Sharpielujah: the Hockey Christmas Number One...

Yes, I know this is going to be a bit thrown together, but taking inspiration from the Cat's Whiskers, who have produced parodies left, right, and centre, and inspired by the bloody-awful attempt to cover Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" which is likely going to make it to Christmas number one courtesy of the X-Factor, here's a reworked version paying tribute to everyone's favourite Northern team and its favourite son, Andrew Sharp...I make no apologies for its naffness, but hopefully it will give you a (brief) smile. Plus, it's got to be better than reading all the fire and brimstone appearing in threads all over the British Internet...

So, I give you-the Breakaway's entry for British Hockey's Christmas number one. With a rude word or two, and apologies to Cohen, Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright....

Sharpielujah
(Words: Paul Wheeler, music: Leonard Cohen)

(Introduction)

There was a man, named Andrew Sharp
About whom fans would moan and carp
But you don't really care for goons, now, do you?
He couldn't skate, or fight, or hit
In fact he was completely sh*t
For first Romford and now the Steelers too, yeah...

Sing Sharpielujah, Sharpielujah
Sharpielujah, Sharpielujah..

The hype was rich, coach's faith was poor
In the skills of number sixty-four
He watches from the bench, just feelin' blue, yeah ...
Til the night he jumped the boards in Hull
And livened up a game so dull
By bringing pain to Paul Moran's debut, yeah

(Chorus)

They tell me on the forums, true
That Moran's shoulder broke in two
As Sharpie drew blood and then licked it too, yeah
The Stingrays raged, the league reviewed
But Kozak trangressed next week too,
So Sharpie was lost in hullaballoo, yeah....

(Chorus)

The season passed, and his friends did say
"Look, he scored a point on the powerplay"
But still the rumbles came that he was poo, yeah...
Then Steelers went to Cardiff Town
And Finnerty, he played the clown
And Andrew knew his time was coming soon, yeah...

(Chorus)

And so we came, to that fateful day
A cold and wintry Welsh Sunday
When everyone knew things would go askew, yeah...
While Jody swears, and the Welsh fans roar
Sharpie waits for the Matsos call
And with two seconds to go he gets it, too, yeah

(Chorus)

So as MacIver skates away
From Jody's wrath, it's clear as day
Sharp swings his stick, with aim he thinks is true, yeah
Alas, his aim, it went awry
And caught a linesman near the eye
So Hicks and Jarvis tag-teamed poor Andrew, yeah...

(Chorus)

And now it seems, his time is done
For Andrew Sharp, the hired gun
The league and fans will throw the book at you, yeah
But maybe, maybe, time will tell...
You'll find a home in the EPL
As Scimitars or Raiders will sign you, yeah...

And if you should lace up no more
You'll live forever in folklore
As the mental one who played for Steelers, ooh, yeah
You may have been completely sh*te
But thanks for livening many a night
And wherever you go we hope you're happy too, yeah

(Chorus)...repeat to fade....

I know it's about three verses too long, but I hope it brings you a chuckle...
Round The Rinks Christmas Special to come tomorrow...

Midweek Musings...

In we go...faster and harder than an Andrew Sharp stick to the head...

A Swift Correction: As pointed out by Matt, Bruce Mulherin didn't play four games in five nights, but, due to barely being back from injury himself, was restricted to just three in five...these are the things you miss when ih-update doesn't have lists of who is actually appearing for the teams on each game-night, like the NHL. However, this does not lessen the sheer awesomeness of his goal against the Blaze, nor the fineness of the Phoenix performance on Saturday. If anything, the fact that they were missing Lucas Burnett and Kyle Bruce as well as having Mulherin playing hurt enhances it somewhat...

The good...: It's the Christmas weekend this weekend, or at least the closest approximation to it the teams will have, and so the cash-cows are once again being milked for all their worth with the Xmas shirts. Basingstoke, however, are at least doing something laudable with theirs, dedicating their special shirt to the Armed Forces with this nifty little camouflage number...which will be worn this evening against Nottingham.

The very good: Newcastle, meanwhile, have produced possibly the best effort thus far with this. Yes, the snow is probably a little...well, clichéd, but the Angel of the North motif under what looks like a lowering winter sky (but is in fact just the colours of the jersey) just looks somehow right, and is a nice unique touch. Shame, then, that they'll be wearing these on...erm...the 27th. They could probably have left the "Merry Christmas" bit off though without doing serious harm and just called it a "midwinter/Xmas jersey"...

...and the plain-bloody-ugly: And then we have this atrocity, which has just about made anyone with any aesthetic appreciation qualities bleed profusely from the eyes, and should probably come with a health warning. Not only do the Blaze have to suffer what appears to be a vomiting dragon (people take the mick out of the Angry Budgie logo in Manchester but, at least that's a decent fanzine name)...but it's now wearing a Santa hat on a jersey which appears to have already had the colour run in the wash and be covered in crusted bird-excrement on the shoulders. The previous Blaze Christmas efforts have been just about bearable (mainly for the amusement of seeing people pay wildly-inflated prices for what was essentially a normal Blaze jersey with some snow tacked on the numbers) but this one just looks bad. Can you seriously see people paying a stupid amount of money for a shirt which they can wear, at best, three times a year without looking a bit stupid? At least the Viper one has some link to the region and looks cool (and, without the Merry Christmas bit, is almost an any-time jersey) this one just looks like a way to extract cash from wallets in the quickest, cheapest way possible. When fervent Blaze-supporting friends of mine are using the term "hideous" to describe it, you know you've erred.

And it's pink. Which is a fine and laudable colour for hockey jerseys when used to promote breast cancer awareness, as the MK Lightning and EIHL teams have done in the past, but at any other time, especially when it's that colour because you've skimped on the red dye? Just...no.

Still...as the defenders will no doubt say, I don't have to buy one. To which I reply...true-but I still have to suffer the sight of the ruddy things for sixty minutes on Sunday...

And you'd done so well with the jersey design up until now this year, too...even sticking a bunch of flags on the back the same design and then re-packaging it as a "unique Conti Cup jersey" (as opposed to a quick tweak) was forgivable because the originals looked damn good...but this? Ew.

Rant over...

Obligatory Andrew Sharp Mention: Four games? That's a start...I am reliably informed that some of the footage of the events in Cardiff on Sunday has not been released yet just in case charges get pressed, and also that, despite all the talking on the site about "team solidarity" etc, Sharp has already gone from the Steelers roster. Which shows that, perhaps, there's someone in Sheffield who can see when things go too far besides the good folk sat in the Hallam Arena stands.


One Minute Preview: Basingstoke v Nottingham

I can't see the Panthers losing this one, Heroes night or no Heroes night in Basingstoke. Mainly because the Panthers are coming off a tonking of the Giants which may have quieted a few jitters, and the Bison are coming off being tonked by the Phoenix in Manchester, and still not anywhere near full strength. Much depends, though, on whether Kevin Reiter decides to perform a Christmas miracle or simply be a mortal like everyone else. Even so, the Panthers simply have too much offensive talent (now that Jade Galbraith has begun to find his form) and much as I dislike the East Midlanders, the head says they'll win this one. Eventually.

And that, very quickly, is your Midweek Musings...

Double Overtime, December 15th

On we go into another weekend review. And be warned, this could get quite...well, if not heated, then at least a little controversial. Let's start with the simple stuff...

Just call him the Natural (hat-trick): Bruce Mulherin had something of a good weekend for Manchester, socring against Coventry in the Skydome and then following that with a natural hat-trick in his second game of the weekend against Basingstoke on Sunday. Not bad for someone who's played four games in five nights, that.

And while we're considering the Phoenix...Saturday's match against the Blaze more than lived up to the somewhat overblown billing I gave it on Friday...a storming game saw the momentum swing first one way and then the other, including two goals for the away side in the space of thirty seconds to bring it back from 3-1 to 3-3. Pick of the goals was that man Mulherin, with an absolute beauty of a wrister over Perras's left shoulder for the Phoenix's second. However (thankfully) the Blaze just about prevailed, mainly thanks to a pretty special goal in its own right from Sylvain Deschatelets, drifting round the back of Murphy's net before threading the puck through a gap roughly the width of a gnat's wing bigger than the puck which Murphy had left at his near post. And not a single bit of fisticuffs in sight. We'll get to that later.

Come on-surely X Factor wasn't that good?: Incidentally, there were a ton of empty seats in the Skydome on Saturday. Which is a bit sad, really...although at least now no-one can kid themselves that the credit crunch is biting in Coventry as much as everywhere else...

Little Giants: Meanwhile, in the battle of the pre-season favourites, Nottingham came out on top. Convincingly. I'm not entirely sure what was wrong with the Northern Irish side, but they looked lacklustre both in a game they won 4-3 on Friday (mainly thanks to the Panthers throwing away a 3-1 lead they looked pretty comfortable with) and on Satuday when the Nottingham side seemingly responded to a rocket up the rear end in beating them 7-2.
A team of talented individuals the Giants definitely are. Whether they are a talented team, however, is still something of which I'm not convinced.

