Blaze v Slavija Ljubljana running diary

15:00: And we're off...back in Aalborg for Slavija vs the Blaze, and Steve Fone is starting today...the Blaze fans are making a fine amount of noise...

15:02: SCOOOOOORRRRRREEEE BLAZE! Adam Calder! Not the worst start in the world, that...after a pass from Cowley, Cloutier with the second assist. On a side note, that's Cald's 250th point in a Blaze shirt-not bad in two and a half seasons...

15:03: We nearly have the Slovenians score, but the puck is kicked in, and the second referee of the two-ref system spots it, thankfully.

15:06: Cloutier is a "one-man wrecking machine" apparently...having seen him almost every chance you've been able to over the past two years, I've got some sympathy for the Slovenians who are on the receiving end...Meanwhile, Blaze survive another goal scare-high sticks, apparently...

15:08: It's getting somewhat crowded in the Blaze penalty box-Vychodil and Weaver are both in there...and once again the commentary team have proved me wrong-we're now getting the names of the Slovenes also-good work, gentlemen...

15:11: Cloutier nails yet another unlucky Slovenian, as Geoff and Andy have this exchange...

"Something's upset him today, I think"
"Yep, I reckon he's had his three Shredded Wheat for breakfast"
"Judging by that hit, more likely someone nicked his breakfast"...

Brought a smile to a grey Sunday afternoon in Coventry, that did...:)

15:18: Twelve minutes gone, and Joe Henry gets a shift! And then proceeds to throw a big hit, and there's the slightest bit of amusement in Geoff's voice as he mentions it...

15:24: Blaze are dominating after being on the powerplay, but still can't sneak a goal-it appears that Slavija are back in the game somewhat. Geoff has something of a coughing fit, so Andy takes over.

15:26: He's not doing too badly, either-but Slavija sneak one in...so it's now one each. Geoff has had a glass of water or something and resumes his commentary...

15:28: Slavija hit the post...they've got their tails up...

15:32: End of the first-Slavija one, Blaze one. And we have the traditional interview with Rumun...

15:42: We're reviewing the goals from last night. And they still sound just as good...the noise when Calder scores is something special...and then, two minutes later, Jonny Weaver makes history...at the moment there is still a rather large grin on my face...Lord only knows what the reaction of someone who was lucky enough to be there will be...

15:46: We're off for the second period. Meanwhile, back here I've also got the Simpsons on...it's fun, this multimedia stuff.

15:57: As you may have guessed, not much has happened in the past fifteen minutes...highlight, however, is Geoff, from nowhere, pronouncing the name "Blaz Javornik" properly...to Andy's amusement.

16:00: Dear Lord-we've just had the Birdie Song from Magnus the DJ's wife, who is obviously backing him up...I shall never complain about the music in the EIHL again...

16:07: It's still 1-1...unfortunately.

16:09: PANIC! Slavija somehow manage to get three players into the crease, along with four for the Blaze...Fone manages to get his glove on it, however.

16:15: Slavija make it 2-1...Matej Kralj. Surely we can't go from the sublime to the ridiculous?

16:16: The period ends-and Slavija are 2-1 up...

16:32: SCOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEE BLAZE! Adam Calder's second! He's got 14 this season already...literally about forty seconds into the third period. Excellent...there is hope again. For some reason, Danny Stewart called Geoff "George" and it's now stuck...

16:37: Blaze back on the powerplay...and Calder is after a hat-trick...

16:42: Slavija make it 3-2, past Steve Fone. Both commentators and those interviewed mentioned that today is something of an anti-climax after the great events of yesterday...

16:47: Make that 4-2. Fone lets one past him which Andy Buxton thinks he'll want back. The question is, what do we put this down to?

16:50: The Blaze aren't happy-shots are raining in on the Slavija net. Pity the goalie is on something of a hot-streak at the moment-it's becoming a running theme this weekend. At least the Blaze fans are still trying to lift their team...

16:56: Blaze four-two down and on the powerplay, desperately trying to get back into the game with four minutes left...

