Midweek Musings and Linkyness...

"Run away, run away, I'll attack

Run away, run away, go chase yourself"

30 Seconds To Mars: "Attack"

"It is impossible

To never tell the truth
But the reality is,
I'm getting away with murder"

Papa Roach: "Getting Away With Murder"

In we go on some midweek musings...starting with Cardiff v Hull:

And so, for those of us who wondered what all the fuss is about:...and with thanks to the F-Block Blog for the original posting (I don't think it's footage they took due to the Welsh accents close by, but fair play to GS for finding it), here is the Battle of the Big Blue Tent, in (almost) full...it starts just as the scrap between Brad Voth and Adam Knight that kicked the whole thing off is ending:

Several interesting points about this...

Firstly, Adam Knight heads directly for Brad Voth after getting off the ice (1:00 or so in) and they go for each other behind the benches (although that fight's screen by the Cardiff players hopping up onto their bench)...although given that there were travesty penalties handed out left right and centre, we can consider that one dealt with...

However, more interestingly, you can clearly see Curtis Huppe (Hull's #93) launch a stick into the Devils bench with some considerable force, hitting Tylor Michel, before hopping down off the bench (1:19 into the clip)...and somehow, he gets away with it...

Sylvain Cloutier then tries to get through both doors, being held on the ice on one side and blocked by Mark Richardson on the other. Max Birbraer is throwing punches over the plexi (left hand side, next to Devils #25, Phil Hill, around 1:54), and several Devils players nip round the back of the plexi to back Voth up...Adam Knight, meanwhile, has disappeared, as has half the Hull bench...eventually, though, it all calms down...

To my eyes...Huppe is gone for a while, as are Knight and Voth. The scrum on the ice isn't helped by Adam Knight challenging the Cardiff bench at the start of the clip too...however, given that Voth has a 12-game suspended ban handed over him after Sheffield screamed that he was a big, evil nasty man who can sucker-punch a player (Randy Dagenais) while the player being punched is staring at him, it'll be interesting to see how bad things get...

Meanwhile, in the more "legal" side of physical play: It's interesting how, this season, there appears to be a more of an edge to games...roughing penalties seem to be more and more frequent, and yet we're not seeing such "legal" epic moments as a perfectly-executed hip-check as often...indeed, there's currently a thread on THF asking if the hip-check is dead...

So, is hitting down, or are the referees just calling hits that are perfectly clean, I wonder?

And, in today's commercial/linky spot: You should know by now that, if the Breakaway finds a blog it likes, it'll plug it. The latest one, and yet another from Manchester, is The Triple Deke...more of a factual stop for EPL news than a "giggle in your lunch hour at bad British hockey jokes" one, perhaps unsurprising given that the writer, Kyle, is an aspiring journalist, it provides the Nine O'Clock News counterpart to Five Minute Major's "Mock The Week" take on the Phoenix scene (FMJ's "Idiot's Guide to the EPL" is a fine series all by itself, whatever league you're in, by the way)...if you're the kind who likes attempting to shoehorn Manchester hockey blogs into a category, that is.

Also...The Angry Budgie now does college football too, although sadly, it's the Florida Gators...but don't let that stop you...it's worth a read if you like the American version of football too...

Slightly further north and west, we have The Outpost, which is already legendary thanks to Kez setting Belfast fan forums into an apocalyptic rage with some forthright views on the Elite League...have a read. I'm not saying I support either side in the argument, but it's kind of like watching a bear fight a pack of dogs...the dogs keep coming, and still the bear keeps fighting them off with a style and wit all of its own...

The Giants Webcast is back!: Also, if you can't make the trip to Belfast...Giants TV is back! And now with an all-new look, broadcasting Giants games live over the web for those who can't travel. You can find all the info here-shiny, isn't it? First game is this weekend's clash with, coincidentally, Coventry...

I know this post is a bit, well, chaotic, but this is mainly due to waiting for the EIHL to sort itself out over the Battle of the Blue Tent so we can have some real news to report...

Luckily, they have some sort of time limit on doing so thanks to games continuing this weekend, so I await news with bated breath, especially as the Stingrays (or Pissed-Off-Plaice as someone up here nicknamed them the other day) are in Coventry this Sunday...

If you're very lucky, there will be a new Frozen Dreams in the next few days...otherwise, its Round the Rinks time on Friday...and possibly reaction to the EIHL disciplinary board decisions, if we're lucky enough to get them publicised...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...