At least this season they're "heroic" losers: Hull lost 3-2 in Edinburgh-not a bad scoreline considered they travelled up with two d-men and a player who'd barely even practiced with them as a third (new signing Richie Thornton). The Capitals, meanwhile, can finally give themselves some Christmas cheer, a little early, but well-earned nevertheless...after all, it's not exactly been the best of times for them recently...

The whole "heroes" thing, meanwhile, is wearing a bit thin down in Basingstoke:
Three goals scored over the weekend, shut out on home ice, and eight goals conceded in Manchester on Sunday. It seems the magic of the Bison Ten, whatever they've been using in the water bottles down there in Hampshire, may be starting to run a little low...

Win the battle, lose the war: Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Vipers finally managed to get their hands on Sylvain Deschatelets after the bad-tempered last meeting of these two teams at the Skydome, and duly took revenge. Well, sort of, anyway-there However, the Blaze took the two points with a 4-2 victory,
which, generally, is what people care about...

And now...

Somehow, somewhere, it's Brad Voth's fault: Cardiff and Sheffield met on Sunday in South Wales for the first time since Ryan Finnerty gave us his unique interpretation of stand-up comedy in the Sheffield Star, topped off by forgetting that this game actually existed. Of course, Steeler fans said that this was pure PR and not likely to stoke things up to an unacceptable level next time the two teams met. It was just a bit of harmless hype, after all.

Somewhere, that memo got lost in the post, because, on Sunday, this happened.

I accept that the footage is not of the best quality, so, the sequence of events runs something like this...

Doug MacIver (Cardiff) lines up opposite Jody Lehman, which rings alarm-bells straight away because a) there's two seconds to go, b) Lehman had apparently been winding up the Devils crowd and players all game, c) the Devils #64 is known for throwing a punch or two when the need arises, and d) he normally plays on D, not on the wing. As the puck drops, he goes after Brad Cruikshank, who turns away. As this is broken up and MacIver is being skated off the ice, having made a move towards Lehman as the Sheffield goalie leaves the ice (the game having ended) Andrew Sharp leaps the Steelers bench and attempts to slash MacIver across the throat.(35 seconds in) He misses and hits the linesman, and all hell then breaks loose.

Interestingly, throughout this melée, Finnerty is nowhere to be seen-it's Joey Talbot who eventually pairs off with Jay Latulippe. Strange, as you'd have thought a bench clearance is the perfect time for settling scores...

Silence is golden: So, having seen that, how would you react to one of your team doing something clearly dangerous and setting that off-as either a fan or a player?

I'm guessing, at best, you'd opt for silence, at least in public.

Well, not in Sheffield...

Dave Matsos: ""The whole night was heated... we were told to leave the building through a rear exit, once the game is over it's over but some folk just wish to carry things on."

Excuse me? This from a coach who's just had a player jump the bench and stick an opposition player in the neck after the final hooter? And you're complaining about it being a bit heated? It's hardly going to be a friendly tea-party, is it?

Ryan Finnerty: "The boys love Sharpy, he is a good kid and he is trying to play his part with the team, what happened at the end last night was unfortunate."

Well, you could have just taken on Latulippe like you said you were going to...then maybe Sharpy may have thought twice about playing this particular part...

Unfortunate? What would you have called it if the slash had connected with its target instead of a lino's visor?

"Sharpy loves being a part of the club and every guy on the team enjoys having him around, as a group of guys we are 100% behind him"

I bet you do-it means you aren't against him. That way, you don't have to worry about sucker-punches, swung sticks and the like.

Jody Lehman: "We are a tight group and Sharpy is one of us, he is a young guy who saw his team mates in trouble and jumped in to help"

Ever heard the phrase "pick your battles"?

"things got a little out of hand"

Or, as the refs called it, 2+2+2+5+game+game+game+match+match, for 121 total PIM's for one player, in one incident.

I'd love to see Lehman's definition of "out of control" then...presumably he also believes in the phrase "it's all fun until someone loses a limb"

The upshot of all this is that Sharp has, at minimum, a four game ban. That, presumably, means Sheffield will have to find someone else to fill the gaping hole of...oh, about a minute of ice-time that will result. And one can only wonder at the press-releases to come.

Anyone who thought there was a lot of ink wasted on Brad Voth v Randy Dagenais earlier in the season will not have seen anything yet...

There we go...there's the weekend (sort of) reviewed. And only an hour later than I thought it would be. This one, however, will run, and run, and run.

Monday Quickie...

Hey all...

Just to let you all know, Double Overtime will be appearing some time this evening...after the wonderful events down in Cardiff, a storming game at the Skydome on Saturday and more controversy than the X-Factor Final, it's taking a while to write the entry what with work as well.

I would suggest you check back around 7pm this evening-it should be up by then...

Round the Rinks, 12th December

It's been a busy week for me. Apart from anything else, I've been trying to get all copies of this Mark Tredgold photo destroyed, not because I have an aversion to the sadly-underachieving (except in the mouthiness department) Scott Kelman, but mainly because I'm pulling my best Kenneth Williams impression in the background. Well, either that or I can't believe what's just happened in front of me...a smiling Kelman!

But enough of that..on to a round-up or two...

Clearly, the amazing amount of logical thought on there couldn't be allowed to continue:..or, more likely, the Elite League have just given up trying with the official Elite Forum, which, on the Blaze section anyway, was hardly a shining example of rational debate. It's now dead, and the link has been removed from the front page...Hardly a loss, really-although there were a fair few decent people on there from various teams.

On we go, then....missing out Manchester v Edinburgh, which, after the Phoenix's 4-1 loss to Sheffield last night, is in progress as I write, with the Phoenix leading 3-1. I suggest that for a proper review of that, you have a gander at either Five Minute Major, The Pyre or the Angry Budgie, all of which you can find linked...I'm sure they will serve you far better than a neutral like myself in mentioning these two games...

Friday: Steadying the Ship...

Belfast v Nottingham is this week's treat on http://www.giantslive.tv/, and if last week's loss to Manchester is anything to go by, this is a meeting of two teams who have somewhat lost their way. Michel Robinson faces the high-powered Giants offence hoping that the Panthers can give him better protection than the Capitals did, while the Giants need to bounce back, especially after Sunday's tanking by Sheffield, a game in which Becky of FMM reliably informs me they were "awful". With two teams who can provide a feast of attacking play when they have a mind to, though, it should be a decent warm-up to your Friday night out, and, at five pounds, is likely cheaper than the first drink, too. Or will be shortly...

Saturday: The Sound of Silence

Where have all the games gone? With only two EIHL games taking place, you're faced with a straight choice if you want to watch action from the top league in British hockey tomorrow...

Firstly, down south, is the undercard as Basingstoke face Newcastle, a game which may be worth checking out for the always-entertaining antics of the Vipers Unholy Trinity of Andre Payette, Derek Campbell and Rob Wilson, as well as having a few players worth the entrance fee alone in Danny Stewart, Kevin Reiter and the sharp shooting of Greg Chambers. However (and I may be slightly biased here)....

...the game of the night, and possibly the weekend, is the Battle of the Super Snipers in Coventry. And, for Coventry v Manchester, I might get in touch with my inner movie-trailer voice. Start the music:

"One team are the kings of British hockey. The other are the surprise pretenders to the throne. And both were born out of the flames of their predecessors. From the North comes an army led by a wily general with the cunning of a fox, and his partner, a battle-scarred veteran with a deadly shot who has brought his followers new hope of riches to come. Rising to meet them come a band of men who, for the past few years, have been almost untouchable. Now, though, they are weakened, their leader has left for the plains of Texas, and their most-feared soldier is lagging behind his Phoenix rival. Last time they met, the battle was epic, but the kings survived. This time, the pretenders want revenge.

It's Beauregard v Calder. It's Hand v Thompson. It's Five Minute Major v the Breakaway...

It's Blaze v Phoenix. The Return.

And they say the Steelers have taken hyping a game to an art form...:)

Sunday: Feeding Frenzy:

After Saturday's famine, Sunday sees a feast as all ten Elite teams are in action. Pick of the night is the return leg of Nottingham v Belfast, previewed as above, but there are a few other tasty morsels...

Cardiff v Sheffield: This is where Ryan Finnerty meets Jay Latulippe again for the first time since this..., although given that it's away from home, we shall see if the Steelers pest is actually going to back his words up. Given the amount of friction between these two sides every time they've met this season, it's only a matter of time before this one bursts into flame...

Manchester v Basingstoke: Two under-rated teams battle it out in Altrincham, as best scorer meets arguably the league's best goalie. Beauregard v Reiter is the main attraction, but there should be enough battles all over the ice to make this a fine bill of evening's action...

Newcastle v Coventry: The gloves will be off in this one. No question. These two teams just plain don't like each other. With the Vipers still looking for their first win against the Blaze this season, however, they would probably do better to concentrate on trying to put the puck in the net. After all-best place to make a point is on the scoreboard...

Finally, and tagging along at the rear, Hull travel north to face Edinburgh. This should be a close if unspectacular game, which will stay off the radar of most fans thanks to the bigger attractions mentioned above-however, with the Stingrays only rumouredly taking two fit defencemen with them, it could be a night when the Stingray's mini-revival is brought to something of a screeching halt...

There you are...that's your weekend preview...

Double Overtime, December 8th...

