Midweek Musings...

On we go for a lightning skate around the British hockey world this wintry Wednesday...

Capitals sign another: He may have a surname that sounds like it should be applied to an ice-lolly, but Brad Bonnello is a decent player...he joins Jason Cassells as Edinburgh's second new signing. PR is here, stats are here.

Oh, and he's a feisty little bugger as well...just what the Caps need, really.

In the Pink: Finally, a one-off-shirt that isn't either about celbrating an anniversary by milking it for cash (eg Cardiff's anniversary shirts) or just milking cash (Christmas shirts ad infinitum). Romford have produced a Valentine's Day commemorative shirt, and here it is.

The thing about these are: a) there's no shirt auction so you don't get the same posers with more money than sense enriching their club by pointlessly throwing tons of money at a shirt which will be re-hashed the same time next year-each (game-worn) shirt goes for the same price as a replica, there will only be one set and everyone has the chance to buy one, and b) the money raised goes to the British Heart Foundation. All of it.

The amusement gained from seeing someone as big and mean as Mark Williams in a pink shirt covered with hearts is a fringe benefit, of course.

Fair play, Romford. They join MK :ightning in the charitable stakes, after their "pink shirt for breast cancer" a year or two back. Were they not all sold, I'd want one.

My question is though, as the top league in the country, why are we not seeing more of this sort of thing from the EIHL rather than the parade of one-off moneymakers we're usually subjected to? It's got to help the PR if nothing else...

One Minute Preview: As promised, we're now going to look at tonight's game between Belfast and Sheffield, which is as usual live on http://www.giantslive.tv should you fancy spending a Wednesday night watching hockey...

And you should, patricularly if you're a fan of any of the top four. A Belfast win in tonight's game could make the title race infinitely more interesting, as well as increase the number of runners from three to four. By now both sides will know the opponents' dangermen, who to watch and who to niggle at. There are intriguing battles all over the ice, from the stingy Jody Lehman v the free-scoring Paul Deniset to Rod Sarich v the Belfast forecheckers. These are arguably the two most complete sides in the league doing battle, and the game should reflect that in the closeness of the score.

My verdict? Sheffield to win. Just. But, for the sake of the league as a whole, I'll be hoping the Giants win...

And that's your Midweek Musings...sorry they're a little later than usual...