because it means that there may well be a different name on British ice-hockey’s premier cup competition this time round-further proof that, contrary to the line we’re fed year after year by some that there are some teams who just “don’t belong in the Elite League”, anyone can beat anyone-a situation which we are also beginning to see in the EPL after a few years of dominance from the M4 corridor of Guildford, Bracknell and Slough. And this, in turn, can only make the leagues more interesting.

And, let’s be honest: It’s always fun to see the Panthers brought down a peg or two, just for the overblown reactions on the Cage…

Well, no-one ever said MOM’s were objective:…Which would you pick as MOM, a goalie who lets in four goals on thirty shots, or a player who gets 3+1 and almost single-handedly carries his team to victory against a former club, despite his opposite centre also getting a hat-trick?

Well, you’re wrong, because, on Sunday night in Edinburgh, Stephen Murphy earned himself MoM over Tony Hand. Strangely, though, this lack of vision on the MoM only applied to the away side, as Andrei Rajcak was deservedly given MoM for his hat-trick, as he did his best but still couldn’t prevent his Capitals losing 6-4 to Manchester…

Those dirty foreigners-can’t trust ‘em: In the obligatory Continental Cup reference, we salute, in true British sporting fashion, yet another glorious British failure in European competition. Coventry had the chance to go into rarified territory of the Continental Cup Super Final after wins against Maribor and Dunaujvaros left them needing to beat the hosts, Bolzano (in their own rink) last night to qualify. With the Italians 1-0 up, Jonathan Weaver fired a shot from the blue-line which appeared to hit the back-bar of the net-the goal was given, despite no goal-light, and then, ten seconds later, washed out by the referee. Cue immediate yells of “cheat” from the Blaze fans. This would have made sense had any of the officials been Italian…however, none of them were-and the referee who made and then reversed his decision was, in fact, Danish. That’s not to say it wasn’t a bad decision, but more down to incompetence then maliciousness…

This paranoia appears to have even spread to the club-Geoff Foster, on the BBC commentary, was heard to mention that the slight delay in face-off caused by confetti being fired onto the ice could have been a premeditated attempt by the Italians to put the Blaze, who had started fast in their two previous games, off their rhythm. When Andy Buxton was asked about this, his reply was, and I quote “well, you never know with these foreign teams”.

Honestly, these foreigners would probably even stoop as low as flooding the away dressing room before a big game in order to put the opposition off. Oh, wait, that was the Blaze when they played Fife in a big playoff game, wasn’t it? Silly of me. But, as they said, you never know…

I can’t help thinking that on some level it’s karma for this-the Blaze have got away with a couple of dubious goals recently, most notably this one, which I wrote about at length, and typically, the hockey gods decide to even up the dodgy decisions at just about the worst possible time.

Then, of course, there’s the small matter of Blaze failing to convert powerplay after powerplay when given the chance…it can be argued that the true villains here aren’t the referees (after all, this was one shot) but the Blaze forwards, who despite playing superbly well in setting up chances, simply couldn’t take them when it mattered on this occasion…



If you're going to use pictorial evidence, pick one that works: Continuing on the "goal that never was-the Blaze have produced two articles on this. The pic in this one is Weaver's shot just before it hits the net (heading for the crossbar/top corner). This one is supposedly the puck hitting the net.



Except it shows a water bottle. The same one you can see on the left-hand-side of the net in the first picture. There's absolutely no puck in evidence there.



Now, the puck may well have hit the net. I wasn't there. But zooming in on one corner of the same picture and trying to assume that your fans won't know the difference in shape between a water bottle and a blurred puck is...well, a bit desperate, really.

Giants Players Do It The Hard Way: Possibly not the new bumper-sticker slogan for Belfast, but it’s undeniable fact-the Giants needed penalties to beat Sheffield at the Odyssey on Friday, in what was by all accounts a fine game to watch. They seem to be making a habit of winning ugly as well as skilfully in Northern Ireland, which is a deadly combination when it comes to championship ambitions…

Tell That Mick He Just Made My List Of Things To Do Today: Mick Holland, the much-maligned NEP Panthers correspondent (yes, he has a somewhat “individual” view of Panthers games but at least the man knows about the sport he watches, which is more than can be said for some of his readers) has managed to annoy just about everyone by saying that a Challenge Cup knockout stage lacking both Sheffield and Nottingham will mean there are no “well-supported teams” in the final stages. That’ll be apart from Coventry (2,000 average crowd, current EIHL champions, known for large away crowds), Belfast (average home crowd 4,000) or Manchester (known for having some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans in the league) then.

It’s generally accepted that neither the Steelers or the Panthers consider any other club in their league half as passionate or well-followed as theirs, but this is a bit ridiculous. Financially, it may make sense to say this isn’t the best outcome, but in terms of actually making people interested in what goes on, it makes a huge difference.

If you want to know what happens when the same “big” clubs contesting most trophies year after year does for the profile of a league, then I have two words for you. Scottish Football. Do we honestly want the EIHL to become the hockey equivalent of the SPL? I think not.

