Tuesday Thoughts, or Credit Where It's Due

On we go with some Tuesday thoughts in which we recognise the champions of the "other" top league in Britain and pass out some awards to the All-Under-Rated All-Stars...

Now, you can do the decent thing and join the EIHL: Guildford clinched the EPL title this weekend, making it yet another time that the title in the "second" league in British hockey has been won by either Guildford, Bracknell or MK Lightning in the past few years, although it's the first title the Flames have won since the demise of the British National League. There is something of a gap between the group of Guildford, Bracknell, Slough and the other teams in the EPL, thanks to money-it appears that the Flames, Jets and (to a lesser extent) Bees prefer to be big fish in a slightly smaller pond rather than give their fans the standard of hockey they deserve (and could probably afford, judging by the calibre of players they attract)-Jan Krajicek (Slough), Lukas Smital (Guildford) and Joe Watkins (also Guildford) are examples of players who can't be on peanuts and could command an equal or better wage in the EIHL (at least for playing hockey)...Surely the "it's not financially viable" excuse we've been hearing from these teams is no longer a valid one-come on, Flames...come back to the top league. You know you want to...

"This is blasphemy! This is madness! Madness...? THIS... IS... BASINGSTOKE!": With apologies to "300", tonight and tomorrow will see more epic tales of a small band of warriors taking on an evil empire and fighting for their (hockey) lives at tremendous odds. Bison take on Nottingham tonight and Coventry tomorrow in two games which could decide their season-lose to the Panthers tonight and the playoff chase suddenly gets a whole lot harder, lose to the Blaze heavily tomorrow and the chance of silverware is all but dead and gone. There have even been suggestions from a few Basingstoke fans that the Bison should take tonight off in the hope of being fully ready for the Blaze tomorrow, as the KO Cup is worth winning at the expense of a playoff place. However, I very much doubt they'll do so and, while the Panthers will win tonight, the game will be a lot closer than the score would perhaps suggest. As for tomorrow night-home crowd, silverware on the line, Blaze possibly suffering a title-celebration hangover...anything could happen.

The Alternative All-Stars: With it now getting towards the time All-Star teams are made and debated, it's fairly certain that the usual mix of top-scoring forwards and d-men will be put together and the same old names, such as Neal Martin, Adam Calder and (this season) Joe Tallari will receive the honours. However, there are many players in the league who are way, way under-rated by the average hockey fan. This may be due to the fact that their contributions can't be seen on the scoreboard, or they're overshadowed by the "stars" on their team, or perhaps they're simply just not "flashy" enough in the way they rack up points. Anyway...I've been considering this for a while, so here, at least, is where the All-Under-rated-Stars finally get their moment in the sun...

First Team:
Goalie: Dan Green (Basingstoke): Possibly the easiest choice on the board for his heroics earlier in the season-Green proved he could carry the load as a starter in this league, earning rave reviews everywhere he played.

Defence: Jason Stone (Cardiff) and Jeff MacMillan (Manchester): Two players who you never really notice unless you're looking for them, these two are steady, unhurried d-men who do the simple things well and are willing to sacrifice their bodies for the team while not caring two much about their individual points. They don't take that many penalties either, so play with their heads as well as their hearts...

Forwards: Sylvain Deschatelets (Cardiff), KC Timmons (Coventry), Greg Chambers (Basingstoke): Perhaps the ideal mix of grit (Timmons), creativity (Deschatelets-21 goals and fifty-five assists on a sixth-place team) and a pure sniper (Chambers)-these three would make a good second line at the vast majority of EIHL teams...in keeping with the theme, they are all perhaps not the first players you notice on their teams but are all vital to a successful campaign in their different ways...

Second Team
Goalie: J-F Perras (Edinburgh)

Defence: Omar Ennaffati (Manchester) and Eric Braff (Basingstoke)

Forwards: Brian Passmore (Manchester), Greg Owen (Basingstoke) and Warren Tait (Sheffield)

There you go-that's your Tuesday Thoughts...tomorrow will see the usual Midweek Musings and maybe even an IceTune or two...keep keeping your eye on the puck...