Round The Rinks and More...

Sorry I missed yesterday-I did hint at doing so at the bottom of the post, but together with some news, scurrilous rumour, perhaps an IceTune or two and Round the Rinks, there should be enough to keep us going for a little while now...

Stingrays 4, Capitals 2: Not a bad game for Sky this week, it seems, with both sides raising their game to produce what appears to have been at least a half-interesting match at the Hull Ice Arena, thanks to Kostadine, Glowa, Riddle and Slonina all earning themselves 1+1, while only Joe Dustin and Martin Cingel could reply for the Capitals. With Daryl Marcoux (look him up) rumoured to be coming in for the Stingrays soon, tey can either use this as a springboard to better things or, being a Rick Strachan team, go back to winning (sometimes) and losing (often).

This is getting silly...: Alright, Elite League, you've made your point. Discipline will be stronger this year and you're not run by Sheffield. We believe you.

In the last week we've seen the following:

Steve Thornton: 9 game ban for sticking Andre Payette in the head (fair enough)

Brad Cruikshank: 2 games for a sucker punch + 2 for "bringing game into disrepute" (alright)...

Curtiss Patrick: 2 games for a sucker punch alone. (o...kay).

But hang on...Brad Voth got 6 games for a "sucker punch" alone, and Rick Kozak got four. Clearly there are now degrees of punching someone in the head when they're not looking, at least where the EIHL are concerned. My theory is, judging by the bans and precedent set by the EIHL, they run like this...

Brad Voth throwing a sucker punch (ritual execution may be considered in this case, and is mandatory for a punch on a Sheffield player from now on. Pleas for clemency may be accepted if Voth agrees to join the Steelers at season's end)
Anyone else throwing a sucker punch at a Sheffield player (bans shall be in proportion to the number of hysterical press releases the Steelers produce, but shall not drop below six games. Any other offence committed at the same time, even if it would normally receive a two-minute minor, can be cited in doubling the ban, however ridiculous it is).
Sucker punch on a Nottingham player (especially if injury is caused. Otherwise Mr Black will mention how he may just refuse to let the EIHL have their big sponsors party/moneymaking exercise/playoffs at his rink. Or he'll make noises about playing in Europe again.)
Sucker punch that doesn't meet any of the above conditions (unless the offended club is one of the big four and has a whinge about it, in which case it will be considered equal with the above. If Hull or Newcastle offend then extra punishment must be given as this league WILL NOT TOLERATE roughness or an attempt to win games through force and power. That's not fair on the littler teams. Play hard but fair, kids)
Sucker punch thrown by a Nottingham player (may entail light slapping on wrist/strongly-worded press release)
Sucker punch thrown by Sheffield player (NB: ban may still be given, but please explore all avenues of equal or greater punishment for opposition team, as clearly the Steeler was provoked. Or, promise to "look into" incident and ignore it).
Sucker punch thrown at Brad Voth: (the league shall exonerate offender immediately, punish Voth for not expecting to be punched just for being the Antichrist and look into providing a ticker-tape parade for offender)

That should just about do it...

Round the Rinks time!
There we go-that's the pressing issues just about covered-let's look at the weekend ahead in true rambling style...

Basingstoke: Coventry and Belfast? Tough for any team-even more so when they're missing their captain and one of their top d-men. But the spirit of the Bison Ten was on full show in Cardiff last weekend, and neither will be taking the Bison (who have new signing Matt Miller debuting) lightly. That way lies Shockville...potential population: Blaze and Giants.

Belfast: The Giants will fancy at least three points this weekend, injuries or no. But over-confidence has been the downfall of Belfast teams on many occasions before, and Steve Thornton is missing, and with it their main creative threat, arguably, which should keep the scores slightly close at least...
Don't forget the webcast of Giants games, which you can get to through the Giants site-it'll enable you to keep up with happenings in the Odyssey on Saturday night, and it's superb...

Cardiff: Nottingham and Coventry will provide strong examination for a Voth-less Devils-two points would be a victory, and four would be a cause for celebration in the Welsh capital, as well as a knock-back to their opponents. The Devils have already beaten the Blaze away from home, which will be a filip as they welcome them back to the Tent for the first time this season...

Coventry: Basingstoke at home, Cardiff away. Two games that, even as late as last season, you'd have backed the Midlanders to win, no question. This season...who knows? It simply depends which Blaze team decide to turn up-that which ripped Nottingham apart for four goals in ten minutes last weekend or the shambolic outfit that capitulated to Sheffield and then threw away a lead to Cardiff the weekend before. Not even Blaze fans can tell you which one we'll see...

Edinburgh: Belfast and Newcastle are the opponents, two points is the realistic target. Four would be a miracle at this stage in the season, especially with some real forward punch and the Caps' top defensive d-man still not arrived and already left respectively....

Hull: Sheffield and Nottingham are the opponents. Play nicely, Stingrays-you know that all hell will break loose if you try and bully your way to the points...Then again, there's an equal chance that Curtis Cruickshank could be facing a very long weekend when you consider the forward power of these two squads and the lack of real quality in front of him (as well as the huge hole left by Jonathan Bernier. In size if not in talent...)

Manchester: The Phoenix will definitely fancy their chances of four points from a weekend against Newcastle and Sheffield, especially as in Brett Clouthier and Kyle Bruce there's more than enough pugilistic talent to take the Vipers on at their own game as well as the skilful approach they favour, and they've already beaten Sheffield on their own patch this season-after that, welcoming the Steelers to Altrincham should almost be a fun night for David Beauregard, Luke Fulghum and friends...

Newcastle: Manchester and Edinburgh for the Vipers, and another weekend in which Andrew Verner's performances may be key. Particularly as Burt Henderson is out for a long while leaving a huge hole in the transition game (please, don't tell me Rob Wilson shuffling and creaking his way up the ice is an adequate replacement). This weekend could, quite frankly, bring anything...

Nottingham:...but for the Panthers, points are what are expected. Cardiff provide a stern test, and the Stingrays mean that Sunday will be anything but a day of rest for the Black Cats up in Hull, but realistically, the Midlanders will expect to take four points out of four. But the Devils in particular won't half make them hard to get...

Sheffield: And finally, the Steelers. Hull and Manchester are the opponents, one of whom should be beaten at home. No prizes for guessing that's Hull. Sunday's revenge mission to Altrincham could easily be the game of the weekend-that War of the Roses feeling, coupled with the fact that Sheffield need to gain ground on their neighbours or risk being forced into a no-holds-barred scrap for Pennine supremacy all season on the back foot, will mean the Steelers pull into the Altair car-park with nothing but winning, and winning convincingly, on their minds.

There you go-that's your weekend well and truly previewed, and the last few days of hockey summed up briefly too...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...