Round the Rinks, Friday 13th March...

Here we go with a preview of the weekend, but a bit of miscellany first...

"The writing's on the wall
And it won't go away...
It's an omen..."
Prodigy: "Omen"

In a move copied by...well, none of the other teams in the league (which is a little surprising in itself), and just when you thought you'd seen every special shirt there is to offer this season, the Blaze have announced they're going to be playing in St. Patrick's Day shirts this Sunday (basically, like the Christmas shirt, which was red for Christmas with a few bits of snow on it, they've created this by dyeing a normal one green and putting a few shamrocks on it) in a attempt to once again extract much-needed operating money from cash-strapped fa...

*receives high-voltage electroshock*

Sorry, provide fans with an opportunity to own a unique game-worn shirt, just like all the other "unique" ones out there in Blaze-land (this season alone there's been league, Conti Cup, Christmas, Valentine's Day (although in fairness, that one was presented as being for charity), and the soon-to-come playoff jerseys). Perhaps the cynicism of this ploy can be measured by the fact that even Belfast (last time I looked, the only EIHL team actually based in Ireland), weren't even commemorating their patron saint with one of their own-you'd have thought that one would be a tap-in...especially as it's done by many, many teams round about this period anyway.

Now, in the tradition of British hockey fans I may be putting two and two together and making five, but there were many rumours floating around the Skydome last week (from those connected with Blaze sponsors as well as just your average fan) saying that the credit-crunch and a fall in attendances from the peaks of two-to-four years ago had bitten much more deeply than anticipated at the Skydome already, and there could be "operational problems" going forward. Now, I have absolutely no idea what the finances are like, but I must admit that trying to drag yet more money out of people even as the season draws limply to a close (for all the "people asked for it and it just happened to come right this year" news releases) doesn't exactly fill me with scepticism regarding the rumours...

Onwards now, with another brief musical link...

"Mercy this and mercy that
Let justice prevail
But I just want my trophy back..."
Bat For Lashes: "Trophy"

With the EIHL title decided, this weekend is in danger of looking a little flat in comparison to many...at least if you look at the top, where the only excitement now is in teams playing for position in the playoffs...However, Andy French and the EIHL are wrong if, like Bat For Lashes, they wish the trophy wasn't being handed out this weekend, as it gives the opportunity for fans and bloggers like me to concentrate fully and deservedly on a battle which is far more enthralling than the trophy race ever was-the "Crazy Eighth" race for the last playoff position between Hull and Edinburgh...let's blast through the weekend now...

Friday

Belfast v Nottingham: A battle of the nearly men kicks off the weekend at the Odyssey, with both teams chasing the runner-up spot and the hope of an easier playoff game. It will of course be live on GiantsTV for five of your English pounds...

Saturday

Belfast v Coventry: The second home game of the weekend sees their traditional rivals from Coventry visit in a continuing battle for position which may only be decided on the final weekend of the regular season. For either team, this is a game that needs to be won, as much for psychological impact going into next weeks' showdown at the Skydome as anything else...and will also be on Giants TV on the link above...

Basingstoke v Manchester: After soaring with the eagles last weekend during a pulsating Challenge Cup final first leg, the Phoenix return to earth with a bump, making the fair-sized trip down to Hampshire to face a team dying on its feet in Basingstoke...with one of the Bison talismans, Greg Chambers rumoured strongly to be already on his way to Coventry next season, and Kevin Reiter supposedly close to following him, things don't look good for the Southerners, especially with the Phoenix on a high...

Sheffield v Newcastle: With the title won, this game is the opportunity for the Steelers to ease off slightly and celebrate the awarding of the trophy. However, there may be some mixed feelings in the Sheffield camp, as one of the major architects of their triumph, Jeff Legue, will be absent from now until playoff time at least-he has returned home to Canada to spend some time with his terminally ill father.
Newcastle, meanwhile, have nothing to play for-they are ensconced in seventh place with healthy gaps in both directions (although below them, Edinburgh are chasing hard) and will see this game as another one to get under the belt on the way to the serious business of the playoffs, with a hope of taking two points from the Steelers as they relax...

Cardiff v Hull/Nottingham v Edinburgh: Now for the important stuff. Both the Capitals and the Stingrays face tricky opposition in their first games of the weekend, both are away from home, and both desperately need the points. Of the two, however, Edinburgh are in the slightly better position-a loss in the East Midlands will not affect their league position, although if Hull win in South Wales it will bring the gap to one point and add a new intensity to the respective clubs' Sunday night games-every inch of ground Hull gain is one Edinburgh lose, and vice versa...and at this point in the season, spare inches are few and far between...

Sunday

Manchester v Newcastle: The Phoenix will be wary of the Vipers' physical style just two days before their Challenge Cup showdown in Belfast, but will want to go into that game on a winning footing. The Vipers, meanwhile, just want to make sure they keep the cushion between themselves and the Crazy Eight battle to a similar size...this won't be the most enthralling of games, but the points still matter nonetheless.

Sheffield v Cardiff: Quite honestly, the best you can say for this one is that it will hopefully continue the rivalry that has built up between the two clubs this season-with Cardiff still looking over their shoulders at Manchester in the battle for fourth spot, they perhaps have more to play for, but the Steelers are not going to let anyone spoil their banner-raising party, either. Tonight, though, the major action is elsewhere...

Coventry v Edinburgh: ...and the Skydome is probably the place where most of it can be found. The last meeting between the Blaze and the Capitals was a cracker, with fights, coaches ejected and a Blaze team given a very, very bad scare by a rampant Edinburgh before their mercurial forward Mark Hurtubise was tossed from the game. If the Caps number ten can hold his temper and run the game in the same dominant fashion he did last time, then the Scots could have a very real chance of two much-needed points...

Hull v Basingstoke:...points which are needed much more thanks to Hull facing the league whipping boys, Basingstoke, on their own ice. You have to back the Stingrays to take the points in this one, and turn up the heat on their Northern neighbours as the regular season races to a conclusion next weekend...

There you go-that's your weekend previewed.