Round the Rinks Christmas Special, Part One:

On we go-given that next week has Chrismas looming rather large in the middle of it but there are also a program of games spread over the 26th, 27th, and 28th, Round the Rinks will be in two parts-the weekend games, and the ones afterward, a preview of which will appear on either Tuesday morning or Christmas Eve morning depending on when I get Double Overtime done. I'm not going to comment any more about either the Christmas shirts (I've said my bit about the Blaze ones, they appear to be almost universally unpopular (clearly there's at least one resident of Oldham who likes them), but let's see how they look on Sunday. As for Andrew Sharp...see the post below this one...many thanks to Jono from the Cat's Whiskers for his comments also...you may want to nip over there using the link at right for more examples of parody (oh, and an opposing view of this weekend's big clash at the Skydome on Sunday, too :)). I've also finally added the Angry Budgie to the links section-I was a bit slow on that one...

But firstly...the two midweek games:

Told you it'd be close: Nottingham just edged Basingstoke on Heroes Night in the Silverdome, despite arguably not performing at their best, winning a hotly-contested game three-two thanks to this season's star player, Johan Molin, scoring the winner.

"Close", however, isn't the word for events in Belfast: The Giants returned to winning ways with a vengeance, hammering Hull 8-2 and giving a rare start to Nathan Craze in goal. Worryingly for the Stingrays, Curtis Cruickshank left the game injured after only eleven minutes-leaving him a doubt for at least Saturday's game against Coventry...

On we go to the first part of the Christmas Special...with a Yuletide journey Round the Rinks...

Saturday: Our Friends in the North

Going from South to North on our Saturday trip, we start probably the furthest north we will this season on a Round the Rinks jolly, in Nottingham, where the Panthers take on Cardiff. This should be a classically close game between two teams who are at their best when dictating a game from the off-expect some frenetic early action as both look to stamp their authority on the contest early.

Next comes Sheffield, where there will be little Christmas spirit in evidence as the Steelers take on Newcastle. With accomplished irritators on both teams and Ed Courtenay returning to the scene of his best years in Britain, there will be a mix of nostalgia and pure aggro in the air which should make for an intriguing battle.

We stop in the shadow of the Humber Bridge next for Hull v Coventry, not traditionally a high-scoring game, although with the Stingrays suffering injury after injury and the Blaze slowly getting back into their stride after the Conti Cup blip of a few weeks ago, it could be a depressing night for the Hull faithful.

Finally, the first of a double-header as Edinburgh face Belfast in Murrayfield for the first of two in two days-games of opposites both in team fortunes and (arguably) the size of crowds. With Edinburgh teeming with pre-Christmas attractions, watching the Caps struggle against an intimidating Giants line-up could look fairly unappealing...but this time of year is one for the unexpected-or so Doug Christiansen and team, buoyed by new signing Sean Perkins on D, will hope.

Sunday: Hollywood Glitz

Travelling back down the country, and with Edinburgh v Belfast already dealt with above, we stop off first at Newcastle v Hull, a Christmas turkey of a game if ever there was one. Certainly not the type of game you'd want in an attempt to part your home crowd from their precious pounds. Still, the points count just the same, so both teams will be going all out for this one...

Next is one of the two Christmas crackers taking place tonight-Manchester v Sheffield. Now this is more like it-a fiery crowd, a War of the Roses derby and two of the top teams in the league doing battle in a traditional rivalry which has always produced classic games. Well worth travelling to if you're in that neck of the woods...

..but if you're further south, then the Coventry Skydome is the place to be as Team Hollywood Nottingham Panthers face Coventry. This game has already spiked the odd jibe in the press from Coventry coach Paul Thompson, and from 6pm onwards on Sunday you can be sure there'll be plenty more events worthy of filling the pages of the pre-Christmas papers in both cities...

Finally, Cardiff take on Basingstoke on the Bay, in a meeting full of Christmas cheer-the two clubs have a cordial relationship off the ice and the mulled wine glasses will be clinking up until face-off time. But then, as we've seen, the Devils give presents to nobody in their own rink, whoever they may be...

And there you go-that's your weekend preview...