Hi all-it’s time for another review of the weekend…in your usual jumping-around-the-league-like-a-drunken-frog fashion…

MVP award? Hand it over: David Beauregard: 27 games, 31 goals. In early December. Just for comparison, his nearest rival, Coventry’s Adam Calder, is eleven goals adrift in second place, having played one less game. Oh, and he scored a hat-trick in ten minutes on Friday against Belfast to win the Phoenix the game at the Odyssey.
Which means that when the two face each other at the Skydome next Saturday as Beauregard’s Manchester visit Calder’s Coventry, you wouldn’t really consider a shut-out to be on the cards.
Oh yes, and I know we keep mentioning this, and also that the man himself probably doesn’t like much to be made of it, but still:
The man has scored 31 goals and counting WITH ONLY ONE WORKING EYE!

If you’re a Giants fan, look away now: Not the greatest of weekends for the title-chasers from Northern Ireland, was it? Two goals scored as one of the most potent offences in the league failed to turn up (although, in their defence, they are a little bruised and battered at the moment) and ten conceded as Stevie Lyle seemingly decided to take the weekend off, being pulled against Sheffield on Saturday as his team conceded five with no reply. Two losses to their near rivals, including one in their own rink, means that the Odyssey men now need to make up some ground in the next week or two or risk putting a serious dent in their title hopes.

Just call them “the Hot Line”: Yes, the nickname’s corny, but the duo of Adam Calder and Dan Carlson are now old news as far as the offensive group opponents fear the most. The Phoenix trio of David Beauregard, Tony Hand and Luke Fulghum have been tearing opposition defences apart almost for fun this season, with a combined total of 54 goals between them. For the record, Manchester have scored a total of 94 in the league. Even allowing for the Hot Line’s goals also being scored in the CC cup and assuming that they’ve scored four or five each in that competition (the EIHL doesn’t do broken-down stats for goals and assists by competition on its site) that is still 40 goals-almost half of the team total.
Which means, put simply, that if you’re an opposition fan and you see these three line up opposite your players at a face-off, you’d better hope they don’t get down your team’s end too often.

Wanted: the Skydome Sniper: I’m not sure whether this is just Coventry or a problem that exists elsewhere in the league, but in the Skydome against Cardiff last night we had two incidents which almost defied description-the first saw the 6’4, 240lb Doug MacIver nudged into the boards from behind by the 5’11, 195lb Adam Calder-a routine collision, you might think. Well, it was-right up to the point where the bigger MacIver hit the deck in a manner resembling, as the saying goes, a big sack of excrement, before throwing his arms out wide and lying motionless on the ice until Wes Jarvis decided to thump Calder, at which point he got up and skated away as if nothing had happened.
OK…perhaps the hit was harder than it looked-we’ll give MacIver the benefit of the doubt, mainly because he’s a big lad and looks like you wouldn’t want to meet him in a back alley of a dark night. But then, two periods later, things got stranger…

Let’s use logic for a moment-if someone 5’10 and 165lbs (Danny Stewart) hits someone 6’5 and 235lbs (Brad Voth) who do you expect to go spinning through the air like Anna Pavlova performing the Dying Swan? Well-you’re wrong-mainly because Voth, like MacIver, had clearly been hit by a high velocity round fired from the crowd at the moment of impact, judging by the way he perfomed a dive that Tom Daley would have been proud of-the full 3 back somersault with 2.5 twists, although he didn’t quite manage to get into the pike position before hitting the net-a maneuver for which he rightly received two minutes for diving.

Now, clearly someone in the crowd at the Skydome is determined to live up to the reputation unfairly given to them by eschewing the usual streamers, horns et al and smuggling in a Barrett Sniper Rifle under their coat, because that’s the only explanation I can find for such a spectacular spinning fall.

On an unrelated note, Blaze won a pulsating game 4-2. And the best bit is-if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you can see both Olympian efforts on Sky on Friday…

Supergoalie takes a vacation: Kevin Reiter had a weekend he’d want to forget (and showed his mortality) in Basingstoke’s net, letting in 11 goals against Hull over the weekend (Hull!), although on Sunday at least, his team-mates bailed him out by scoring 8 at the other end. Certainly Sunday night in Hull, with the Bison prevailing by two goals in fourteen, was a game which wasn’t for goalie fans. By all accounts, though, everyone else loved it.

When you soar with the eagles the night before, sometimes you crawl with the insects the day after: Sheffield had the most schizophrenic weekend by far, confidently disposing of high-flying Belfast on Saturday in front of a joyous home crowd. However, they were brought back to earth the following night, in a freezing Murrayfield, as the Capitals doggedly pushed them all the way to penalty shots in a game which they only very narrowly won. If you asked your average hockey coach, though, they’d say that it’s performances like the second one, pulling out a win against a stubborn opponent away from home, that win you the titles-the flamboyant wins are just the cherries on top…

After all (and this is something people always seem to forget) you get the same amount of points whoever you beat, and however many you beat them by…

Must...avoid...innuendo: Newcastle have finally solved their defensive crisis, signing ex Cardiff Devil and Bracknell Bee Likit Andersson, who, according to the Devils doctors, was done for the season. Still, at 35 years young, there's always the bonus that Rob Wilson now has someone else to tell war stories in the changing room...with those two and Ed Courtenay lined up the Vipers may be able to put out a line with the oldest average age ever seen in British hockey. Rumours that their next target is Steve Moria "to provide a bit of youthful energy", however, are unfounded.
There. I managed to mention a player called "Likit" without descending to smut...:)


And on that note...that's your weekend reviewed...

Round the Rinks, 5th December

Now with added random ruminations...it's the weekend preview!



"Before you jump down my throat, I'd like to present you with
Something I call personality"

New Found Glory: "Something I Call Personality".

The rumours coming out of the NHL after the Sean Avery Incident (referred to in Wednesday's post) are that the Pickering, Ontario native and best-known pest on the planet is all but done in the world's top league, with Dallas considering buying out his contract and burying him down in the minors.

Now, call me spectacularly crazy, and I know that it likely won't happen, but how amazing would it be if someone could tempt him over to the EIHL, Theo Fleury style? I will make absolutely no secret of the fact that if the Blaze went for it and said "come and play for us, Sean, and be the most high-profile player ever to play in Britain bar none-as well as the centre of attention for an entire hockey nation", and he accepted (it's not like he needs the money, after all) I think I'd just about combust with the excitement.

Why? Because Sean Avery would well and truly put British hockey on the world map, by himself. In a Britain obsessed with celebrity sportsmen, the news that a genuine media phenomenon (with quotes that are a tabloid reporter's dream) is coming to your town would instantly get a few hundred more people through the door-the man markets himself.

Not only that, but every game with him on the ice would be an event...and that is what British hockey needs, pure and simple.

Oh yes, and with an average of a point every two games in the toughest league in the world, he can play a bit too.

Go on, British hockey. Try it. He may be the NHL's sloppy seconds, but the man is pure media gold...and let's be honest...you can only get so far with free tickets to kids...

On to the weekend preview...

Friday

Belfast take on Manchester at the Odyssey in a game which, of course, will be covered by the Breakaway's friends at the Giants Webcast, over at http://www.giantslive.tv/ for five of your British pounds. Commentary, as usual, is by Nigel Ringland and Wayne Hardman, and they're on air from 7.15pm tonight...register for free through the site to watch.
So why should you?
The game could be a beauty, that's why. With Belfast returning to almost-full-strength (Andrew Martin could still be missing) and the Phoenix one of the most complete teams in the league, there will be goals, and there will be great hockey. There may well be fights too, with the likes of Kyle Bruce and Malcolm MacMillan winding each other up to breaking point...what more could you want?

Double-headers

Basingstoke v Hull: The Stingrays lost 1-0 to Cardiff on Wednesday night, and are facing a Basingstoke who may well be boosted by two new players in the line-up, identity as yet unknown. It's hard to predict which way this one will go, as the Bison have Kevin Reiter, who can win games by himself, while the Stingrays are a team more than capable of winning at least one of these two now that Troy Neumeier is in charge of the coaching duties...

Saturday (North to South):

We begin at the Metro Arena, where Newcastle will hope to arrest their recent slide at the expense of of another struggling team in Edinburgh as the two most northern teams in the EIHL meet. Not one of the glamour ties of the EIHL, this one, but nevertheless, it'll be a game full of passion if somewhat lacking in prettiness. Much like Newcastle itself, really...

Further south, Sheffield take on Belfast in the game of the night. The Giants must have annoyed someone in the fixture department to have a weekend this tricky-the Steelers, meanwhile, will be hoping their Lancashire rivals from Manchester have done them a favour the night before in wearing down the men from across the water...

Finally, we end in South Wales, where Cardiff take on Manchester for a game which should be particularly spicy after the coming-together between Brad Voth and Kyle Bruce last weekend and the "choking" row that came out of it-these are two teams who are not on the best of terms and building themselves a healthy little rivalry as they chase the leap up to the top table of British hockey (or, indeed, a return to it after both teams have had o rebuild in the past few years...

