Round the Rinks, Feb 7th...and some exciting news

You know the drill by now-straight in we go...although just for this week I'm trying a slightly different way of doing things...doing it by day and not each individual game..

Saturday

The first half of the weekend fixtures see Newcastle and Hull renew acquaintances yet again in a short space of time, Basingstoke preparing for the visit of Sheffield, which is just about the perfect game for the Steelers to start the weekend off (more on them later) and Nottingham commencing a home-double weekend with the easier leg, the visit of slowly-improving Edinburgh (who have announced a new main sponsor this week).

Meanwhile, Cardiff are the opponents for a Belfast team facing a crucial weekend away from the Odyssey. The Giants are something of a resurgent force after fading somewhat from early December onward, but last weekend were the latest to prove that the hockey gods often give with one hand and take away with the other, as Bobby Robins fell victim to a shoulder injury only a short time after Andrew Martin had finally returned from a long-term injury (Robins has been replaced in the Elite All-Star game by team-mate George Awada). The Devils, meanwhile, need a scalp just to prove to themselves that they can, in fact, still score against teams other than Basingstoke....

Up in Altrincham, meanwhile, Manchester face Coventry for the first time since the game known to Blaze fans now as "The Great Escape" (incidentally, can you believe that Blaze TV get paid for slightly grainy coverage with bad music like this while Steelers TV people do not even though they're both produced by teams mostly made up of university students-which would you rather watch?). And revenge is the only thought on their minds...although with both teams now scrapping for the best position going into the playoffs this could be crucial in determining how the rest of the season goes for both of them...if Manchester finally pull out a result the psychological benefits will far outweigh the league benefit of a mere two points at this stage...after all, success breeds success...

Sunday

Newcastle take on Basingstoke as they complete a weekend facing teams from the lower end of the table, while Edinburgh, who don't play tonight, will be hoping that the Hull Stingrays' seeming hold over Nottingham in their own rink will slacken after the Stingrays won there on their last meeting. Meanwhile, a major EIHL rivalry is renewed again as Coventry face Cardiff at the Skydome.

Game of the night by some distance, however, is that at the Hallam Arena as Sheffield take on Belfast. With the Steelers arguably having the easier game the night before (Basingstoke as opposed to Cardiff) the Giants will be hoping that they can travel with relatively little effort expended-especially as a win will likely all but remove the Giants from the league race even at this relatively early stage. Even a loss will not be greeted with panic in South Yorkshire-the Steelers really are in that strong a position at the moment. However, Giants fans, don't get hopeful..this team just doesn't slack off...

I know it's somewhat shorter than usual...this weekend preview...

I have an excuse, though...and it's a big one.

The EIHL playoff weekend this year will see, for the first time, a collaborative effort by the UK blogs out there to produce content by fans, for fans, rather than simply team-specific coverage from the "official" team sources. It's in the process of being set up now, and already having expressed an interest in joining forces for the weekend are...

The Breakaway (Coventry)
Five Minute Major and the Angry Budgie (Manchester)
The Cat's Whiskers (Nottingham)
Kingdom of the Giants (Belfast)

That, already, is half the league (almost) covered...but we still need people from Hull, Basingstoke, Newcastle, Sheffield, and Edinburgh.

The idea is to have a central site we all contribute to with postings, podcasts, (hopefully) video and blog articles, intended to give this "festival of hockey) the coverage it deserves-with every team represented...it's still in the very early stages, and if you fancy joining in, then feel free to join in at www.playoffweekend.co.uk (details are on there of how to sign up or even just keep up to date-it looks a bit rough-and-ready but the foundation is there)...

Details of the original idea can be found on this thread on the Phoenix forum if you fancy a read...as well as a way to mention what you'd want in such coverage...after all, the whole point of this is that this will be by the fans, for the fans, and the more ideas or help, the more chance there is of it becoming something special...so go have a read.

Oh, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...