Withdrawal Symptoms

So, we're halfway through the weekend, and the Blaze are already done until next week, which means no Elite League hockey at the Skydome this week. This meant that last night saw me at the Skydome, along with a few hundred other hardy souls, for a dose of hockey methadone in the shape of the ENL.

And, despite even the thought of only having an ENL game to watch at the Skydome only existing deep in my darkest nightmares even as recently as the summer, it wasn't that bad...

But that isn't the main point of this post. Yes, it's another "what the hell is going on in British hockey" post...which'll ramble through economics, psychology and perhaps even romance before we're done...

"I see....a bad moon rising.
I see...trouble on the way"
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Bad Moon Rising

Unless you've been under a rock for the past week or two, you can't have failed to notice that all is not well at the lower end of the EIHL table. Hull have lost their franchise player Rick Kozak (some say down to his reluctance to be "Strachanized", some say because he's an arrogant sod who threw a hissy fit at Jake Riddle being cut, and some claiming money issues-you can follow the reaction in Hull at the F-Block Blog) and we all know what's occurring at Basingstoke at the moment.

And of course, now the solutions are flying. The best one I've read thus far comes from Robb over at The Pyre-but the point he makes about some saying that everyone should drop to EPL level is relevant because, believe it or not, that's precisely the debate going on in Basingstoke at the moment, and it's got three camps.
The Bison will survive the season-sod discussing the future, let's get behind them (otherwise known as the Happy Bunch)
The Bison don't deserve (harsh view)/can't sustain (reasonable view) being in the EIHL any longer, and should drop for the good of themselves and the game (almost everyone else).
The Bison made their beds. Sod 'em. (Some EPL fans)

I find it amazing that any mention of a team dropping or climbing leagues, even when there's compelling arguments for them to do so (and in Basingstoke's case there certainly is) can provoke such an emotional response-even from people not remotely connected to them-on THF and other forums the third camp is extremely vocal, with their arguments being along the lines of "Why should the EPL accept Basingstoke anyway-they chose EIHL and we're fine without them"

I have one word for that argument...Bollocks. The essential fact is that no team in British hockey is guaranteed to be stable. The hard-line EPL fans seem to take great delight in the troubles of EIHL clubs, while conveniently forgetting that, this season alone, Telford were within 24 hours of death, Chelmsford have already gone (at least from the EPL) due to money issues, and Romford have their backs to the wall. That makes the fact that the EIHL only has one club in seeming real trouble look positively rosy, does it not?
Some are far more stable than others, but this season in particular is evidence that it only takes one or two events to push teams over the edge, business plan or no business plan.

Would reducing the number of imports make economic sense? Perhaps. But this is of course assuming that the standard dropping (and it will, at least in the short term) doesn't drive those who've only ever been used to a high level of hockey, or even those who can remember a high level of hockey (i.e the Scottish clubs, particularly Fife and Dundee) out of the door-which I don't think it will, at least for those who actually love the game rather than the simple fact that their team is always winning because it pays the most. So, we're agreed that dropping the level of imports isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least in pure economic terms. As long as the standard doesn't drop dramatically.

Now to part two-the psychology-this is the thing that's been causing most of the arguments-and indeed the problems.
People always like to think they're watching the best product available. EIHL fans claim it's theirs due to the higher quality (in general) of import attracted. EPL fans claim theirs, because the games are closer. However, both sets of fans are similar, in that they are now almost psychologically programmed with the mantra, beaten into them for many years by teams arguing why they want to play with as many imports as the budget and rules allow, of "less imports = worse hockey". This is particularly true among those fans who have perhaps never seen their team climb a league (or, to be fair) drop one since they've been watching. Which leads me to conclude thus...

The only thing holding back change in British hockey to a system that works for everyone, at least from the fans' side, is this:
Mass fear of the unknown.

I'm not saying that no fans want change. Quite clearly the opposite is true. But many only want change which will keep that which they already know and are used to, whether that be Sheffield playing Nottingham and hyping it up ridiculously five or six times a season, Guildford being one of the big fish in the EPL, or ENL and Scottish teams playing to only a few hundred people.

And that is an attitude which is eventually going to kill the sport.

Too many woes are placed squarely on the shoulders of the fragmented governmental structure of hockey in this country, or on the egos of a few owners. But while there is no doubt that these are issues, the main problems, and perhaps the reason that nothing substantial ever gets done, is because there are two few people such as Robb at the Pyre, who will stand up and say "actually, both parts of the current system are rubbish. What is needed is a way to bring them together. And if you don't want to commit to that, then clearly you have no interest in seeing the sport thrive in this country".

The moment the fans of British hockey, as a whole, stop dividing themselves into camps such as "EPL fans", "EIHL fans" or God only knows what else and simply say "we support British hockey, and we want it sorted NOW!" is the moment things will eventually start happening.

But, to be honest, I'm not holding my breath.

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Blood in the Water...or Round the Rinks

Tonight's Round the Rinks is, as expected, opened by the goings-on in Basingstoke. And then goes off on a patented Breakaway ramble...



Déja vu...of the worst kind: There's trouble down south again. Ryan Aldridge has resigned as Basingstoke coach following the Bison's nightmare start to the season, and suddenly there's blood in the water from all sides...the Bison fans are split between EPL-bound doom-merchants, happy-clappy "we'll survive fine" fans who seem just not to see the problems currently facing their team. Or won't (I mean, how obvious do the problems have to be, if having to buy a stick from the opposition for one of your own players (Danny Stewart, up in Manchester) isn't a problem. The talismanic Brad Cruikshank is supposedly heading for Sheffield according to a rapidly-growing rumour, now that Nathan Gillies has left the Steelers an import short with an unlucky season-ending injury. And Eric Braff is coaching.
A double header against Hull is probably the best way to welcome him to the job as well...win that and suddenly the clouds lift a little, if only briefly.
The door may be closing slowly on EIHL hockey in Basingstoke, if you believe the forums, but Braff and friends will try to prove this weekend that it ain't dead yet. Good luck to 'em.

If you want excitement, head for the Odyssey...as Belfast face Coventry (in progress now) and Newcastle tomorrow. One game is a meeting between two traditional EIHL rivals, and the other is a game given extra spice after the Steve Thronton-inspired melee of the last meeting between the two sides. Both games are live at http://www.giantslive.tv/ should you not be able to make it to Northern Ireland...

Manchester v Nottingham: game of the weekend?!: Easily. Tomorrow's meeting between the two sides could see some of the most open, fast-flowing hockey the EIHL has been treated to to date, as two skilful sides battle it out, one to keep their traditional status as one of the best teams in the league, and the other to prove that this season they well and truly belong in the same boat.

Powerhouses collide: Meanwhile, Sheffield v Cardiff is a meeting of two traditional British hockey powerhouses who have both started somewhat below their usual standards. Cardiff are unlucky enough to face Nottingham the following night so will want to take momentum into that game and need the points desperately. Oh, and Brad Voth is back, just to add a little extra spice to the meeting. Ryan Finnerty for one has been on the Steelers website claiming that he's not even on the Steelers radar as a threat, but you can bet that when he places his 6'5 frame in front of Jody Lehman, he'll appear on it in one big hurry...Sunday sees Cardiff meet Nottingham and Sheffield meet Newcastle, which also makes for a pair of games where just about anything could happen. And probably will. Pity Manchester and Edinburgh-their meeting on Sunday night will be the least-watched game of the weekend, at least outside of those two fanbases...

And there's your speedy preview of the weekend in hockey...all that remains now is for the puck to drop...

The Posting Crunch

Hi all.

Apologies for missing yesterday...but just to give you fair warning, set aside a few minutes to read the next one...it crunches the Basingstoke news of the past week, a bit of randomness and Round the Rinks into one long rambling post, which will hopefully be complete some time this evening for your literary delight...

Just to keep you confident that I haven't forgotten...:)

Phoenix Rising, or Here Come The Girls...

First of all on this Tuesday...a correction or two, since my shins are black and blue from kicking myself...

Rick Kozak, of course, was playing Nottingham at the weekend when he scored twice, rather than Sheffield, since he's a Hull Stingray, not a Belfast Giant...(thank you, Yotes, for pointing out my rookie error...)

Speaking of the Stingrays, they scored three on Sunday at the Skydome, not two. Since the third came twenty seconds from the end, my mind was perhaps already on the pub afterwards. Or playing hockey...

With those two duly corrected, and with a promise that tomorrow will see the news of Ryan Aldridge resigning as Basingstoke coach, and all the questions it rises about the future of hockey in Basingstoke, given the full attention it deserves rather than being tacked on in the bottom part of a post. Apart from anything else, things aren't exactly clear yet so I'd like to let the dust settle a little on various forums before writing. So on we go, changing the subject entirely...

"She's getting high on you
Watching you die gives her a thrill
...There is always more blood to spill..."

Arch Enemy: "Diva Satanica"

Come on. Given that this post is getting in touch with the feminine side, you had to expect a bit of balance, didn't you? It was either that or a quote from the Sugababes, for God's sake...:)

Anyway, the (very slight) relevance of today's random song-lyric is to what we're going to look at today...women playing hockey.