Obligatory Hull Stingrays Mention: They’re still losing (although, after taking Nottingham to penalties, they’re at least putting up a fight now). And Rick Strachan is still the most boring coach in the Elite League.

What Goes Up…: Saturday, as mentioned above, Basingstoke pull off another shock result against Nottingham…

…must come down:…before Cardiff dispose of them efficiently on Sunday…

And by the way…Cardiff are quietly putting something of a run of decent results together, aren’t they?

The Eagle Has Landed: Ed Courtenay is now in Newcastle. Just in time to come back to his spiritual home, the Coventry Skydome, this weekend. Where he will no doubt rise above the heckling. And be Newcastle’s main offensive threat.

One of those above predictions is true. You can work out which but I’ll give you a clue-it isn’t the first one.

Dave Simms Proverb of the Week: Those who can, play hockey. Those who can’t, write bad PR’s misquoting those who can. Ryan Finnerty, you have been warned. To avoid making yourself look like a complete muppet, just shut up and play now. Please.

Final Thought for Blaze Fans: The Continental Cup may be a nice foreign jolly, but it’s the winning the domestic competition which gets you there. Remember that before you dwell on the “goal that never was”.

And there you go…keep keeping your eye on the puck…

Continental Round the Rinks

"We've come here to pay our respects to Great Aunt Nellie. She brought us up properly and taught us loyalty. Now I want you to remember that during these next few days. I also want you to remember that if you don't come back with the goods, Nellie here will turn in her grave, and, likely as not, jump right out of it and kick your teeth in."

Noel Coward as Mr. Bridger: "The Italian Job"

It does exactly what it says on the tin, this post-it's a quick preview of the Continental Cup. Tomorrow will see the usual Round the Rinks, but let's cast our eyes to the mountains, from whence doth come three other teams all looking to stop the Blaze getting to Rouen in January. And, in homage to possibly the best British film ever, we shall introduce each team with a quote from, naturally, the Italian Job...

"You're only supposed to blow the (Maribors) off!" (Stavbar Maribor, Slovenia)
The easiest line to nick in the the film and possibly the most-quoted, goes to the Slovenians, Stavbar Maribor, who will be Blaze's first opponents. They are a young team, led by ex-Bolzano player Robert Ciglenečki, who is one of the few veterans on the team, along with the even older Aleš Starič. The majority of the team, though, are 24 or younger and are currently sitting at 4th in the Slovenian league. They're realistically not expected to qualify, but will need to be treated with caution and disposed of by the Blaze as quickly as possible on the Friday...


"But Mr. Bridger, what if the Professor's not bent?" "Camp Freddie, everyone in the *world* is bent!" (Dunaujvaros, Hungary)
Come on. What other line would you expect for a team that has three brothers called Kiss in their lineup, including a starting goalie (Tamasz). The Hungarians are sixth in their league at the moment, and are entirely composed of domestically-trained (and again, young) players. Well in the shadow of teams such as Alba Volan (who have been runners-up in this tournament three times) they are something of an unknown quantity to all present, but easily got through the qualifying stages in Romania. However, given that they were the only ones who had to qualify for even this group, they could well be scrapping with Maribor for pride rather than for qualification...

"You must learn, Keats, there are more things to life than breaking and entering." (Bolzano Foxes, Italy)
And so we come to the real dangers in the group. The hosts are the ones who Blaze will have to commit a smash-and-grab raid on to qualify, and face them on the Sunday in what could well be the group decider. The Foxes will meet some old friends as Carlyle Lewis returns to his old stomping ground with the Blaze and Sylvain Deschatelets faces old adversaries from his time in Fassa in 05/06. Meanwhile, there are a few familiar faces to British hockey on the Foxes roster-Blaze fans who were around in the time of the old Superleague will remember Pasi Hakkinen, who was the Nottingham Panthers backup in 2001/02. (behind Danny Lorenz, which should also give them an idea of his ability) Slightly newer Blaze fans, and indeed many British hockey fans, may remember Italian international Cristian Borgatello on defence, who had a fruitful season with the Dundee Stars in 2004/05 and impressed against EIHL opposition. Up front players to watch include the huge (6'5, 236lb) Josh Olson and the silky skills of Kenny Corupe, who is one of the stars of the Italian League, along with Ryan Jardine, who has played in both the DEL and the SEL in recent years, and looked a useful player when I saw him for Hamburg.

So, predictions...

In their home rink, the Foxes have to be favourites. The Blaze are coming off a bad weekend, but with jobs rumoured to be on the line, this weekend will have to see players prove their worth, or the exit door will begin to gape wider and wider at the Skydome.

Can the Blaze qualify? Yes. Will they? I'm not sure...I think Bolzano will be just too strong for them.

And there we are...tomorrow will see us return to domestic action for a preview of the EIHL weekend...

Double Overtime, 17th November

And so into another weekend review we go, where one team ended up on cloud nine, another crashed to earth and the goal-light bulbs burned out across the country on Saturday night. Stream-of-consciousness, here we come...

"Well, thanks for coming anyway...": Doug MacIver's game on Sunday for Cardiff against Sheffield lasted the sum total of...two seconds, as he dropped the gloves with Brad Cruikshank after two seconds, apparently (depending on who you believe) lost, and was then thrown out. Not bad for an import d-man. You sense this is a game he'll want to forget.