Sunday (South to North)

We start at the Coventry Skydome as the Blaze take on the Devils. Coventry v Cardiff is one of the biggest rivalries in British hockey, rivalling Sheffield v Nottingham for passion both on and off the ice, along with a fair dose of healthy respect between the fans off the ice to sweeten things a little. With the Blaze having Matty Soderstrom on the treatment table and the win against Newcastle bringing temporary joy to what has been a uncharacteristically jittery month, the Devils will fancy their chances of two points. You wouldn't bet against the Welsh side either.

Travelling back north, we keep going all the way back up to Newcastle for the Vipers' game against the similarly-jittery Nottingham. The Panthers won the last encounter 6-3, but with Michel Robinson still needing to prove himself in the eyes of many people, and the Vipers desperately needing a bit of a pick-up, it could be a nervy night in the North East...

Finally, we return to Murrayfield for Edinburgh v Sheffield. as summit faces basement in a game that the Steelers will not want to slip up in, particularly if they've lost to Belfast the night before. The Capitals, needing to make a good showing, will take heart from the examples of Hull and Basingstoke this season and look to join the list of teams who've taken the scalps of the top four against the odds this season...

Finally, before we go...returning to the promotion angle from the beginning of this post:

Sheffield have now joined the growing number of teams producing their own media, with Steelers TV now going live at http://www.steelerstv.co.uk/. Go and have a watch-it's not a bad effort...

There you go then...that's your weekend previewed to within an inch of its life...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings

Afternoon all…

Your midweek helping of hockey news and views includes a look at a night of nostalgia as Cardiff play Hull this evening, a brief meditation on the point of All-Star games and, first of all, a deed that even Andre Payette would think twice about…

I don’t think “heads up” is really an adequate response for this. “Run like hell” might be, though: Sean Avery, that friend-to-all-men and all round good guy of the NHL, has got in touch with his inner Newcastle Viper (or possibly put in an audition to write Sheffield’s interviews) by deciding to come out with this masterful bit of wind-up talk before Dallas (his team) face Calgary…

“I love Calgary…but I just want to comment on how players in the NHL always seem to end up dating my sloppy seconds”

The “sloppy seconds” referred to in this case is his ex-girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert (surely, far and away, the best looking puck-bunny alive-although if Coventry is owt to go by that isn't a hard title to win), who is now going out with one of the Calgary players. Or, Rachel Hunter, who is now going out with Edmonton's Jarret Stoll. So far, so trash-talk…until you bear in mind that the Flame in question happens to be Dion Phaneuf, who is well known around the NHL and to hockey fans everywhere for doing stuff like this and this on a regular basis.

The NHL have suspended Avery, supposedly for “conduct detrimental to the game” so he didn’t play that night. Personally, I have a hunch that “for his own safety” might have been a truer reflection of the reason…

Fans in the EIHL may think that Ryan Finnerty or Dave Simms are annoying, but this really is a whole new level…and the stupidity of it makes their recent efforts look like Oscar Wilde in comparison…

One thing’s for sure-the next time Dallas face Calgary, it may be worth watching.



Oh, and if Dallas cut him...Sean Avery to Sheffield, anyone? :D

It’s not an All-Star game if everyone’s included: The EIHL have announced that they will hold the first ever All-Star game in February, at the Coventry Skydome. However, unlike the North American versions, the rosters will be picked by the respective coaches, and they’ll be given quotas of two imports and two Brits from each team in their respective squads, as EIHL North take on EIHL South.

Now, is it me, or is the whole point of an All-Star game that it contains the best players in the league, irrespective of team or nationality? I appreciate the need for the EIHL to attract as many fans as possible to what is essentially a meaningless friendly, but saying that every team must have two Brits and two imports representing them is…well, a bit artificial. Especially as the All-Star teams picked by the fans would likely have a far weightier amount of imports than Brits. Imposing a tariff on it just smacks of protectionism...I'm not saying there aren't good Brits worthy of a place on all the teams, but let them get picked properly...


And so the attack continues: Mark at the Angry Budgie has launched his own refuting of the fast-becoming-infamous "no well-supported clubs apart from Sheffield and Nottingham" article of Mick Holland...have a read here...



One Minute Preview: Cardiff v Hull


With both teams still able to qualify for the CC semis, this Nostalgia Night in Cardiff (basically, a night in which the Devils will look back over their history, wear special commemorative shirts and generally get a bit misty-eyed) should be fairly interesting on the ice as well as off it. Hull and Cardiff are both hard-working, physical teams garnished with a few skill players, and on Cardiff's small ice space will be at a premium with the likes of 6'5 Brad Voth and 6'4 Aaron Wilson jostling for space with 6'4 Doug MacIver in front of the net. Don't expect a pretty game, but do expect a hell of a battle and more than a few moments where the tension may rise slightly above normal...

There you are then-there's your somewhat shortened Midweek Musings for a snowy Wednesday...

Double Overtime, December 1st

Hello all-as is usual on a Monday we’re off again on the review of another EIHL weekend in that stream-of-consciousness style you’ve come to know and love…now with an added geography lesson…

To us southerners, it’s all “the frozen wastes” anyway…: Many thanks to GS, the writer of the excellent F Block Blog, for correcting my geography in Friday’s post…Hull is, of course, in East Yorkshire and not North, and thus remains just this side of the Arctic Circle as far as us Southerners are concerned…:)

Contrary to what some people may tell you, he was on the ice for all of them. Well, almost all of them: Tony Hand has gone another step ahead of any other British player with his 4000th point in domestic hockey, assisting on Manchester’s first goal in their 7-1 defeat of Hull on Saturday…a mark that will likely never be equalled by a British player. What can you say except “congratulations”?

“To allow one hat-trick is unfortunate. To allow two smacks of carelessness”: If Oscar Wilde had been a Stingrays fan, then this would likely have been his assessment of Saturday’s game, as both David Beauregard and Luke Fulghum help themselves to three goals each in the Phoenix’s 7-1 win in Hull…one of those days when the defensive system appeared not to work too well for Rick Strachan and acquaintances…

“Quick! Plan B! What d’you mean, that WAS Plan B?!: Belfast’s win against Coventry showed several weaknesses in the Blaze which will prevent them winning the championship unless they’re addressed pretty damn quickly. Firstly, a powerplay which can be summed up as “pass, pass, pass, Jon Weaver shoots from the point (repeat ad nauseam until goal is scored or puck is lost)” is hardly a tactic befitting a team supposedly loaded with offensive talent. Secondly, when faced with a well-organised defensive team (or, as seen with the Bison a few weeks ago, one in which every player will risk serious injury for the cause of getting between the puck and their net) the champions struggle. In the Giants’ case, it was the well-organised defence that won them the game-Blaze fans may complain about the referee (and for that, they’re getting almost as bad as sections of the Nottingham crowd) but the deficiencies in their team are there for all to see if they look hard enough and past the wins that appear to come easily (like, for example, last night’s 9-2 win against a self-destructing Newcastle) it’s times like these that Paul Thompson has really earned his money and reputation in the past-he needs to do so again if the EIHL title is to come back to the West Midlands.



"He's cut! The Russian is cut!": The Basingstoke Bison...the EIHL equivalent of Rocky Balboa v Ivan Drago, week after week. The latest team to play the role of the big Russian (and possibly cheesiest movie villain ever) is Sheffield, who followed Nottingham and Coventry to the canvas on Saturday night as the Bison prevailed over them on penalty shots despite being 3-1 down after 39 minutes. With Kevin Reiter taking the best that opposition attacks can throw at him without weakening, the Bison will always remain standing long enough to have a chance of winning. And, like Rocky, they have the annoying knack of earning the respect of the opposition fans no matter how much they've been told "you must break them"


And yes, I make no apologies whatsoever for the multiple references to one of the cheesiest movies of all time in that section...:)

If Kyle Bruce were a Steeler, the lynch mob would already be forming: According to the reports of the Manchester-Cardiff game on Sunday, Brad Voth may have attempted to choke Kyle Bruce during the coming-together the two of them had in the third period. The penalties make interesting reading-Bruce receives a five-plus-game while Voth earns himself 2+5+10+game for various offences...here's the account of Phoenix fan Tambo from THF:

Now to the "incident" Just to clarify for those that need to know where my vantage point was at the time. I was walking across the front entrance area of the rink when Ward was cross checked twice, as he travelled from left to right. The second one was particularly nasty and he reacted. Now Ward not being exactly a heavyweight was then helped by Kyle Bruce and others steaming in. At this time i was literally at the incident, at ground level about 4 feet closer than bjknight who was on the stairs. Voth and Bruce hit the floor with Voth on top, Linos and ref tried to get them separated and Kyle was screaming something, could not hear it because of the baying crowd. I quite clearly saw Voths forearm across Kyke's face then saw Voths outstretched hand on his neck at the front. His fist was not closed round the windpipe at any time that I saw but he was definately using pressure with his hand/thumb. Whether this was a malicious act or in the scheme of things was just trying to keep Bruce on the deck I am not sure. I did look pretty bad from my angle. What I must say if we are going down the steelers route of sending the video, w should be prepared for Kyle to get a suspension as well for the beautiful punch he laid on Voth while Hicks was restraining him after everybody was up on their feet.

Could make future Phoenix-Devils games a bit tasty, that...

