Double Overtime, 8th September

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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

or

Vipers win the league

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

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

Fasten Your Seatbelts...

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

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

Round the Rinks: 5th September

Season opener time! Some would say it's pointless trying to do a team-by-team preview when you haven't seen seven of the ten teams yet, and I agree. So rather than doing team-by-team for this time out, let's look at the weekend as a whole...

Miracle Men: And we start with the Basingstoke Bison v Coventry Blaze double-header. Few know that it is now actually written into the EIHL constitution that the first two weekends of the league season must involve Coventry playing Basingstoke, ideally at the Silverdome but sometimes in Coventry too, just to add a bit of variety. Two teams equally blessed with size and speed should make for a pair of intriguing games, especially as they are two of the few teams actually at full strength. And Jason Goulet meeting Carlyle Lewis should make for some pitched battles in front of Kevin Reiter, too...

Meanwhile: The rest of the teams are more difficult to preview, and it will be difficult to assess this early on just how they match up, since Nottingham and Newcastle, two of the pre-season strong teams, are both missing some of their top imports. Manchester and Nottingham can make an early physical mark as they meet two of the "power" teams in the league in Newcastle and Hull-the Phoenix in that order and Nottingham in reverse order. Cardiff have the toughest opening weekend with games against the mercurial-looking Belfast Giants and the known excellence of the Sheffield Steelers. Edinburgh can expect nothing more than a shooting gallery in their opening two games-they're still missing half a roster as they take on the same two teams in reverse order. to round out the fixtures.

I know that's a relatively short post, but the Double Overtime on Monday will be a bit longer...and there may be apost earlier in the weekend if anything particularly notable happens...

Oh yes, and just to make it perfectly clear...

Yes, I do hate Marek Ivan. With a burning passion...:)

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Sweet Charity...

Charity is something of a theme of today's bumper post-beginning with the news that the Cardiff Devils were a part of the massive fundraising effort to save Bison this week, in the persona of owner Matt Burge. Here's part of the press release:

The Cardiff Devils are proud to have provided substantial, immediate five figure cash injection that will enable the Basingstoke Bison to compete in the BMI Baby Elite League next season.Cardiff Devils owner Matt Burge commented: “I am delighted to be able to help Basingstoke out in this way. We need to look at the bigger picture and the impact of no Bison team in the Elite League would have been severe; it would have not only been terrible news for Bison fans, but the league as a whole.”


There's not really much else you can say other than "fair play to the man"...

Following that, Coventry are due to play the Telford Tigers in a fundraising game later this month...I'm feeling quite warm and fuzzy now...

Charity Shield: Thirty Second Review: Cracking game, this, although the somewhat sparse crowd may be a worry at the Skydome if it continues (1300 or so by my estimate is very low for a curtain-raiser)...

Belfast Webcast is back: Starting this weekend, the much-praised Belfast webcast team will be broadcasting all Giants games at the Odyssey-this Saturday against Cardiff is free to listen to, so give 'em a try, you won't regret it. The new address is here: http://www.giantslive.tv

Round the Rinks to (hopefully) appear later tonight (around 9pm), assuming the Internet problems at my house are fixed (bloody lightning)...

If not, it'll be tomorrow afternoon. Which I appreciate is a bit late, but I'm doing my best with a rubbish BT phoneline...:)

Tuesday Thoughts...

Let's begin with the feel-good news...

Bison will hit the ice: From today's Daily Star:

Basingstoke have gone from doom to zoom in just three days. Swedish owner Tomas Enerston last night confirmed that Bison will be on the ice for this weekend's opening of the Elite League season after fans throughout the country chipped in to keep the club afloat. Enerston had warned he would have to pull out after losing nearly £25,000 following the collapse of Zoom airline.Ten North-American based imports were booked on sponsored flights to the UK, but Bison now have to foot the bill for their players and their equipment. Enerston said "We've raised £20,000 in three days. It would not happen anywhere else, the pure dedication of the fans is unbelievable. And it's not only our fans, we've had supporters from all the other clubs helping and now we can look forward to the new season"

So there you go. £20,000 in three days. It seems lightning can strike not once, but twice in the same few days, thanks to fans of UK hockey...

On dark nights, stay away from the Bay...or the Skydome...or you may have the pleasure of meeting Doug MacIver-an early nomination for "scariest-looking player in the EIHL". Although many in Coventry have already nominated Corey Leclair (how did he let that photo get past the censors?), memorably described by someone next to me as looking like a "zombie version of Moby". Poor sod-I think he's got a bit of a bad rap myself. Here he is as he is now...is it me or does he have a touch of Joel Poirier about him?

"Hate is a strong word, but I really, really, really don't like you...":
I am a reasonable man. I stuck up for Theo Fleury when he was hated for the rest of the league. I think Derek Campbell (Newcastle variety) is a very useful player when he can be. I prefer to call Rob Wilson "experienced" rather than just plain "old". I even think Payette has his uses on occasion...but sometimes, there comes a time when reason just goes out the window for me, and this is one of them.
I now have a new reason to hate the Vipers...they have signed my all-time most-despised player. Those of you who think Andre Payette is an object worthy of hatred have clearly not been exposed sufficiently to Marek Ivan, the ex-Panther who is now the Vipers' first line centre. There is no swearword vile enough to sum up my opinion of this white-gloved, chicken-hearted zombie lookalike from the Czech Republic-a man who celebrated a last minute game-winner in front of possibly the hardest team bench in the EIHL (London Racers, 04/05) and then ran like hell when they attempted to take physical retribution in a scrap which has become legendary in British hockey. A man who considered white gloves and a yellow shirt a fashion statement. A man who will never pass when he can shoot, and never check cleanly when he can swing a stick. A man so unpopular that even Steve McKenna turned away from a fight because it involved sticking up for him. Many people who have heard me talk about him are convinced his name is actually "Marek bloody Ivan!" and can only be said in a tone of utter disgust. I really don't like him much, no matter that he can actually play when he's not hiding under a bench...
(Oh, and by the way, if you think I'm not looking forward to "welcoming" him to the Skydome with a volley of family-friendly mickey-taking and generally getting on his back every time he makes his mistake, you're wrong. Very, very wrong...Within the limits of good taste and fair language, fishing season just well and truly opened...)

One Minute Preview: Charity Shield:
And so we're off into the season proper tomorrow night with the curtain-raiser/PR bonanza that is the Charity Shield. Sadly there may not be as much money raised as last time due to it being held at the 2,500 seat Skydome rather than the 7,000 seat NIC, but Coventry v Sheffield is always a game worth watching.

Why Sheffield will win: Their players know each other, and most of Coventry's, very well indeed. And thus, as they proved in the PO final last season, they know how to stop them. Joey Talbot is lethal even without Dan Tessier, Steve Munn is simply a machine on defence (no human can be that good, that often) and Nathan Gillies is a promising addition. Combine wind-up merchants par excellence (Ryan Finnerty), top Brits (Ashley Tait, Jonathan Phillips) and steel and skill on d (Mark Thomas and Rod Sarich) and the Steelers are more than capable of repeating their result in Nottingham tomorrow night.

Why Coventry will win: As always, they can flat-out play from top to the bottom of the team. And now they have size to add to their skill in the shape of Scott Kelman (both), Corey Leclair (both in one) and Carlyle Lewis (size and...well, he can play damn well where necessary, even if Belfast fans would have you believe otherwise). You will simply have to score four or five goals to beat this team for certain, and even then, you may find getting them a lot less easy than you think.

Key match-up: Scott Kelman v Ryan Finnerty. Two centres who can both play, and one who will do his best to be winding up the other, these players need to be firing for their line to score-this is obvious even this early in the season. Finnerty can get under people's skin like no-one else, and should he knock Kelman off his game and force Lewis to take penalties at the same time, that is a lot of Coventry's attacking size neutralised. With four goals in three games already this off-season, Kelman is fast becoming a fan favourite. Shut his line down and all the pressure moves to the AC/DC line-and they too can be stopped if you hustle hard enough...

Prediction: Maybe no goal-fest here, but a storming game which the Blaze will just (and I mean "by a gnat's wing" just...edge, purely due to being able to cope with the sometimes-unpredictable Skydome ice slightly better.

That's your lot for today...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Double Overtime: Preseason Edition...

Rather than a considered team-by-team run through the pre-season, this will be more of a jump-about stream-of-consciousness post, although I'll try and at least keep the games in some sort of order...

Fight!: Getting the rough stuff out of the way first of all with a pic that speaks louder than words...

This is why it's a bad idea to wind up a 6'3, 215lb centre, skill player or not...(thanks to Mark Tredgold for the pictures as per usual). For the record, the fight was a clear Scott Kelman win...