"Shutout" isn't in our vocabulary...: I said Nottingham v Belfast would be worth watching-and thirteen goals in sixty minutes, with the Giants winning it with the odd one, says I was right. Not a game for goalie or defence fans, but for the rest of us...wow. That's two teams with the offences right on the top of their respective games...

Reiter is German for "brick wall". 66 shots, 65 saves. A 4-1 win away at the reigning champions' rink. And a performance that was well and truly out of this world. Ignore all the Blaze fans saying that most of the shots were straight at him...on Sunday night, Basingstoke's Kevin Reiter produced possibly the best single-game netminding display ever seen in Britain. Bar none.

If you don't believe me, then simply watch this. And count them.

Kevin Reiter, we salute you.

In other news, the same people also applauded Beckham's red card because "the other guy deserved it": Staying with the Blaze, Saturday night in Sheffield saw a surreal moment. Blaze are 3-1 down and pushing hard with a few minutes to go, before Danny Stewart is called for a fairly blatant holding-the-stick penalty on Rod Sarich. He disputes this, and earns a ten-minute. He continues to dispute it, and is given a game misconduct. As he leaves the ice, leaving his team a man-down and conceding a powerplay, large sections of the Blaze crowd give him a standing ovation. And not sarcastically either.

Not the Midlanders' proudest moment, that.

Oh yes, and Rob Dowd made it 4-1 from the resulting powerplay.

Sometimes, admitting you're wrong is the only thing you do right: Finally in this weekend of woe in Coventry, there's the saga of the faceoff change that never was. At the Skydome last night, it was announced that the Blaze would be moving their Sunday faceoffs to 5.15 "to be more child-friendly." This despite the fact that their faceoff time has been 6pm for eight years, and it never seemed to be an issue before. Until, that is, you decide you want your rink turned into a creche.

I'm not going to launch into an essay about how this went down, simply refer you to this thread.

Anyway, after a universal reaction of "yeah, right, that's us gone" from the fans, the Blaze hastily back-tracked at 10.20 this morning. And fair play to them. About the only thing they've managed to do right in the whole mess...

Fan power works. Occasionally...

Belfast Giants games-now with free medication!: Stevie Lyle won the battle of the GB goalies...barely, as Belfast beat Manchester 4-3 on Sunday. This after they'd beat Nottingham 7-6 in the NIC the night before. They may not be able to defend hugely well at the moment, but as long as the Giants keep scoring, they could be right back in the title chase very quickly indeed after two huge wins, both by one goal. Rumours that heart-trouble has risen sharply in Northern Ireland as a result of this are, however, unconfirmed.

Well, at least the football team are doing well: A quick comment on the basement battle...Edinburgh Capitals seven, Hull Stingrays 3. Curtis Cruickshank must be scouring the "goalie wanted" ads like a man possessed right about now. And Rick Strachan must be wondering just what he has to do to win himself a game. Again.

And that's your lot...I know it's a bit short but real-life has intruded today...

Round the Rinks, November 14th

It's weekend preview time! But first, a little digression or two to mop up some loose ends.

"So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye...": It's been a week for player departures in the EIHL, with Marek Ivan leaving Newcastle today (wow-we never saw that one coming), and Joe White and Curtiss Patrick leaving Basingstoke (clearly, the financial problems haven't finished biting down south...

"God, I'm glad that's over...": That's an actual quote from a member of the crowd after his team (Coventry) had just won 6-1 against Hull, and should tell you all you need to know about the game, really. So I'll leave it there.

"There's still hope!": Meanwhile, in Nottingham, the good Panthers turned up to beat Cardiff 4-1, knocking them out of the CC cup in the process. Amazingly, though, Hull can still qualify...and I'm sure we're all rooting for that to happen...

Reply and Musical Interlude:

"And all I (all I) Need to know (need to know) Is that I'm something you'll be missing"

Taking Back Sunday: "You're So Last Summer"

Perhaps this is worth a post on its own, but my all-Underrated team has raised a little comment, with Neil and Sally both commenting that perhaps Deschatelets is only under-rated because he plays on a team with Adam Calder and Dan Carlson. They may have a point-as at this level you could probably put a trained monkey (or, as it's known in the EIHL, "Andre Payette") on a line with those two and they'll put up good numbers.

However, I counter with the fact that, if you ask the average EIHL-watcher (ie those who just follow their teams, without watching the league as a whole, which is probably most of them, certainly in Coventry) to make a list of the top players in this league, Deschatelets would be way down it, undeservedly. After the two Dans (Carlson and Tessier) he's probably the best creator in this league, but is just never mentioned as being vital to a team-even in Cardiff he played in the shadow of Brad Voth and Jason Silverthorn.
The man is pure, grade A quality. And for some reason, he just never seems to get the coverage or praise for doing pretty much exactly the same as the "superstars" do night-in, night out. Whereas even Curtis Huppe was known throughout the league as a goalscorer...