When the Vipers play, they're not bad. Trouble is...: With the Blaze not having a game on Saturday, myself and a few others made the short trip to Nottingham to see Michel Robinson make his debut (not bad, but one game does not a goalie make, Panthers fans) and Newcastle. The Vipers, apart from a ten-minute period in which Nottingham scored four goals in the late first and early second period, were well in the game and gave me pause for thought on what would happen when they came to the Skydome the following night...

...and what did happen was the hockey equivalent of not just shooting, but firing a howitzer into your own foot. A complete lack of discipline, various acts of muppetry from Andre Payette, several goals which the Blaze need not have got near had the Viper defending actually tried to play hockey as opposed to just going for the massive crunching hit (and missing) .

Ed Courtenay, Derek Campbell, et al...you're better than that. Try and play the game, next time...

"What a difference, a coach makes...": Rick Strachan coaches the Rays alone...they lose 7-1 to Manchester. Troy Neumeier runs the bench the next night after being out for the season...they win 5-4, against Belfast no less. This result raised more than an eyebrow or two for me-it seems that there may be a bit of life in Hull after all if the coaching staff can actually make best use of the talent they have rather than sticking it in a line across the blue-line...

And there you are...that's all the talking points from the weekend just about covered...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Round the Rinks, November 28th

And so on we go...straight into the weekend preview...

Friday

It's Friday Night Lights time, as Belfast take on Coventry at the Odyssey in a game which, naturally, will be live this evening on www.giantslive.tv for the very reasonable outlay of a fiver...go to the site before the faceoff of 7pm and follow the instructions to register. Not only that, but you can also catch the highlights of all Giants games now on http://downtown.bigcityweb.co.uk/giants/, should you be elsewhere when the actual webcast is on...
With the Giants supposedly missing their top line and the Blaze smarting with the "phantom goal" in Bolzano (which, quite frankly, is looking less and less like one the more evidence becomes available), this is a good chance for the Blaze to get a rare win at the Odyssey. Trouble is, they're up against one of the deepest teams in the league-missing their top line is not going to hurt them as much as many others. It's going to be a good one...

Double Headers

Before going north to south and writing the same thing twice, let's look at the one double-header this weekend, as Sheffield play Basingstoke. Normally you'd say there's only one likely winner of this-the Steelers, strengthened by ex-Bison Brad Cruikshank, simply appear to have too much power on paper.
However, this is the Bison team who have recently beaten Coventry and Nottingham (twice) despite leaking imports left, right and centre, so quite frankly, anything could happen...particularly on the Saturday night in Basingstoke...

Saturday (North to South)

We start our trip in Murrayfield, for Edinburgh v Cardiff. This is a game the Caps need to win, and possibly can, despite the Devils being one of the form teams in the league since the arrival of new import Marc Fulton. With Michel Robinson now just a memory, and Pasi Raitanen proving that he has his very own fountain of youth in his back garden (how else do you explain his performances) the Devils will not take the Caps lightly...

Next on our journey down the country is Hull v Manchester, a game that would normally pass relatively unnoticed. However, tonight history could be made at the Hull Arena, as Tony Hand needs just one point to get his 4000th in domestic hockey-an incredible achievement. With the Stingrays being under-strength and the Phoenix being a team who have more than adequate offensive depth to take care of them, you can't really bet against the British Great One doing it, either.

Finally, with the Sheffield v Basingstoke games already dealt with on a seperate trip, our trip this Saturday night ends in the East Midlands, for Nottingham v Newcastle. Michel Robinson will make his Panthers debut, and the Vipers may well fancy their chances against the slumping Panthers...especially with master sniper Ed Courtenay lurking in the slot and the Panthers defence seemingly unable to prevent teams getting a lot of shots away...

Sunday (South to North)

Going back the other way, we go from the East Midlands to the West Midlands to start at Coventry v Newcastle, a game which always guarantees entertainment. The potential for hi-jinks will only be enhanced by Ed Courtenay's first meeting with the Skydome crowd since he left Belfast, Jeff Hutchins returning and Andre Payette being his usual self-the Vipers really are the team the Blaze fans love to hate. In terms of the actual game, however, it could be a good one-the Geordies are always strong at the Skydome and the Blaze need to get back to winning ways quickly to maintain momentum in the title chase...

Travelling further north we arrive in Altrincham for Manchester v Cardiff. This is one of those games that promises a little and usually delivers far more. Tony Hand will either be feted for having got his 4000th point, or for getting it during the game-two teams who are very similar in talent and style should mean that this party should well and truly go with a bang...

Finally, we end up in North Yorkshire for Hull v Belfast, with the Giants looking for revenge after the Stingrays shocked them on home ice last time out. This time round you have to back the Northern Irish side, especially with the Stingrays having several players missing in action, but the last result shows that this could still go either way...

There you are then...that's the weekend previewed to within an inch of its life...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings

Straight in. No messing today...I've been suffering a bit from writer's block recently, so I'm not going to waste time on an introduction

The EIHL equivalent of spilt milk: The Steal of the Century (Bolzano Foxes version) saga continues-there has been much debate over the past day or two among Blaze fans over the "goal that never was". Judge for yourself thanks to the photographic skills of Mark Tredgold...and the exhaustive analysis of Graeme Mulvaney (click backwards through the stream to see which outcome you agree with...but be warned that if you don't instantly say "goal" then you're somehow a poorer fan for it in the eyes of many.

For what it's worth, I think that the original decision of "goal" was the right one, now, based on such evidence (which, by the way, was the same two pics used on the Blaze site-I did them a dis-service on Monday with my comments about "using the same photo" for which I apologise). However, I can see where the doubt is-and thus the goal wasn't given. There will be days when it goes the other way. That's the nature of hockey...or karma, if you will. These things have a way of evening themselves out in my eyes...and deep down, everybody knows it.

Sunday November 23rd just wasn't the Blaze's day...and anyone who thinks that simply finds such misfortune easier to accept...

But, to misquote the Big Lebowski "that's just, like, my opinion, man...". And I shouldn't have to apologise for it.

Final word on it.

Laugh, Panthers fans...otherwise you will likely cry: Davis Parley (save percentage 88.8%, GAA 3.35) has been released by Nottingham, as a goalie change has been needed for some time there in the eyes of many. Naturally, his replacement has to come in quickly and inspire confidence in both his defence and the fans...

And so, this mythical figure who the Panthers believe will steady the ship is...

(drum-roll)

Michel Robinson. Ex of Edinburgh.

Save percentage: 87.8, GAA 5.29

That's nearly two goals more conceded a game.

That sound you hear is every single fan on the Cage Forum swallowing their own tongues in disbelief. With a backing track of pure, mindless joy from fans of every other team in the league.

This is either going to be one of the most inspired signings ever, or destroy the Panthers' season.

Well, let no-one say Corey Neilson doesn't have guts...

Words of Power: Already this season Bobby Robins has made an impact on the league with his style of play...a 205lb whirling dervish of a winger who has been one of the stand-out players in the league, never mind the Belfast Giants...

This, however, is not the main reason he's suddenly become my favourite player in the EIHL (although it's one of the major ones). After all, there are several players equally as good at his style of play (including the Blaze's own Danny Stewart).

It's something, in fact, about as far away from the ice as you can get.

The man has the soul of a poet. And, as someone else who finds joy in writing about this great game of ours and hoping to spread it to others, and plays the game, I read the post linked to with a sense of mounting amazement and joy...Bobby Robins can write about this game with the best of 'em.

I shall be back to the Robin's Nest, I think...and I urge you to go too...

Dulce et Decorum Est: And, continuing on the writing theme...those of you with any interest in the GB team may wish to have a read of this gem of a post over on Five Minute Major. It pretty much sums up how I feel about the GB system too...

I accept that this post is rather short, but I reckon there's enough in there for you to be going on with...

Double Overtime, 24th November

Hi all…apologies that there was no Round the Rinks on Friday-this was due to real-life getting in the way yet again this weekend. We’re back now though, and so come with me as we take the plunge into a weekend filled with success, failiure and even the odd bit of controversy home and abroad…

Isn’t it nice when things just….work?: There are a few things in life that give me pure, unadulterated pleasure. These include the company of a beautiful, intelligent girl (she knows who she is), autumn sunshine, the music of Sigur Ros and Arcade Fire (particularly the four minute slices of musical perfection that are “Hoppipolla” and “Wake Up” respectively) and the work of culinary genius that is Kendal Mint Cake. Another one, and the most relevant to this post, is seeing a result which sticks a finger right in the eye of the established truths of British hockey. We saw such a result on Saturday as Basingstoke came back from 3-0 down to beat Nottingham-in the process sending the Panthers out of the Challenge Cup and ensuring that we wouldn’t have to suffer either them or Sheffield in the semis. Why is this a good thing? Because it means that there may well be a different name on British ice-hockey’s premier cup competition this time round-further proof that, contrary to the line we’re fed year after year by some that there are some teams who just “don’t belong in the Elite League”, anyone can beat anyone-a situation which we are also beginning to see in the EPL after a few years of dominance from the M4 corridor of Guildford, Bracknell and Slough. And this, in turn, can only make the leagues more interesting.