"Team toughness" isn't about size, it's about state of mind: Hull and Sheffield have six scraps in two games...let no-one say the Steelers don't stick up for themselves on this showing...

Twist and (probably) shout: Cardiff have signed a contortionist for a d-man in Mike Hartwick-is it me or does his body look like it's going completely the opposite way to his legs? I've seen many slapshot pictures but that is just plain wrong...(picture from Helen Fryer)

Goal, after goal, after goal... So, all the pre-season weekend results...

Saturday 30th August

Dundalk Bulls/Hawks Select 0 Belfast Giants 10
Cardiff Devils 4 Manchester Phoenix 3
Hull Stingrays 4 Sheffield Steelers 10
Newcastle Vipers 2 Coventry Blaze 3

Sunday 31st August

Dundalk Bulls/Hawks Select 1 Belfast Giants 9
Manchester Phoenix 7 Nottingham Panthers 5
Sheffield Steelers 5 Hull Stingrays 2
Coventry Blaze 10 Newcastle Vipers 2

With 36 goals in four games on Saturday and 41 in four on Sunday (for you maths whizzes, that's 77, or nearly eight goals a game over the weekend) can we safely assume that that's the highest scoring (on average) weekend of the season already out of the way?

And the "FMTWABI" Award goes to: Shamelessly nicking the "silly acronym" award from Five Minute Major with the "(sounds like puck) Me, That Was A Bad Idea" award, David Longstaff wins it after attempting to wind up Scott Kelman. You can see the consequences in the first bit of this post, but seeing Longstaff's greasy builder's mullet fly back as his head was thumped extremely hard and repeatedly was one of the highlights of Sunday night for many. closely followed by the fact that Kelman then proceeded to score twice (and beauties they were, too). The Vipers didn't exactly cover themselves in glory, lack of imports or otherwise, as Rob Wilson and Derek Campbell spent more time trying (and failing) to hit shadows then use their experience and gritty skill respectively. Meanwhile Andrew Verner went from sublime (46 saves from 49 shots) to ridiculous (3 goals in 10 minutes, including a shot from Lewis that hit both pads before dribbling over the line) between Saturday and Sunday. Tyler Willis looked like the kind of player everyone not from Newcastle will quickly grow to despise and admire at the same time, capping his night with a well-taken goal, and Todd Griffith was the standout player of a pretty poor bunch-not least as he demolished Leigh Jamieson in a fight at the MRA. Meanwhile (and I may have to find something negative to say about him already as I sense that I'm beginning to develop something of a favouritism for him) Scott Kelman shone, Carlyle Lewis concentrated on scoring rather than physical presence and the rest of the Blaze team looked like last year's side. Which is really not a bad thing, unless you support one of the nine other teams in the league, I suppose.

And in the "pic equals thousand words" file: This is why the chaveree suits are a bad idea. The Viper is on the left, but on the right is not a team-mate coming in to help but one of the linespeople (the comely Alice Stanley, I think) keeping a watchful eye on things. Just for a half-second you weren't sure, though, were you? Now imagine playing the Vipers and just how many times you'll catch yourself starting to yell "too many men!" before realising...

In the interests of balance: Apologies that this preseason review is a bit Blaze-centric...for other perspectives, take a gander at Five Minute Major (including a nice bit of textbook controlled ranting from Becky regarding people predicting shutouts), the Pyre and the Podcast for Manchester, The Cat's Whiskers for Nottingham and F Block for the Stingrays, all which can be accessed via the Recommended Reading panel. There's even a Belfast blog popped up now...

And some good news: Basingstoke, as of yesterday, are 19k towards their 30k target to compete this season. With 11k to raise and an extended deadline until Wednesday to do it by, there is hope anew in Hampshire.

Coming up next: Tomorrow will see a Breakaway-trademark One Minute Preview of the "official" curtain-raiser to the season-the Charity Shield, between Coventry and Sheffield, as well as all the randomness you've come to expect of the Breakaway. There will likely as not not be a post on Wednesday thanks to my evening routine looking like "home from work. shower, change, pint in the Old Windmill, watch Blaze/Steelers, out on the lash". However, there will be a match report up on Thursday evening, followed by Round the Rinks on Friday morning (all being well)...

Until then, keep keeping your eye on the puck....

Stay tuned..

I appreciate I said that there'd be a post this morning. Work's a bit busy though, so it should be on this evening by around 7pm at the latest...apologies for the delay...

Preseason Round the Rinks...

Hi all.

This was going to be a straight weekend preview with a brief look at each team playing and their matches, but events, as seems to be usual in British hockey, have overtaken us.

Basingstoke Bison need 30k by Sunday, or they're out of business. This is thanks to a snowball effect from the Zoom Airlines bankruptcy-the ins and outs of this are covered elsewhere but the maths are simple. Ways to donate, should you wish to, are on the main Bison site. The Breakaway has banged £20 in...let's hope that the Bison get the same miracle that Telford did just a few days ago.

On to the quick One-Minute Preseason Preview

Preseason action sees Coventry take on Newcastle in their traditional pair of (un) friendlies, which gives Carlyle Lewis and Andre Payette an early chance to get re-acquainted-and also, should they make it over in time, Tyler Willis and Chris McAllister the chance to impress. Although it's pre-season, given past meetings we can expect neither team to be holding back on the physical side of things...

Meanwhile, Hull take on Sheffield in the Yorkshire Cup. This gives the Steelers the chance to prove early that all the talk about "team toughness" is not just empty promise as they take on the team who many see as inheriting Newcastle's "toughest in the league" mantle-and Hull the chance to prove that there's skill to go along with the undoubted brawn. The rest of the league will certainly be watching both teams closely...

Belfast tune up with a pair of games against the Irish Hockey League Dundalk Bulls as they look to hit the ground running, while Manchester are giving themselves an early sight of two opponents as opposed to one, taking on Cardiff and Nottingham in the latter two teams' only games of the weekend.

Obviously these games, in the grand scheme of things, are little more than tune-ups, but with the league being what it is this is the time for messages to be sent, stalls to be laid out and new imports looking to impress their new fans, they'll still be worth watching-and teams and fans all around the league will surely be keeping a close eye on all the events of the weekend. I certainly will, as well as the situation in Hampshire...Monday will see a review of events and maybe even a match report of Blaze v Vipers if things get particularly tasty...

Good luck Bison, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Game On...

And so we're now officially off and running in the new season...and here is a brief stream-of-consciousness reflection on the events of last night at the Skydome.

Goal of the night: Sylvain Deschatelets: And it took the epic time of...seventeen seconds. Opening face-off, puck back to Ben O'Connor, skate, pass to Calder, dumped round the boards after a bit of passing back and forth, Carlson to Deschatelets on the left circle, followed by a nonchanlant flick (well, that was the impression, even though the puck was travelling as it went over Euan King's shoulder) and there you go-the Blaze Skydome account 08/09 is opened...

Applause-worthy moment: Stephen Lee firing a beauty of a slapshot past Steve Fone from the blue-line-not quite goal of the night but a fine strike in its own right.

God, the referee's new suits are ugly...there's no photos as yet but just have a gander over the weekend. Kappa tracksuits for the EIHL era...

Comedy moment: Puck crosses the GB zone, is received by the defenceman (who wore number 22-annoyingly there were no names on the back of the majority of the GB shirts so I couldn't remember who was who). As he curls round to receive the puck he's met by the sight of 6'3 and 235lbs of Canadian in the shape of Carlyle Lewis, moving at great speed towards him and about ten feet away, yelling "heads up!". Reason prevailed as Lewis both eased off and pulled out of the hit so no contact was made, but the yell of "go and change your pants, 22" as he left the ice for a line change seconds later pretty much summed up the youngster's reaction-if the look on his face was any judge then the boards narrowly missed being jet-washed with the contents of his rapidly-evacuating bowels...


Bravery Award: Bowns (again, I didn't catch his first name thanks to being in a bit late and not having a game sheet) marking his arrival in the game by taking a stinging Kelman slapshot full (as in "nosebreakingly full") on the mask, before doing it again from Weaver seconds later, and smiling ruefully each time. Well, they say goalies are a little "different" to the rest of us...Or Sam Oakford for a cheeky (and quite nasty) slash on Lewis' legs in the third period. He'd managed to somehow melt into the ice when Lewis took a casual look over his shoulder and grinned, though.

For the record, the final score was 6-2. As for judging the Blaze team-let's save the "first impressions" thing until after the weekend-the Blaze looked like they were playing well, well within themselves-and the U20's, while playing hard and no disrespect to them, were brushed aside with very little fuss.