To me, he is proof that "good on a bad team" is not the only definition of "underrated". Sometimes, being one of the crucial links on a great team but not getting praised for it is just as bad.

And on that note-on to the weekend preview. Let's go north-to-south by arena and back again this week...

SATURDAY:

We start on Humberside, where Hull face Cardiff in a game the Devils should win-both teams need to bounce back from midweek losses against tricky opposition, but I get the sense this game will not exactly be the most hotly-anticipated of the weekend...

Moving down to South Yorkshire, we have a game that just might have a few people looking forward to it...first plays second at the Hallam Arena as Sheffield take on Coventry. This is the kind of game even Dave Simms can't complain about-it's sure to have two teams at the top of their game facing each other with neither willing to give an inch. Fire up the hype machine...

...and kick it into overdrive as we travel just down the M1 to the NIC. In any other weekend Nottingham v Belfast would be a huge draw. Two of the best-skating teams in the league meet in a battle to gain some ground on the leading pair while at the same time stamp on the other team's fingers as they climb the ladder towards the top spot. This game will be worth watching. There is simply no question of it not being a good game in my eyes, and if this were next weekend, I'd likely consider making the trip to the NIC to watch it with the Blaze in Bolzano...

Finally, we end up in Hampshire for Basingstoke v Edinburgh. Although, unless you're Bison or a Capitals fan, you probably won't have travelled this far south on our hypothetical journey by choice...a state of affairs which is perhaps a little harsh on these two teams, but undeniable fact when you compare this game to the two big ones on offer...this one may pass in relative obscurity, but it could still provide some entertainment if you're down that way...

SUNDAY

On our journey back up north along the EIHL game trail this Sunday, we stop off first in South Wales for the interesting prospect of Cardiff v Sheffield, a game which has the potential for fireworks of both the goalscoring and glove-dropping varieties. Two teams who have a equal mix of skill and speed should provide a feast of fun at the Big Blue Tent...

...a prospect which, sadly, can't be said of our next stop-the Skydome. Coventry and Basingstoke meet in a game which, given the current relative status of the two clubs, will be seen by some as almost a warm-down after the Blaze's exertions in Sheffield the previous night. However, if you've ever seen a nature programme you'll know that Bison, when cornered, sometimes stop being easy prey for the lions and spring a shock or two themselves. And that's why the Blaze team and fans, like the lions, have learned to be cautious of the wounded Bison...

Travelling further north, we come to Altrincham, for the tantalising fixture that is Manchester v Belfast. This is the game of the night by some distance-with the Phoenix having, yet again, the chance to prove they belong among the top teams and the Giants looking to keep breathing down the necks of Coventry and Sheffield. The offensive talent on show, coupled with the battle between the two top British goalies, means that there are enough storylines in this game to keep even the best soap-opera jealous...

We then travel on to Tyneside, where Newcastle face Nottingham in a game chiefly notable for being Ed Courtenay's Vipers debut. Apart from that, there's not much you can say...it's certainly not the biggest draw this Sunday night, and even the star-power of the EIHL's Bergerac returning can't make it so...

Finally, we end up in the Scottish capital, for Edinburgh v Hull. It's fair to say that, once again, the last stop on our trip will have the least people staying with us for it...however, the few hardy souls that do shouldn't feel too bad-there's vital points in the basement to be won, and that means the game should be full-blooded if nothing else....

And there you go-that's the weekend previewed, once again, to within an inch of its life...

Midweek Musings

Welcome to another Midweek Musings! With yesterday being Remembrance Day, I did consider having a theme of remembering past glories, now-disappeared teams and epic moments of putting the team before yourself in the Elite League era (and trust me, anyone who was at the Skydome in 2004/04, the night that Jeff Burgoyne took a slapshot full in the unmentionables at point-blank range in order to prevent his Cardiff team conceding a goal, is now looking back with due respect, or, if they’re male, with their legs crossed). Then, I remembered two things:

This is the Elite League, where the vast majority of owners will stretch morals to breaking point, can’t even keep to a wage-cap they themselves have agreed and generally bitch and whine at each other in the press whenever they get the chance (see: Sheffield Steelers at Cardiff Devils).

Furthermore, British ice hockey has a long history of losing teams (to the point where this post would probably reach into several thousand words), dropping teams and two leagues where certain teams are run more with an eye on the “big-fish, small-pond” model of success rather than the “let’s give the fans the best level we can” model that professional teams should ideally be run on (see: Guildford, Slough, and historically Fife)

Hardly a shining beacon of togetherness, camaraderie and “doing the right thing”, now, is it? Plus, it just seems a little tacky.

And so, instead, and now that every team has played every team as far as I'm aware...it's time for the players that aren't stars and should be. Yes, it's the All-Under-rated All-Stars part 1....

GOALIE:
Stephen Murphy (Manchester): I know I wrote a whole post about just why Stephen Murphy wasn't an Elite League goalie back when he signed for Manchester, but I'll say this for the guy-he does have a knack for making the puck hit him, and the Phoenix's fine form is in no small part down to him...