A few years ago, I got involved, through friends and circumstance, in the newly formed women's team in Coventry. Not knowing anything about women's hockey or the skill level, I went along to watch (kind of hard not to when you're the person announcing) and was left with a hugely positive impression of it compared to the lower levels of the "men's" game-the play was far more toward the "enthusiastic" end of the spectrum rather than the "skilful" end, but there wasn't the same nastiness as the men's game can have, you got the sense that everyone genuinely was playing for the love of the game and there were flashes of genuine skill. Apart from anything else it was nice to watch a game in which size played no part-you had players who barely reached five feet in skates lining up against people a foot taller, and not being thumped out of the game through sheer size. I genuinely enjoyed that season as much as any hockey I've ever watched. Then, I went to Germany for a year, and so I lost touch with the women's game...although I was somewhat aware that the team were rising through the ranks of the smaller nations almost as fast as the far-more-hyped men's team...weren't.

Last Saturday was the opening game of the women's season in Coventry, and I was invited along again, as a few people I knew (including one from that first season) were playing. And so I went along, with no idea what to expect...

Well...

The play was not for the purists (the Phoenix play in Division 1 South, which is apparently a bit of a step lower in terms of overall skill level than the WPL), but enthusiastic isn't the word...I've never heard so much yelling of encouragement between teams, never seen such desperate defending or hard-charging attacking play, and certainly can't really remember a time when I've seen a game in which two teams were so evenly matched.

I could waffle on all night, but given that brevity is the soul of wit, I'll simply say this for now.

If you have a women's team near you, and you fancy something different, go and watch them. It's a very pleasant and even exciting way to spend an hour or two at a hockey game...And, at least you can never complain about anyone on your side not putting the effort in.

I shall return to this theme at a later date, but something's come up down here in the sunny Midlands, and so I shall be off until tomorrow...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 13th October.

This is already a fun week after a weekend that went back, forth and then back again in terms of momentum, arguments and an absolute hammering for at least one team...let's jump straight in...

Things We Learned This Week:

Feelings of injustice = backlash from hell: You have to pity the Edinburgh Capitals. They cruise along, playing the "plucky small team that could" role perfectly all season, and then run into a Coventry team still stinging from a hotly-disputed loss to Belfast last week, and get completely and utterly steamrollered. Michel Robinson's star has faded just a little after conceding seven goals on 17 shots (Blaze scored eleven in total, letting in one) and the Caps will have to go back to the drawing board for the next time they face the Blaze. Oh, and just for good measure, the Midlanders went on and scored seven more while conceding just two against Hull on Sunday. The message is "don't pee the Blaze off, EIHL".

Someone has to lose. But do it often enough and people start getting worried: Basingstoke Bison. Twelve games, twelve losses. And now more rumours of trouble behind the scenes.
And we thought that this was all over...

One win doesn't get fans back on your side. But it's a start: Rob Wilson is no longer getting eggs thrown at him in the streets of Newcastle, thanks to winning down in Basingstoke, and against Edinburgh back at home. And one of the causes of this? Playing Marek Ivan as a d-man. I never thought I'd see the day...

Sheffield really don't like to lose to Nottingham: 30 minutes gone in Sheffield on Sunday night, and Nottingham lead 3-1. 30 minutes later, the Steelers have scored five, the Cage Forum has had a collective heart attack, and the game ends 6-3 Steelers. Cue wildly differing reactions at opposite ends of the M1 (well, Junction 24 and 32, anyway), and much boasting about what, when all's said and done, is just another league game.

Still, no-one rates Manchester: The Phoenix are now fifth in the league with three games in hand, in a strong position in the Challenge Cup, and have a player who is second in scoring in the league for goals, despite having played three games less than the only player above him (David Beauregard with 11 in 11-Paul Deniset has 14 in 14 for Belfast). So why is no-one talking about them as a potential silverware-winner?

Paul Deniset is very, very good: 14+12 in 14 games means that, so far, the new Belfast sniper is scoring at the rate of almost two points a game. I can't remember a player ever starting this quickly in the EIHL, short of Adam Calder last season. If the injury fairy stays away, then Adam Calder's EIHL points record of 125 (58+67) could already be under threat...

Cardiff will battle. And battle, and battle: Of twelve games, the Devils have already been involved in three overtime losses-that's 25%, and one more than any of the rest of the league have been involced in. They've only lost three games by more than one goal (and two of those involced empty-netters). Certainly, winning is better than losing, but the fact that no team apart from Nottingham (once) has been able to put daylight between them and the men from South Wales bodes well for the Devils faithful if the team should manage to start scoring a few more...

Rick Kozak is more than just "that Stingrays bloke who skated through the blood": He returns after a long layoff through suspension, and immediately scores twice against Sheffield. Admittedly, he was fairly anonymous against Coventry the following night (Steve Slonina and Matt Reynolds were far more effective than. the hyped wind-up duo of Kozak and Kostadine) but even so, there clearly is some talent there if he wants to use it.

"We shall inherit the earth-our foot's in the door": This is the only time you'll find a Sylvia Plath poem referenced in a hockey blog for...well, ever. But it has a point when you think about the fact that more and more hockey fans are actually producing their own media from content, such as the blog you're reading now.
This post from Becky at the Breakaway's good "friends-in-blogging" at Five Minute Major sums this up rather nicely. And has some very good links in it too...

And finally for this week...

You can have the best intro in the world, but...one player can ruin it for you. A random EPL tangent, I know, but watch the Bracknell Bees player intro video, and just try not to laugh-however well produced it is (and it is) the players posing is priceless. I actually managed to watch with a straight face until Andrew Hemmings (number 21) and then I utterly lost it...

There we go-another double OT over with. Check back tomorrow, as the Breakaway gets in touch with the feminine side of hockey...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Round the Rinks, etc...10th October.

This weekend could be an interesting one, so let's tie up the loose ends and get on with previewing it!

"Wake me when it's over"...The Belfast webcast (it's here for those of you who are still unaware of it) is a fine tool for making games look worth watching...but it was given a Herculean task yesterday with the game at the Odyssey featuring the Giants and the Devils, which was given a merciful ending by Andrew Martin 58 minutes and 41 seconds into a scoreless game. Not a bad goal, either...but God, was the preceding 58 minutes and 40 seconds tedious...a total of around 40 shots in the game, a bit of handbags between Bobby Robins, Doug MacIver and Wes Jarvis, the goal, and that was about it.

But don't switch off yet...Luckily for those of us who like our EIHL on the Internet, there's a choice of two games being broadcast on Saturday-what should be a far better game between the Giants and Sheffield, or, if you prefer your webcasts paid for, Edinburgh v Coventry. The Giants one can be found on the link above, or you can go through the Caps website and watch a battle of two teams which, while perhaps not having the offensive fireworks of the game at the Odyssey, will be an intriguing game in which, frankly, I can't pick a winner at the moment...Both should be up and running from around 6pm or so...

And now on to the weekend preview...

The biggest match-up since Good looked at Evil, spat and said "come on then, tough guy"...It's Steelers v Panthers on Sunday! And thus, were I Dave Simms, this preview would be a few thousand words about everything from "why Dan Tessier is a traitor for leaving Sheffield and rejoining Nottingham" to "Come and watch Andrew Sharp sacrifice Corey Neilson's children to Satan on the ice pre-game, in front of him, cause THAT's just how much he hates Panthers, and quite right too. Oh, and by the way, should Neilson react we'll complain to the league until he's banned." But I'm not...for a start I couldn't really care less about this one-just like every other Steelers/Panthers game. But it should still be a game worth watching-if Panthers can nick a win then the calls for changes in Sheffield will begin...



Meanwhile, back where people have perspective:...there's some pretty interesting hockey to be played....

Saturday

Nottingham travel up to Hull on Saturday just in time to welcome Rick Kozak back after his ban, sustained for nearly breaking the neck of Marc Levers. Who...erm..plays for Nottingham. If you don't think there's going to be a few Panthers looking for (legal, or at least an accepted form of illegal) payback against him, then you're insane.

Meanwhile, as mentioned above, Coventry face Edinburgh in a battle of two teams of whom perhaps more was expected than has been seen thus far-the Scots have shocked the Blaze on their home ice before, and may fancy their chances of doing so again, particularly as many of them will know the weaknesses of JF Perras after he was their team-mate last season, and will be doing their best to use this to their advantage...

Sheffield meet Belfast in the other webcast game, which should be good for a goal or two, as well as some exciting end-to-end play...one team flying high and one really believing they should be will make for a game which is hopefully well worth watching....

And finally, there's Basingstoke v Newcastle. The positive thing about this one is...well, someone's got to win. And both teams need to. Desperately.


Sunday-in which every team actually plays!


Basingstoke face Manchester in Altrincham...which would seem to be a golden chance for the Phoenix to keep their winning run going, particularly if Basingstoke get a little knocked around by Newcastle the night before.

Coventry come back from their long trip north just in time to face Hull at the Skydome. I may be going to burn in Blaze fan hell for this, but part of me is hoping for Michael Hicks as referee, just for the fact that we may well see the first "fan attacks referee" moment in ice-hockey history given the opposition and the fact that some Coventry fans simply can't convince themselves that Belfast being a better team may have had something to do with their win last Saturday also. And, like most home crowds, the Skydome gets pretty hostile when refs call legitimate penalties against their side or miss calls from the opposition...god only knows what'll happen if the Stingrays try and wind the physical side up and get away without being instantly tarred and feathered...Plus, it's always fun to shout angrily at the opposition-at least with the Stingrays there'll be legitimate reason...

Sheffield v Nottingham has its own bit at the beginning of this post-nowt more nieeds to be said.

Cardiff v Belfast part two is on offer at the Blue Tent-which could be more of a game given the cramped confines and the passionate home support...the smaller ice is a little different to the wide-open spaces and expanses of the Odyssey...and Cardiff have a team built for it....