And, let’s be honest: It’s always fun to see the Panthers brought down a peg or two, just for the overblown reactions on the Cage…

Well, no-one ever said MOM’s were objective:…Which would you pick as MOM, a goalie who lets in four goals on thirty shots, or a player who gets 3+1 and almost single-handedly carries his team to victory against a former club, despite his opposite centre also getting a hat-trick?

Well, you’re wrong, because, on Sunday night in Edinburgh, Stephen Murphy earned himself MoM over Tony Hand. Strangely, though, this lack of vision on the MoM only applied to the away side, as Andrei Rajcak was deservedly given MoM for his hat-trick, as he did his best but still couldn’t prevent his Capitals losing 6-4 to Manchester…

Those dirty foreigners-can’t trust ‘em: In the obligatory Continental Cup reference, we salute, in true British sporting fashion, yet another glorious British failure in European competition. Coventry had the chance to go into rarified territory of the Continental Cup Super Final after wins against Maribor and Dunaujvaros left them needing to beat the hosts, Bolzano (in their own rink) last night to qualify. With the Italians 1-0 up, Jonathan Weaver fired a shot from the blue-line which appeared to hit the back-bar of the net-the goal was given, despite no goal-light, and then, ten seconds later, washed out by the referee. Cue immediate yells of “cheat” from the Blaze fans. This would have made sense had any of the officials been Italian…however, none of them were-and the referee who made and then reversed his decision was, in fact, Danish. That’s not to say it wasn’t a bad decision, but more down to incompetence then maliciousness…

This paranoia appears to have even spread to the club-Geoff Foster, on the BBC commentary, was heard to mention that the slight delay in face-off caused by confetti being fired onto the ice could have been a premeditated attempt by the Italians to put the Blaze, who had started fast in their two previous games, off their rhythm. When Andy Buxton was asked about this, his reply was, and I quote “well, you never know with these foreign teams”.

Honestly, these foreigners would probably even stoop as low as flooding the away dressing room before a big game in order to put the opposition off. Oh, wait, that was the Blaze when they played Fife in a big playoff game, wasn’t it? Silly of me. But, as they said, you never know…

I can’t help thinking that on some level it’s karma for this-the Blaze have got away with a couple of dubious goals recently, most notably this one, which I wrote about at length, and typically, the hockey gods decide to even up the dodgy decisions at just about the worst possible time.

Then, of course, there’s the small matter of Blaze failing to convert powerplay after powerplay when given the chance…it can be argued that the true villains here aren’t the referees (after all, this was one shot) but the Blaze forwards, who despite playing superbly well in setting up chances, simply couldn’t take them when it mattered on this occasion…



If you're going to use pictorial evidence, pick one that works: Continuing on the "goal that never was-the Blaze have produced two articles on this. The pic in this one is Weaver's shot just before it hits the net (heading for the crossbar/top corner). This one is supposedly the puck hitting the net.



Except it shows a water bottle. The same one you can see on the left-hand-side of the net in the first picture. There's absolutely no puck in evidence there.



Now, the puck may well have hit the net. I wasn't there. But zooming in on one corner of the same picture and trying to assume that your fans won't know the difference in shape between a water bottle and a blurred puck is...well, a bit desperate, really.

Giants Players Do It The Hard Way: Possibly not the new bumper-sticker slogan for Belfast, but it’s undeniable fact-the Giants needed penalties to beat Sheffield at the Odyssey on Friday, in what was by all accounts a fine game to watch. They seem to be making a habit of winning ugly as well as skilfully in Northern Ireland, which is a deadly combination when it comes to championship ambitions…

Tell That Mick He Just Made My List Of Things To Do Today: Mick Holland, the much-maligned NEP Panthers correspondent (yes, he has a somewhat “individual” view of Panthers games but at least the man knows about the sport he watches, which is more than can be said for some of his readers) has managed to annoy just about everyone by saying that a Challenge Cup knockout stage lacking both Sheffield and Nottingham will mean there are no “well-supported teams” in the final stages. That’ll be apart from Coventry (2,000 average crowd, current EIHL champions, known for large away crowds), Belfast (average home crowd 4,000) or Manchester (known for having some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans in the league) then.

It’s generally accepted that neither the Steelers or the Panthers consider any other club in their league half as passionate or well-followed as theirs, but this is a bit ridiculous. Financially, it may make sense to say this isn’t the best outcome, but in terms of actually making people interested in what goes on, it makes a huge difference.

If you want to know what happens when the same “big” clubs contesting most trophies year after year does for the profile of a league, then I have two words for you. Scottish Football. Do we honestly want the EIHL to become the hockey equivalent of the SPL? I think not.

Obligatory Hull Stingrays Mention: They’re still losing (although, after taking Nottingham to penalties, they’re at least putting up a fight now). And Rick Strachan is still the most boring coach in the Elite League.

What Goes Up…: Saturday, as mentioned above, Basingstoke pull off another shock result against Nottingham…

…must come down:…before Cardiff dispose of them efficiently on Sunday…

And by the way…Cardiff are quietly putting something of a run of decent results together, aren’t they?

The Eagle Has Landed: Ed Courtenay is now in Newcastle. Just in time to come back to his spiritual home, the Coventry Skydome, this weekend. Where he will no doubt rise above the heckling. And be Newcastle’s main offensive threat.

One of those above predictions is true. You can work out which but I’ll give you a clue-it isn’t the first one.

Dave Simms Proverb of the Week: Those who can, play hockey. Those who can’t, write bad PR’s misquoting those who can. Ryan Finnerty, you have been warned. To avoid making yourself look like a complete muppet, just shut up and play now. Please.

Final Thought for Blaze Fans: The Continental Cup may be a nice foreign jolly, but it’s the winning the domestic competition which gets you there. Remember that before you dwell on the “goal that never was”.

And there you go…keep keeping your eye on the puck…

Continental Round the Rinks

"We've come here to pay our respects to Great Aunt Nellie. She brought us up properly and taught us loyalty. Now I want you to remember that during these next few days. I also want you to remember that if you don't come back with the goods, Nellie here will turn in her grave, and, likely as not, jump right out of it and kick your teeth in."

Noel Coward as Mr. Bridger: "The Italian Job"

It does exactly what it says on the tin, this post-it's a quick preview of the Continental Cup. Tomorrow will see the usual Round the Rinks, but let's cast our eyes to the mountains, from whence doth come three other teams all looking to stop the Blaze getting to Rouen in January. And, in homage to possibly the best British film ever, we shall introduce each team with a quote from, naturally, the Italian Job...

"You're only supposed to blow the (Maribors) off!" (Stavbar Maribor, Slovenia)
The easiest line to nick in the the film and possibly the most-quoted, goes to the Slovenians, Stavbar Maribor, who will be Blaze's first opponents. They are a young team, led by ex-Bolzano player Robert Ciglenečki, who is one of the few veterans on the team, along with the even older Aleš Starič. The majority of the team, though, are 24 or younger and are currently sitting at 4th in the Slovenian league. They're realistically not expected to qualify, but will need to be treated with caution and disposed of by the Blaze as quickly as possible on the Friday...


"But Mr. Bridger, what if the Professor's not bent?" "Camp Freddie, everyone in the *world* is bent!" (Dunaujvaros, Hungary)
Come on. What other line would you expect for a team that has three brothers called Kiss in their lineup, including a starting goalie (Tamasz). The Hungarians are sixth in their league at the moment, and are entirely composed of domestically-trained (and again, young) players. Well in the shadow of teams such as Alba Volan (who have been runners-up in this tournament three times) they are something of an unknown quantity to all present, but easily got through the qualifying stages in Romania. However, given that they were the only ones who had to qualify for even this group, they could well be scrapping with Maribor for pride rather than for qualification...

"You must learn, Keats, there are more things to life than breaking and entering." (Bolzano Foxes, Italy)
And so we come to the real dangers in the group. The hosts are the ones who Blaze will have to commit a smash-and-grab raid on to qualify, and face them on the Sunday in what could well be the group decider. The Foxes will meet some old friends as Carlyle Lewis returns to his old stomping ground with the Blaze and Sylvain Deschatelets faces old adversaries from his time in Fassa in 05/06. Meanwhile, there are a few familiar faces to British hockey on the Foxes roster-Blaze fans who were around in the time of the old Superleague will remember Pasi Hakkinen, who was the Nottingham Panthers backup in 2001/02. (behind Danny Lorenz, which should also give them an idea of his ability) Slightly newer Blaze fans, and indeed many British hockey fans, may remember Italian international Cristian Borgatello on defence, who had a fruitful season with the Dundee Stars in 2004/05 and impressed against EIHL opposition. Up front players to watch include the huge (6'5, 236lb) Josh Olson and the silky skills of Kenny Corupe, who is one of the stars of the Italian League, along with Ryan Jardine, who has played in both the DEL and the SEL in recent years, and looked a useful player when I saw him for Hamburg.

So, predictions...

In their home rink, the Foxes have to be favourites. The Blaze are coming off a bad weekend, but with jobs rumoured to be on the line, this weekend will have to see players prove their worth, or the exit door will begin to gape wider and wider at the Skydome.

Can the Blaze qualify? Yes. Will they? I'm not sure...I think Bolzano will be just too strong for them.

And there we are...tomorrow will see us return to domestic action for a preview of the EIHL weekend...