17:02: Andy has all but admitted the Blaze are somewhat tanking the game with "From the moment you can't qualify, it's all about making sure no-one gets hurt and you're all fully fit for Elite League action", as it finishes with Slavija winning 4-2. Still-there's always the moment from last night...

And on that note, we leave Denmark. Check back tomorrow for a review of tonights games, and all through the week for various ramblings, news and views, match previews, features and, of course, Round the Rinks on Thursday evening.

Until then, keep your eye on the puck...

Blaze v Salzburg running diary

We're back for game two! This time I'll just be using the one post, so if you come along and it looks like it's not been updated for a while, just click refresh. All times are BST-let's get it going....

18:25: Hmm. Listening to the pre-match talk, it's very much "we're just happy to be here against this team" if you listen to Andy Buxton...

18:30: The good news is that good old Cloutier has just won the opening face-off...

18:32: Third line already...and we've actually got a name or two from the Salzburg players already. Surely they can't have been reading.
Oh, and Ash Tait has just been called the "second best player in British ice-hockey" with Weaver being the best...Strangely, it was the reverse last year...

18:33: Salzburg score. Daniel Welzer. It appears that there's absolutely no-one there, aside from the hundred or so Blaze fans. They'll be even quieter now...

18:35: Blaze are on the powerplay. Just noted that, although it seems a long way away at the moment, that were Blaze to win this, they can still qualify. I'm not sure they can, though. Unless they beat Salzburg and Slavija, and Salzburg beat Aalborg tomorrow, which will put three teams on six points. It will then come down to how many goals Blaze score against Slavija. Blaze fans now making a bit more noise...

18:40: Make that two nil. Against the run of play, after Blaze spend five minutes in the opposition end. We're only seven minutes or so into the game, and already it's not the greatest hope in the world. Rick Jackman (who's getting paid more in a year than the Blaze team, apparently) takes a penalty...

18:45: Cowley floors Jackman. "He'll have enjoyed that" says Andy. The bad news is, that gives Salzburg a powerplay. Geoff has just asked where Frank Banham is-I was wondering that so have just checked the Salzburg website-apparently he's not playing tonight as a precaution, being slightly injured-so I shall try and let them know through the internet and what have you...

18:49: Side note here-I'm not sure whether they've actually been reading this or have had other people tell them, but we're now getting the names of both sides from both commentators. Fair play to both Geoff and Andy-it's the little things that move the coverage from good to great, sometimes...

18:53: Still searching for the email or text address...

18:59: Bingo. Found it and sent the information. Also we've just heard Russ Cowley get well and truly nailed by Jackman...who gets called for roughing. Powerplay with a minute to run as we end the first period. Worryingly, we now haven't seen Jonny Weaver on the ice for fifteen minutes, apparently. Oh, excellent...Conti Cup curse, anyone?

19:04: During the period break, we have an interview with Rumun again-who is mentioning that the team only need one goal to get going. "Keep the faith" is the way it gets summed up-which gets a big laugh from Rumun so deep it almost makes the bass on my headphones pop. He also repeats the mention of the Weaver injury. Let's hope it's nothing serious. Now we're back on the rugby union, cause there's apparently a fairly important game happening in Paris tonight...

19:15: As the rugby interview goes on and on, we hear the coverage from Aalborg. The good news is, the song playing is Burning Heart, by Survivor. Could it be an omen?

19:16: Weaver hasn't come back out. Oh, pants. Please let it just be a minor thing...

19:18: Blaze getting PP after PP here. Meanwhile, back in the UK, Belfast are 5-0 up against Hull after two periods...maybe the myriad kicks up the rear end the Giants have been getting are bearing some sort of fruit. Carlyle Lewis has even scored twice for them...

19:21: Stewart goes down, and has to have the Salzburg physio treat him because neither the team doctor OR Nikki Sherlock, the physio, are actually on the bench...Although as I write this, they've returned to the bench, so maybe the worrying can stop. Or at least calm down.

19:24: Weaves is back and ready to ice! The worrying can definitely stop...Calder goes close despite being shorthanded, and then takes a silly penalty.