Finally, Newcastle take on Edinburgh, and will either be buoyed having broken their losing streak down in Basingstoke the night before or under serious pressure to give their home fans something, anything, to be optimistic about. Either way, the Capitals will not be pushovers and could easily take advantage for two more precious points...

And there you go-your EIHL weekend previewed in bitesize chunks. Let's play hockey!

Midweek Musings...

Just as a quick heads-up to everyone-due to the hours I work, if there is going to be a post up here on any given day then nine times out of ten it won't be up until at least 7pm, so if you check when you come home from work and there's nothing new on here, then don't despair...there could be sooner rather than later.


Anyway-stream-of-consciousness style, let's run through what's going on in the EIHL...


Look, people...just sort yourselves out so we can play some bloody hockey: The EIHL discipline farce continues anew, with Brad Voth being granted a second appeal as Cardiff simply won't let it drop, now claiming they have a letter from the EIHL which guaranteed the original ban would be six games-if this is true than the EIHL need to tear up the rule book, start again and get people who aren't connected with any of the clubs (like...I don't know...the referees) to sit on the discplinary panel, since they're the ones who call the penalties in the first place-and just tell the world and his wife club officials who are currently involved to stick to something like making sure their clubs survive or, and here's a novelty...getting on with playing the games themselves. The Devils fans resemble the Lone Gunmen of the EIHL, everyone else just believes that the league are now frantically trying to cover their rear-ends while at the same time benefit the clubs who have the most influence on the board (i.e: satisfy those with the biggest egos) as much as possible, and quite frankly they now simply look like they couldn't manage a piss-up in a brewery. But, on the plus side, at least their incompetence hasn't meant that teams may have won games thanks to a player who is technically susp...

*pause as realisation sinks in at EIHL Towers*

oh, bugger....


"Hey guys, surely we can work something out here...":...and literally half an hour after I wrote the above, we have the official decision, which, conveniently, realises that maybe twelve games for a slash and a fight was a bit much and brings it to an end in time for the weekend. At the same time, it sorts out the lingering Steve Thornton issue but halves the ban he'll actually serve. Of course, this decision will have nothing to do with the fact that the original ban would run into GB being away in November and, as the EIHL are a member of the IIHF, any disciplinary sanction would render him unpickable for the same GB squad about which the EIHL were so excited he'd agreed to return to-hence the glowing press release about it at the time, and anyone who tells you otherwise is nasty, cynical and probably a Cardiff fan with a chip on their shoulder.

Trouble is-this means, even in line with the other reduced bans (Rick Kozak has had his reduced from ten to six, which he's already served), the EIHL now look like they consider a slash and a fight (Brad Voth) worse than a stick swung at the head (Thornton) and about on a par with potentially breaking someone's neck with a sucker-punch that causes a wound needing 25 stitiches (Rick Kozak).

So basically...if you want to hurt someone for the least possible punishment, Elite League players, don't punch them, stick them in the head. It's only worth four games.

And we wonder why people say that team owners running the league and doing everything else, rather than appointing neutrals or people who have no connection currently with any of the teams beyond, perhaps, having played or coached in Britain in the past, is a bad idea.

Well, now you have your answers.

"This is a local game, for LOCAL people"...Well, not quite that parochial, but the League of Gentlemen had a point, or at least a pithy way of summing up why I don't consider it a hardship when the "superstar" Brits in Coventry disappear for their weekend in Poland...players like Chris Wilcox and Tom Ledgard (names that may not be familiar to you, but are if you keep an eye on the Coventry ENL team) get to step up to the Elite League and show what they can do. And we get to see them-something that realistically is not going to happen when all the Brits are around...in a competitive situation at the top level in the UK. Surely that's a good thing, right-after all, once people would have considered watching players like Jon Weaver and Ash Tait part of an "understrength" side, if they got more than a few minutes on the top line, and you can bet there were mumbles about them playing instead of more experienced players too...

I know this is a fairly short post, but there you go...I have to cut it there for fear of things just turning into a long anti-EIHL-disciplinary-panel rant. And quite frankly, there are enough of those on the forums already...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 6th October...

Well...that was interesting...Belfast met possibly their biggest speed-bump yet and cruised right over it, leaving the wreckage of the Elite League's discipline process in their wake, Manchester drove a nail into the coffin of any hopes the Vipers have of winning a title at the moment-certainly on the fan side (oh, and my pre-season tipping of them as a team to watch-really should have picked the Phoenix there). Let's run over the weekend in now traditional fashion, then...

Things We Learned This Weekend:

Bobby Robins + Malcolm McMillan + Paul Deniset = monster: People will talk about Paul Deniset's four goals, but by far the standout Belfast player, for me at least, is Bobby Robins. He scared the living hell out of the Blaze defence on Sunday with his strength and snarling-bulldog style of play, ably aided by the slightly smaller but even-fierier Malcolm MacMillan. Paul Deniset, while slightly more refined in his style (the rapier to the other two's club, if you will) did the same. People talk about Steve Thornton's dubious winner, but quite frankly the Giants had steam-rollered the Blaze already, with the three players above being most effective in doing so (Robins showing intent by plastering the 15lb-heavier and two-inch-taller Carlyle Lewis over the plexi like a fly on a windshield thirty seconds into the game, followed swiftly by MacMillan doing the same to Corey Leclair (a mere three inches taller and 23lb heavier) is as effective a message-sender as I've ever seen at a Blaze game)-if the Giants win the league this season, then these three players will be a massive part of them doing so. And as for the three of them on the same line-well, that's just a frightening thought if you're not fortunate enough to be their team-mates or a Belfast fan...

The appeals process is open to...manipulation: Steve Thornton. Game winner. 59:41. While technically serving a nine-game ban, delayed thanks to a useless appeal. Rick Kozak, possibly returning before his ban is served. An appeal process which is already under review. And the big teams seemingly able to manipulate the process at will, should they wish to. Would you like some bread soldiers to go with that egg on your face, Elite League?

Basingstoke need help: Ten games, ten losses. The Bison have, perhaps not been helped thus far by losing both Curtiss Patrick and Brad Cruikshank to suspension...but then, there are fifteen other players on the ice...

Edinburgh are a player away...from being a team to really reckon with. If they find a goalscorer to go with David Nimmo, Mark Hurtubise and Doug Christiansen, and/or someone who can pull the defence together and/or dispirit the opposition just by his efforts, such as an Adam Calder or a Steve Munn, then with two dangerous lines and arguably the best young Brits out there to back them up, there will be happy times up north.

Nottingham aren't perfect...but they are lucky:..because, seemingly, they have the ability to play badly and win-as witness their game in Edinburgh on Sunday night. That is the kind of team that wins championships. It remains to be seen, perhaps, whether Belfast are the same.

The worst is over for Hull: Yes, they lost twice. Yes, they've cut Jake Riddle. Yes, supposedly there's a bit of argument in the dressing room. But the Stingrays actually look like a team this time out, Konstantin Kalmikov was heavily under-rated while at the Panthers, and they have a team who appear to have more than just fighting in their locker...we shall see if the improvement continues over the next week or two.

Referees are never good, but when they're bad, it's better...because then any deed of your players, even up to and including sucker-punching someone in the face, stick in hand, and narrowly being prevented from landing a flying elbow, while skating halfway across the ice to do so, has an excuse...at least in the eyes of some. Watch out for Scott Kelman going after Evan Cheverie in the Sky game this week-and then try and work out just how frustrated at a ref's performance you'd have to be in order to do the same...I haven't managed to yet. However bad Michael Hicks is (and god, he's annoying) that's the first time I've ever seen him blamed for a targeted act of violence...

Manchester: team of many weapons: Offensive depth? You may rave about teams such as Coventry and Belfast, even Nottingham, but Manchester had ten players with at least one point in their game against Newcastle, on seven goals. It seems that the creative abilities are nicely spread out in Altrincham...

Live Elite League > televised NHL: Despite all the hoo-ha about the great games in Stockholm over the weekend, and despite me being a Pens fan, the highlight of my weekend was still a Sunday night at the Skydome-even if my team lost. You simply cannot beat live hockey for experiencing the game in Britain-anything else is just a poor imitation.

Goalies are insane: Yes, this is a fact every hockey fan and outskater knows, but I never really believed it until seeing Stevie Lyle smiling after taking a point-blank slapshot right in the five-holes...even with the protection, that would have the vast majority of hockey players blessing their equipment. Having checked it still existed...Lyle, on the other hand, simply stares up at a glowering Carlyle Lewis with a grin on his face, as if to say "more!"


And on that shocking truth, here ends tonight's review-tomorrow we'll plunge back into the club-v-country debate...

You'll come back-it's got to be better than working out the Elite League appeals process, surely?

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Mea Culpa

Apologies all-due to a nightmarish day at work, Round the Rinks has fallen by the wayside this week-you'll simply have to be satisfied with the preview of the weekend on the official EIHL site, which, if I'm honest, pretty much says what I was going to say anyway....in not quite as irreverent a manner, I feel, but the substance is there. I'm sure you'll all survive...:)

However, there will be a posting at some point over the weekend looking at the current state of play in the EIHL, as well as reacting to the cutting of Jake Riddle by Hull and maybe even previewing the games even as some of you are on the way to them. It also seems that the club-v-country debate, or at least my stance on it, has raised a few eyebrows, so I shall do my best to respond in a somewhat more coherent manner than the ranting of yesterday...

Once again, apologies...occasionally real life gets in the way and there just aren't enough hours in the day...