DEFENCE
Josh Garbutt (Manchester): I picked Omar Ennafatti in this spot last year, but this time round, I'm confident that the Phoenix fans will actually agree with their d-man's inclusion. Quite frankly, if I could I'd stick the whole bunch of the Phoenix in here, since there's nothing to choose between Kenton Smith, Garbutt and Alex Dunn, but Garbutt just seemed to stand out a little more for me-whenever there was a forward loose in front of the net, it seemed to be Garbutt who'd get his stick in or deliver a perfectly-timed shove to move him...

Jason Stone (Cardiff): A British hockey legend, and a perennial UAS, even the Devils fans don't always notice their long-serving number ten mopping up on the blue-line. But he does, and he does it oh so well, too. What's more, he's so calm, you wonder sometimes if his heart is still beating...

FORWARDS

Sylvain Deschatelets (Coventry): Another return for my favourite Blaze player. Cardiff fans in particular may find it surprising that there have been calls to release him this season amongst the Blaze faithful, with vociferous debates going on over whether he's worth the position he's got. Interestingly, those same people are the ones praising Barrie Moore's recent return to form to the skies. Is it a coincidence that this has come since he's been paired with the quiet, unassuming, yet hawk-eyed French-Canadian with the hands of silk to feed Moore in the space to release his deadly wristshot? Somehow, I think not.

Matt Reynolds (Hull): If this guy were playing with a Dan Carlson or a Dan Tessier, then we'd probably be mentioning him in the same breath as David Beauregard and Adam Calder. He's outshone Rick Kozak by far with a tenth of the hype, and will definitely be a player I keep an eye on when the Stingrays come to town....

Danny Stewart (Basingstoke): This guy, along with Greg Chambers, has been carrying the Bison on his young shoulders for the greater part of this season. He appears to have formed something of an understanding with his linemates which has allowed him to lever himself into second in scoring on the team and one of only two players in double-figures for goals (although Matt Miller is scoring a goal a game since his arrival and could be worth keeping an eye on, especially since he and Trevor Read are combining after playing last season together in Amarillo)

Two Games in Two Minutes:
Let's get both One-Minute Previews out of the way in one go, shall we? There are two midweek games this week, as Coventry face Hull and Nottingham take on Cardiff

Blaze v Stingrays: The GB Bunch are back for the Blaze, and will be looking to prove that they are still vital to the team after they weren't hugely missed against Newcastle over the weekend, mainly thanks to an Adam Calder double on Saturday, and a pair of solid games from JF Perras. The Stingrays, meanwhile, are hoping to bounce back after a nightmare of a game on Saturday against the Capitals. If I'm honest, though, tomorrow night is not the night it's going to happen, at least not in my eyes-the Blaze may be run close by Rick Strachan's suffocating brand of trap hockey but will ultimately have too much class for the Humbersiders...

Nottingham v Cardiff: Thursday at the NIC should see a far more open game between the Panthers and the Devils, as one team looks to get going again off a break, and the Devils try and build up a head of steam for a push up the league. Winning in the NIC would be an ideal way to do this, and provide the Sky cameras with something of a story...however, anyone tuning in on Friday can be assured they'll get a decent show...

And that's your lot for this Wednesday...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 10th November

So here we go-GB’s great Olympic adventure is over for another year, the weekend as a whole didn’t suffer hugely due to missing players (although certain teams, Manchester especially, did) and there were even a few departures and returns. In true rambling style, let’s plunge into a review of the weekend, GB and all.

It’s not often an 11-1 win is described as “too little, too late” but in this case…: GB have finally made us proud. With nothing on the line they cut loose, played like tigers and found the net eleven times against a Romanian side who didn’t even have pride to play for, having already been tanked by Japan and Poland (two teams who, irrespective of the fact that the games against “our boys” were a lot closer and, if you’re of the rose-tinted opinion, “GB were unlucky to lose” beat GB too).
I can’t help feeling that the British national side have just about reached their level for the moment, at least until the current crop of youngsters (who in Rob Dowd, Ben O’Connor and others show some players who could actually become genuinely great British players, examples of which are, in my eyes, Tony Hand, the Coopers, possibly Ronnie Wood and…erm, that’s about it) mature properly, dual-nationals or no dual nationals. There has been much hand-wringing recently over the perceived lack of interest in GB from UK hockey fans. This is probably going to be an unpopular view-but with British hockey in the state it’s currently in, why should anyone seriously expect anything more than the “gallant losers” tag currently hanging over the team-the GB press office can keep churning out those optimistic press releases about how great the mood is and how happy people are to be involved until hell freezes over, but the results on the ice still see GB lose to teams who, realistically, have a similar hockey pedigree as far as their international teams go. even supposed “second-tier” European nations like France, Austria and Italy would, at the moment, slaughter our national side.
Aye well. At least they tried.