19:26: And Weaver is back on the ice! Thank heaven. I know these last couple of posts aren't strictly neutral, but if Blaze lost Weaver you can guarantee there'd be 2,500 British hockey fans who wouldn't be happy...

19:36: Blaze have had a fair few pp's, and not scored. Calder puts one just over, causing a kind of mixed groan/whimper/whistle to come from Andy-one of the weirdest noises I've ever heard. And then Carlson gets very, very close. It's a repeat of the Aalborg game at the moment...Weaver heads to the box.

19:40: Two-on-one breaks, Carlson and Calder. Gets saved though...Calder's away again...and Weaver's been stopped. Every single shot is just wide, just over or into the pads...this is getting silly. Even only hearing it, I'm wincing every time it sounds like Blaze'll score.

19:42: Blaze are 5-on-3 after Doug Lynch gets called for slashing. And the NFW line is out...ninety seconds worth of 5 on 3...

19:46: Ouch. Belfast have beaten Hull 7-0 away from home...maybe something has finally worked in one of Courtenay's team-talks...

19;49: The goal didn't happen. Somehow, every shot is going everywhere but in. The Blaze are dominating, but the period ended about a minute ago, still the same score...2-0 down.

20:03: We're off again...one of the Salzburg fans has just posted on their forum "If you want to hear how commentators can suffer with their team, have a listen to the British radio from Coventry". How true-you can tell where the puck is on the ice just by listening to Andy Buxton, sometimes...

20:06: I can barely type through laughter. Geoff Foster has just compared watching James Pease skate to watching Liam Daish (former Coventry City and Birmingham footy defender) run. Anyone who had seen Daish and/or Peasey play will know how unfair that is. However, whether it's unfair to Peasey or Daish, I'm not quite sure yet...

(random tangent-I remember watching Daish play once in my many trips to the much-lamented Highfield Road, and as he was skinned for pace by yet another opposition forward, the shout comes from the crowd "Run, Daish! You look like you're moving through treacle!" to which the reply was one of the classic lines "He ain't just moving through treacle, he's stopping to eat every f-ing drop!" I remember laughing myself hoarse-aged about eight years old at the time)

20:17: All you can hear from the crowd are Coventry accents roaring them on...all 120 of them...I've got no idea how long is left, but it can't be that long...

20:20: This is getting silly. Shots are raining in on Divis's net...and there are ten minutes left.

20:26: No Blaze fan ever thought they'd hear the phrase "come on Peasey, we need that goal" on radio commentary. But we just have...And now the Blaze fans are chanting Divis's name...

20:28: Superb work in the background, as one Blaze fan (and I think I know who it is-JP, who is quite well-known in the Skydome crowd) has chanted Divis's name in an attempt to put him off for three solid minutes and counting...

20:30: SCOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEE BLAZE! Danny Stewart finally beats Divis! And there's an explosion of noise from the Blaze crowd now...and they just won't shut up...Divis is getting it big style, with "dodgy keeper" and all...

20:33: Salzburg pressuring...keep it out, lads...

20:34: Blaze powerplay! And time out called...Koenig is waiting to come off as we think about pulling the goalie...

20:35: SCOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEE! ADAM CALDER! Get Reach Up playing! Blaze have come from 2-0 down against Salzburg, one of the best team in Europe, with a minute left...and I'm convinced you could have heard the yell I just let loose in Denmark...

20:40: Blaze go on the powerplay...with overtime to come...the cheers were loud enough at the end of that but now we're going into overtime, so God only knows what'll happen if Blaze score again. Oh, and in a side note, Blaze's qualification is still open at the moment...

20:45: We're in OT. Dear God. I don't remember having my heart feel like this while watching a hockey game since the playoff final two years ago...sudden death...

20:48: SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEE BLAZE! JONNY WEAVER! The Blaze have only gone and flipping done it! The crowd have gone absolutely ballistic, and so have I-That yell was definitely heard in Denmark....

20:52: Over the radio, one of the sweetest chants in hockey when it's your fans singing, courtesy of the Blaze crowd...
"two niiiillll, and you cocked it up"....