Thursday Thoughts: Figure-Watching.

I like reader feedback. Mainly because it lets me know how well (or badly) I'm doing. And I particularly like emails that point out errors or gaps in my knowledge or contest my viewpoint-a) because the ones I've got up until now have almost uniformly been the kind that are a pleasure to read even as they're saying "you're stupid-how did you forget this?" and b) because they feed ideas into my mind.

And here is another such email from long-time reader Adam in Manchester (he of the epic analysis of my points system for imports in March) responding to yesterday's Club v Country post. He says...

Hi Paul, When you say 'to a lesser extent' Manchester will be affected by this, did you actually look at our team? We will be without our starting netminder and a first line center and head coach and possibly a good D player if Boothroyd goes too! How is that 'to a lesser extent' affected!?! That means we're going to have to either sort cover out or put 'doesn't even look old enough to shave' Adam Summerfield in net! I know Belfast will have to ice Craze as well, but at least they aren't without a first line center and head coach! And making us even consider what would happen if Beauregard left - ouch Paul, ouch :)


Firstly-my shins are now black and blue for kicking myself-perhaps "to a lesser extent" works for player numbers but not their worth to a team...secondly, yes, maybe the Beauregard dig was a little cheap. :)

3rd, let's look at the GB squad and consider who plays where, numbers-wise, based on the Euro-Challenge team from last season....

As far as goalies go, it's simple. Belfast, Manchester, and Coventry. Two starters gone from the league in Lyle and Murphy, and a backup from Coventry. The Giants, however, can bring in Nathan Craze, who should arguably be a squad member himself...the Phoenix will feel the loss of Stephen Murphy more keenly than any other team or player in the squad-they will, as Adam says, need to draft in a replacement or give Adam Summerfield his big chance. To those saying this is madness, I give you three words...Mark, Lee, and Newcastle. Yes, the Phoenix may suffer, but in a league where very few British goalies get to play beyond the warm-ups night in, night out, Summerfield must be licking his lips-and he's guaranteed to have the whole crowd behind him that night willing him on.

D-men sees Coventry lose three from six, Belfast two from six, and the losses spread among the rest. Fairly evenly, since most Brit d-men in this league are paired with an import-the holes will be there but the real team affected by this will be Coventry-perils of having Jon Weaver...

Forwards are where the losses really get noticeable, with the likes of Tait, Shields, Hand and Phillips really hurting their teams by their absence. However, given that all the teams have lost key players by this point (with the possible exception of Hull) it can be argued that, far from some teams suffering and others getting off scot-free, all the teams are losing key players/contributors. It simply means that the young talent will be even more noticeable if and when they shine. Belfast and Manchester have the most right to complain by a long way, but far from looking at the negatives I'm still genuinely excited by the prospect of seeing how all teams will cope without, perhaps, the players they rely on in British terms-in Manchester and Belfast in particular, and to an extent in Coventry, the emphasis will be on team-play as a whole rather than simply which team has the best Brits or "best" individuals, imports being much of a muchness in this league apart from a few obvious exceptions. Certainly it will make life much more intriguing and throw a certain element of randomness into that weekend. Certainly any team that plays either Coventry or Belfast that weekend, even missing players of their own, will fancy their chances-and unpredictability, even if it's because your best players are away, is a good thing, right?

I know this is fairly short and fairly controversial, but so be it...have to nip out tonight...Round The Rinks will be on tomorrow evening, though...

Club vs Country...Midweek Musings

So, it's Wednesday, and there's not much happening in the British hockey world beyond the usual complaining about referees, arguments about wage caps and, somewhere, someone saying that the only way British hockey can survive is that if all imports are physically prevented from entering the country and blasting the Elite League with a torrent of such virulent xenophobia that Enoch Powell is wincing in his grave. All in all, a normal day.


Except there's another row rumbling around at the moment-that asking why the EIHL is continuing to play its games despite the GB team being away in Poland in November-a move which will see at least one weekend in which some teams will lose large chunks of their roster and (in some cases) some of their most skilled players. Naturally, fans of the teams most effective are almost uniformly against this, while those "for" it argue that the EIHL would be unpatriotic if it didn't release the players, they should be proud to represent their country and who cares anyway because it's only the Elite League and no-one cares about the Brits when they do play...


Me? I think it's a great idea to keep playing.


Let's look at the teams likely to be most affected: Coventry, Sheffield, Belfast, Nottingham, and to a lesser degree Manchester and Edinburgh, as well as piecemeal players taken from the other teams. That weekend will see some of these teams face each other with only their imports and any Brit not considered good enough or too young to go to Poland-but still making up the numbers. Not to mention the fact that all the "best" Brits, due purely to economic factors, have gravitated towards the team who pay them the most. Suddenly, we have two teams made up mostly of imports and a few token Brits facing each other in games that no-one can predict...a straight shoot-out between imports with a few young Brits brought in to shore up the numbers. And people are complaining about having to pay money to see this...

Hang on a minute. The last time we had a similar template for teams, it was called the Superleague, and 17,000 people once packed into the MEN arena to watch that. How is that suddenly an object of scorn just because the players are paid a little less now, or there's a few less foreign accents on the bench in these games? Aren't imports supposed to be be the only reason the standard of EIHL hockey is what it is? And if the young Brits everyone is so "dedicated" to seeing progress/love to watch don't get a chance to ice in the top league and prove themselves against top opposition with half the players who are being preferred to them away on international duty, just when are they going to? And just when are people going to get to see their "local lads" playing in the top league alongside the imports-the goal they all claim to be the ideal solution? There's no better chance for British kids to get noticed then then...

My view on whether there should be games that weekend in Britain, despite people whinging about their teams being "understrength" thanks to missing the few British players so far settled at the top level, is simple-and it comes mainly from the fact that there will be youngsters getting the chance of taking their places on the teams alongside their import role models and proving that the British kids belong there. And quite frankly, if you're not off with GB, and are not at least thinking of paying just to see if this is the case, then maybe you should get off your self-imposed "understrength = automatically inferior quality product" high horse and change your mind...you might even be glad you did. Win or lose.

As the crowd at the Houston Astrodome chanted to the Bad News Bears....

"Let them play! Let them play!"

On to other tidbits...

CHL: also stands for "Could Hastily Leave": Another player signed from the CHL has decided to go back Stateside after a month of hockey to get himself in shape. After Austin Sutter backed out on playing for Basingstoke before the season even began, Grant Jacobsen has put a 6'3 210lb-sized hole in Manchester's plans by doing the same just six games into the season...citing a "better offer". It would seem, going on thus far, that signing players from the CHL for supposedly lower wages than ECHLers, for this season at least, is turning out to be something of a false economy-it will be interesting to see if these are isolated incidents, the start of a trend, or just two players with a lack of loyalty. It'll be even more interesting to see how the Phoenix react-and just who they'll bring in. I'll now attract the wrath of every Phoenix fan by voicing the thought they're all desperately trying to squash "just how much would it affect them if David Beauregard does the same?"

Edinburgh hockey mourns...: as Glenda Horne, one of Scottish hockey's best known fans and the mother of Caps d-man and GB stalwart Kyle Horne, passed away on Saturday-marked by a two minutes silence at Murrayfield. Condolences from me to Kyle Horne and his family...

I know that's fairly short for a midweek...but tomorrow night will see Round the Rinks and IceTunes, so don't despair too much, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 29th September

I am, as I've said before on here, fairly easy to please. My great loves in life are hockey, cloudy lemonade, the company of friends, and perhaps the odd drink or two in a rock pub on a Friday night. After this weekend I might have to add another one-that little buzz you get from seeing a big team lose to a team they expected to beat. Thank you, Sheffield, for providing that buzz on a consistent basis so far...(and, to a lesser extent, my own Coventry.)


Right...on we go with a review of the weekend...


Things we learned this weekend...


Even Supergoalies can only do so much: The stats prove it. Saturday-Kevin Reiter plays out of his skin at the Skydome, letting in five goals on a barrage of sixty shots (for comparison, JF Perras at the other end let in two from 23) and singlehandedly keeping his team in with a chance of winning. However, this appears to have worn him down just slightly, as on Sunday he let in eight from "just" 39 shots against Belfast. Message to the Bison, imports missing or otherwise, is "hey, guys-play some defence occasionally-he's damn good, but your goalie ain't immortal"...


The Phoenix are the real thing: Doing the double over Sheffield within a week, and only letting in three goals despite facing Newcastle away and Sheffield at home? Three points from four for yet another weekend keeps Manchester up with the title chasers-and bear in mind they're doing this without one of their top four d-men in Josh Garbutt, and suddenly, for me at least, the alarm bells start to ring for the rest of the league. Just how far can this team go?

The threat of losing your job does wonders: Corey Leclair and Sylvain Deschatelets are both mentioned on Saturday night as possible candidates for the chop from Coventry. Also on Saturday, there's a growing realisation that Tyson Teplitsky (who was the second-best d-man, at least offensively, after the mercurial Neal Martin last season) is still available-and supposedly already being lined up as a replacement...

Sunday, Blaze go 3-0 down in the first, and then who steps up to score? Leclair, Deschatelets, Lewis, Kelman and Moore, in that order. All of whom have been coming in for some serious stick...

Amazing what can happen when people start saying "...maybe we could get better"...