More pluggery: The British hockey web community has two new additions...both Manchester way. The Phoenix Podcast and the Pyre look like two more excellent sources of opinion, debate and general hockey writing..particularly the Pyre's latest post on the wagecap issue, .so feel free to visit them now they're duly linked on the sidebar...

That's the quickie done for now...tomorrow morning it'll be time for Preseason Round the Rinks...

Last Night...

Well, technically the hockey season has already started with Sheffield Steelers losing 7-5 to Bietigheim-Bissingen in the LUK Cup, but this is the last day of the off-season in Coventry...there will be at least one Blaze game every week until April now. And at this time, it's even more saddening to learn of the troubles in Telford caused by Eurologix pulling out of their sponsorship. There's a bitter row going on down there at the moment-you'd have to look at the Tigers forum or THF in order to see the ins and outs, but let's just say it doesn't look good despite the heroic efforts of hockey fans across the country attempting to raise 20,000 pounds just so the Tigers can start the season, never mind finish it...

This is a very quick post, but there are some considerably longer (and better quality) ones out there you ought to be reading this week-the links are below......

Five Minute Major's superb season preview...

The Cat's Whiskers goes team-by-team for the season...

Four Point Four Seconds takes a look at events across the pond...

And, for all you amateur scouts...

The F Block ponders the Stingray lines...

While the Snow Plough considers the 4-ref system, which quite frankly I'm not going near just now because you can guarantee that, whatever prediction I make, the complete opposite will turn out to be the case. Actually, bearing that in mind...

IT'S A COMPLETE DISASTER! EGOS WILL RULE AND GAMES WILL DESCEND INTO FARCE, AND BONIFACE AND CARSON ON THE SAME ICE WILL LEAD TO THE END OF THE HOCKEY WORLD AS WE KNOW IT! DEATH, DESTRUCTION AND ANDREW SHARP WILL REIGN AND BRAD VOTH WILL UNLEASH HIS EVIL ON THE WORLD! AYEEE! WE'RE DOOMED! Particularly if the Steelers and/or Panthers are involved...

That's the system guaranteed to work now, then...:)

I know this is a short one, but that's about it...apart from the little number down in the corner of the sidebar, which has now passed 10,000, and made me very happy indeed, since I wasn't thinking I'd get that far until at least next season, if at all. So thank you, readers...

Next post on here will be a report of GB U20's v the Blaze, followed by the first Round the Rinks of 2008/2009 as we consider the pre-season match-ups... It's been far too long...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

PW's Spanking New Season Preview!

As promised, and following a tradition of...oh, three years from the EIHL forum and the Dragon's Den Blaze forum, here is the only season preview you'll ever need...every EIHL team dissected, rated and even having a song lyric applied to them. And you may even get Bubba Ray the Texan weighing in on one or two this time. And one rude word, kiddies...What more could you ask for? :)

Off and running, then...

Basingstoke Bison:
"Every single day what you say makes no sense to me
Even though I try I can't get my head around you"
The Offspring: Can't Get My Head Around You

I've been trying to work this team out all summer. Last season the exploits of theTerrific Ten became EIHL legend, but losing Steve Thornton over the summer along with half of their key players (Greg Owen being the most notable one as he left for France) spelled trouble for the Hampshire side. And then their recruitment policy over the summer-it's confusing because, apart from the returning Brad Cruikshank, Eric Braff and Greg Chambers, the team consists of players that provoke the reaction "he could be awesome, or he could be awful". Nowhere is this more true than in the case of Jeremy Cornish-the ex-Steelers and Racer forward who can do a job but isn't exactly overly blessed in the skills department. However, the backline looks intimidating, with every player being six-foot plus and the monster pairing of Eric Braff and Jason Goulet to ensure that Kevin Reiter will always see the puck-and by all accounts this means he WILL stop it. This team could finish anywhere from fourth to tenth depending on their new imports and just how well they mesh-but the signs, like last season, are promising. Unlike last season, however, they have proper owners this time. And that's yet another reason to be optimistic down south...
Most Valuable Player: Greg Chambers
Player to watch: Austin Sutter/Jason Goulet
Unsung Hero: Eric Braff

Belfast Giants:

"There is only one thing on our minds
Don't try running away 'cause you're the one we will find....
Searching...seek and destroy..."
Metallica: "Seek And Destroy"

The Giants want the title. Such is clear from new coach Steve Thornton's recruitment over the summer, with imports like the scarily good Mike Burgoyne and Taylor Howells on d feeding the goalscoring skill of Evan Cheverie, Paul Deniset, and Thornton himself. Grit and power is provided by Bobby Robins, George Awada and Malcolm McMillan, while Stevie Lyle, Dave Phillips and Colin Shields form possibly the best Brit-pack in the league. Let's be honest-they're way up in the title race reckoning. If they had a quality import goalie, then I'd have no hesitation in tipping them for the title. Thing is, Lyle is beatable, especially by the calibre of forwards the other top teams have, and the Giants have a history of imploding when favourites and starting slowly sometimes in the past few years. Can they win a trophy this season? Yes, easily. Will they win the league one? That is not so sure...
Player to watch: Taylor Howells
Unsung Hero: George Awada
Most Valuable Player: Mike Burgoyne

Cardiff Devils:
"Don't wait, don't wait
The lights will flash and fade away
The days will pass you by
Don't wait"
Dashboard Confessional: "Don't Wait"

This is the season the Devils need to play hard and win something. The pieces are in place-they have size, skill and ability despite losing Deschatelets and Birbraer to name but two. Brad Voth is the best captain in the EIHL for leading by example, and the expectation on the Devils may be a little lower than in previous years due to these losses and the players they've signed mostly being new and unknown to the country. Peter Aubry is a decent goalie, the defence is HUGE, with only one player (Jason Stone) being under 6' and the lightest weighing 198lbs, and the forward lines have grit aplenty in Voth, Derek Campbell and Mike Prpich and skill in Rod Hinks and Jason Silverthorn. A trophy is a definite possibility, particularly if the Devils can take advantage of their small rink...
Key Player: Rod Hinks
Player to Watch: Mike Prpich
Unsung Hero: Jason Stone

Coventry Blaze:
"I've heard this all before, and I've seen this over and over again. Don't let me wake."
Bleeding Through: "On Wings of Lead"

The Blaze fans have been spoiled the past few seasons, there's no doubt about that. Players like Martin, Huppe and Cloutier have scored the goals while players like Trevor Koenig and Jody Lehman have stopped them, and the trophies have rolled in.
Trouble is, what goes up must come down, and this could be the season that the dreams finally end. Koenig is gone. Cloutier is gone. Martin is gone, Huppe is gone, and the players that have replaced them have massive skates to fill. Sylvain Deschatelets is a superb signing to replace Cloutier, but the jury is not so sure about JF Perras or Corey Leclair just yet. Scott Kelman has a reputation from the ECHL of having all the talent but little of the work-rate, and this will have to change or be proved dramatically wrong, especially as the whole league is now aware of the danger of AC/DC and so others will have to share the scoring load as teams actively look to shut the "Electric Twins" down...As for Corey Leclair-well, we know he can skate...Perras is a good goalie as he proved with Edinburgh last season, but with Leigh Jamieson (questions about his ego) and Ben O'Connor (very good, but inexperienced) in front of him, once again there are a few niggling worries about the back line. But then, there were last season too, and look how that turned out...
Key Player: Sylvain Deschatelets
Player to Watch: Corey LeClair
Unsung Hero: Tom Watkins

Edinburgh Capitals:
"Don’t hold me up now,
I can stand my own ground,
I don’t need your help now..."
Rise Against: "Prayer of the Refugee"

The Capitals, once again, are a tricky team to preview because half their team isn't yet known. What they have so far, though, is promising. From the league whipping-boys along with Hull to a deserved playoff place last season is a very good start, and already this off-season Doug Christiansen has made some intriguing signings, mainly on defence in the shape of Taylor Christie and attack in the form of my new EIHL favourite player, Mark Hurtubise. Andrej Rajcak returns to provide some Eastern European flair to the side, but quite frankly it's impossible to say much more about them due to the lack of a starting goalie or a genuine first line. This is the only reason I'm predicting they finish bottom at the moment. However, in Doug Christiansen they have a coach and power-forward who knows his business and has already returned pride back to the Capitals after a rocky start to their EIHL life-and this season should see further improvement. Certainly no-one can laugh at the Caps any more...
Key player: Doug Christiansen
Player to watch: Taylor Christie
Unsung Hero: Shawn Germain

Hull Stingrays
"Prepare to hate me, fall when I may
This night will hurt you like never before"
Nightwish: "Wish I Had An Angel"