Double Overtime, 17th November

And so into another weekend review we go, where one team ended up on cloud nine, another crashed to earth and the goal-light bulbs burned out across the country on Saturday night. Stream-of-consciousness, here we come...

"Well, thanks for coming anyway...": Doug MacIver's game on Sunday for Cardiff against Sheffield lasted the sum total of...two seconds, as he dropped the gloves with Brad Cruikshank after two seconds, apparently (depending on who you believe) lost, and was then thrown out. Not bad for an import d-man. You sense this is a game he'll want to forget.

"Shutout" isn't in our vocabulary...: I said Nottingham v Belfast would be worth watching-and thirteen goals in sixty minutes, with the Giants winning it with the odd one, says I was right. Not a game for goalie or defence fans, but for the rest of us...wow. That's two teams with the offences right on the top of their respective games...

Reiter is German for "brick wall". 66 shots, 65 saves. A 4-1 win away at the reigning champions' rink. And a performance that was well and truly out of this world. Ignore all the Blaze fans saying that most of the shots were straight at him...on Sunday night, Basingstoke's Kevin Reiter produced possibly the best single-game netminding display ever seen in Britain. Bar none.

If you don't believe me, then simply watch this. And count them.

Kevin Reiter, we salute you.

In other news, the same people also applauded Beckham's red card because "the other guy deserved it": Staying with the Blaze, Saturday night in Sheffield saw a surreal moment. Blaze are 3-1 down and pushing hard with a few minutes to go, before Danny Stewart is called for a fairly blatant holding-the-stick penalty on Rod Sarich. He disputes this, and earns a ten-minute. He continues to dispute it, and is given a game misconduct. As he leaves the ice, leaving his team a man-down and conceding a powerplay, large sections of the Blaze crowd give him a standing ovation. And not sarcastically either.

Not the Midlanders' proudest moment, that.

Oh yes, and Rob Dowd made it 4-1 from the resulting powerplay.

Sometimes, admitting you're wrong is the only thing you do right: Finally in this weekend of woe in Coventry, there's the saga of the faceoff change that never was. At the Skydome last night, it was announced that the Blaze would be moving their Sunday faceoffs to 5.15 "to be more child-friendly." This despite the fact that their faceoff time has been 6pm for eight years, and it never seemed to be an issue before. Until, that is, you decide you want your rink turned into a creche.

I'm not going to launch into an essay about how this went down, simply refer you to this thread.

Anyway, after a universal reaction of "yeah, right, that's us gone" from the fans, the Blaze hastily back-tracked at 10.20 this morning. And fair play to them. About the only thing they've managed to do right in the whole mess...

Fan power works. Occasionally...

Belfast Giants games-now with free medication!: Stevie Lyle won the battle of the GB goalies...barely, as Belfast beat Manchester 4-3 on Sunday. This after they'd beat Nottingham 7-6 in the NIC the night before. They may not be able to defend hugely well at the moment, but as long as the Giants keep scoring, they could be right back in the title chase very quickly indeed after two huge wins, both by one goal. Rumours that heart-trouble has risen sharply in Northern Ireland as a result of this are, however, unconfirmed.

Well, at least the football team are doing well: A quick comment on the basement battle...Edinburgh Capitals seven, Hull Stingrays 3. Curtis Cruickshank must be scouring the "goalie wanted" ads like a man possessed right about now. And Rick Strachan must be wondering just what he has to do to win himself a game. Again.

And that's your lot...I know it's a bit short but real-life has intruded today...

Round the Rinks, November 14th

It's weekend preview time! But first, a little digression or two to mop up some loose ends.

"So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye...": It's been a week for player departures in the EIHL, with Marek Ivan leaving Newcastle today (wow-we never saw that one coming), and Joe White and Curtiss Patrick leaving Basingstoke (clearly, the financial problems haven't finished biting down south...

"God, I'm glad that's over...": That's an actual quote from a member of the crowd after his team (Coventry) had just won 6-1 against Hull, and should tell you all you need to know about the game, really. So I'll leave it there.

"There's still hope!": Meanwhile, in Nottingham, the good Panthers turned up to beat Cardiff 4-1, knocking them out of the CC cup in the process. Amazingly, though, Hull can still qualify...and I'm sure we're all rooting for that to happen...

Reply and Musical Interlude:

"And all I (all I) Need to know (need to know) Is that I'm something you'll be missing"

Taking Back Sunday: "You're So Last Summer"

Perhaps this is worth a post on its own, but my all-Underrated team has raised a little comment, with Neil and Sally both commenting that perhaps Deschatelets is only under-rated because he plays on a team with Adam Calder and Dan Carlson. They may have a point-as at this level you could probably put a trained monkey (or, as it's known in the EIHL, "Andre Payette") on a line with those two and they'll put up good numbers.

However, I counter with the fact that, if you ask the average EIHL-watcher (ie those who just follow their teams, without watching the league as a whole, which is probably most of them, certainly in Coventry) to make a list of the top players in this league, Deschatelets would be way down it, undeservedly. After the two Dans (Carlson and Tessier) he's probably the best creator in this league, but is just never mentioned as being vital to a team-even in Cardiff he played in the shadow of Brad Voth and Jason Silverthorn.
The man is pure, grade A quality. And for some reason, he just never seems to get the coverage or praise for doing pretty much exactly the same as the "superstars" do night-in, night out. Whereas even Curtis Huppe was known throughout the league as a goalscorer...

To me, he is proof that "good on a bad team" is not the only definition of "underrated". Sometimes, being one of the crucial links on a great team but not getting praised for it is just as bad.

And on that note-on to the weekend preview. Let's go north-to-south by arena and back again this week...

SATURDAY:

We start on Humberside, where Hull face Cardiff in a game the Devils should win-both teams need to bounce back from midweek losses against tricky opposition, but I get the sense this game will not exactly be the most hotly-anticipated of the weekend...

Moving down to South Yorkshire, we have a game that just might have a few people looking forward to it...first plays second at the Hallam Arena as Sheffield take on Coventry. This is the kind of game even Dave Simms can't complain about-it's sure to have two teams at the top of their game facing each other with neither willing to give an inch. Fire up the hype machine...

...and kick it into overdrive as we travel just down the M1 to the NIC. In any other weekend Nottingham v Belfast would be a huge draw. Two of the best-skating teams in the league meet in a battle to gain some ground on the leading pair while at the same time stamp on the other team's fingers as they climb the ladder towards the top spot. This game will be worth watching. There is simply no question of it not being a good game in my eyes, and if this were next weekend, I'd likely consider making the trip to the NIC to watch it with the Blaze in Bolzano...

Finally, we end up in Hampshire for Basingstoke v Edinburgh. Although, unless you're Bison or a Capitals fan, you probably won't have travelled this far south on our hypothetical journey by choice...a state of affairs which is perhaps a little harsh on these two teams, but undeniable fact when you compare this game to the two big ones on offer...this one may pass in relative obscurity, but it could still provide some entertainment if you're down that way...

SUNDAY

On our journey back up north along the EIHL game trail this Sunday, we stop off first in South Wales for the interesting prospect of Cardiff v Sheffield, a game which has the potential for fireworks of both the goalscoring and glove-dropping varieties. Two teams who have a equal mix of skill and speed should provide a feast of fun at the Big Blue Tent...

...a prospect which, sadly, can't be said of our next stop-the Skydome. Coventry and Basingstoke meet in a game which, given the current relative status of the two clubs, will be seen by some as almost a warm-down after the Blaze's exertions in Sheffield the previous night. However, if you've ever seen a nature programme you'll know that Bison, when cornered, sometimes stop being easy prey for the lions and spring a shock or two themselves. And that's why the Blaze team and fans, like the lions, have learned to be cautious of the wounded Bison...

Travelling further north, we come to Altrincham, for the tantalising fixture that is Manchester v Belfast. This is the game of the night by some distance-with the Phoenix having, yet again, the chance to prove they belong among the top teams and the Giants looking to keep breathing down the necks of Coventry and Sheffield. The offensive talent on show, coupled with the battle between the two top British goalies, means that there are enough storylines in this game to keep even the best soap-opera jealous...

We then travel on to Tyneside, where Newcastle face Nottingham in a game chiefly notable for being Ed Courtenay's Vipers debut. Apart from that, there's not much you can say...it's certainly not the biggest draw this Sunday night, and even the star-power of the EIHL's Bergerac returning can't make it so...

Finally, we end up in the Scottish capital, for Edinburgh v Hull. It's fair to say that, once again, the last stop on our trip will have the least people staying with us for it...however, the few hardy souls that do shouldn't feel too bad-there's vital points in the basement to be won, and that means the game should be full-blooded if nothing else....

And there you go-that's the weekend previewed, once again, to within an inch of its life...

Midweek Musings

Welcome to another Midweek Musings! With yesterday being Remembrance Day, I did consider having a theme of remembering past glories, now-disappeared teams and epic moments of putting the team before yourself in the Elite League era (and trust me, anyone who was at the Skydome in 2004/04, the night that Jeff Burgoyne took a slapshot full in the unmentionables at point-blank range in order to prevent his Cardiff team conceding a goal, is now looking back with due respect, or, if they’re male, with their legs crossed). Then, I remembered two things:

This is the Elite League, where the vast majority of owners will stretch morals to breaking point, can’t even keep to a wage-cap they themselves have agreed and generally bitch and whine at each other in the press whenever they get the chance (see: Sheffield Steelers at Cardiff Devils).