Doug Christensen has a magic touch:...for finding players from nowhere. People rave about Tony Hand (his roll of honour discoveries as a coach: Molin, Tallari, Stauffacher and now Beauregard) but Doug Christensen, after losing Colin Hemingway, appears to have found yet another gem in Mark Hurtubise-the Caps have scored 20 goals so far this season, and the Montreal native has been involved in fourteen of them. That's just over two thirds. He's been involved in setting up 60% of them as either first or second assists...as well as scoring two himself. Now that deserves some serious praise-as well as the rave reviews...

...Rob Wilson, on the other hand...: hasn't. Big-name signings like Marek Ivan, Chris McAllister and even Rob Rankin have attracted serious criticism from Vipers fans-particularly after their capitulation to Edinburgh on Sunday night, and there is talk of the axe already being wielded on Tyneside...

Hull can actually play!: Holding Nottingham to a two-all draw despite missing an import d-man and their top forward (due to departure and a ban respectively), on their own ice or otherwise, as well as consistently running teams close, shows that maybe the Stingrays aren't just about brawn this season. And yes, I know I'm praising a Rick Strachan team-I will now set fire to myself in penance...

If the EIHL had a fantasy league, Brendan Cook would be its hottest property...The Panther can't stop scoring-people rave at the threat of Dan Tessier, Johan Molin et al, but the unheralded CHLer from Reston, Manitoba already has seven goals in eight, while the much-heralded Tessier, Jade Galbraith and Molin have...five between them. Of those, Galbraith alone has four.

...closely followed by Mike Prpich: Who needs Max Birbraer? Mike Prpich, who had last season cut short by injury, is carrying the Devils along with Jason Silverthorn at the moment, leading the team in scoring and second in points to his illustrious counterpart. Not bad for a "second line energy player"...

There's your reflections on the weekend, such as they were...tomorrow we'll consider the rumbling club-vs-country argument which has divided EIHL fans up and down the country...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Mea Culpa: Belfast Webcast

A swift correction to yesterday's post and several before it...with apologies to anyone who has got lost thanks to my wrong info...

The Belfast Giants Webcast of home games is available at www.giantslive.tv. Up until now I've been using the official website as a link thanks to being a little rushed when linking the posts, but Dave Lowry, one of the team responsible for this superb service, has emailed me to let me know that this is the address you need, NOT the official site, should you wish to watch it...

As of now the webcasts are still free, and you can watch events live from the Odyssey whenever your team are over there and you haven't made it there (or even if your team aren't!)

Dave has also informed me that in the past first three weeks of this-season they've had over three thousand fans watching the webcast, from places as diverse as Spain, America and even Taiwan...which shows that other people are catching on to this...

Right-that's all things present and correct...off to watch Blaze v Basingstoke now...

Round The Rinks and More...

Sorry I missed yesterday-I did hint at doing so at the bottom of the post, but together with some news, scurrilous rumour, perhaps an IceTune or two and Round the Rinks, there should be enough to keep us going for a little while now...

Stingrays 4, Capitals 2: Not a bad game for Sky this week, it seems, with both sides raising their game to produce what appears to have been at least a half-interesting match at the Hull Ice Arena, thanks to Kostadine, Glowa, Riddle and Slonina all earning themselves 1+1, while only Joe Dustin and Martin Cingel could reply for the Capitals. With Daryl Marcoux (look him up) rumoured to be coming in for the Stingrays soon, tey can either use this as a springboard to better things or, being a Rick Strachan team, go back to winning (sometimes) and losing (often).

This is getting silly...: Alright, Elite League, you've made your point. Discipline will be stronger this year and you're not run by Sheffield. We believe you.

In the last week we've seen the following:

Steve Thornton: 9 game ban for sticking Andre Payette in the head (fair enough)

Brad Cruikshank: 2 games for a sucker punch + 2 for "bringing game into disrepute" (alright)...

Curtiss Patrick: 2 games for a sucker punch alone. (o...kay).

But hang on...Brad Voth got 6 games for a "sucker punch" alone, and Rick Kozak got four. Clearly there are now degrees of punching someone in the head when they're not looking, at least where the EIHL are concerned. My theory is, judging by the bans and precedent set by the EIHL, they run like this...

Brad Voth throwing a sucker punch (ritual execution may be considered in this case, and is mandatory for a punch on a Sheffield player from now on. Pleas for clemency may be accepted if Voth agrees to join the Steelers at season's end)
Anyone else throwing a sucker punch at a Sheffield player (bans shall be in proportion to the number of hysterical press releases the Steelers produce, but shall not drop below six games. Any other offence committed at the same time, even if it would normally receive a two-minute minor, can be cited in doubling the ban, however ridiculous it is).
Sucker punch on a Nottingham player (especially if injury is caused. Otherwise Mr Black will mention how he may just refuse to let the EIHL have their big sponsors party/moneymaking exercise/playoffs at his rink. Or he'll make noises about playing in Europe again.)
Sucker punch that doesn't meet any of the above conditions (unless the offended club is one of the big four and has a whinge about it, in which case it will be considered equal with the above. If Hull or Newcastle offend then extra punishment must be given as this league WILL NOT TOLERATE roughness or an attempt to win games through force and power. That's not fair on the littler teams. Play hard but fair, kids)
Sucker punch thrown by a Nottingham player (may entail light slapping on wrist/strongly-worded press release)
Sucker punch thrown by Sheffield player (NB: ban may still be given, but please explore all avenues of equal or greater punishment for opposition team, as clearly the Steeler was provoked. Or, promise to "look into" incident and ignore it).
Sucker punch thrown at Brad Voth: (the league shall exonerate offender immediately, punish Voth for not expecting to be punched just for being the Antichrist and look into providing a ticker-tape parade for offender)

That should just about do it...

Round the Rinks time!
There we go-that's the pressing issues just about covered-let's look at the weekend ahead in true rambling style...

Basingstoke: Coventry and Belfast? Tough for any team-even more so when they're missing their captain and one of their top d-men. But the spirit of the Bison Ten was on full show in Cardiff last weekend, and neither will be taking the Bison (who have new signing Matt Miller debuting) lightly. That way lies Shockville...potential population: Blaze and Giants.

Belfast: The Giants will fancy at least three points this weekend, injuries or no. But over-confidence has been the downfall of Belfast teams on many occasions before, and Steve Thornton is missing, and with it their main creative threat, arguably, which should keep the scores slightly close at least...
Don't forget the webcast of Giants games, which you can get to through the Giants site-it'll enable you to keep up with happenings in the Odyssey on Saturday night, and it's superb...

Cardiff: Nottingham and Coventry will provide strong examination for a Voth-less Devils-two points would be a victory, and four would be a cause for celebration in the Welsh capital, as well as a knock-back to their opponents. The Devils have already beaten the Blaze away from home, which will be a filip as they welcome them back to the Tent for the first time this season...

Coventry: Basingstoke at home, Cardiff away. Two games that, even as late as last season, you'd have backed the Midlanders to win, no question. This season...who knows? It simply depends which Blaze team decide to turn up-that which ripped Nottingham apart for four goals in ten minutes last weekend or the shambolic outfit that capitulated to Sheffield and then threw away a lead to Cardiff the weekend before. Not even Blaze fans can tell you which one we'll see...

Edinburgh: Belfast and Newcastle are the opponents, two points is the realistic target. Four would be a miracle at this stage in the season, especially with some real forward punch and the Caps' top defensive d-man still not arrived and already left respectively....

Hull: Sheffield and Nottingham are the opponents. Play nicely, Stingrays-you know that all hell will break loose if you try and bully your way to the points...Then again, there's an equal chance that Curtis Cruickshank could be facing a very long weekend when you consider the forward power of these two squads and the lack of real quality in front of him (as well as the huge hole left by Jonathan Bernier. In size if not in talent...)

Manchester: The Phoenix will definitely fancy their chances of four points from a weekend against Newcastle and Sheffield, especially as in Brett Clouthier and Kyle Bruce there's more than enough pugilistic talent to take the Vipers on at their own game as well as the skilful approach they favour, and they've already beaten Sheffield on their own patch this season-after that, welcoming the Steelers to Altrincham should almost be a fun night for David Beauregard, Luke Fulghum and friends...

Newcastle: Manchester and Edinburgh for the Vipers, and another weekend in which Andrew Verner's performances may be key. Particularly as Burt Henderson is out for a long while leaving a huge hole in the transition game (please, don't tell me Rob Wilson shuffling and creaking his way up the ice is an adequate replacement). This weekend could, quite frankly, bring anything...

Nottingham:...but for the Panthers, points are what are expected. Cardiff provide a stern test, and the Stingrays mean that Sunday will be anything but a day of rest for the Black Cats up in Hull, but realistically, the Midlanders will expect to take four points out of four. But the Devils in particular won't half make them hard to get...

Sheffield: And finally, the Steelers. Hull and Manchester are the opponents, one of whom should be beaten at home. No prizes for guessing that's Hull. Sunday's revenge mission to Altrincham could easily be the game of the weekend-that War of the Roses feeling, coupled with the fact that Sheffield need to gain ground on their neighbours or risk being forced into a no-holds-barred scrap for Pennine supremacy all season on the back foot, will mean the Steelers pull into the Altair car-park with nothing but winning, and winning convincingly, on their minds.

There you go-that's your weekend well and truly previewed, and the last few days of hockey summed up briefly too...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Tuesday Thoughts...

"How'd I get up here? I always thought I'd end up way down there..."

