Help! Calling all EPL fans...

A quick non-hockey post here-I've just been looking at where visitors come from to this site, and noticed there's a fair few from areas near EIHL teams, but also a sizeable number who, going by location alone, could equally be EPL and SNL fans. Now, given that this is supposed to be a British hockey blog rather than just an EIHL one, I'm very conscious that I need more than just Elite League news on here-but I'm not hugely au fait with the goings on in those leagues-and thus I reckon I may need help. If you'd be willing to volunteer to write maybe one or two posts a week giving a round-up of the EPL news, views and and other league action, or you've got any suggestions in general for the blog and features to include in it (or you just fancy a rant) then The Breakaway now has its own dedicated email address at:



breakawayblog@hotmail.co.uk



The name in the replies will be "The Breakaway Staff" but at the moment, that's just me, so you can guarantee it'll be me replying, for now at least. If it takes off, I might even do a weekly "Chirping" feature where I pick some of the emails and reply to them-that way this thing becomes more interactive, and hopefully, combined with the EPL reports, this blog can appeal to more than just a section of the British hockey fan-base...



In the meantime, I will try to get more EPL mentions in here...



Keep your eye on the puck...

Locker Room Chatter Extra: Bison release two?

Just goes to show how much I know. Trawling the forums today in search of news, I find out the following:

Shane Johnson signs for Belfast: Not really the most surprising move in the world, given that he wasn't in Cardiff long term (although, as I say below, that was looking more and more likely), but still seems like the equivalent of a sticking plaster on the hull of the Titanic for the problems it'll solve.
No doubt Todd Kelman will use his usual PR skills to spin this signing, which, if we extent the Titanic metaphor, will be the equivalent of the captain saying to his crew: "yes, the ship's damaged, yes, we're going down because we can't fix it, and yes, you'll all die a horrible freezing death. But look-at least you won't have to refill the ice-machines!"
Not to say that this puts the Tessier rumour to bed just yet, but it's looking a sight less likely...

Basingstoke in trouble: Depressing rumours from Hampshire say that they've released goalie Stevie Lyle and top goalscorer Peter Campbell, according to the Elite Forum. At the moment this is still very much "friend of a friend" stuff, which unlike the Johnson signing isn't confirmed by the club, but coming hard on the heels of more and more questions from Bison fans, this could be an uncertain time at the Silverdome. Campbell and Lyle are reportedly both on their way to Belfast, who have been linked with more new men than Lindsay Lohan recently. It makes slightly more sense now given that Shane Johnson could fill in on their blue-line, but still is confusing given that it would still leave Troy Neumeier as a big part of the defence, despite most fans in the league seeing him as an absolute cart-horse of a player. Although carthorses are probably quicker.

Cardiff to sign new centre shortly: Surely, surely it can't be Steve Thornton? If it is then that will be confirmation that there is indeed something seriously wrong down south, but bearing in mind that ECHL and European teams release players almost every day, the chances of it actually being Thornton are just as good as any other...the South Wales Echo says
"The Devils know the player they want on their first line and (Gerard) Adams is ready to step up negotiations.It has been a tough start to the new season for Cardiff, but those hard-earned back-to-back wins against Basingstoke Bison last weekend have lifted the team."

With Shane Johnson moving to Belfast and Sylvain Deschatelets now gone, there's room for two new faces at the Bay-interesting times ahead.

And one I missed from the post below:

Rod Hinks to return to Newcastle: Interesting one, this-once again it's nothing more than "friend of a friend" stuff-although the source quoted on the forums is the player himself, who said to a Vipers fan in conversation that he would be returning "sooner than you think" after leaving the Vipers to play in Switzerland. The Vipers fans are well pleased about this, with Sergei Rublivskiy reportedly the man on the hot seat should the speedy playmaker, who carried the Vipers offence on his back at times last season, comeback to the North East.

I shall be keeping an eye on how things develop, and of course, will post it straight on here when anything does...

Keep your eye on the puck...

Locker Room Chatter

It's time for the weekly dose of rumours, as I've trawled Britain's hockey forums so you don't have to, in order to find the mix of the plausible, the possible and the just plain wacky which make up your average week of rumours in the EIHL...we start with the big one...