Game on on Humberside. After the abject capitulation of last season, the Stingrays have gone for raw, unadulterated power sprinkled with a hint of violence for their squad this season. Jonathan Bernier, Stuart Kerr and Rick Kozak can all throw a mean punch, and human irritant Jake Riddle is still around, free to do his thing as he tries to take the mantle of most-hated player in the league off Andre Payette. Steve Slonina, Pavel Gomenyuk and Matt Reynolds make token nods towards skill as well as Kozak's undoubted ability to play (have you sussed yet that I think Rick Kozak will be the star on this team by a fair distance?), while Troy Neumeier provides a calm, experienced head at the back to rein in the hotheads, but this team doesn't care who they roll over along the way, as long as the puck hits the net at the right end more often than the wrong one. A poor-mans Newcastle, if you will. Well, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...
Key Player: Rick Kozak
Player to Watch: Jonathan Bernier
Unsung Hero: Troy Neumeier

Manchester Phoenix
"We are, we are, intriguing. We are, we are, desirable."
Dashboard Confessional: "Several Ways To Die Trying"

I like the Phoenix. I make no secret of this, even if their ticket prices are probably a little too high. Tony Hand has made this another interesting off-season, making one huge signing in proven scorer David Beauregard to replace Joe Tallari (and it will be a "beautiful view" for Phoenix fans if he keeps scoring at the same rate he has done), and many interesting ones, such as Dwight Parrish to play the "old-head" role and Kyle Bruce to be around along with Brett Clouthier when any gloves need to be dropped, as well as Stephen Murphy in goal. I do think this is a team which will surprise many, and can hope to be towards the higher reaches of the table. How high depends on just how well the defence protect Murphy in goal, because he looks a little weak when compared to most other EIHL netties. The high prices may well be worth it if a trophy comes to Altrincham, though...
Key Player: David Beauregard
Player to watch: Kyle Bruce
Unsung Hero: Brett Clouthier

Newcastle Vipers
"Raise a flag of hope, that there is a brilliant tomorrow."
Small Towns Burn a Little Slower: "A Tune of Panic"

Every year, there's one team that no-one seriously counts for honours at the beginning of the season that I look at and think "why is no-one mentioning this team as title-contenders?!" Usually, it's Nottingham, or Cardiff, but this time out they take a back seat to our Northern friends from Newcastle. This time out there is real hope on Tyneside-they appear to have already signed the league's best goalie by some distance in Andrew Verner, who, with Chris McAllister and Tyler Willis in front of him could play a huge part in deciding where the title ends up. That's not forgetting that the Vipers, who have always been a team built more on power than finesse, still have Derek Campbell, Dave Longstaff and Andre Payette already signed for a mix of grit and skill, and a first-line centre still to add. They're looking good already so things can only get better for them...The Vipers are my tip for at least one honour this season...
Key Player: Andrew Verner
Player to Watch: Tyler Willis
Unsung Hero: Derek Campbell

Nottingham Panthers:
"It's 7 o'clock on a Saturday night and I'm so fucking bored
Okay, steady, get ready
everybody gets to shoot"
Dropkick Murphys: 21-Guitar Salute

Panthers fans are tired. Tired of being second-best, tired of endlessly reflecting on cup wins that get further away every year, and tired of watching teams promise much and under-achieve. And so, this season, they've finally, finally signed a team that look like it could challenge for the title. But the similarities between the Panthers and the Blaze this season are scary. Two teams with defensive question-marks, two teams with two outright star player in their ranks (Coventry with Adam Calder and Dan Carlson, Nottingham with Dan Tessier and Bruce Richardson) and two sets of fans who expect the best, night in, night out. Quite frankly, the Panthers could come anywhere between second and seventh this time out...But put it this way. You know a team is loaded with forward talent when Dave Clarke can only find a spot as "Unsung Hero" in a season preview...
Key Player: Dan Tessier
Player to Watch: Bruce Richardson
Unsung Hero: David Clarke

Sheffield Steelers:
"I don't care how things were and I won't apologize."
Alexisonfire: "Pulmonary Archery"

The Steelers are a team who are already settled-"evolution, not revolution" has been Dave Matsos' mantra. Adding Nathan Gillies, Andrew Sharp and Scott Basiuk as the only newbies means that we know exactly what the Steelers are about. Losing Dan Tessier to Nottingham could be a blow, but the Steelers aren't looking worried, at least in public. They will need Steve Munn to repeat his epic season of last time out, Joey Talbot to do the same, and everyone to stand up for each other, but there's nothing saying that the playoff-winners last time out can't repeat their success, especially if Gillies slots into the team and provides the same kick that Tessier did...
Key Player: Joey Talbot/Steve Munn
Player to Watch: Nathan Gillies
Unsung Hero: Ryan Finnerty.

That's it. Every team previewed, rated and slated. I've held him back all column but maybe it's time, on the eve of the new season, and with preseason games beginning in Sheffield today, to let Bubba Ray out for the last word...

"Heee-yah, sports fans! Get the fire-brigade on speed-dial, warn the emergency rooms and prepare to scream until your throats get sore, cause EIHL action is back on the ice and in your face, and it's gonna be the most rockin' sockin', barn burnin', screamin' and hollerin' season of the EIHL yet! Whichever team you support, the wait is over, so good luck to 'em all, grab your sticks and gloves, pull on your replica shirts and LET'S PLAY HOCKEY!"

The summer wait's over. Forget football, the true winter sport is back!

Hockey's Back...and more...

Yee-HAH, cowboy!

Lock the doggie in the barn, pack the kids off to your mothers and settle in for a rollercoaster from now until April, cause it's wetter outside than a horny dolphin's undercarriage, and the sweet winter sound of a well-struck slapshot is back in the rinks of the UK. As Lemmy says before every Skydome face-off, it's time to play the GAAAAAAAMMMME!

Sorry. I was temporarily taken over by the malevolent spirit of an American commentator then...I do apologise. However, he (let's call him Bubba Ray) will likely be making regular appearances in this column from now on when nothing but the rantings of an over-excited Texan will do. Call it releasing my inner Dave Simms. Only without the naffness.

The point made above is a good one, though...here in Coventry, hockey is officially back with the ENL team's first warm-up game yesterday-which saw a good crowd of people, mainly there to see the brand-new Blaze shirts for the first time. The hockey wasn't bad though, with a nice goal from Tom Ledgard being the highlight of the night, and gave a nice appetite-wetter for when the big boys hit the ice in, believe it or not, nine days.

Which (swift plug here) must mean that it'll shortly be time for the all-singing, all-dancing PW's Season Preview, which is currently being worked on with me scouring the Internet for clues on past form of players and my record collection for song-lyrics to fit to teams, and should hopefully appear on Saturday. I am fully aware that I've not been on here for a week, though, and there is much to cover, so let's begin.

Anyone know a good first-line centre?: Sorry, Panthers blog friends, but few things have amused me more this week than Chris Richards deciding he'd rather stay in the US. Given that it's not Bruce Richardson, who I see as far more crucial to the Panthers' success this season, I'm not sure hugely why this is such an issue, especially with Matt Myers, Molin, Dave Clarke et al, especially with Dan Tessier still on the market. After all, as I said earlier on this off-season, the lad can sure play...And it could be worse...

Steelers sign Andrew Sharp: No, stop laughing. Seriously. The team who claim that they "were as tough as anyone and would win games on the PP while others gooned it up" (paraphrasing Dave Matsos) have signed...erm...a player who is known for firing the pucks at others in warm-up, fighting and...that's about it.

Oh, all right then...have a giggle. But don't push it, Panthers fans...you're the ones who'll have to suffer the laughter of the rest of the league should he score past you and there be a 15-page thread on the Cage about him...

I would write more about the fact that Sharpy's entire Coventry career consisted of one shift, one fight against Jeremy Cornish (which he lost) and the fact that he has actually stuck his own fights on Youtube...but quite frankly, I don't want to get on the wrong side of him because fighting, and throwing punches, is one thing he clearly can do...this'll be why the Romford fans loved him...

Off-Ice Innovation: Coventry are launching an online ticketing service through their own website. Now this is a superb idea, and the rest of the league, have they not already done so, would do well to follow suit...

Random Hockey Video: Just to get you in the mood...awesome soundtrack too...

That's all for now-mammoth season preview to come on Saturday...

Friday Frolics...

More hockey fun to come-this post is mainly taken up with responses to comments etc...but the fun continues thanks to the reader ideas, and there's some new stuff in there too...