Powder: "Up Here"

I just took a quick look at the EIHL table after this weekend, and it makes interesting reading. Belfast are top, Nottingham are second, and Manchester are third. Of those three, you'd probably only pick Belfast to consistently sit in the top three based on the EIHL era so far.
Which says to me, and I know I keep hinting at this, that changes are at last afoot in British hockey after a stagnant year or two. Sure, there was a Sky TV deal last year but some of the hockey that appeared on it (particularly when Hull were around) was ruddy awful. And the top teams don't exactly get off scot-free-some of the Skydome games were painful to watch thanks to the trap hockey (and Blaze's ability to fall into the trap).

But, three weekends into this season and we have controversy, baying crowds, hate figures (especially if you're a Nottingham fan) and heated debate on forums.

I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying myself so far...

Bubba Ray's One Minute Preview: Don't worry, the mad American sportscaster inside of me won't be making a long visit, but he's been quiet recently and I had to let him out to try the impossible task of "talking-up" an early-season Hull v Edinburgh matchup for Sky Sports tomorrow night-(a fixture that, even allowing for Hull's potential thuggery and Edinburgh's youthful exuberance, screams "quota-filler" at this early stage in the season.) Mainly because, having not yet seen either team, I can't give a x's and o's style breakdown of how I'll think it'll go, but also cause everyone needs to release their inner mad Texan once in a while (try it, a smile is guaranteed). And give the deranged Texan his due-he tried his best...

"Hee-yah, hockey fans! The Humber Bridge'll be shakin' and the fish'll all stay away in fear as the river town of Hull once again hides the sharp objects and releases the deadly Stingrays! And facing them are those rampaging lionhearts from north of the border, the Edinburgh Capitals, in a no-holds-barred, hundred-mile-an-hour England v Scotland match-up. If you want speed and skill, then the Caps are your team. But if you're like me and just like seeing people punched in the face and big tough men going toe-to-toe, then by golly, scream blue murder for the Stingrays. Mark Hurtubise and Doug Christiansen need to stand up to the pounding from Jason Kostadine and co, and the Caps can take two points from their cross-border raid-and this writer isn't betting against them doing it. Lock the kiddies upstairs, Momma, cause this Wednesday in the EIHL there's gonna be nothin' but a Brawl in the Basement!"

And...breathe. It's OK...he's gone now...

"Oh my god...it's HIDEOUS!": Perhaps more one for the puck-bunnies, this one, but is it just me or are there some horrific-looking players in the EIHL this year? Obviously, Marek Ivan takes the biscuit, but Davis Parley looks like he's attended a few practice sessions missing a helmet and Corey LeClair's aesthetic appeal (or lack of such) is now a running joke among the crueller Blaze fans...I shall wait until I've seen all the teams before compiling one, but if you don't see an EIHL All-Ugly team on here by December, then frankly, I'm not doing my job properly...

I know it's a bit short, and a little random tonight, but hey, it's hard producing daily notes when the EIHL won't even have the grace to make a dodgy decision or Sheffield produce (many) inflammatory press releases in a week. Won't someone, please, think of the journalists??!*

*this is tongue-in-cheek, Simmsy. Not a challenge...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 22nd September

"What a difference a day makes...24 little hours..."

Dinah Washington: "What A Difference (A Day Makes)"


The above song sums up the Elite League this last weekend to perfection, I think...at least in the case of Basingstoke...but this stream-of-consciousness look back at the weekend may be slightly overloaded with superlatives after an absolutely storming game at the Skydome on Sunday night followed a barn-burner in Nottingham. Oh...and the games not involving the Panthers weren't bad either...

So-things we learned this weekend...

Double-headers are fun!: The two double-headers (Newcastle/Belfast and Cardiff/Basingstoke) saw honours even for both teams, and a little bit (read, a lot) of nastiness on the physical side, culminating in Andre Payette being a recipient of a dig to the head from Steve Thornton's stick (no, those names are really the right way round. I know. I'm scared too...) Could be interesting to see what the league do with this one-after all, Thornton is the player coach of one of the biggest teams in the league, a player respected for his skill by all and sundry in British hockey (he's bordering on a legend league-wide, and certainly is in Cardiff) and it could be argued that the Giants just may have a little influence on the league board just to their sheer size club-wise. Plus, Thornton isn't known for this sort of thing.

But, a stick to the head is a stick to the head (you can see it on Vipers TV via the Newcastle website) and if Brad Voth deserves twelve games for a "slash" and sucker punch, then this should be similar.

24 is a lot of hours in hockey: Meanwhile, down south, Basingstoke go from a performance described by their own fans as "the worst they've ever seen a Bison team play" to grinding out a win minus their captain and top d-man. In Cardiff. The spirit of the Bison 10 appears alive and well. As for Cardiff...now there is a bi-polar team, it appears. When they click, it appears they'll be frighteningly good, as witnessed by their demolition comeback against Coventry last weekend and Saturday's result. But there must surely be questions over just how much Voth missing will hurt them...

"And I've got nothing to fear...in this city": Shamelessly nicking the words of Iglu and Hartley is probably unforgivable, even though the song is one of my favourite "chart" songs out at the moment, but it sums up the message from the Coventry/Nottingham barn-burner (Blaze go 4-0 up in the first and then hang on for dear life, with only a HUGE call of interference on Matt Myers which wiped out a Corey Neilson bullet giving the Panthers a 5-4 lead late in the game preventing a total collapse.) Adam Calder firing home three goals by himself probably was the saving grace...if he plays anywhere else, Blaze lose that game. But Nottingham (who let's not forget, also pulled out another barn-burner against Sheffield the night before) are damn good when they click, and are my tip for the title.

What this game showed more than anything, though, along with Cardiff's comeback last week, is that Fortress Skydome is crumbling slowly. It may not be collapsing, but the Blaze no longer have that aura of invincibility which has followed them through the period of recent success. Nottingham, on the other hand, veer between just good with shaky moments (Davis Parley and the defence) and plain frightening (the attack, when they click). This game proved beyond doubt that there really is nothing between the top teams in the EIHL any more, and they're just shaky enough that the wins can (and will) come for any team in the league. We could be at the very early stages of seeing a power-shift in British hockey thanks to the stricter wage-cap rules. And quite frankly, if Sunday's game is the future, then ignore those who worry that their "powerhouse" teams will be less succesful because of it...the future can't come soon enough. The last time I felt as alive and buzzing yet exhausted as I did at the end of that game, there was probably a need to roll over and have a cigarette, so to speak...it really was that good.

Phoenix. Rising: How good is David Beauregard? Good enough, along with his team-mates, that Manchester will win a trophy this season. The win in the Hallam Arena, while a shock for some (maybe especially Sheffield) is further indication this early on of a team who are building themselves up under the radar for a serious go at a trophy. And yet still no-one is taking any of the traditionally mid-table teams seriously, blinded by the star power of the Big Four. As for Edinburgh and Hull-they'll take points off each other and other teams all season long. I can't see how anyone can seriously say that there are only a few teams in with a chance of honours this year-and each weekend only strengthens the case to the contrary so far...any team really can beat any other. Yes, even Hull.

Adam Calder is a bit of a put-down merchant:...paired up with Bruce Richardson in the box after a bit of shoving back and forth, the Blaze sniper displayed flawless comic timing (warning, naughty word). As Richardson sits, Calds moves across to the gap in the plexi and yells...

"Hey, Bruce, nice year in Wichita (Thunder, a CHL team both players played at at different times. With Richardson last year they finished bottom of their division) (pause until Richardson looks round to acknowledge the compliment...and then...) ya fucking bum!"

From that moment, they're off, with Richardson's sole reply being "This is it for you-this league is your career" and Calder replying "You're here with me, shithead!". Richardson then offers a fight, before Calds finishes him with "why would I fight, we're four-nil up. Look at the score!"

Not quite as epic as Danny Stewart destroying Andreij Sporina with a scream of "welcome to the UK, bitch!" after flattening him, but good enough...

Coventry fans are people too: Yes, I know I had a go at them as a fan-base last week, and tend to look more at the negative side of fandom when considering fan's reactions, but my faith in the Skydome crowd and indeed fans in general was restored somewhat when, while buying my ticket just before F/O on Sunday, a nice lady next to me interrupted politely before I paid to offer me a spare one of hers, and try as I might, she would not take face-value for it...she asked me how much I'd pay so, tentatively, I said "£10?" to which she said "too much-have it for £7.50"...and sought me out to give me change later in the game because she didn't have any for the note I gave her at the time... And the nice thing is I'm fairly sure that this could be a scene repeated at all the other rinks in the country. So thank you, madam-your generosity was much, much appreciated, and I hope you and your family enjoyed the game as much as I did...

Hockey fans-you wouldn't believe it reading the forums but they truly are a wonderful bunch of people as a whole...

And on that upbeat note, here ends the review of the weekend-tomorrow night we'll preview the Sky fixture (Hull v Edinburgh) and review all the happenings on and off the ice in the last 24 hours or so of the EIHL world...

We may, just for the hell of it, throw a bit of Breakaway randomness in there as well...

And last word before we go-after the use of terribly bad puns in the last piece, this column has been re-read and approved by the Cliché Police. It won't happen again...:)

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Hot And Cold Round the Rinks...

"You're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out, you're up then you're down
You're wrong when it's right, it's black and it's white"

Katy Perry: "Hot and Cold"

And so I'm back from the wilds of Cheshire and Shropshire, and it would appear that in Coventry at least, the sky is falling...two losses and the Sky Blue City is panicking. Sack Perras! Sack Leclair! Sack Stewart! Sack Moore!

And they say Nottingham fans can turn on their team in a knife-edge...