Dan Tessier to Belfast: You can't deny that everyone who watches their hockey at the Odyssey will be licking their lips at this one-the speedy centre has already proved himself as one of the most prolific scorers of the Elite League era in his stints at Nottingham and Sheffield, and with his ex-Steeler linemate Shaun Sutter already in teal, white and red, the fans screaming for changes, and a less-than-stellar start in Duisburg for the DEL Foxes after his move there this season, "Tess" would certainly be a HUGE boost to the Giants. However. with EIHL teams only allowed to use 15 ITC cards (cards which must be filled in whenever a player moves club internationally) through the season, of which eleven are already used including that of Todd Kelman, and the fact that Giants are at their full quota of imports already (only ten are allowed to ice at any one time), it would mean one of the current imports has to go...and if you listen to the Giants fans, there are many candidates. Trouble is, this would leave the Giants with eight import forwards-at the moment Mark Dutiaume is playing as an offensive defenceman (and doing well, by all accounts), but would Ed Courtenay really gamble on playing him there for a whole season? This is definitely one to keep an eye on...

Speaking of rumours I will keep an eye on-this one for a slightly different reason:

Stevie Lyle to Belfast: I hope this doesn't happen. Not so much because I bear Belfast any particular ill-will, but because it would give substance to the rumours I dealt with last week about financial problems down in Basingstoke. On the surface this is plausible in itself-Phillippe deRouville hasn't made the greatest start to the season after his heroics in the playoffs last time out, and Lyle is the best British goalie out there by some distance now that Joe Watkins is languishing in the EPL and taking Guildford's shilling-not to mention that it would free up the import space needed for the Giants to sign Dan Tessier without Ed Courtenay having to cut one of the current Belfast forwards. However, with everything coming out of Basingstoke pointing to the fact that the Bison will not lose any players and will continue the way they're going, I can't genuinely see this one happening.

Steve Thornton to Cardiff: Another case of an ex-player being linked to the club where he had most success due to the Bison cash rumours, this seems to me more wishful thinking based on hearsay than anything concrete, particularly with the Bison adamant that there is nothing for their fans to worry about. This is not the only rumour involving an ex-Devil, however...

Sylvain Deschatelets to Belfast: Possibly the most plausible of the lot so far. The Quebec native hasn't set the league on fire, and the Devils have decided that they're not prepared to wait and given him his two-week notice, which ended on Sunday, making the big centre a free agent. However, Deschatelets has impressed recently for the Devils with both his attitude and his work-ethic, and has been seen in conversation with Belfast coach Courtenay when the two have met on opposing sides. Much will depend on how true the Dan Tessier rumour is as to whether this goes ahead, but it's not the most far-fetched rumour by any means...

Shane Johnson to Cardiff: Shane Johnson can't make his mind up. After leaving Belfast for Sheffield last season, retiring from the EIHL to return to Belfast as player-coach their newly-formed Irish League side, and then deciding that he missed the EIHL too much and acting as a rent-a-player for Sheffield while Jeff Legue was injured, the utility player is now filling in on the blue-line for the Devils. Originally signed as a temporary measure, Johnson has impressed in his time in South Wales, and with the Devils missing out on David Vychodil (signed here in Coventry, and fast becoming a fan favourite) and ex-Bison Kevin Bergin (signed in Nottingham), there are rumblings they may be asking the #74 to stay on for the rest of the season to bolster their blue-line. But given that Johnson has moved house more often than your average hermit crab, this is by no means a done deal just yet.

And so there we have the locker-room chatter for this week. Interestingly, it involves the two clubs who've been the most disappointing this season so far, and both of them picking the bones of one in supposed financial trouble. Personally, I'm not sure that any of them will come off (with the possible exception of Deschatelets or, at a long shot, Tessier) but hey, it's always nice to speculate...

Keep your eye on the puck until next time...

