Round the Rinks, January 23rd

Let's go bombing into another weekend preview, shall we? Apologies it's so late but I have just spent three hours stuck on the M42 on a journey that should have taken 35 minutes. Nice. First of all, though...

That minute could be worth a whole lot more come April: Sheffield beat Belfast two-one in the Odyssey on Wednesday, with Ryan Finnerty scoring the winner on 59:01 after the game had looked set to go to overtime. Two crucial, crucial points which also prevented Belfast going above Coventry into third place while they were at it...

I stand corrected: Robb from the Pyre reminds me after my post on Wednesday that Manchester wore Children in Need special jerseys this season...in which case I apologise for saying no team is doing anything jersey-wise...

And now, on to the weekend...

Double-headers

Edinburgh v Sheffield: Two games at Murrayfield which should, realistically, see the Steelers come out with maximum points, although the Caps will be boosted by new signings Jason Cassells and Brad Bonello. These are games the Steelers will be expecting to win to strengthen their grasp on this years title, and anything less than four points for them would be a bonus for the rest of the league...

Newcastle v Hull: Tyneside on Saturday, and Humberside on Sunday. Two games which won't provide the greatest level of finesse hockey in the world and indeed may be ignored by the greater part of the British hockey community unless a) it all kicks off, b) someone gets a mullering, or c) both. However, even diamonds are sometimes found in piles of...well, nasty stuff, and this game could prove to be well worth watching due to the teams being so evenly matched...

Belfast v Basingstoke: You have to fear for the Bison with the Giants on a hot run, especially after the Panthers brushed them aside last weekend with almost contemptuous ease. I can't see much more than four points for the Giants and the Bison doing their "battling loser" act yet again to stay firmly rooted to the bottom...The Saturday leg will be live at www.giantslive.tv, too...

Now on to the single games...

Saturday

Coventry v Manchester: With all of the games between Blaze and Phoenix being close up until now, this one is guaranteed to be worth watching, particularly with the offensive talent on show. With Blaze's new boys Blake Forsyth and Erik Hjalmarsson now more settled, they will be looking for a chance to show what they can do, while the Phoenix will be hoping to dig themselves out of something of a New Year hole and pull off a morale-boosting win away from home after coming close on several occasions already...This is game of the night, definitely.

Cardiff v Nottingham: But closely behind it comes this meeting in South Wales. Panthers' speed v Devils' power and effort is the order of the day here, and with the Devils finally close to the form of the Devils of old, Coventry in particular will be wishing the Panthers a tough game away from the friendly confines of the NIC...

Sunday

Manchester v Cardiff: It's change-about as the four teams who met last night in the non-double-header games swap opponents. Phoenix v Devils is a fixture that the Welsh side have had the better of so far this season, but with both teams having tough fixtures the night before the result this time round is anyone's guess....

Nottingham v Coventry: Finally, it's the resumption of the Team Hollywood Rivalries. With Corey Leclair playing his first game against the team that brought him to the UK at the start of this season and both sides desperate for points to keep them in touch with Sheffield at the top, no quarter will be asked for and even if it were, one doubts it would be given. This is the game of the weekend by a whisker, and will see 60 minutes of war on the NIC ice...

There you go-it's a little late, but there's your weekend, previewed...