Boys Like Girls: A gold star to Kid in his last comment for referencing one of my favourite sports writers in ESPN's Bill Simmons, particularly his reference to the latter's "Lindsey Hunter All-Stars" which is basically a team of athletes whose names sound a little like they should be hot girls. The original, containing American athletes, is on this page, but Kid asks if we could make an all-EIHL version. I've had to stretch it a little to contain people who've played in the old Superleague, but there are many still in the league this season-in fact almost a whole line...



Goalie: Jody Lehman (Sheffield): Cardiff fans everywhere will applaud this after their invention of the "Jody is a girl's name" chant when he played for Coventry. Sounds like he should be a nurse on Grey's Anatomy, to my ears...



Defence: Taylor Christie (Edinburgh) (C): As the first person to catch my eye as an obvious member of this team, he has to be captain...



Leigh Jamieson (Coventry): A bit more left-field, perhaps, but there's a sniff of Midwestern college-girl or perhaps American track-and-field athlete/soccer player in there...



Taylor Howells (Belfast): Nickelodeon series ahoy!



Blair Scott: (ex-Bracknell and Cardiff): Just because.



Forwards:

Corey Spring: (ex-Manchester): Is it me or does this name just scream "porn-star" if applied to a woman?



Jade Galbraith (Nottingham): The easiest inclusion on this list-by far. You can just see the fictional Jade being involved in some sort of blockbuster movie. Either that or a long career as the resident totty in an Australian soap. Or Sunset Beach.



That's about all I can think of for now, though. Probably missed a few glaring ones (Corey LeClair came close to making the cut apart from having too many Coreys and d-men in the team)...Feel free to add your own...



Richardson Rules!: Yotes asks me if I really think Bruce Richardson will be better than Chris Richards. Simple answer is...yes. Mainly because, while Chris Richards has impressive stats, they've all been at CHL level. Richardson, on the other hand, has been around the AHL, ECHL and is equally experienced. He reminds me more of a Tessier-type player than Chris Richards and, particularly if placed with Johan Molin and Jade Galbraith, will rack up the points as he's consistently had stats far more akin to those of a creator than a scorer. He may not score as many as Richards, but I reckon he'll set more up...

Run for the Hills!: Following on from Five Minute Major's post on The All-Scary Line, there's a new addition in Phoenix's latest signing, Luke Fulghum. He looks a very good player, but Jesus, look at that facial hair! And just because I will not pass up any opportunity to ridicule the white-gloved pansy that is Marek Ivan-imagine your daughter bringing this zombie home. Worst haircut-and-zombie-stare combo ever...

Big Trouble in Little Belfast: The Giants have new owners after previous owner Jim Yaworski (he of the NHL contacts)...erm...failed to give them any money for three years. Ouch. From the official site...

Despite an announcement three seasons ago that Canadian businessman Jim Yaworski had invested a significant sum of money to secure the future of the Giants in Belfast, the money never materialized. After three years of waiting, Gillespie and the Giants had to look elsewhere, with a strong preference for participation by the local Northern Ireland business community.

Not that I'm one to start rumours, but just how much money have the Giants got now, especially as one man (Jim Gillespie) has effectively kept them running by himself for three seasons-and just how stable are they?

I know that's just a few tidbits for a Friday, but hey-even hockey bloggers are allowed a little time off in the off-season. :)

Back to Hockey,...

At the request of Kid and no dount many others-we now return to the hockey...

With rosters finalised (or nearly so-Sheffield are now already looking askance at their roster given their definition of "team toughness" appears to be "let Ryan Finnerty get pounded into the ice every time he tries to stand up for ANOTHER team-mate smeared all over the plexi. Or feed Steve Munn raw meat and growth hormone until the season starts"...I never thought I'd say this but it appears the only time you're guaranteed NOT to see a fight at a game this season will be when the Steelers play the Panthers. The thing with that rivalry is that this could be the first season both sets of fans start whining that the referees don't protect them at the same time, and don't slag off the other) it's time to look at the one signing for each team thus far that has made me think "hmm...he could be worth watching on his own", or, to put it another way...if you HAD to go to a game based solely on wanting to see one player on the ice, this is who it would be in my case.

Basingstoke: Austin Sutter (F): You thought I'd pick Cornish, didn't you? He's just the comedy sideshow, though. Sutter is the one-a diamond in the rough from the CHL. And if you're sat there scoffing because he's an unknown from the Central Hockey League-well, a certain EIHL favourite called Adam Calder came from the same league, and he's not done too badly...

Belfast: Mike Burgoyne (D): Oh, pants. This guy is good. Neal Martin with three more inches and ten more lbs. 38 goals from the blue line in the last two seasons, and 116 points? In a tesm full of signings that make you go "hmmm...." (Cheverie, Howells, Deniset, Robins) the ex-OC Blazer still stands out. For comparison, in a similar-standard EIHL in the last two seasons, Neal Martin got himself 18 goals and 66 assists. Bolts from the Belfast blue-line ahoy...

Cardiff: Rod Hinks (C): Fast-skating, skilful, wily (at age 35) and proven quality in the EIHL after his stint with Newcastle. If they gel, Hinks and Silverthorn could be Carlson and Calder, with a Welsh accent. And don't forget the mountains of flesh on the Devils blue-line (Doug McIver especially) either...

Coventry: Sylvain Deschatelets (C/LW): I have a soft-spot for Deschatelets anyway, so I admit to a little bias. But this guy was the best player no-one noticed in the EIHL last year, by a long, long way. I haven't been this happy about a Blaze signing since...well, ever. He even just about trumps my joy on signing Curtis Huppe last season. And, considering I was widely considered to have a man-crush on the sharpshooting Manitoban while he was at Belfast, this is some feat.

Edinburgh: TBA: Let's be nice and say that, as yet, no-one they've signed has been "wow" good. Or close to it. About the nicest I can say is that if Taylor Christie doesn't make it in hockey, then he can always dress up in drag and become a troubled teen queen on the OC with a name like that...it even sounds like a character from Dawson's Creek or similar...

Hull: Rick Kozak: Unlike most of the club-wielding cavem...sorry, "physical" players who Strachan has signed this season, it appears Kozak has brains to go with his brawn. Goals appear when this guy's around, it seems. So does controversy, too. At least Hull, should they lose, will now go down fighting. Literally.

Manchester: David Beauregard (W): All you need to know about this gentleman is that in his last four pro-hockey seasons, he has scored 49, 41, 39 and 35 goals in the UHL. That's 164 goals, or 41 average a season. And 151 assists. That's average stats of 41+37. Pretty impressive, don't you think?

Then, bear this staggering fact in mind...he only has one eye! I defy you not to get excited by him now...

Newcastle: Tyler Willis (W): Chris McAllister has the brawn, Derek Campbell and Andre Payette have the mouth, but Willis, despite being the smallest of them all, has all three. And an AHL pedigree. If Danny Stewart (Blaze version) winds you up now, prepare to have a new target for pure hatred. Unless you're a Vipers fan, that is.

Nottingham: Bruce Richardson (C): Panthers fans-prepare to forget you ever thought Dan Tessier was the best centre you'd seen in a Panthers shirt in the EIHL era...

Sheffield: Nathan Gillies (C): Hm. Mike Peron, mark two. This is really, really not a bad thing. Especially if he has an equally ridiculous way of bouncing up and down when settling into face-offs. Or an irritating habit of scoring just when it would be most useful...

I accept this is relatively short, but with rosters finalised and less than a month to go to the start of the season, the countdown officially begins now...

Spinning Around

This is the last word on the PR debate so far this week-and for a while...the next post will go back to considering the hockey, including a quick breakdown of "best new signing" in the EIHL (one player allowed per team). But before that-and very quickly....

There has been much debate raised this week after my columns referring to all the PR suggestions etc and particularly "Right To Reply". You can definitely say that it was probably the most open attack on certain sections of the EIHL I've ever written, and occasioned a reaction from several clubs in the EIHL-most notably my own Coventry team in the person of Sally, with whom I've had extensive conversation via email and forum recently. Most of it is out there in public but some, for various reasons, isn't and won't be.

As as result of these and the comments she has left regarding my posts, I feel the need to state publicly that the Blaze have been nothing less than fully open in replying to my concerns/attacks aired both here and elsewhere. I am fully aware that them being my team hasn't meant they've got off lightly-in fact it's probably only Hull who've been more of a target-in their case due to the fact they were utterly dire on-ice and (in many Stingray fans' opinion) on the bench last season...

Anyway-simply put (and this may cause some of those from Coventry who read to fall over in astonishment)-I'm just putting on record that the highest praise is due to Sally and the Blaze in general for the way they've responded-I've gone after them with a will in the past but have to give full public credit here...if all clubs were willing to do the same with their fans (I'm talking to you, Nottingham in particular) then the hockey community would be far better.