Shot counts don't matter...honest. :)

Sugar. I owe an apology to Sheffield and Manchester fans, and indeed the Sheffield attack. I managed to misread the shot-counts from their game on Friday night-it turns out it was the Phoenix who took 42 shots and not the Steelers, which makes all my condemnation of the Steelers attack somewhat redundant-(unless you change every reference to "shooting and not scoring" to "not creating enough")-those criticisms could apply to the Manchester attack instead...but does give weight to my theory about peppering Scott Fankhouser in the Phoenix goal early on.

With thanks to "joncurtis" on the Elite League forum for spotting the error and PMing me-I have duly modified several opinions on the posts referring to that game...

Mea culpa, as they say in Latin, and I promise to do better from now on. That's what I rely on you readers for, though...:)

Keep keeping your eye on the puck (and my somewhat dubious interpretation of statistics)...:)

Double Overtime, 15th October: Elite League Weekend Review

Well, here we are after another weekend of Elite League action-the Blaze not involved this weekend but all the Conti Cup action is detailed in the running diaries below, and a brief reflection on Saturday's games is detailed in this post... http://throughtheplexi.blogspot.com/2007/10/hungover-hockeyreflections-on-october.html

So, on to the weekend as a whole, with grades for each team...

Belfast: Another up-and-down weekend for the Giants, with that 7-1 thumping of Hull away on Saturday being followed with finishing on the wrong end of a 6-1 scoreline in Manchester on Sunday-the Giants fans are well and truly getting sick of this Jekyll-and-Hyde team (although there's been much more Hyde than Jekyll up to now). Ed Courtenay appears to have no way of bringing consistency to this team, and must be wondering what he has to do, although surely now there will be changes made. Troy Neumeier has been taking the brunt of the fans fury along with Courtenay himself, although Giants seemingly have problems at both ends, letting in far more than they're putting away. Expect changes soon...
Grade: C-

Basingstoke: Two games against Cardiff, two close losses. The expected Battle at the Bay didn't materialise after Saturday's game, at least in terms of fisticuffs, but it was more than made up for by the twelve-goal thriller shown on the scoreboard, with the Bison coming out on the losing side by 7-5 after their 4-3 loss on Saturday at the Silverdome. With rumours still hanging around the team, it remains to be seen what'll happen this week, but the league's most Southern-based team are still plugging away, and I have a feeling they'll start causing a stir as long as they can keep their team together.
Grade: C+

Cardiff: Well, there can be no complaints in South Wales. Two games, eleven goals scored, and four points. Possibly the slight cloud on the horizon is that Phil Osaer had to pick the puck out of his net eight times over the two nights-that's one man who will certainly be thanking the hockey gods that his forwards had a productive week. Irony of the week goes to Sylvain Deschatelets, who gained 1+2 in his final game for the Devils, sneaking the insurance goal at the end of Sunday's game. With a new player to come in this week, the Devils will have a huge confidence boost going into next weekend's action-it's taken a while, but the furnace may finally be starting to heat up in the "blue tent on the bay"
Grade: B

Edinburgh: Poor old Capitals. So much hope at the beginning of the season, and once again they're propping up the league after an eight-game losing streak, losing to Nottingham 4-2 in their only game this weekend. The Scots are far better than their league position gives them credit for, but just can't close out games. With their talented young Scots contributing better than expected, the onus is now on the imports to back them up-if this starts happening and the Caps start firing, they will be dangerous, particularly on the big ice of Murrayfield. We shall see. Their grade is perhaps unfairly low, but is based more on results than actual performance, hence:
Grade: D

Hull: Oh, dear. There are problems by the Humber, with starting goalie Ladislav Kudrna only playing for twenty minutes this weekend before suffering a knee injury, leaving young Brit Tom Chamberlain to face the full fury of Belfast and Newcastle's attacks, and they took advantage, putting eleven goals past the Stingrays for a total of only two scored. The Hull Daily Mail has described Saturday's performance as "shambolic" and from all accounts, Sunday's wasn't much better. It remains to be seen whether Kudrna will be out for a while, but all Humberside hockey fans will be hoping that he will be back soon, otherwise it could be a long winter...
Grade: F