20:55: YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS! Did we mention the Blaze just beat one of the top teams in Europe? I'm getting texts left right and centre...the phone-lines will be red-hot right about now...

Updated again at 21:19
Sorry about that cutting off...just had a joyous phone-call with a few friends, all of us not quite believing what just happened...Quite frankly, I still can't...there is a small but vibrant section of Coventry which is in party mode this evening, whereever they might be. And Aalborg rink has probably turned into a Danish Jumpin' Jaks nightclub right about now. Or maybe the Old Orleans.
Anyway...I am drained, so I am now signing off...Will be back for the Slavija game tomorrow...

Catching up with the EIHL

In the frenzy of yesterday's Aalborg diary (I've now moved them all into one post in order to make it easier to read and the blog more streamlined), I forgot to check the scores back home in the UK-Sheffield Steelers beat the Manchester Phoenix 2-1, in a game that looks a bit tight judging by both IH-Update and the reports of the two teams' forums. Although there is a ridiculous disparity in the shot count-Lehman gets forty-three fired on him for the Steelers, letting in just one, and Fankhouser (he of the slightly dodgy moustache) gets just seventeen! And the two he did let in came early in the game (two and eight minutes, respectively). This begs two questions in my mind...

Does Fankhouser take a bit of time to get into the game, and thus, is it worth peppering him early?
Having not much else to do on a Saturday afternoon, I had a look at the times when Manchester conceded their twenty-seven goals so far this season, and only five were scored in the first fifteen minutes-which makes me think otherwise. However, this fails to take into account the fact that the Phoenix are a very good defensive team and thus don't usually allow many shots early-they didn't against the Blaze and even took the lead before a middle-period explosion by the home side. The fact that when goals against Fank do come, they tend to come in bunches makes me think it can't hurt to pepper him-beat the guy once and there's a chance you could be three or four up very quickly indeed if you keep the pressure on. Sure, this means that there's a slightly increased chance of conceding, but then, you don't win hockey games without scoring goals...

How on earth did Sheffield only get off seventeen shots? Particularly with names like Ash Tait, Legue, Talbot and Sheppard firing them in. Having seen Fankhouser play, and also seen that his rebound control seemed slightly off (it was almost surreal how many times he'd make a save, and have the puck sat a few feet in front of him or sneak JUST past the stick of the Blaze forwards waiting in the slot)-either his defence had an absolutely stellar game, or the much-vaunted Sheffield attack were just trying to pass around before firing the puck into his body, pads, glove-anywhere but the net. I'm prepared to give Fankhouser the credit for now, but at some point it would be interesting to compare the teams goals-to-shots ratio in order to see which team has the most efficient attack (which may not necessarily be the highest scoring).

Anyway-can you feel the excitement for the Steelers-Panthers game tonight yet? :)

I shall be back later on for the running diary of Blaze v Salzburg...it'll either be the greatest night in Blaze's european history or (more likely) a bit of a damp squib. I'll also be keeping an eye on the EIHL scores...

Until then, keep your eye on the puck...
duly edited, after cocking up the shot-count for the Phoenix-Steelers game-see above.

Blaze v Aalborg running diary

18:28: And so here we go! We are live in Aalborg, with Geoff Foster, and Andy Buxton, with 120 or so Blaze fans making a nice amount of noise. Including the four who stand down by the front of the plexi at the Skydome. For some reason Aalborg are playing Bob Sinclair as the music...which can see me having the odd dance, were I there.

18:31: We start with the triple C line...Carlson, Cowley and Calder. Apparently Aalborg are going to come straight through the middle of the ice. Weaver comes in for a shot which JUST gets saved. Amusingly, all you can hear are the Blaze fans, as the old "When the Blaze go skating in" kicks into play.

18:34: Would it be a bit unfair to expect Geoff and Andy to learn the names of one or two of the Danish team, just in order to make things a little clearer to us at home? Meanwhile, there's just two or three Blaze fans singing.

