Continental Round the Rinks

"We've come here to pay our respects to Great Aunt Nellie. She brought us up properly and taught us loyalty. Now I want you to remember that during these next few days. I also want you to remember that if you don't come back with the goods, Nellie here will turn in her grave, and, likely as not, jump right out of it and kick your teeth in."

Noel Coward as Mr. Bridger: "The Italian Job"

It does exactly what it says on the tin, this post-it's a quick preview of the Continental Cup. Tomorrow will see the usual Round the Rinks, but let's cast our eyes to the mountains, from whence doth come three other teams all looking to stop the Blaze getting to Rouen in January. And, in homage to possibly the best British film ever, we shall introduce each team with a quote from, naturally, the Italian Job...

"You're only supposed to blow the (Maribors) off!" (Stavbar Maribor, Slovenia)
The easiest line to nick in the the film and possibly the most-quoted, goes to the Slovenians, Stavbar Maribor, who will be Blaze's first opponents. They are a young team, led by ex-Bolzano player Robert Ciglenečki, who is one of the few veterans on the team, along with the even older Aleš Starič. The majority of the team, though, are 24 or younger and are currently sitting at 4th in the Slovenian league. They're realistically not expected to qualify, but will need to be treated with caution and disposed of by the Blaze as quickly as possible on the Friday...


"But Mr. Bridger, what if the Professor's not bent?" "Camp Freddie, everyone in the *world* is bent!" (Dunaujvaros, Hungary)
Come on. What other line would you expect for a team that has three brothers called Kiss in their lineup, including a starting goalie (Tamasz). The Hungarians are sixth in their league at the moment, and are entirely composed of domestically-trained (and again, young) players. Well in the shadow of teams such as Alba Volan (who have been runners-up in this tournament three times) they are something of an unknown quantity to all present, but easily got through the qualifying stages in Romania. However, given that they were the only ones who had to qualify for even this group, they could well be scrapping with Maribor for pride rather than for qualification...

"You must learn, Keats, there are more things to life than breaking and entering." (Bolzano Foxes, Italy)
And so we come to the real dangers in the group. The hosts are the ones who Blaze will have to commit a smash-and-grab raid on to qualify, and face them on the Sunday in what could well be the group decider. The Foxes will meet some old friends as Carlyle Lewis returns to his old stomping ground with the Blaze and Sylvain Deschatelets faces old adversaries from his time in Fassa in 05/06. Meanwhile, there are a few familiar faces to British hockey on the Foxes roster-Blaze fans who were around in the time of the old Superleague will remember Pasi Hakkinen, who was the Nottingham Panthers backup in 2001/02. (behind Danny Lorenz, which should also give them an idea of his ability) Slightly newer Blaze fans, and indeed many British hockey fans, may remember Italian international Cristian Borgatello on defence, who had a fruitful season with the Dundee Stars in 2004/05 and impressed against EIHL opposition. Up front players to watch include the huge (6'5, 236lb) Josh Olson and the silky skills of Kenny Corupe, who is one of the stars of the Italian League, along with Ryan Jardine, who has played in both the DEL and the SEL in recent years, and looked a useful player when I saw him for Hamburg.

So, predictions...

In their home rink, the Foxes have to be favourites. The Blaze are coming off a bad weekend, but with jobs rumoured to be on the line, this weekend will have to see players prove their worth, or the exit door will begin to gape wider and wider at the Skydome.

Can the Blaze qualify? Yes. Will they? I'm not sure...I think Bolzano will be just too strong for them.

And there we are...tomorrow will see us return to domestic action for a preview of the EIHL weekend...