Manchester: I discuss their two-one loss in Sheffield on Friday in depth here:
http://throughtheplexi.blogspot.com/2007/10/catching-up-with-eihl.html
but their 6-1 thumping of Belfast on Sunday will have done them no harm at all after a dispiriting game at the Hallam which saw them outshoot the Steelers by over two-to-one and still lose, thanks to Jody Lehman. I've been impressed with the Phoenix so far this season-they're a workmanlike team who have a surprising amount of flair in Joe Tallari and Sean Starke, not to mention the ageless Tony Hand, and will always cause teams problems. Given that they are still holding station in the league and produced a good performance to sink the Giants, they get...
Grade: B+

Newcastle: The Vipers are another team who were only in action once this weekend, against a sorry-looking Hull side riven by injuries. But you can only beat what's in front of you, and the Vipers did that, putting four goals in before reportedly easing off a little against Hull's back-up. Colin Shields is starting to play as expected, newest signing Todd Jackson is settling nicely, and Ryan MacDonald is starting to stake his claim for best goalie in the EIHL. Sitting third in the league, three points off the top with two games in hand on second-placed Sheffield, there are few things to worry about on Tyneside at the moment...
Grade: B

Nottingham: The Panthers eased the pain of a 2-1 derby loss to Sheffield on Saturday with a come-from behind win in Edinburgh on Sunday for yet another two-point weekend. And that's one of the problems-when on fire this team is arguably the best in the league, but they just can't seem to find the consistency...an age-old problem in the Lace City. With a tough weekend coming up against the Vipers and my very own Coventry Blaze, this weekend will be a real test for the big cats as they face two of their big rivals for honours this season. But they will be confident with Sean McAslan on a scoring streak of 16 in only fifteen games, and a raft of other quality forwards yet to find their scoring touch...
Grade: B-

Sheffield: The Steelers came unscathed through two tough games this weekend, winning 2-1 on both Friday and Saturday. While not being the most exciting, these are the weekends that win championships. One slight cloud on the horizon is that their much-touted and high-powered attack were restricted to 17 shots, of which they scored two vs Manchester on Friday-not the kind of efficiency you want from your attack if you have any ambitions of winning trophies. However, their defence (well, more to the point, Jody Lehman) was as stingy as the forwards were wasteful, only conceding two goals on 60+ shots, despite the defence in front of him allowing Manchester 42 attempts on goal on Friday night, so on that basis, they earn the top grade of the week:
Grade: B++

Next weekend sees all teams return to Elite League action-check back on Thursday for the Round the Rinks weekend preview, and throughout the week for updates...

Until next time, keep your eye on the puck...
duly edited, after managing to misread the shot count from Friday night...

Blaze v Slavija Ljubljana running diary

15:00: And we're off...back in Aalborg for Slavija vs the Blaze, and Steve Fone is starting today...the Blaze fans are making a fine amount of noise...

15:02: SCOOOOOORRRRRREEEE BLAZE! Adam Calder! Not the worst start in the world, that...after a pass from Cowley, Cloutier with the second assist. On a side note, that's Cald's 250th point in a Blaze shirt-not bad in two and a half seasons...

15:03: We nearly have the Slovenians score, but the puck is kicked in, and the second referee of the two-ref system spots it, thankfully.

15:06: Cloutier is a "one-man wrecking machine" apparently...having seen him almost every chance you've been able to over the past two years, I've got some sympathy for the Slovenians who are on the receiving end...Meanwhile, Blaze survive another goal scare-high sticks, apparently...

15:08: It's getting somewhat crowded in the Blaze penalty box-Vychodil and Weaver are both in there...and once again the commentary team have proved me wrong-we're now getting the names of the Slovenes also-good work, gentlemen...

15:11: Cloutier nails yet another unlucky Slovenian, as Geoff and Andy have this exchange...

"Something's upset him today, I think"
"Yep, I reckon he's had his three Shredded Wheat for breakfast"
"Judging by that hit, more likely someone nicked his breakfast"...

Brought a smile to a grey Sunday afternoon in Coventry, that did...:)

15:18: Twelve minutes gone, and Joe Henry gets a shift! And then proceeds to throw a big hit, and there's the slightest bit of amusement in Geoff's voice as he mentions it...