18:41: Powerplay. Blaze seem to put out the line of Carlson, Calder, Huppe, Cloutier, and Weaver. Otherwise known as the "no f-ing way" line , as in "no f-ing way are you stopping this line from scoring"

18:45: Penalty gets killed. Cloutier comes close, Moore also comes close, but it seems to be a bit quiet. Aalborg sound like a better version of Hull at the moment-you hardly hear the Danes shooting. It's still noisier than the Metro Radio arena in Newcastle, though, Vipers fans. :)

18:50: "It's going to be a great tactical battle?". Hm. It's not sounding a bad game, and the No F-ing Way line is back on. In the Elite League, you'd be able to smell the fear of the oppositin fans with that five out now...

18:52: The Danes play Van Halen! Yes! Welcome to Denmark, where it's always 1985!

18:55: Geoff's managed to confuse David Vychodil (6'2, 213lbs) with both Neal Martin and Adam Calder in one period, both of whom are a little smaller. This is easy to do. In my first or second season, way back when, I managed to confuse Mike Ware (6'5, 215lbs) and Vezio Sacratini (5'8, 170lbs), much to my embarassment. Hey-I was watching the numbers, and 26 and 28 look similar, particularly on those old London Knights shirts.

18:56: Aalborg score. Bjarke Larsen puts a delayed penalty goal in after Carlson did his hooking thing...

18:57: Has Andy Buxton ever commentated on a game that wasn't a "great spectacle"?

18:59: End of the first period. It's not bad so far, from the sound either on the ice or the commentary off it...Right. Off for a toilet break. Back in twenty minutes with the second period...

19:14: And we're back in Aalborg! They're playing Hermes flipping House Band as we start the period...

19:16: There are two Cockneys in the Danish crowd, by the sounds of things...all you can hear is "KARM AAN ARLBERG!" back and forth...Blaze back on the powerplay...

19:19: We've got a name for one of the opposition! The Aalborg goalie is Peter Hirsch, everybody. He's just made a save from Weaver. Still nowt happening on the powerplay, though.

19:21: Both commentators have called Aalborg "Salzburg" in the past thirty seconds. Is it Saturday already and I've missed it?

19:23: Two Aalborg players have names now-Henrik Blomqvist and the Blaze's Matty Soderstrom have a verbal or two.

19:30: Penalty kill. Huppe goes into the box for High Sticks. Andy comes out with "there's no point arguing, they can't understand you anyway". Forget that most Swedes and Danes speak good English...

19:34: "Watkins tries to rim one for Vychodil" is followed by "Cowley's on his knees and sliding into the crease". The non-ice-hockey watchers in the CWR studio are cringing, thinking that there's reckless innuendos coming out of the sport...:)

19:42: Blaze are now 5-on-3, and Aalborg score just as the 5-on-3 ends. Trouble is, the penalty hadn't yet expired. So Blaze are still a man down. Still-Herning went 2-0 up, and Blaze managed to come back against Danish opposition then, so there is hope...

19:50: "A thousand years ago, they gave us the Vikings. It's taken a while, but we're invading them this time-to win". The CWR ad-writing team, everybody! Loving their work. Blaze are 2-0 down at the end of the second and Rumun (Ndur) sums up the task with "we've got twenty minutes to score twice. We can do that". Now it's rugby-union time, so another toilet break beckons. Back in twenty minutes for period three...

20:05: Mmm, lamb stew....We're back for the third period...two minutes late, but it doesn't sound like owt has happened..

.20:06: I speak too soon. Cowley gets close...I have to admit, I thought I'd have to quickly swallow my lamb stew in order to celebrate a goal, there...

20:07: The Aalborg DJ has heard the dubious reactions of us in the UK-a bit of Metallica's "Whiskey in the Jar" raises a smile...

20:10: Blaze are absolutely murdering Aalborg possession-wise at the moment...several chances go begging. In another upset, the Danish DJ (who we'll call Magnus, for ease's sake) follows up Metallica with Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls"...
"whoa, won't you let it all hang out, fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go round"...
Now that song will be in my head all night...and on a night out in Coventry, that is not a song you want, for fear of giggling when you see the dancing in Jumpin Jaks round about 2 am...

20:13: Ouch...we just heard Danny Stewart hit the ice from 400 miles away. Without the radio...