(This doesn't mean they have a free pass now-but it's only fair to acknowledge when someone does something well, in the interests of a balanced blog)

Right. Serious bit over. Now back to taking the mickey out of Brad Voth's haircut, and ordering my Deschatelets replica...:)

Keep keeping your eye on the puck, people. Now we get back to the hockey!

Right To Reply...Reader's Edition. Plus a link or two.

Just to follow up on the "PR People must Die" epic-my single most commented-upon post with the princely total of four, by the way...a link/idea or two which are related..

Dan at Four Point Four Seconds laments the missed opportunities of EIHL playoff weekend...

Becky's reply to "PR People Must Die (read it in full by clicking on the comments tab below the post) contains this interesting statistic: a rough breakdown of season-ticket holders at the Phoenix which shows that families are not the biggest audience by a long way. In fact, she works out (taking u16's and 20-50 year olds as the groups most representative of a "family" that only a quarter of the audience can be considered that way, with 41% being in their late teens or (if we take half of the 20-30 age group as unmarrieds without children, nearly half of the crowd being in the 16-25 age group. Which begs the question, as Becky asks "why the obssession with families?" Doubtless someone will claim that the Phoenix are atypical, but let's be honest, if you go round the rinks of the UK nowadays, the phrase "wow, this crowd is full of families sat together" never enters your head. The only thing I can think of is that families are targeted mainly because they're the ones that have the most "pester power", and clubs find it better economically to have a thousand families who will spend 50 quid a season (often much more) on merchandise than 2000 young people who may only spend a tenner each.

Remember, these are not figures I've made up, but official figures used by the Manchester Phoenix in order to show their sponsors. So-the question is-why are clubs concentrating on a quarter of their market rather than nearly half-especially when those families are arguably going to come anyway?

Merchandise Mayhem: It has been said that I'm willing to criticise, but not come up with ideas. Well, OK then...leaving the in-game atmosphere/music etc well alone-here's a brief blueprint for the EIHL clubs:

Fan events are great-but they don't get newbies in. Advertising does that. As Dan says on Four Point Four Seconds, make your team a permanent presence. Forget the odd "Club x supports Council Initiative Y" PR's, laudable though they may be. They give a positive image but don't make people wonder "wow, what's that?". Posters on bus shelters or in town centres do, or. memorably, the huge picture of Johnathan Phillips which used to be draped over the side of the WNIR with "Home of Devils Hockey" or some such underneath it. Stands at season's beginning in the City Center, stalls at markets or fairs (eg Coventry's Godiva Festival) , and even people handing out free tickets in the City Centre-that works. Tie-ups with other local sports (you plug us, we'll plug you". Ticket deals with them. Deals at places where young people go-clubs and the like. Yes, it may mean that there's a little less champagne at the end of season do, but boy, do they work...and there's enough passionate people out there to staff the stands.
Radio ads. Expensive but they work-and don't just use city stations, use regional ones. Speculate to accumulate....

Then there's the shirts. Make them mean something-if you want more than just a home and away kit forget "Christmas" shirts or "Halloween" shirts. Retro (alternate) shirts are the way to go-you simply put in a league rule that you wear them (home and away) for half the games. games, home and away. You don't even have to have both teams wearing at the same time as long as the colours don't clash. All the teams in the EIHL have enough history to appeal to the nostalgia of longtime fans and the pockets of new ones, simply because the shirts are different. Then there's the extra money from those who have it to burn at the shirt auctions-as well as giving more people to own a (well-worn) gamer of their favourite player...

Basingstoke: Beavers design
Belfast: (possibly the dodgiest, but the first-season shirt, maybe)
Cardiff: (Rhapsody in Red)
Coventry: Solihull Blaze-all you need is to remove the "Coventry" from above the dragon. Imagine Adam Calder in this beauty.
Edinburgh: Murrayfield Racers. Enough said...
Hull: Humberside Seahawks. Kingston Jets. Hull Thunder. One of the most storied teams in British hockey? Spoilt for choice there...
Manchester: Return of the Storm!
Nottingham: 60 years? There's a shirt in there somewhere....
Newcastle: Cobras. Riverkings, Jesters. Even (dare I mention it) the Durham Wasps...tell me THOSE shirts wouldn't sell in the North East.
Sheffield: Jody Lehman wearing this? Squint and Nathan Gillies could be Ken Priestlay...

There you go-you combine nostalgia AND a nod to the past-and it means that some of the great teams in British hockey will return to the ice-at least in shirt form. It works in the NHL, so why not here?

We will return to on-ice matters soon...I promise..:)

Right to Reply....

It seems my last post has ruffled feathers at the Blaze, with people there accusing me of not responding to them but simply continuing to attack them on here, even though an email was sent twice AND a PM was sent on the Elite forum advising them of the fact. So I shall now put it on the blog for all to see, in a straight open letter, as an example of the club's side of the story when it comes to such things. Italics are the club email, responses are mine from the email that was sent...if this doesn't get seen, there's no hope for the Internet...

Hi,
Be warned-essay coming up. The character limit on the EIHL forum would have meant this message would have been several parts long, so I thought an email would be easier...There has been a lot of thought put into this reply and I shall be as honest as possible as that is one thing you've always been with me...

If there was indeed no dig in that post then I do apologise. However in a world where posts tend to be peppered with digs about the club or me where we are either "ramming down throats" or guilty of spin (even when what we're putting out is actually true) I do tend to believe there is a dig in most of them

Thanks-and fair enough-I get my fair share of digs from people too based on third-hand opinions of stuff that happenened a long time ago, and it winds me up the same way. There genuinely was and never has been no personal digs at you or anyone else within the club-as far as I'm concerned you do the best job you can (and I include everyone behind the cluib in this) and while I may (quite often) disagree with you on the best way to put on a hockey night, I don't dispute the effort put in by anyone either behind the scenes or on the matchinight team-I've seen it first-hand, remember..

Defending myself, the club and the unbelievable amount of hard work we do trying to please as many people as possible is, in my opinion, in fact not boring but my right to not have untruths, fiction and third hand rumours bandied about.

Hey-it happened to me-you should have heard some of the stuff I was told as fact. Did you know you were going to sue me for libel (after I pointed out on forums afte the much-ballyhooed Theo Fleury incident at the Skydome in 2006), I've got contacts in the Canadian press I used on purpose, and I openly threatened you with violence after a game? All things people have said I've done...

I genuinely wouldn't mind if you had any facts or reason for what you're talking about with regard to many of the things you comment on or believe. Despite the things you've had issues with in the past, that I have sat down, explained point by point why things are the way they are you still choose to not believe what i'm saying

I don't necessarily not believe it-I just question it-particularly as I'm getting told different things by people I'm friends with who've done things for the club in the past (and still do in various roles)-and the common theme is that there is a lot more emphasis on the commercial side of things then the hockey. Especially as I do firmly believe that the success over the past few seasons has meant that the atmosphere at the hockey has changed for the worse. Certainly it's not as fun for me even as 04/05

I have sat and listened to the opinions of more fans that I think you will ever believe and I have tried my damndest to please as many people as possible.

That I do not doubt. However, this was the case also in 04/05 and people still constantly mention that as the best year for atmosphere, music etc-and that year I will freely admit that I simply did my own thing up there-there was never any need to nick stuff from other teams, come up with gimmicks or whatever else-so I wonder if, as soon as people become aware that they're trying to please everyone and actively do so, the whole enjoyment goes out of it and it [I]does [/I] all seem forced-as I and seemingly others feel now. The fact that the sample on a forum of Blaze fans of all ages have gone for rock must count for something, however small it is-maybe it's time to stop trying so hard to please everyone through the presentation, just go for rock and let the game speak for itself-that's what I did....

We've tried to do more fan events, more stuff for kids, more season ticket benefits (launching monday) easier ways of booking tickets, different music (see other thread) gamenight ideas and a hundred other things that people have an opinion on.

And you'll notice that I've not been critical of them-I personally don't attend most of them through choice but I don't deny that they are much enjoyed by those that do...

When asked what people want to see on matchnights and people suggested player songs and dances etc you accused us of being "too choregraphed"

Only because they're now made up (this is a problem at several teams) or it's "quick, let's play a player's song/Fratellis after every goal"-or it's being initiated by the club rather than organically-e.g shouting of the players surnames at goals. I first saw this in Cologne and what was noticeable there was that there was no "when I say this, you shout" in it-it was something the fans had developed themselves.
What exactly do you want me to do. Play every single of your choices of songs.