If you need a scapegoat, then an import you hyped to the skies is as good as any: Newcastle have released Tyler Willis after the Vipers’ double-header loss to Coventry this weekend. Which makes the person who picked him as MoM on Saturday look like they either have a spectacular sense of irony or, more likely, saw something in his huffing, puffing but consistently ineffective efforts to do something worthwhile and justify his hype that no-one else did.
The last time someone failed this spectacularly to do the job they were brought in for, the words “Northern Rock” or “One True Voice” (for you pop culture addicts) were involved…

Meanwhile, Rob Wilson’s attempts to annoy every single Viper fan before the end of the season continued as planned: And so, naturally, the Vipers have a replacement for Tyler Willis lined up. With the decision to release Willis already being heavily questioned, Rob Wilson adds to his signing of Ed Courtenay (a player known for not having the greatest attitude towards referees, and being hated by opposition fans for that almost as much as his scoring skills) by asking Jeff Hutchins to return (a player known for having something of a cocky attitude, being released by several coaches (including Wilson himself) because of it, and being hated by...erm, everybody. Good work, Rob.

And, just to confirm, I am now officially off the "Vipers can win the title" bandwagon. The wheels have come off it in a big way.

Somewhere, it's "one of those nights" every night, Rick: Rick Strachan has put Edinburgh's 6-1 thumping of his team on their home ice down to the fact that "it was just one of those nights" in the Hull Daily Mail. Which is perhaps a fair point, until you bear in mind that, whatever players he has in front of him, Rick Strachan teams seem to have more than their fair share of "those nights". On Wednesday they come to Coventry. We can but hope for yet another one of those "Strachan nights"...


Crash...: Kyle Bruce destroys Randy Dagenais at the end of Sheffield-Manchester on Sunday...

Bang...: While Brett Clouthier does the same to Andrew Sharp...

...and wallop:...and Brad Cruikshank also gets involved in a bit of a ruck at the end of the game. Who said the Wars of the Roses were history?

And yes, I still think the Phoenix are the real thing this season...

Disturbing Quote of the Week: From a mature, normal, intelligent lady (the mother of one of my friends, in fact) comes this absolute diamond of disturbia: "That Marek Ivan-he's quite hot, isn't he?" Yes. If you like cold, unfeeling zombies, maybe he is. I can guarantee there will not be a more mystifying comment in the Skydome this season...and if you stand listening to some of the stuff people who supposedly "know the game" post on forums or shout at their own players during the game, you'll know there's some competition for that honour...
But each to their own...

What's that rumbling noise?: It might be the Cardiff Devils finally waking up...demolishing Basingstoke away from home isn't going to set the league alight by a long shot, but it's like a rumble of thunder in a clear sky-you start wondering how long the storm will take to break.

What's Swiss French for "taking the piss?": Just to make Nottingham fans feel really good about losing to Geneva by some distance in their friendly (5-2), here's the last sentence of the Geneva match report...


"To note, the second Panther goal was scored into an empty net as the Eagles were practising their 6 on 5 playmaking!"


So, to get this straight, in the middle of a game against Nottingham, the Genevans felt so comfortably on top that they pulled their goalie on purpose while leading, just in order to practice playing 6 on 5? I'm sorry, but that just made me giggle. And should burst the bubbles of a Panthers fan or two...:)

There you go then-the weekend summarised in five minutes or less...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Weekend Thoughts and Round the Rinks, 7th November

A slightly different format to Round the Rinks this week...mainly because it'll go all stream-of-consciousness on you before the weekend preview:

Blaze Legend to Return?: Coventry are making much of the fact that, with GB nicking many of their defence this weekend, a Blaze legend is returning to play his final two games for the club against Newcastle before retiring. In other news, they've also announced that James Pease is lacing up his skates again to help out with the lack of bodies on D.

OK, OK, you can stop wincing now. I didn't mean it.

It will be nice to see the Blaze #2, or #4, or #22 (depending on how long you've been part of his Blaze career) play one more time in his second-skin of a Blaze shirt. Although I advise anyone coming to the Skydome on Saturday to brace themselves for the inevitable moronic yell from some Blaze fans of "shoot!" every time he gets the puck, including behind the goal at his own end. He doesn't score often, people. No need to make him a national hero because of it...just let the bloke do his job.

Having said that, if he does score, then I'll be going mad with the rest of 'em.

GB Pay the Penalty: Bad headline, I know. The game tonight wasn't bad though (I'm already hunting the internet for a Tomasz Proskiewicz Poland shirt, as he was superb for the home team) and if it hadn't been for a superb performance from Rafal Radzisziewski in goal (yes, I just like typing it) then we could be celebrating a GB penalty win. However, one point will do nicely going into the game against Japan, especially after Poland were leading with three minutes to go.

For the record, the scorers were:
David Clarke (GB, with a bolt from the blue-line)
Maciej Urbanowicz (Poland, with another beauty of a slapshot)
Kryszstof Zapala (Poland, with a huge assist from the skate of Dave Phillips to put it in)
Danny Meyers (GB-skated in from the blue and roofed it over Radzisziewski's left shoulder)

Penalties:
Phillips (GB) missed
Slabon (Poland) scored
Clarke (GB) missed
Proskiewicz (Poland) missed
Chambers (GB) missed

Poland win 3-2.

And now, with that out of the way, shall we consider the domestic action?

Double-header heaven!: Well, not quite, but there are two of them, involving first and third. Oh, and Sheffield too. Let's consider them individually...(italics are home team on Saturday)...