15:24: Blaze are dominating after being on the powerplay, but still can't sneak a goal-it appears that Slavija are back in the game somewhat. Geoff has something of a coughing fit, so Andy takes over.

15:26: He's not doing too badly, either-but Slavija sneak one in...so it's now one each. Geoff has had a glass of water or something and resumes his commentary...

15:28: Slavija hit the post...they've got their tails up...

15:32: End of the first-Slavija one, Blaze one. And we have the traditional interview with Rumun...

15:42: We're reviewing the goals from last night. And they still sound just as good...the noise when Calder scores is something special...and then, two minutes later, Jonny Weaver makes history...at the moment there is still a rather large grin on my face...Lord only knows what the reaction of someone who was lucky enough to be there will be...

15:46: We're off for the second period. Meanwhile, back here I've also got the Simpsons on...it's fun, this multimedia stuff.

15:57: As you may have guessed, not much has happened in the past fifteen minutes...highlight, however, is Geoff, from nowhere, pronouncing the name "Blaz Javornik" properly...to Andy's amusement.

16:00: Dear Lord-we've just had the Birdie Song from Magnus the DJ's wife, who is obviously backing him up...I shall never complain about the music in the EIHL again...

16:07: It's still 1-1...unfortunately.

16:09: PANIC! Slavija somehow manage to get three players into the crease, along with four for the Blaze...Fone manages to get his glove on it, however.

16:15: Slavija make it 2-1...Matej Kralj. Surely we can't go from the sublime to the ridiculous?

16:16: The period ends-and Slavija are 2-1 up...

16:32: SCOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEE BLAZE! Adam Calder's second! He's got 14 this season already...literally about forty seconds into the third period. Excellent...there is hope again. For some reason, Danny Stewart called Geoff "George" and it's now stuck...

16:37: Blaze back on the powerplay...and Calder is after a hat-trick...

16:42: Slavija make it 3-2, past Steve Fone. Both commentators and those interviewed mentioned that today is something of an anti-climax after the great events of yesterday...

16:47: Make that 4-2. Fone lets one past him which Andy Buxton thinks he'll want back. The question is, what do we put this down to?

16:50: The Blaze aren't happy-shots are raining in on the Slavija net. Pity the goalie is on something of a hot-streak at the moment-it's becoming a running theme this weekend. At least the Blaze fans are still trying to lift their team...

16:56: Blaze four-two down and on the powerplay, desperately trying to get back into the game with four minutes left...

17:02: Andy has all but admitted the Blaze are somewhat tanking the game with "From the moment you can't qualify, it's all about making sure no-one gets hurt and you're all fully fit for Elite League action", as it finishes with Slavija winning 4-2. Still-there's always the moment from last night...

And on that note, we leave Denmark. Check back tomorrow for a review of tonights games, and all through the week for various ramblings, news and views, match previews, features and, of course, Round the Rinks on Thursday evening.

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

Hungover Hockey...reflections on October 12th in the EIHL,

Ouch.
My head hurts after what was a great day for sport yesterday, internationally and locally. You can read all the Blaze stuff in the running diaries, so I'm not going to say anything more about that-this is the Saturday EIHL review.

Hull v Belfast: Fans in both cities are doubtless asking themselves "where did that come from?!" today-the Giants appear to have kicked their slump with a 7-1 demolition of the Stingrays in their own rink. Several players began to answer their critics, with Carlyle Lewis scoring twice, new boy Shaun Sutter getting one, and Ed Courtenay scoring as well as assisting on four others. Reading the Belfast fan reactions, they can't quite believe it-a worry for Hull is that starting goalie Ladislav Kudrna was pulled out of the game after the fourth goal-whether this was precautionary or due to an injury is uncertain, but given that Hull haven't conceded many this season while Kudrna has been on form, we shall have to see whether he plays tonight.
Nottingham v Sheffield: The Steelers took the ascendancy in this rivalry, coming back from an early Sean McAslan goal (which Steelers fans claim was way offside and should never have stood) to win 2-1 with goals from Ash Tait and Ryan Finnerty. By all accounts it wasn't a classic, but they won't be complaining in the Steel City today...
Basingstoke v Cardiff: The Devils take the points back to the Bay after a 4-3 win, although the main talking point is Max Birbraer assaulting Derek Campbell with a vicious cross-check after the Bison player had reportedly checked Jason Silverthorn to the head. With both teams meeting again this evening, this one will be one I'm keeping an eye on for the round-up tomorrow...