That would be nice. But I'm fully aware it isn't going to happen. What I would say though (and again, this is coming from my experience up there) is that if you're doing the job you don't want to be feel restricted (as I did occasionally, but then, being a stubborn sod nine times out of ten I just stuck stuff on anyway)-tell James on Thursday "look-forget getting the crowd involved, forget not playing something because it's too cheesy or too heavy, forget creating an intro people can clap along to-just pick songs you like. Pick stuff that SOUNDS like it belongs at a hockey game". God knows he's got enough knowledge of hockey culture and enough experience doing the job to know what goes where. That's all I did-played songs I liked or thought belonged, when I liked. And hopefully you'll agree it worked pretty well.

[quote]Get rid of MOTD (even though we had lots of emails asking us to sotp playing music so they could do that - so we listened and thought we would try it) get rid of Fratellis - which was exactly what we wanted it to be when it started - a spontaneous pee-take at Panthers expense.[/quote]

Yes. Not because they weren't good, but because they've gone on too long-the moment's passed. It's stale.

[quote]And come up with new things - wouldn;t that make a matchnight "too choreographed" wouldn't we then be "ramming it down peoples throats" to do certain things at certain times?[/quote]

Play new songs. You don't have to come up with the dances etc. We never had to. And for hell's sake don't borrow from other teams even if it does work...that robs the Blaze of a unique identity. [quote]We're just asking for suggestions and people to start doing silly things. If people have ideas they think will work and ask us to stick a song on the box to give it a whirl of course we'll try it...whether it looks choreographed or not. Our fans have asked for it and we've listened.[/quote]

Honest opinion-no dig at you personally...It doesn't feel like it-at least musically. It feels like there's a lack of willingness to try anything risky or non-mainstream now in case it offends Mr and Mrs Smith and their kids in row C who've got used to the same songs in the same order. Even the goal song is years old, for heck's sake...

[quote]Something I really do try and spend time doing. Yet I don't think whatever I do or try and do it will be rignt with you.[/quote]

Honest question-does my opinion matter that much to you? Especially as you've clearly built up a view of me which goes contrary to everything you experienced in 04/05, based on one argument and me being portrayed as Public Enemy Number one and personally attacked on forums by people who don't know me from Adam-I have offered on many occasions to still be helpful but if even someone you've worked with and knows otherwise is attcking you and calling you bitter and negative in a public forum you tend to take it the wrong way. That hurt far more than you or anyone else realises. And so does the crap from people on the forum who've never me before also relying on third-hand rumours and stuff that happened four years ago...Especially as I don't think I've ever resorted to open personal attacks on any member of the organisation. I may have had a go at some of the changes or some of the press releases because I disagree with either the tone or the way things were handled (the fallout of the Fleury incident being one, the Challenge Cup controversy last season where the organisation went publicly after the Elite League etc beign another)... If I had, maybe I could understand some of the vitriol....If I don't like a song or a period-break entertainment I might go "oh, God" around my friends, but I'm still there watching the hockey, the 15 quid is still going into the coffers, and I still cheer when Blaze score.

[quote]Ask for suggestions because people want more rock - worked quite well, got lots of ideas.[/quote]

Fair point.

[quote]People start suggesting clappy songs, audience participation songs so we'll look at them.[/quote]

Fair point. But if I could give one thing for you to change it would be "tell the matchnight crew to stop trying to please everyone, stop focusing so much on keeping a crowd happy and concentrate on creating a proper hockey night-full-on rock and all. It works for the NHL...[quote]As I do not know from one day to the next what is the right thing to do according to you.[/QUOTE]

Again-honest question-does it matter that much to you what I think? Or at least any more than the other 2,500 people?

There we go-just to prove that I'm not just one to sit on a blog and take pot-shots...

Tomorrow, we go back to discussing the hockey with Vipers making a massive signing in Tyler Willis....

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

PR People Must Die

I'm going to begin this post with a little story. Settle down, children, and listen to wise old Uncle Paul.

Back in the mists of time, when I was a young lad obsessed with football and still smarting from the horrors of Euro 2000 and England's capitulation to Rumania, a friend of mine invited me to come and see this wonderful American sport called ice-hockey, which took place at the brand-spanking new ice rink that had just gone up in Coventry city centre. Back in those days it was a place where only a few hard souls watched players with names like Chartrand and Millie, and the ISL title had a young upstart team from Belfast chasing it. It was so long ago, kiddies, that Steve Moria was only 39 and Tony Hand was but a stripling at 33, and both were playing in a long-forgotten league called the ISL...

Anyway-when I walked in through the doors I was hooked-mainly because this was the first sporting event I'd been to where it was considered acceptable to play rock music during play. And because of the glorious anarchy of the thing-people messed about in the stands shouting at the players, there were fights, and the whole presentation looked like it was being made up on the spot and actually trying to be itself rather than something for everyone. It felt different.

For the next few years, as my team won things, I learned more about the sport, began to play it and fell out of love with football, it remained unchanged. This sport was cheap but not nasty, big but not driven by money (well, at least not commercially) and you got the feeling that things would stay the same....

Enter the evil dragon known as PR, followed by its twin, commercialism. Suddenly, the marketing men got their hands on things as clubs decided to stop doing what had worked for them up until now and decided that they wanted families through the doors. After all, they have the most spending power...

And now we are in a world created by demographics, spreadsheets, people who see the bottom line before they see the game itself, and people who talk in terms of "guaranteed income" and "merchandise". A world where we get six different kits a season so three can be marketed-a world where every night seems the same as every other sporting event/kids party. A world where the product on the ice may be as good, but it's being neutered by the cookie-cutter presentation off it. The otherness of hockey has dropped as the prices have risen...costs go up as the USP of hockey (its rawness-its aggression, and the fact that it seemed proud to be different in all areas) have fallen away, drowning in a whirl of account spreadsheets, marketing figures, and "fan initiatives" which often funnel more money in and prey on the mind with a "if you really support the club, then come join us for this" message.

And who can we blame for this? Certainly not the matchnight volunteers who work hard making sure the lights go on, the music plays and the mascots dance-they're working as hard as ever. But they're being driven not by their passion for the sport, but by the constant whisper from the marketing department..."if we play it safe, be like everyone else, and appeal to everyone, we can't go wrong".

Sorry. But this writer thinks you can. And if you read the forums, he isn't alone. One of the main complaints at most clubs when it comes to the management is "the sterile atmosphere-the kid's partiness of matchnights."

The fun is being slowly sucked out of hockey-the defence that "people like it the way it is" is built on people new to the sport who have never seen the old WNIR rocking to heavy metal and stamping feet, heard the roar at a packed Steelers'/Panther's derby or experienced a BNL-era Blaze away coach trip. In trying to please newbies by making hockey just like everything else, hockey teams are risking losing the very thing that attracted their crowd to the sport in the first place.

Yes, I admit that the title is sensationalist-I am not actually advocating murder. Nor am I saying that these marketing people don't work hard. Because they do. I know-I've worked with them. They are arguably some of the most passionate people you'll meet. Trouble is, when it comes to the selling of their sport, the head comes first in their thinking, rather than the heart. What I am saying is maybe, just maybe, they're aiming their efforts ever so slightly off target.

I've been the one playing the music on a matchnight-and had the friction with those who supposedly "knew" how they wanted things to sound, because all I ever did while up there was play stuff I thought fitted-stuff that had been the norm over the speakers when I started watching the game. When I started watching, continued to watch and then played the music myself, a hockey night didn't have all the inflatable hands/twenty different hoodies at the concession stand/a big merchandise stand selling tat at every rink. You got the shirt raffle, a fifty-fifty draw, a replica shirt if you were lucky, and that was it. As for the music-it was rock, and it was loud-it was unashamedly different, and there were moments when a fair few people in the crowd probably couldn't have "named that tune" or claimed it to be mainstream entertainment if you'd put a gun to their head. And it certainly didn't please all the people all of the time. Sometimes, considerably less.

But here's the thing that maybe the PR people don't want to hear. It worked. And the crowds kept rising even though the prices did.

Now? Now we have "family tickets", "flex packages", a nice mix of music that even Grandma can't find offensive, merchandise coming out the tailpipe, and everyone tries to emphasise the "family sport" aspect in every possible way.

Trouble is, now people complain the sport is business-oriented, the atmosphere has dropped, and watching just isn't fun. Funny, that, ain't it?

Well, you used to see families back then, too-and they loved it then even if the seats were slightly uncomfortable or the music was a bit heavier then Mum, Grandma or little Ellie in the pushchair had heard before and you could only buy one or two types of ticket-standing or seating. Because it was different.

Now, thanks to the PR people deciding they need to appeal to everyone, the very thing that set hockey apart is dying. And no amount of flex-ticket packages, "meet the players" nights, etc, can compensate.

