Round the Rinks, October 24th

Before we start this week's weekend preview, a little side note for a few new British hockey blogs that have appeared recently...(we told you this stuff was beginning to get popular)...:)

Neil Chiplen covers the Elite League for Sky Sports (I'd post a link, normally, but I have a feeling you all know where Sky Sports are), and has now started up Elite Hockey Today...which is, I believe, the first British hockey blog on t'Interweb written by someone who...well, actually writes for a living. The link is also in the Recommended Reading bar on the side, should you wish to peruse it yourself. I would recommend doing so...after all, it ain't half bad...

The next blog has possibly the best name thus far, nicked from a throwaway reference on a forum to the Phoenix logo. Written by "coyotes_uk" who you may have seen posting a thoughtful comment or two on here or the Phoenix forum from time to time, it's the fantastically-named "The Angry Budgie". And yes, he's another Manchester fan. There must be "summat in t'water" up there...

Don't forget the Benchwarmer from Scott in Belfast, too, and of course the F Block Blog, whose weekend previews in particular are well worth reading if your team's up against the Stingrays...

Speaking of weekend previews...on with our own...believe it or not, the vast majority of this weekend's games are actually league games, with only the Sheffield/Belfast double-header descending into KO Cup silliness, and Nottingham playing Coventry on Sunday in the Challenge Cup.

Trust one to be awkward: There's always one double-header to mess up my carefully-constructed train-of-thought in taking it a day at a time (say what you like about the BNL, but the home/away double-headers for everyone almost every weekend at least made things simple) and this time, it's Sheffield-Belfast, who meet twice at the Hallam in the "quick, let's make up a filler competi...", sorry, British Knockout Cup. The games themselves have the potential, like the last meeting between these two sides, to be barn-burning festivals of hockey. Trouble is, the vast majority of the league won't actually care because it doesn't affect them at this stage...it's the hockey equivalent of the LDV Vans Trophy. PLEASE, EIHL, can we invite EPL teams to join in, play it midweek and restrict it to four imports? That way, you might get everyone to take it seriously as a competition rather than, secretly, thinking it's a bit of a wooden-spoon trophy.

And now to the league and proper cup games.

Saturday:

Hull v Newcastle is the game to watch this weekend if you like your hockey rough and ready...don't be too hopeful of any highlight-reel moments here, but settle in and rub your hands if you like your outright violence mixed with a bit of hockey rather than the other way around...

However, if you prefer the skill side of the game, you may wish to head for the Skydome, where I'm looking forward to Coventry v Manchester like this kid looked forward to getting a Nintendo 64 back in the late 90's. So, quite a bit. Don't worry, though...there will be no such hysterics from me at the Skydome...I'll be too busy admiring the skills of David Beauregard, Adam Calder and co.

Basingstoke v Edinburgh is the first half of Brad Cruikshank's farewell weekend, so there may be the odd lump in the throat in Hampshire. The game itself, however, looks intriguing after the last meeting between the two sides was only won by a Greg Chambers goal in overtime. And, of course, there's the latest instalment of the Bison soap opera to look forward to as well-who's playing, who isn't, and what does it all mean? The rate the Bison players are leaving, they could soon be skating out on the ice to this. Just to save time...

*cheap shot? maybe...

Sunday

Cardiff v Edinburgh looks an interesting one. Mainly because we'll get to see just how Tyson Teplitsky settles back into British hockey, particularly when the Caps will be skating at him from the off... Expect a close-fought meeting in South Wales...

Nottingham v Coventry makes for a hell of an early game, and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon in the Lace City. Add the fact that, should Blaze lose, they're out, and bear in mind that the last time these two met saw a 6-5 thriller, and you can see why people could be panting like a dog in the desert over this one...

Manchester v Hull: Top and (near) bottom in the same weekend-talk about visiting both ends of the spectrum for the Phoenix...Depending on the result on Saturday this could either see the Phoenix go second or try to recover at least two points from the weekend...*

Newcastle v Basingstoke, on the other hand, is possibly not one of the glamour games of the weekend. Now that the Bison have, in fact, lost Brad Cruikshank even for this game, you have to wonder just how much chance they have, especially against a resurgent Vipers.

There you go...that's your weekend previewed to within an inch of its life. Now, let's play hockey....

*thank you, Kyle-it was indeed a schoolboy error of the worst kind...