Manchester v Sheffield (Sheffield): There's been a bit of a hoo-ha this week, with Tony Hand bemoaning the loss of his starting goalie to GB duty and also the fact he can't bring in a replacement. Although, given that last time the replacement was Stephen Fone, who will be sat, no doubt, on the Coventry bench, you wonder just why this time it hasn't been allowed, especially as Belfast have got their games cancelled at short notice, which leaves a perfectly capable potential loanee in Nathan Craze sat kicking his heels in Northern Ireland. Still, Adam Summerfield will play against a Sheffield team missing several stars of their own on the forward lines. Does this even itself out? Maybe, maybe not. Certainly Sheffield are claiming it does. The War of the Roses could be even harder-fought than usual this weekend, but you have to pick Sheffield to win. Just...

Coventry v Newcastle (Coventry): Meanwhile, down south, it's outskaters that are the issue. The Blaze are missing three of their six d-men, and the Vipers are missing their captain in Dave Longstaff, as well as a few others...However, there's a few decent players left on both sides-the question is, can Andrew Verner hold off the Blaze attack long enough for the crashing and banging to have some effect? I reckon this could be a split, with both teams winning their home games.
I just hope Marek Ivan doesn't score...

Now for the other three games. For the record, I'm not considering Nottingham v Geneva as, basically, it's a friendly arranged so that Panthers can still get the money from a home game without losing any points, or an attempt to have your cake (ie Panthers play and thus get income) and eat it (while at the same time not having to ice a weakened team in league play). And thus not really of interest to the league as a whole. Sorry, Panthers fans, but that's the way I see it.

Basingstoke face Cardiff in what is shaping up to be a nice little rivalry this season, while the final Saturday game sees the battle of the improving basement-dwellers as Hull face Edinburgh. This could be a very good example out of making a silk purse out of a game involving two teams who've made a right pig's ear of things up until now. Will Pasi Raitanen (in a return to one of his old stomping-grounds) be enough to lift the Caps past a Hull team who, since Konstantin Kalmikov has arrived, appear to have learned how to score (Matt Reynolds being the main beneficiary of the Russian's arrival).

Sunday sees just the one game outside of the two double-headers, as Cardiff make one of the longest trips in British hockey-from Hampshire to Midlothian, and face Edinburgh. This should be arguably the least-anticipated game of the weekend (although Saturday in Hull will run it close), and thus the Devils will hope to complete a quietly efficient four-point weekend. With Pasi in goal, though, the Caps may have exactly the same ambition...either way, it could be a hidden gem of a game.

There you are, then...that's your weekend previewed to within an inch of its life...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

International Midweek Musings

"Leaving...on a jet plane..."



With GB heading off to Poland now for the pre-qualification for the Olympic qualifiers (well, no-one ever claimed we were a hockey nation) this Midweek Musings will completely ignore domestic hockey in favour of a quick guide to this weeks International action...



Firstly...where in the hell is Sanok?: It's a small town (38,000 or so inhabitants) in south-eastern Poland, down by the border with Hungary. And here is the arena. Whitley Bay on a bad day, anyone? Local attractions include the San River, Poland's largest bus company (Autosan) and a castello. So, a thriving metropolis, and the ideal place to hold an international ice-hockey tournament...no, really.


Who are the opponents?: Hockey superpowers all! GB will face Romania, Japan, who are mostly famous in ice-hockey for this moment....and Poland, the host nation. Who, by the way, have a commentator's nightmare of a roster. Let's look at the teams individually, shall we?



Romania: I can actually proudly boast of having seen the Romanians play in Britain, thanks to them facing the Coventry Blaze way back in the mists of time and drawing two-all at the Skydome. Their roster has changed a little since then, but their talisman, Jozsef Adorjan, is still playing for them at the age of 33, along with the even older Attila Borsos (35) and 36-year-old Levente Elekes. In Arpad Mihaly they have a geniunely dangerous power-forward who has spent time in the AHL and ECHL during his career (proper time, scoring 26 goals in 05/06, not just one game), and was top-scorer for Bolzano last season. Certainly they could trip GB up and should not be ignored...

Japan: Arguably the best team in the group, the Japanese players, with one exception (LA Kings goalie Yutaka Fukufuji) play domestically, and are probably the favourites to go through. If I were honest I'd tell you I have absolutely no idea who the star players are, apart from the obvious Fukufuji. However, GB have beaten Japan in the past, so this game is winnable...

Poland: And so, the host nation. And yes, these are real names, I haven't just leaned on my keyboard.
Starting at the back, the Poles have a giant in goal in the 6'4 Przemyslaw Odrobny, the 6'2 Adam Borzecki in front of him and 6'3, 212lb Tomasz Proszkiewicz pounding up the middle. This, then, is not a team built from speedsters. Apart from Borzecki they all play domestically. They also have the oldest player in the group in 37-year-old Sebastian Gonera, who is a year older than Polish national hockey hero Mariusz Czerkawski (you may know his name if you've seen any NHL in the past few years), who appears as the somewhat vaguely-defined "team leader". Their coach, however, is a Swede (and ex-Cardiff Devil) Peter Ekroth. This is the game GB need to win if they want to have any hope of progressing.