Now on to Blaze's final game in Aalborg, against the underdogs from Ljubljana...the running diary follows...

Non-hockey post: ENGLAND IN THE RUGBY WORLD CUP

I said that this was a hockey blog, and that was all I was going to post on, but...It's just one of those days, isn't it?

England beat France 14-9, so you're no doubt watching all the coverage of the English crowd and media going absolutely mental. But I'm listening to the French coverage, just to see what the view is like on the other side of La Manche. And listening to Radio France, the reaction is absolute shock. From TF1, the French equivalent of the BBC, is the simple headline "It's over for the Blues", which they follow up with "the beautiful story of the French team comes to an end in Paris". L'Équipe, the biggest French paper, is coming up with "The shattered dream" as their headline over a picture of the English players celebrating behind a beaten French player...and praise "the extraordinary, unbreakable defence of the England XV"
Then there was the classic shot of the Stade de France audio crew playing "Je ne regrette rien" by Edith Piaf as their exit song...and this was repeated on French radio, along with audio highlights of the French tries throughout the tournament-almost as some sort of memorial . The atmosphere in France is as if someone very near and very dear to the entire country has died. They were so, so sure that this was their year...
On a random note, it's a bit strange that ITV are using a song called "Living is a Problem Cause Everything Dies" as their exit song...I'd have stuck with Edith Piaf, myself...Anyway-back to France.
Chabal has just been interviewed, and said "some of the English players tackled harder than I ever thought possible"
One thing is for sure-the French nation is going to be a very quiet place tonight...

A picture can say a thousand words...

Ladies and gents (And I promise this is the last posting for this evening)
One of the sweetest pictures I've ever seen, courtesy of Mark Tredgold...(link to his superb Blaze picture site is marked on the list of links)

Jonny Weaver celebrating his OT winner against Red Bulls Salzburg, in traditional hockey style...on the night when, after only two months on the team, he became a Blaze legend.

Thanks to Mark for getting it up on the Web so quickly (it was taken...oh, about an hour ago)

Beautiful, isn't it?

Sigmund Freud, Mozart, Kurt Waldheim, Jorg Halder...

Your boys just took a hell of a beating. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Blaze have just pulled off something truly special. And I miss it-the first big Coventry Blaze moment in history I've not been present at. Bloody redundancies.

But my god-I've had about ten texts in the past five minutes from people going absolutely mental, and I feel the need to go out and have a drink or two just in order to celebrate this evening...Apologies the diary just cut off, but this really deserves some sort of commerative post. And a moment of silence for Salzburg...

(deep breath-back on topic)....

Meanwhile, in the EIHL, could Belfast be back on a roll after their 7-0 victory? Nottingham are currently beating Shuff 2-0 as well, so that could be an interesting game to follow....

Actually-since it's my blog, I'm signing off early now, and will post reaction to the EIHL games tomorrow-time to go out and celebrate what is an absolutely MASSIVE shock win in the world of ice-hockey...someone ring the BBC!

Blaze v Salzburg running diary

We're back for game two! This time I'll just be using the one post, so if you come along and it looks like it's not been updated for a while, just click refresh. All times are BST-let's get it going....

18:25: Hmm. Listening to the pre-match talk, it's very much "we're just happy to be here against this team" if you listen to Andy Buxton...

18:30: The good news is that good old Cloutier has just won the opening face-off...

18:32: Third line already...and we've actually got a name or two from the Salzburg players already. Surely they can't have been reading.
Oh, and Ash Tait has just been called the "second best player in British ice-hockey" with Weaver being the best...Strangely, it was the reverse last year...

18:33: Salzburg score. Daniel Welzer. It appears that there's absolutely no-one there, aside from the hundred or so Blaze fans. They'll be even quieter now...