Meanwhile, back in EIHL Towers there is panic of a different kind as Cardiff, to no-one's surprise, have lodged a vociferous appeal against the stupidity that is Brad Voth's ban. I must admit to being surprised at the warmth of the response to my attack on it just before I left (the post below) but appreciative nevertheless-thanks to those who've commented. However, I doubt the EIHL are as receptive to feedback, as they're now in one hell of a pickle. Uphold the ban, and confirm themselves to be a bunch of puppets of the Sheffield PR machine (and leave open the chance that any less response to similar incidences, such as Scott Basiuk throwing three sucker-punches to the back of Adam Calder's head last Saturday, will raise hell) or reduce the ban (or, as some argue they should, annul it) and admit that, yes, they are, on this occasion, the muppets they are often accused of being.

Or, they can take the option they are currently, which is "hide, say nothing and hope it goes away". None of them are particularly attractive, I grant you, but if Mr French and his friends hadn't cocked up so spectacularly in the first place (while at the same time completely ignoring Andrew Sharp, coincidentally a Sheffield player, licking the blood off his hands the week before) then this wouldn't be an issue. Interesting that there has been no public reaction to the Battle of the Odyssey last Saturday, either, which saw seven players thrown out-doubtless the proper procedures are being followed, though, so we shall see what occurs from that, if anything.
The British hockey world (well, the EIHL part of it, at least) watches with interest...

Anyway...now on to Round the Rinks, back in its tried and trusted format...

Belfast/Newcastle: We'll take these two as a pair, since they're playing each other in a double-header this weekend which could get a little tasty after team toughness met team brutality last weekend in an epic confrontation at the Odyssey. Expect no quarter to be asked or given, and Rob Wilson to spend a fair amount of time in polite conversation with whoever is refereeing...

Basingstoke/Cardiff: The only game of the weekend for both teams, and they meet with one needing to kick-start their season already (Bison) and one looking to keep riding the crest of a wave from last Sunday (Devils). The Devils will have Jay Latulippe finally making his debut, but may or may not have Brad Voth depending on just what the league decides to do. Basingstoke will also be lacking new signing Matt Miller as he simply won't be able to get over in time. Should be an interesting game, especially now Basingstoke have starting goalie Kevin Reiter over and ready to go...

Coventry: DON'T PANIC! DON'T PANIC! Two capitulations last week (Sheffield on Saturday romping to a 5-1 win, and throwing away a three-goal lead at home against Cardiff on Sunday) mean that the Blaze have to rebound, and fast. With the pantomime villains of Hull on Saturday, there's a physical evening in store and Carlyle Lewis may well be busy. Sunday sees Nottingham visit the Skydome, and I don't mind admitting I'm very much looking forward to seeing the Panthers for the first time due to their rave reviews thus far. Four points is a must to stop the natives getting twitchy already...

Nottingham: Big weekend for the Panthers. Sheffield at home on Saturday and Coventry away on Sunday mean that by Sunday night there will either be real and growing confidence in the East Midlands, or a sense of anti-climax after a very good start. Should the Panthers win both, then they'll be firing a big warning shot to the rest of the league regarding their intentions this season...especially as they've performed up til now missing Dan Tessier and Jade Galbraith, who are a frightening addition to any team, especially if you're an opposition goalie...

Hull: No Rick Kozak, but a whole heap of trouble as the Stingrays take their brand of sports entertainment up a notch against Coventry, and then north to Edinburgh. At least two points is possible for the Stingrays, but it's far more likely to come in the Scottish capital, given the problems the Caps have had this week. If they come against Coventry, then it will only intensify the muttering in the Sky Blue City-which the rest of the league will love...

Manchester: The Phoenix need to rise from their mauling by the Panthers last Sunday, and a game against Edinburgh gives them the perfect chance to do so early in the weekend, before the War of the Roses against Sheffield on Sunday...

Edinburgh: Batten down the hatches in the Scottish capital...it's going to be a long weekend. Manchester and Hull are the opponents, and two points is the most the Caps can hope for after a turbulent week which saw two players (John Dolan and Shawn Germain) leave...

Sheffield: Two derbies in a weekend? Dave Simms may just spontaenaeously combust from excitement. Nottingham and Manchester are the opponents which have the Steel City hockey fan contingent working itself into a fever-pitch...and the rest of the league watching with interest in an attempt to measure whether last weekend's 5-1 demolition of Coventry was a fluke or the sign of a team who are already tightly together and ready to make their usual waves on ice as well as off it...

And so there you go...the weekend previewed to within an inch of its life...

Let's play hockey...

Rough Justice

I'm almost lost for words.

I've purposely delayed this post until the combined sage minds of the Elite League disciplinary panel finally decided what punishments to hand out to Rick Kozak (for, let's not forget, doing this damage to Marc Levers by smashing his face into the ice, and then kicking the blood all over the rink with his skates on the way off) and Brad Voth (for slashing Randy Dagenais' legs and then having a fight, which you can see for yourself 39 seconds on into this clip). And they have...

Rick Kozak gets 10 games (+10 should he reoffend)

Brad Voth gets 12 (+12).

Here's the official EIHL press release, via the Panthers site, just so you can see I'm not making this up.

So let's get this straight.

According to the EIHL, driving a defenceless player's head into the ice, from behind, and then kicking bodily fluids from that same fallen opponent over the ice, on purpose, is worth LESS than the kind of offence which occurs in every game (a slash to the back of the legs) followed by a rough (as in, punches thrown by both sides, but one being clearly on top) fight in which both players are willing or at least semi-willing participants? Does anyone seriously believe that?

Clearly, the minds that run British hockey do.

Devils fans have lost it completely-and you can't blame them. Hull fans are "wow...but that's not unexpected". The rest of the league reaction appears to be "thank you, Sheffield and friends...you've just well and truly lost all credibility for the league".

I very much doubt anyone in EIHL power reads this blog. I doubt even more that, if they did, they would take a blind bit of notice over what's said on it. But on the one-in-a-million chance they do...

Explain yourselves. Now. Properly. How on earth was this decision arrived at? Who drove it? Why were Sheffield allowed to release inflammatory press release after press release about an incident that was still being considered by league disciplinary officials? And can you honestly stand in front of Marc Levers (or Steve Moore, since the incident was British hockey's version of it) and say that his neck potentially being broken, a scar that will need plastic surgery to rectify, a possible civil prosecution, and his bodily fluids being sprayed at people, is worse than two things that happen in rinks all around the country, most weekends-i.e a nasty slash to the legs and a heated scrap in which one player comes off worse?

If you don't respond now, properly, then questions will begin to be asked about impartiality. And they'll only get louder. The British hockey community is waiting. And its blood is up.

Round the Rinks is something of a fallacy tonight...especially given that there will be no Double Overtime this week thanks to the Breakaway taking a week off-so it too is taking a holiday. I shall be keeping up with British hockey news from a distance in the next week, but for now, a correction.

Adam, a Phoenix fan who has contributed many an idea to this blog through his thoughtful emails and responses to topics, has pointed out a basic flaw in my rubbishing of the end of the world from Wednesday. It seems it would never have happened then since a) nothing has actually hit anything else yet and b) the combined energy released had anything done so within the LHC would have added up to...well, about the pop of a soft-drink can. I stand duly corrected...and thank him for informing me of this fact and that I now know a little more about why, despite all the doomsday predicitions, I've still got a canal to go on holiday on...

That's all until next Friday, folks...enjoy your weekend of hockey (yes, even you, Steelers fans) and we shall be back with a proper review of the week just gone next Friday.

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings...

Hello all…still here then?

Given that, depending on who you believe (BBC radio say the black-hole machine mentioned yesterday was switched on at 8:30, Internet sources (the ones I use) say 3pm and some reports today say the scientists couldn’t even start the thing up-well, not so it ran well enough to potentially destroy the planet, anyway) we’ve survived the apocalypse unscathed, let’s first of all look at someone who, sadly for him, didn’t manage to survive the weekend of hockey in the same fashion...

Ouch...Marc Levers has spoken out in the Nottingham Evening Post about his “scrap” with/assault by Rick Kozak, and credit to the man, has avoided fuelling the forum fires with any quotes of the “I couldn’t believe his actions-what a scumbag!” variety, sticking simply to his view of the facts of the actual incident-Sheffield PR machine please take note. He does mention that he may seek plastic surgery to repair the damage, though, which you can see for yourselves in a fetching photo above…and you can’t blame him-it looks like he’s had the bonnet badge of a Mercedes embedded in his forehead…The man is also a master of understatement and clearly has a bit of a sense of humour too, as witness his reaction on realising the severity of the injury...

"I lay still and didn't know what was happening until I opened my eyes, saw all the blood on the ice and thought I'd better get off quickly."

Marc Levers, I salute you.

And from class to...well, you decide: Speaking of the Sheffield PR machine, all hell has now broken loose-to the point where the Cardiff fans are accusing Bob Phillips (Sheffield and ex-Cardiff owner) of extending his influence to close down the Cardiff Elite forum. As for the war of words, the Steelers just will not shut up. Here's the latest shot from Ryan Finnerty at Brad Voth. Strangely, the Star makes no mention of the fact that Finnerty (who, by the way, is one of my favourite players when he just gets on with the business of playing-but still a complete pillock at times on the ice) isn't exactly averse to sticking in the odd elbow/late hit himself...