What about our boys?: It's the usual suspects in the GB team, although Rob Dowd is rewarded for a scorching start to the Elite League season by being included in the squad for the first time as the only "new" player in the squad-many of the others have been seen in a GB shirt before. Stevie Lyle and Stephen Murphy fight it out for the goalie spot, while Greg Owen returns from his French adventure to centre one of the lines. He is also the only member of the squad not to come from the Elite League this season...

Can GB qualify?: Yes. But they have to, in my opinion, win all three games. Do anything else and that group is so evenly matched that any one of the four combatants can go through.

Where can I find out what's going on?: BBC Coventry have live coverage of all three games on the Internet. All you need is to go to the Coventry and Warwickshire section of the BBC site.

That's all you need to know...apart from the first game (v Poland) is 6:30 tomorrow night.

Go on, Great Britain...

Double Overtime, 3rd November

It’s Double Overtime time again…and with shocks, shushing, tit-for-tat sniping between fans off the ice and troubled teams trouncing table-toppers on it this weekend, there’s a fair bit to consider…

This week’s entry to the “things you never saw coming” club: Belfast Giants 3, Hull Stingrays 6. Be honest-how many of you would have predicted that before the start of the weekend? I predicted that Hull would run them close, but that’s a fair bit better than that..

And from the “Muppet Awards”: Jade Galbraith, who, after scoring the second shot in the penalty shots competition in Coventry on Sunday to put his Nottingham team ahead, decided to skate in front of the whole Blaze bench (and the crowd behind, who are notorious for giving the opposition players a warm welcome) with his finger to his lips. Needless to say, Sylvain Deschatelets scored the next penalty (cue a few return “shush” gestures) and Adam Calder then proceeded to win the shootout after Tessier, Moore and Molin all missed. And did the Panthers winger get reminded of his cocky gesture moments earlier? Yes, by a few thousand people. Jade, not only do you have a silly name, not only do your own fans think you’re fat and slow, but you made yourself look a prize pillock as well. Congratulations, sir. Andre Payette couldn’t have done it any better.

“the chances are a million to one…yet still, they come”: With apologies to Jeff Wayne’s “War of the Worlds”…the Manchester Phoenix. Now up to third, three points off the lead, with two games in hand on second. True greatness is seldom noticed until it’s too late…

It’s the Cage Forum equivalent of “bread and circuses”: Surprise. The Panthers lose in Coventry, and rather than discuss the game (which wasn’t bad at all, by the way) the Cage Forum are pontificating about just what scumbags Coventry fans are in general, and how their delicate ears are offended by the voice of the Blaze’s pet DJ John Dalziel, with the usual suspects coming up with the usual bile about the city, the education system, the people and God only knows what else. Now, I freely admit that there’s a minority of the Blaze fanbase which gives us a slightly chequered history, and there are still people in the Skydome who don't exactly conduct themselves well (just like everywhere else) but good God, Nottingham, please give it a rest now. Or come to the Windmill pub on Spon Street before a game-the Panthers fans surrounded by Blaze fans in there seemed to be enjoying themselves perfectly well...or does that not fit the stereotype?
Complain to the club, loud and often, make them listen (as they do already, to be fair) rather than all being Monday morning stewards, and get over it.
Interestingly, this has even overshadowed discussion of their win against Manchester, which despite nicking them points showed more problems with their rearguard, the inconsistent Davis Parley in particular. But hey, as long as the masses can blame another fanbase for their troubles, it saves them acknowledging that Nottingham is perhaps not the hockey centre of the universe.

But then, I’m clearly just a scumbag chav who has only just learned to walk upright and can only speak spitting expletives at defenceless women and children supporting the opposition. I must be, because that’s what people on the Cage Forum think of Coventry fans, and they never generalise, do they?

If your team leaks goals, if no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire…Pasi: The Finnish Bear has done it again up in Edinburgh...well, along with Jeff Hutchins. Only this time, he's not even playing. Coming in as backup to Michel Robinson, suddenly the beleagured Caps starter has earned himself two MoM performances in two days, first only being worn down in the last ten minutes against Sheffield for a scoreline which by all acounts was unfairly lopsided based on his play, and secondly leading the Caps to a 6-3 win against Newcastle.
Too little, too late, Michel...

Ill-Judged Fashion Statement of the Week: Johan Molin’s skates. Click the link, and it's the third pic on the top row. Proof that when it comes to making people question your sex-life while playing ice-hockey, the Swedes have no equal. After all, they did this too…which incidentally may be the greatest incidence of heckling ever, as well as the only time you'll see the words "dildo", "obscene banner" and "giant inflatable penis" in a hockey match report.

Well, unless you're reading the Cage Forum reporting on a Panthers/Blaze game at the Skydome, perhaps.

Hutchy Watch, or Oxymoron of the Week: Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Jeff Hutchins being described as modest. (it's about halfway down the page) In other news, hell has just frozen over.

Yes, I know it's a fairly short review, but so be it. After all, I didn't particularly want to kick the Bison when they're down...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...