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...