20:14: "Sweet Child O'Mine"?! Magnus the DJ has turned it right around from the first two periods...Meanwhile, Moore rips one just wide...

20:17: Now Magnus has lost it...we've got Danish dance back. Back on the game-erm-what? Where did the last ten minutes go, cause there's only seven minutes left...

20:20: Can you say the phrase "hot goalie"? Hirsch is stopping just about everything...

20:23: It's all gone quiet now. And Hirsch has stopped another one! Stewie could have flicked that one in, by all accounts-a rebound right in front of him.

20:25: Hmm. Make that 3-0. Three on one breakaway and Aalborg sew up the game through Tobias Holm. Apparently there's been a load of "decorative stuff" dumped down the far end. The word is "confetti", I think...

20:27: The Blaze fans finally make some noise again-a bit late at 3-0...and Magnus pulls himself back up again with a bit of AC/DC...which wakes the two Danish Cockneys up...

20:29: The scoreline isn't fair, apparently. A good point-I'd love to see the shot count for this game-Hirsch has absolutely stood on his head in the Aalborg goal.

20:33: Andy channels his inner Jerry Springer as Geoff asks him for his "final thoughts", which add up to "Hirsch was awesome, and the Aalborg players know that. Blaze played well, but the Danes did their job and took their chances"

20:35: And so that's that. Nothing to add from me, really...there is no way I'm hanging around to listen to Steve McClaren, so here ends the first running diary...back tomorrow, I hope.

Hope you enjoyed it, and keep your eye on the puck...

Game time...almost

Almost, anyway. You join me settled on my bed, with a 250g bar of Dairy Milk Double Chocolate, a couple of cans of ginger-beer and a pair of headphones which don't...quite...work. This could be something of a problem. I've decided to split this up period-by-period...and so it shall begin. Keep checking back every couple of minutes. Or even at the end of each period-it'll refresh itself, with the BST time...

Slavija v Salzburg, David v Goliath...

...and it appears David has forgotten his slingshot. Salzburg are 4-0 up already, and their forum are into full "well, this one is over" mode...they've already got the back up in. Something of a running diary will now follow in preparation for later...but then, seven NHLers against a team where the oldest player is 24 is always going to turn out badly...

16:12 BST: Salzburg have five in the box. Hmm. I reckon penalties could be a problem...although there is a classic moment on the Salzburg forum as a poster modifies the sign seen outside German football matches, posting...

"Penalty bench sold out. Standing room, and season ticket holders only."....

16:38 BST: Make that Salzburg seven, Slavija 0 at the end of the second. Hmm. This could be a bit of a nothing third period. We are told there are about ten Austrians and maybe a hundred Blaze fans. Could make tomorrow's game interesting..

16:56: Third period begins. But I'm not fancying following this much-so I'll leave it until the last minute and go and sort myself some chores...

17:24: The game finishes 8-0. Ouch. Now for the important game of the evening...check back in an hour or so...

First cock-up, and Blaze radio coverage

Just realised (and I promise this is the last post for today) that I forgot to put the Blaze fixtures in in the Conti Cup...that's two minutes for being an idiot, I think...Anyway-here they are...

Friday: Coventry Blaze v Aalborg (1830 BST)
Saturday: Coventry Blaze v Red Bulls Salzburg (1830 BST)
Sunday: Coventry Blaze v Slavija Ljubljana (1630 BST)

All three games are apparently being covered on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire (available off the BBC site if you're not in the local Coventry area-search for Coventry and Warwickshire) with live commentary and all...Of course, being the friendly person I am, and shamelessly nicking an idea from one of my favourite writers, (Bill Simmons, the guy linked to at right) I shall be doing a running diary of at least the Aalborg game while listening to it. I'm not quite sure whether this'll take the form of blog post after blog post, or one long stream-of-consciousness type thing-I've seen both work. We shall see. But keep checking back while you're getting ready for your nights out on the Friday evening...and you can listen to the game with me-virtually, as I do the same.

For the record, I do have a social life-it just involves a lot of hockey. :)

Until tomorrow...keep your eye on the puck at all times...