Meanwhile, Randy Dagenais has stuck his two pennyworth in...ably aided by the flapping pen of Steelers' mouthpiece Bob Westerdale. This is the same man who, barely a week ago, cost his team the Charity Shield by getting physically involved in a nothing altercation at the end of normal time, putting his team on the PK, and seeing them concede the OT winner 30 seconds later, so for him to take the moral high-ground, especially after putting in a knee-to-knee hit on Jason Silverthorn, is just a bit amusing...The best bit is this contradiction-within-a-sentence...

""The whole thing was unprovoked, The Cardiff players were upset about an earlier hit I made on Jason Silverthorn".

So, Randy, it's an unprovoked attack, even though you know why the Cardiff players were angry? All right then...and just for your info, from Webster's English Dictionary....

pro·voked, pro·vok·ing, pro·vokes (v):
1.To incite to anger or resentment.
2.To stir to action or feeling.
3.To give rise to; evoke: provoke laughter.
4. To bring about deliberately; induce: provoke a fight.

I'd say that, intended or not, a hit on the knee would "incite to anger or resentment", and "stir the action or feeling" of wanting to punch the person who delivered it in both the hit player and his teammates, friend or otherwise. As a player myself, it certainly would wind me up...

But then, this is Dave Simms and friends we're dealing with. The man may know his hockey (don't laugh at the back) but trying to get them to admit that maybe the Steelers aren't the most wronged team on the planet gives you an insight into the frustration not felt since Zeus gave Sisyphus a rock and said "just put that over there"...

And as for the disciplinary panel...well, that's worth watching. The decision due today has been delayed by 24 hours-given the amount of hot air that will no doubt come out of the Steel City in that time perhaps hockey fans will begin to wish that ruddy machine had worked after all...

Hockey, physics, Armageddon and a random Greek myth reference in the one post...where else in the hockey universe could you get that? :)

Happy holidays: Oh, and by the way...you'll have to do without my musings for a week-I am off around the canals of Great Britain this week, from Friday 12 until Friday 19th, with no Internet, so there will be no posts after Friday morning until Round The Rinks next Friday. Check back tomorrow for more reaction (especially if the disciplinary panel do their thing) and, of course, Round the Rinks...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Apocalypse Now!

"It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
and I feel fine."

REM: It's the End of the World As We Know It

No, really. At 3pm British time tomorrow, according to some, we shall all be sucked into a man-made black hole thanks to the switching on of the Large Hadron Collider, a bloody great 17 mile-long tube beneath the Alps that through clever science stuff will recreate the Big Bang...and people are even placing bets on it (read the terms of the bet for a few seconds of hysterical laughter).

Why do I mention this? Because, if you've been reading any of the forums this week pertaining to UK hockey, you'd have thought it had already been switched on. With Sheffield and Cardiff locked in bitter arguments over Andrew Sharp and the events at the end of their game (basically, Sharpy got one shift all game, and went out looking for someone to kill), Hull and Nottingham arguing over whether Rick Kozak is the Antichrist (he's not the nicest of individuals, it seems, but if you read some of the posts on the Cage Forum you'd think he had cloven hooves and could kill people with a single touch) and everyone else just sitting back and watching the wailing and gnashing of teeth, there's already enough forum fodder to feed us all season long.

When it gets to the point where Sheffield are releasing press releases about not being given a DVD , it all gets just a little sad, doesn't it? And as for this quote, freely available on the front page....relating to the incident which sparked the melee in Cardiff-Brad Voth maybe or maybe not putting in a knee-on-knee hit on Randy Dagenais (hardly one to pull his leg out of the way unless absolutely necessary himself).

""We all like our toughness and our tough guys they are part of the sport but this is now getting daft, if the league doesn't stamp this out someone is going to get seriously hurt. We will see what the video shows and make our point well known. My view is that there is no place in hockey for this kind of action"

Matsos, you have signed Andrew Sharp-a player who you iced for 25 seconds at the end of a game, and whose sole shift consisted of him leaping onto the ice, dropping his gloves and punching Mike Hartwick. And you talk about "no place in hockey for this kind of action".

Please, just shut up before you embarrass yourself. And whoever writes the Steelers press releases-it may be an idea to check they punctuate your quotes properly.

Rant over...:)

Just to clear up any confusion-I'm not a Man Utd fan either-Cole and Yorke just happened to be the best sporting double-act I could think of...

That's it from me today-short and sweet. Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 8th September

Before I start, I'm amazed that no-one managed to spot the deliberate (honest) loss of a month in Friday's Round the Rinks-how on earth I managed to get away with putting the date as 5th October is almost as unexplainable as how Rick Strachan still had a coaching job at Hull at the end of last season. And, in true "seamless link" fashion, that brings us to the main thrust of the post...


Team-by-team is still, at this stage of the season, a bit pointless in my eyes-mainly due to the fact that you can't really judge anything from the first competitive weekend of the season, aside from who has actually had all their players turn up and avoid the Zoom catastrophe. So let's just have a grasshopper-style look and jump around the Elite League's first weekend of play...


Dude....that's just wrong: Two games into the EIHL season, and unless (God forbid) someone suffers a triple-compound fracture or actually commits murder on EIHL ice, we have the sickest moment of the year already. Step forward Rick Kozak, who endears himself to the Panthers crowd by punching Marc Levers to the ice. Given that Levers is an annoying little sod of a player (although very good at his job), a clean fight may have raised a smile from me. However, if the reports of Levers' head being driven from behind into the ice Todd Bertuzzi-style to leave a huge pool of blood, followed by the Hull forward...and I can't believe I'm actually about to write this...skating through the pool of blood and kicking it over the ice in a spray are true, it just makes my dinner rise in my throat. And for someone who saw Andre Payette allegedly end Kim Ahlroos's career by driving his head into the boards from behind for a concussion, and Brad Voth running over Martin Klempa so hard that some people in the Skydome crowd were heard to gasp "jesus-he's broken his neck", that is some going.


Oh yes...and the game's on Sky...you can guarantee that'll get a viewer or two, even if they just stick to showing some of the other incidents leading to the 105 Hull and 48 Nottingham PiM's...

Warning: information may not be 100% accurate: Here's what I wrote regarding Edinburgh's chances against Sheffield this weekend, before the weekend began...

Edinburgh can expect nothing more than a shooting gallery in their opening two games-they're still missing half a roster as they take on (Sheffield and Belfast)
And so now we come to Saturday night at the House of Steel...final score Sheffield 1, Edinburgh...three. Some shooting gallery that was. Pasi Raitanen pulled on a Caps jersey and promptly had one of the games of his life. Not bad going, really.

To call it a "good" start is to call Usain Bolt "a bit nippy": The Jeff Ulmer Memorial Best Debut award goes to Andrew Martin of Belfast...first game in his new home arena against Cardiff, and he scores 3+1, while Bobby Robins has a shocker with a "mere" 2+2 on the same line. It would appear that Adam Calder and Dan Carlson have competition in the "most-feared forward double-act since these two" stakes...

Snapper's Challenge: I know there are a bunch of photographers around the rinks of the EIHL, including Blaze's own Mark Tredgold. This bit's for you. When your team plays Basingstoke, can someone please, please try and get an action shot of Brent Hughes and Jason Goulet in the same picture-words can't describe how funny a 5'7 angry midget and a 6'5 hunchback of a d-man (if Goulet had a neck, which on first sight at least he appears to be lacking, he'd be 6'7-8, easy) look following each other out of the box-with Hughes following Goulet it looked just like a hockey-player version of a duck and duckling. You even had the waddle in Hughes' case...it certainly brightened up a bit of a dull game for me. In fairness to the Bison, though, with their starting goalie and several imports missing they still put up a decent fight, even if they went down 4-2 at home and 8-2 away...

Human Sunburn: It seems that EIHL goalies, however good they are, may have to put sun lotion on their necks when facing the Phoenix, just to avoid getting a tan from the goal-lamp. Why? Here's the reason in two sentences. David Beauregard: four games, seven goals. Adam Walker: four games, six goals. Can you say "snipers ahoy"?

Next, more ice hockey, live from the frozen lakes of hell...Panthers fans have played two EIHL games, and not a single person on the Cage Forum is moaning about either performance. It's amazing what happens when your team wins...

Random Marek Ivan mention: Fair play to the bloke, even if he hasn't yet done the decent thing and officially changed his name to Marek "bloody" Ivan-scoring twice on your debut isn't a bad way to endear yourself to your new fans. However, at this point the whole of the Panthers fraternity is wincing...they thought he was a good signing to begin with, too. Then his mouth warmed up...

However-and putting the whole "money where my mouth is" thing. In order to give him something of a chance as well as having a comedy wager (which is always good) I'll put something of a bet down. If either of the following should happen...

Marek Ivan ends the season leading the league in goals, assists OR points

or

Vipers win the league

I shall admit I'm wrong, and should one be obtained, wear a Marek Ivan jersey (of any team, and let's face it, he's had a few of them) to the Saturday of the playoff weekend. If nothing else that should give you a reason to cheer him on...

And on that philosophical thought, here ends the first DOT of the season proper. Check back tomorrow for more silliness and maybe even some proper hockey chat for a change...

Fasten Your Seatbelts...

I know, I know. This "posting about posting" lark could get pretty tiresome. Just to warn you, though, this weekend was well, well worth a Double Overtime, especially if you're a Hull or Nottingham fan. You may want to check back here around 7-ish as we try to unravel, amongst other things, how tall Jason Goulet would be if he actually stood up straight and whether Rick Kozak has committed one of the sickest acts ever seen in UK hockey (I say yes, personally, if half the reports from either side are true)...

Double OT to come later today when I get back from work, though...and I shall do my best to make sure it's a good 'un...