Furthermore, British ice hockey has a long history of losing teams (to the point where this post would probably reach into several thousand words), dropping teams and two leagues where certain teams are run more with an eye on the “big-fish, small-pond” model of success rather than the “let’s give the fans the best level we can” model that professional teams should ideally be run on (see: Guildford, Slough, and historically Fife)

Hardly a shining beacon of togetherness, camaraderie and “doing the right thing”, now, is it? Plus, it just seems a little tacky.

And so, instead, and now that every team has played every team as far as I'm aware...it's time for the players that aren't stars and should be. Yes, it's the All-Under-rated All-Stars part 1....

GOALIE:
Stephen Murphy (Manchester): I know I wrote a whole post about just why Stephen Murphy wasn't an Elite League goalie back when he signed for Manchester, but I'll say this for the guy-he does have a knack for making the puck hit him, and the Phoenix's fine form is in no small part down to him...

DEFENCE
Josh Garbutt (Manchester): I picked Omar Ennafatti in this spot last year, but this time round, I'm confident that the Phoenix fans will actually agree with their d-man's inclusion. Quite frankly, if I could I'd stick the whole bunch of the Phoenix in here, since there's nothing to choose between Kenton Smith, Garbutt and Alex Dunn, but Garbutt just seemed to stand out a little more for me-whenever there was a forward loose in front of the net, it seemed to be Garbutt who'd get his stick in or deliver a perfectly-timed shove to move him...

Jason Stone (Cardiff): A British hockey legend, and a perennial UAS, even the Devils fans don't always notice their long-serving number ten mopping up on the blue-line. But he does, and he does it oh so well, too. What's more, he's so calm, you wonder sometimes if his heart is still beating...

FORWARDS

Sylvain Deschatelets (Coventry): Another return for my favourite Blaze player. Cardiff fans in particular may find it surprising that there have been calls to release him this season amongst the Blaze faithful, with vociferous debates going on over whether he's worth the position he's got. Interestingly, those same people are the ones praising Barrie Moore's recent return to form to the skies. Is it a coincidence that this has come since he's been paired with the quiet, unassuming, yet hawk-eyed French-Canadian with the hands of silk to feed Moore in the space to release his deadly wristshot? Somehow, I think not.

Matt Reynolds (Hull): If this guy were playing with a Dan Carlson or a Dan Tessier, then we'd probably be mentioning him in the same breath as David Beauregard and Adam Calder. He's outshone Rick Kozak by far with a tenth of the hype, and will definitely be a player I keep an eye on when the Stingrays come to town....

Danny Stewart (Basingstoke): This guy, along with Greg Chambers, has been carrying the Bison on his young shoulders for the greater part of this season. He appears to have formed something of an understanding with his linemates which has allowed him to lever himself into second in scoring on the team and one of only two players in double-figures for goals (although Matt Miller is scoring a goal a game since his arrival and could be worth keeping an eye on, especially since he and Trevor Read are combining after playing last season together in Amarillo)

Two Games in Two Minutes:
Let's get both One-Minute Previews out of the way in one go, shall we? There are two midweek games this week, as Coventry face Hull and Nottingham take on Cardiff

Blaze v Stingrays: The GB Bunch are back for the Blaze, and will be looking to prove that they are still vital to the team after they weren't hugely missed against Newcastle over the weekend, mainly thanks to an Adam Calder double on Saturday, and a pair of solid games from JF Perras. The Stingrays, meanwhile, are hoping to bounce back after a nightmare of a game on Saturday against the Capitals. If I'm honest, though, tomorrow night is not the night it's going to happen, at least not in my eyes-the Blaze may be run close by Rick Strachan's suffocating brand of trap hockey but will ultimately have too much class for the Humbersiders...

Nottingham v Cardiff: Thursday at the NIC should see a far more open game between the Panthers and the Devils, as one team looks to get going again off a break, and the Devils try and build up a head of steam for a push up the league. Winning in the NIC would be an ideal way to do this, and provide the Sky cameras with something of a story...however, anyone tuning in on Friday can be assured they'll get a decent show...

And that's your lot for this Wednesday...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime, 10th November

So here we go-GB’s great Olympic adventure is over for another year, the weekend as a whole didn’t suffer hugely due to missing players (although certain teams, Manchester especially, did) and there were even a few departures and returns. In true rambling style, let’s plunge into a review of the weekend, GB and all.

It’s not often an 11-1 win is described as “too little, too late” but in this case…: GB have finally made us proud. With nothing on the line they cut loose, played like tigers and found the net eleven times against a Romanian side who didn’t even have pride to play for, having already been tanked by Japan and Poland (two teams who, irrespective of the fact that the games against “our boys” were a lot closer and, if you’re of the rose-tinted opinion, “GB were unlucky to lose” beat GB too).
I can’t help feeling that the British national side have just about reached their level for the moment, at least until the current crop of youngsters (who in Rob Dowd, Ben O’Connor and others show some players who could actually become genuinely great British players, examples of which are, in my eyes, Tony Hand, the Coopers, possibly Ronnie Wood and…erm, that’s about it) mature properly, dual-nationals or no dual nationals. There has been much hand-wringing recently over the perceived lack of interest in GB from UK hockey fans. This is probably going to be an unpopular view-but with British hockey in the state it’s currently in, why should anyone seriously expect anything more than the “gallant losers” tag currently hanging over the team-the GB press office can keep churning out those optimistic press releases about how great the mood is and how happy people are to be involved until hell freezes over, but the results on the ice still see GB lose to teams who, realistically, have a similar hockey pedigree as far as their international teams go. even supposed “second-tier” European nations like France, Austria and Italy would, at the moment, slaughter our national side.
Aye well. At least they tried.

If you need a scapegoat, then an import you hyped to the skies is as good as any: Newcastle have released Tyler Willis after the Vipers’ double-header loss to Coventry this weekend. Which makes the person who picked him as MoM on Saturday look like they either have a spectacular sense of irony or, more likely, saw something in his huffing, puffing but consistently ineffective efforts to do something worthwhile and justify his hype that no-one else did.
The last time someone failed this spectacularly to do the job they were brought in for, the words “Northern Rock” or “One True Voice” (for you pop culture addicts) were involved…

Meanwhile, Rob Wilson’s attempts to annoy every single Viper fan before the end of the season continued as planned: And so, naturally, the Vipers have a replacement for Tyler Willis lined up. With the decision to release Willis already being heavily questioned, Rob Wilson adds to his signing of Ed Courtenay (a player known for not having the greatest attitude towards referees, and being hated by opposition fans for that almost as much as his scoring skills) by asking Jeff Hutchins to return (a player known for having something of a cocky attitude, being released by several coaches (including Wilson himself) because of it, and being hated by...erm, everybody. Good work, Rob.

And, just to confirm, I am now officially off the "Vipers can win the title" bandwagon. The wheels have come off it in a big way.

Somewhere, it's "one of those nights" every night, Rick: Rick Strachan has put Edinburgh's 6-1 thumping of his team on their home ice down to the fact that "it was just one of those nights" in the Hull Daily Mail. Which is perhaps a fair point, until you bear in mind that, whatever players he has in front of him, Rick Strachan teams seem to have more than their fair share of "those nights". On Wednesday they come to Coventry. We can but hope for yet another one of those "Strachan nights"...


Crash...: Kyle Bruce destroys Randy Dagenais at the end of Sheffield-Manchester on Sunday...

Bang...: While Brett Clouthier does the same to Andrew Sharp...

...and wallop:...and Brad Cruikshank also gets involved in a bit of a ruck at the end of the game. Who said the Wars of the Roses were history?

And yes, I still think the Phoenix are the real thing this season...

Disturbing Quote of the Week: From a mature, normal, intelligent lady (the mother of one of my friends, in fact) comes this absolute diamond of disturbia: "That Marek Ivan-he's quite hot, isn't he?" Yes. If you like cold, unfeeling zombies, maybe he is. I can guarantee there will not be a more mystifying comment in the Skydome this season...and if you stand listening to some of the stuff people who supposedly "know the game" post on forums or shout at their own players during the game, you'll know there's some competition for that honour...
But each to their own...

What's that rumbling noise?: It might be the Cardiff Devils finally waking up...demolishing Basingstoke away from home isn't going to set the league alight by a long shot, but it's like a rumble of thunder in a clear sky-you start wondering how long the storm will take to break.

What's Swiss French for "taking the piss?": Just to make Nottingham fans feel really good about losing to Geneva by some distance in their friendly (5-2), here's the last sentence of the Geneva match report...


"To note, the second Panther goal was scored into an empty net as the Eagles were practising their 6 on 5 playmaking!"


So, to get this straight, in the middle of a game against Nottingham, the Genevans felt so comfortably on top that they pulled their goalie on purpose while leading, just in order to practice playing 6 on 5? I'm sorry, but that just made me giggle. And should burst the bubbles of a Panthers fan or two...:)

There you go then-the weekend summarised in five minutes or less...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...