Be brave, people. Stand up for old-time hockey. Clubs-play the music loud, throw away the "High School Musical for the kids" CD, and forget the club-themed underwear-spend the money on some classic hockey rock or making the replica shirts cheaper instead. Or better still, on getting people through the doors through posters, radio ads, free tickets given away on the day of the game, or the day before in city centres And forget trying to influence the crowd to clap along. If the game is going well, the crowd are allowed to shout, the rock music is pumping and the magic of the hockey night is allowed to flourish, then once people are through the doors (as they will be if ticket prices are kept reasonable and not allowed to rise year on year) they'll be hooked. Just like I was.

Go on. Dare to be different.

After all-that's what hooked me...

Hotch-Potch Hockey

Be warned. If you're expecting an erudite analysis of Manchester signing Bruce Mulherin as their centre (he looks like a very good 2nd line two-way centre) or Edinburgh signing Joe Dustin (described brilliantly on Four Point Four Seconds as "screaming mediocrity") then I would look elsewhere-it appears the heat has gone to my head as I jump around British hockey to begin the weekend...

A Change is Gonna Come: Sam Cooke probably wouldn't approve of the title of his gospel masterpiece being used to introduce a discussion of why stuff like this is what you play at hockey, but hey.

Regular readers of this blog will know about my constant championing of the marriage of hockey and rock, and scorn at desperately trying to suck people in by playing mainstream pop etc. I was fairly scathing about my own club as far as this goes...

Well, it seems the revolution has begun... (long thread, but all you need is to bear in mind that the club asked for music suggestions, and these are the replies-just take a few posts and you will get the flavour...:)

I think there's maybe ten songs out of a few hundred that ain't rock to the nth degree. And that's the way it should be.

Ticket Price Torment: A little strong, perhaps, but Becky has followed up her mini essay responding to my swipe at Manchester's tickets below with an even better one on Five Minute Major-there isn't any way I could do it justice in summary so click on the blog title on the right to read it...

If you want an emotional connection, watch Grey's Anatomy: Interestingly, my open letter to Dan Tessier (well, more of a rant on the emphasis on "team guys" by fans as a reason for signing a player rather than ability) has generated a comment from a Panthers fan which I reproduce below:

Good comment about Tessier Paul, as a Panthers fan I don't particularly like the guy, and will gladly boo him all game long, but I'd still be happy to see him return to us. Brings great quality at this level.

This raises a question in my mind. Should we, as fans, really care what a person is like as long as he does the business on the ice-or is this something born out of the much closer contact between players and fans in the UK? I'm not sure beacuase I'm not really one to try chasing the players around to have contact with them off the ice like some fans (of both sexes)-personally I couldn't care less about their personal lives or what they're like with their team-mates unless it directly affects me. And even then, only as long as it does so.

However, it seems that, to be successful in British hockey (or at least popular with your public) you not only have to be good on the ice but also be constantly available off it, for whatever people want to do with you.

Personally, if Blaze sign a hot-shot centre/winger who'll score a hundred goals a season but is a surly sod who avoids all contact with fans and barely speaks to his team-mates, I'd be happy-because I don't pay my 15 quid a week to hang around with a bunch of Canadians or talk about just who our star right-winger is playing tonsil-hockey with this week-I pay to be entertained by top-quality hockey. Which is why I agree whole-heartedly with the Panther fan's comment and wish more people would take his/her view-I too have come to the conclusion over time that, you don't have to particularly like a person to appreciate their skill.

Basically, what I'm saying to all those people who will say "I don't like that player as a person or because people have said he's a bit of an arsehole when you ask for an autograph, so I think he's utterly crap"....just shut up whining and watch the game. And don't get emotionally attached, because the fact of the game in Britain is most times-people move on very quickly.

(Of course, if they're a surly sod who are clearly not doing the job sufficiently well on the ice either, then all bets are off) :)


That's all for now-keep keeping your eye on the puck...

With Teeth...or an Open Letter to Dan Tessier

(Warning: this post may contain a naughty word or two. Nothing too bad but probably best you don't read it out in church):

I know it's been a little while since I've posted on here (two weeks, in fact) and in that time Belfast have completed their roster, or near as dammit, Sheffield have completed theirs, and Coventry have lost their inspirational captain Sylvain Cloutier. We'll get to the third of these three in a minute, but first fairness compels me to consider the fact that a club in the UK are now charging £17 to watch their games-and it isn't Coventry!

Thank you, Manchester...I spend most of November praising your efforts and then you go and raise ticket prices to seventeen pounds for walkups. Has anyone told them we're currently in a credit crunch? Come to that, has anyone told any of the Elite teams? Or the EPL?

In Manchester's favour, it will still (relatively) cost about the same for families thanks to a chop in the kids prices-but even so...how many away fans can say now they'll definitely make all three league trips to Manchester (another way of saving money for the walk-ups).
The real tragedy of this is that there are some very good rosters being built this season (including in Manchester)-but with economics being the way they are, there may well be fewer people to watch them...

Newcastle get a big Mac: And for once, there's not a topless football fan in sight. Chris McAllister is back in the UK-all 6'7 of him. Maybe Hull won't have it all their own way. This monster can play too...

Plug of the Week: Given that I always keep an eye out for newbies in the hockey blogosphere (apart from the Snowplough-which was good when it got Carlyle Lewis coming to the Blaze right (after me, by the way) but not great since then, I recommend that this week, as well as all on the blogroll at left, you add Four Point Four Seconds to your trawl through the blog world. Yes, it's by a Panthers fan, and thus may contain some anti-Sheffield/Coventry/refereeness but it's ruddy good thus far, and another quality addition to the expanding world of UK hockey blogs...

Let's see-we now have Edinburgh, Coventry, Belfast, Manchester, Hull, and Nottingham covered, plus the EPL...four more teams and the (EIHL and EPL) scene is well and truly covered. Plus the Ice Hockey Annual blog (link to follow)

Where's Sylvain Cloutier-gone to the U.S.A: Apologies to Panthers fans for nicking their song, but come on...you grinned...and predictably, there is an outbreak of holier-than-thou-ness on the hockey forums when Dan Tessier is mentioned as his replacement, with many (Blaze fans in particular) saying that they wouldn't inmediately sign Dan Tessier-who was rumoured to be coming in as injury cover in January, let's not forget. It seems to be one of the few things you can get Nottingham and Coventry fans to agree on. And I have three (one slightly naughty) words to anybody who is seriously letting this "oh, he's a bit of a loner (to put it politely)" image cloud their view of him or any other similar player. And also to the whole "you need to be a nice guy to be an important part of a team-everyone has to have chemistry with everyone else".

Bollocks to it.

Dan Tessier scores goals. And sets them up. Very frequently indeed. Now, I accept that. if the reports are true, he is not the easiest guy to get on with. I also accept every team (supposedly) needs everyone to get on to do well (although I'm suspicious of that "truth" since we as hockey fans likely wouldn't give two flying pucks if there were bare-knuckle fights in the dressing room if our team was winning on the ice-have you never seen Slapshot and such like? There's so much stuff in the press about it that "he's a good team guy" is now a phrase used to excuse all manner of inability or shortcoming on the rink-people make decent, well-paid careers out of being "good team guys" with relatively little hockey ability, even in the NHL, for God's sake).

Games aren't won by "which team gets on the best" though. They're won by "who scores the most goals". And with Dan Tessier or someone like him in your side you will more often than not score more than the opposition. Which means trophies, wins, and everyone conveniently forgetting that someone isn't Mother Teresa. Quite frankly, were I a coach who had 20 players who never spoke to each other apart from training and games (when they played like they'd shared the ice with the other 19 all their lives) because they despise each other and was called on it, my first reply would be "hey-they win."

For this to come from Blaze and Panthers fans in particular is particularly rich-Panthers were the ones who brought Tess to the UK in the first place (and loved him until he left) and Blaze fans forgave the excesses of Andre Payette=who had at least one bare-knuckle training fight-oh, and offered out a team-mate (Doug Schueller) during a game. But Blaze won the treble, he was a major reason Dan Carlson and Adam Calder had the space to play (without a similar player they'd be checked into next week by legal and illegal means) and so these same people talking about Tessier's character flaws can, in the same breath, defend similar from a player who won them games.

So, Tess, as long as you keep being one of the best centres ever to play in the EIHL, bollocks to the doom-mongers or the people who will turn down someone unless they hug kittens, get on with everyone and are GOOD TEAM GUYS. I will join every other fan in the league with an import slot still open in whispering, even if they will never admit it...

"come and play for the team I support. Please?"