Monster! Double Overtime + Tuesday Thoughts

Apologies to all those of you who have already logged on expecting a Double Overtime this week-I got back from an Internet-less Sheffield a day later than planned as a two-day trip turned into a three-and-a-half day trip. Still-included in it was a highly enjoyable Steelers-Panthers meeting, so I'm claiming I was "working" for at least some of the time...scouting Jon Coleman and Eric Nelson as they made their Panthers debuts (Nelson, by the way, has the worst piece of facial hair I've seen watching in Britain-it even beats Joe Tallari's moustache).

Any-way...on we go with team by team and a few random extra thoughts...

Basingstoke: Drawing with Hull and scaring the hell out of Coventry? Not bad, but for a weakened team who are still nowhere near a full roster, it could have been so much better, especially with the KO Cup Semi now on a knife-edge as the Bison travel to Hull...by all accounts it appears tiredness was a major factor in losing the two-nil lead gained early on Sunday night at the Skydome. Saturday's draw is more important in the scheme of things, however, as it keeps both the Bison and the Stingrays still in with a chance of silverware this season...
Grade: C-

Belfast: "One step forward, thirty yards back". So sing the Wombats in "Moving to New York", and it's a pretty good summary of the Giants' weekend-losing to Coventry in OT on Saturday before the Phoenix did the Blaze a huge favour on the Sunday with a thumping 6-3 win that definitely puts the Phoenix on the current champions' Christmas card list (there you go, Becky..:)). The Giants now need to regroup fast after this nightmare of a weekend-beaten by two teams who played extremely well, they need to get back to winning ways almost immediately in order to keep up the chase for the title...
Grade: D-

Cardiff: Poor old Devils...they just can't buy a win at the moment. Nottingham were the latest beneficiaries, putting five past the returning Phil Osaer on Sunday. The rest of the league season is a perfect chance for the Devils to rehabilitate all their injured in time for the playoffs, but I have a feeling there is still a loss or two to come by the Bay-what a difference three months makes...
Grade: D

Coventry: Phew. The title chase is back on course despite Jonny Weaver sustaining a broken foot-two come-from-behind wins show that, if the form has dipped, at least the will to win hasn't. Curtis Huppe will have enjoyed scoring against his former employers to set up the OT win on Saturday night, and Sunday was another brick in the title wall against the resilient Bison. Weaver's injury could be crucial to the next month's action, however...how will Blaze cope without one of their "big five" offensive threats?
Grade: A

Edinburgh: The playoff miracle is still on...just. A 4-1 win against the Vipers will have brought hope back to the Scottish capital while at the same time annoying those just south of the border. With Hull losing even more ground and Bison suffering a defeat in Coventry, the Caps have gained two crucial points in the race for the last playoff spot...
Grade: B+

Hull: The league is slipping away from the Stingrays-another loss to Sheffield on Sunday, however heroic, pushes the Humbersiders ever further into wooden-spoon territory. However, a battling draw on Saturday in the KO Cup means that, incredibly, the Rays still have a chance of reaching a final this season-all they need to do is beat the Bison at home in the return leg...
Grade: C+

Manchester: On behalf of every hockey fan in the Sky Blue City...thank you, Phoenix. The Mancunians played only one game this weekend, but what a belter it was-sticking six past the league's form team while only conceding three in reply thanks to a performance which, from the look of Becky's comment on the post below, has already made Steve Fone a hero in Altrincham. Let's not lose sight of the fact that, as well as having an impact on the title race, this win has done no harm at all to the Phoenix's position-and this is why they earn the highest grade of the week...
Grade: A+

Newcastle: Oh, dear. Another loss. New signing Burt Henderson couldn't prevent the Vipers crashing to Edinburgh on Sunday-Rob Wilson admitted his team were outworked by the Scots as they appear to have pressed the cruise control button on their way into the playoffs. Although, given my track record for predictions this season, they'll probably come out with the bit between their teeth this weekend...
Grade: E-

Nottingham: Losing the derby against Sheffield will have hurt (and even today Marc Levers must be wondering how he managed to fan on the puck with the net gaping and the score at 1-0) but a win against Cardiff on Sunday will have gone some way to making things better in the East Midlands. Now that Jon Coleman and Eric Nelson have played two games with their team-mates after making assured debuts despite being flung in at the deep end on Saturday, the Panthers faithful can be confident of more wins than losses before the end of the league season...
Grade: B-

Sheffield: Four points will do nicely, thank you. But boy, did the Steelers have to work for them. Pushed all the way by both Nottingham and Hull, the Yorkshiremen relied on luck, skill and just a bit of well-placed cheating (Ryan Finnerty wielding his stick like a rapier in order to stop Sean McAslan shooting with the goal gaping and a minute left in Saturday's derby) in order to gain their quota this time out. Hey-whatever you gotta do to win, right, lads?
Grade: B

That's your Double Overtime for this week...now onto a few random Tuesday thoughts and titbits...well, a single one, really...

The compensation lawyers will have this guy under 24hr watch before we know it...Andrew Sharp, currently playing in the EPL for Romford under a two-way with Coventry, has come in for some stick recently for his habit of shooting pucks at opposition players during the warm-up. Up until now, Romford fans have defended him under the guise that the shots aren't hard enough to injure and are just a bit of a scare-tactic. Then we have this photo from the Romford-Peterborough game last weekend. That looks to me like a full-blooded slapshot fired inches from a unsuspecting opponent's head...and that is bloody dangerous. Even at rec level you will not be popular with either your team-mates or the opposition if you do something like that, because everyone is aware of the damage it can do. Although...he'll probably get lionised by the crowd if he does it at the Skydome-especially against Cardiff or Belfast...

Due to the fact that my timetable is a bit screwed up for today, that's all for now. Tomorrow will see a reaction to GB's first game in the Mont Blanc Invitational, as well as your usual mix of news, comment and just a little strangeness..

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...