Double Overtime, March 9th...

On we go into another skate round the weeks EIHL action, including one race in the EIHL that came to a sputtering stop and another that's suddenly accelerated dramatically...

"You're too much...(too much)

I take it that it's over.

Should we even care at all?

You're too much (too much)

Shake hands and say goodbye"

Friendly Fires: "Skeleton Boy"

Congratulations to Sheffield Steelers, EIHL League Champions 2008/09

God, that stung to write....:) The title race, which has been hanging around like a dying horse forgotten in the back garden of a knacker's yard, has finally been laid to rest, with Sheffield clinching the title on Sunday night thanks to a 4-1 win in Newcastle, and Coventry losing by the same score at home to Hull...to a surprising lack of fanfare from all concerned...well, unless you were outside Sheffield Arena around midnight (thank you, Steelers TV-may be distressing footage if you're a Panther fan) However, the race at the bottom of the league is still very, very much alive...so, let's congratulate the Steelers (by far the best team over the season) and move on to the rest of the league...

Final word, though...was it just me, or had the odd stray Blaze fan snuck into the Hallam car-park to be mickey-taken by Andrew Sharp (last twenty seconds of the clip)...

And yes, I'm a Blaze fan myself...I just thought I'd make that joke before anyone else did...:)

Scientists believe that this proves that being involved in a car-crash is not ideal pre-game preparation: On Saturday night, Andrew Verner was apparently involved in a minor car-crash on the way to the Telewest Arena for the Newcastle v Edinburgh game-despite this he declared himself fit to play...a decision which could have an impact on more than just his GAA average as he let in seven in the first twenty minutes in an eventual 9-2 win for Edinburgh. He didn't do too badly on Sunday, though, keeping Sheffield out for nearly 40 minutes and defending a one-goal lead valiantly before succumbing to the Steelers attack late in the second...

A very fitting memorial: The night before in Nottingham, meanwhile, had seen the Steelers not exactly in party mood as the Panthers beat them 4-2 in a pulsating game, full of incident. The tone was set even before face-off, as a packed NIC raised the roof with a minute's applause in remembrance of Dave Page and Owen Grant, who passed away last week as mentioned in Friday's weekend preview-then the teams got down to it with three fights, six goals and a ton of commitment...the Panthers clearly motivated by "win it for Dave" and the Steelers equally so by "win it for Owen". Goals for Johan Molin (twice), Brendan Cook and James Ferrara ensured that the Panthers did so...but British hockey was, by all accounts, the real winner...

One wonders whether they'll arrange to share-that would be the gentlemanly thing to do. But then, gentlemen don't play hockey: Belfast ensured that they will battle out both of the Elite League cup competitions with Manchester after easing through 4-1 in Cardiff on Saturday night to leave the Devils once again ruing the old truth "so close, yet so far". adage....

That rumoured cash injection can't come soon enough: Basingstoke are now the losingest team in British ice hockey, with their streak of losses extended by two more over the weekend as first Coventry (4-2) and then Nottingham (7-2) overturned their Hampshire rivals. With rumours now coming out that the Bison are being offered financial aid by the EIHL to not jump ship to the English Premier League, the future of the Hampshire club is still not cut-and-dried...

Cry havoc, and let loose the dogs of Hull!: Has someone woken up the Stingrays? After a 6-1 loss to Manchester on Saturday night, the Humbersiders, despite being delayed over an hour on the way into Coventry, played arguably the best game I've seen a Stingrays side play at the Skydome and were rewarded with a fairly comfortable 4-1 win. If you read anything Blaze-related regarding the game it will emphasis the lack of ideas of the home side, the seeming disinterestedness of many players and the many perceived failings of the Skydome-based team. And, up to a (small) point, these are decent summaries of the game. However, to emphasise the bad points (of which there were several) of Blaze's performance is to unfairly belittle the effort and skill put in by every player in a Stingrays shirt-Curtis Cruickshank was superb in goal, Antii Turunen was calm and assured in front of him and Matt Reynolds and Jason Kostadine worked tirelessly and very effectively indeed up front, never giving the Blaze defence any time and hurrying the forwards with their relentless back-checking-a theme replicated throughout the away side....

That's a brief Blaze view...for a pespective from Yorkshire, have a gander at the F-Block Blog...

"Fighting tooth-and-nail" doesn't begin to cover it...: Meanwhile, as Hull were winning down in Coventry to end their slim hopes of a title. Edinburgh were nicking a vital two points and adding to Cardiff's misery at the Bay, edging them 4-3 thanks to Sean Perkins' goal with 65 seconds remaining. Jason Cassells was the real architect of victory, however, scoring two of the Caps' four goals and assisting the winner, after appearing to find a willing and able compliment on his line in Brad Bonello, who joined the Caps at the same time in January...this means that Hull are now three points out of a playoff spot, with one game still to come between the two...which, by the way, is the last one of the regular season for both teams.

Winner takes all, anyone?

There you go...that's your weekend reviewed...