18:35: Blaze are on the powerplay. Just noted that, although it seems a long way away at the moment, that were Blaze to win this, they can still qualify. I'm not sure they can, though. Unless they beat Salzburg and Slavija, and Salzburg beat Aalborg tomorrow, which will put three teams on six points. It will then come down to how many goals Blaze score against Slavija. Blaze fans now making a bit more noise...

18:40: Make that two nil. Against the run of play, after Blaze spend five minutes in the opposition end. We're only seven minutes or so into the game, and already it's not the greatest hope in the world. Rick Jackman (who's getting paid more in a year than the Blaze team, apparently) takes a penalty...

18:45: Cowley floors Jackman. "He'll have enjoyed that" says Andy. The bad news is, that gives Salzburg a powerplay. Geoff has just asked where Frank Banham is-I was wondering that so have just checked the Salzburg website-apparently he's not playing tonight as a precaution, being slightly injured-so I shall try and let them know through the internet and what have you...

18:49: Side note here-I'm not sure whether they've actually been reading this or have had other people tell them, but we're now getting the names of both sides from both commentators. Fair play to both Geoff and Andy-it's the little things that move the coverage from good to great, sometimes...

18:53: Still searching for the email or text address...

18:59: Bingo. Found it and sent the information. Also we've just heard Russ Cowley get well and truly nailed by Jackman...who gets called for roughing. Powerplay with a minute to run as we end the first period. Worryingly, we now haven't seen Jonny Weaver on the ice for fifteen minutes, apparently. Oh, excellent...Conti Cup curse, anyone?

19:04: During the period break, we have an interview with Rumun again-who is mentioning that the team only need one goal to get going. "Keep the faith" is the way it gets summed up-which gets a big laugh from Rumun so deep it almost makes the bass on my headphones pop. He also repeats the mention of the Weaver injury. Let's hope it's nothing serious. Now we're back on the rugby union, cause there's apparently a fairly important game happening in Paris tonight...

19:15: As the rugby interview goes on and on, we hear the coverage from Aalborg. The good news is, the song playing is Burning Heart, by Survivor. Could it be an omen?

19:16: Weaver hasn't come back out. Oh, pants. Please let it just be a minor thing...

19:18: Blaze getting PP after PP here. Meanwhile, back in the UK, Belfast are 5-0 up against Hull after two periods...maybe the myriad kicks up the rear end the Giants have been getting are bearing some sort of fruit. Carlyle Lewis has even scored twice for them...

19:21: Stewart goes down, and has to have the Salzburg physio treat him because neither the team doctor OR Nikki Sherlock, the physio, are actually on the bench...Although as I write this, they've returned to the bench, so maybe the worrying can stop. Or at least calm down.

19:24: Weaves is back and ready to ice! The worrying can definitely stop...Calder goes close despite being shorthanded, and then takes a silly penalty.

19:26: And Weaver is back on the ice! Thank heaven. I know these last couple of posts aren't strictly neutral, but if Blaze lost Weaver you can guarantee there'd be 2,500 British hockey fans who wouldn't be happy...

19:36: Blaze have had a fair few pp's, and not scored. Calder puts one just over, causing a kind of mixed groan/whimper/whistle to come from Andy-one of the weirdest noises I've ever heard. And then Carlson gets very, very close. It's a repeat of the Aalborg game at the moment...Weaver heads to the box.

19:40: Two-on-one breaks, Carlson and Calder. Gets saved though...Calder's away again...and Weaver's been stopped. Every single shot is just wide, just over or into the pads...this is getting silly. Even only hearing it, I'm wincing every time it sounds like Blaze'll score.

19:42: Blaze are 5-on-3 after Doug Lynch gets called for slashing. And the NFW line is out...ninety seconds worth of 5 on 3...

19:46: Ouch. Belfast have beaten Hull 7-0 away from home...maybe something has finally worked in one of Courtenay's team-talks...

19;49: The goal didn't happen. Somehow, every shot is going everywhere but in. The Blaze are dominating, but the period ended about a minute ago, still the same score...2-0 down.

20:03: We're off again...one of the Salzburg fans has just posted on their forum "If you want to hear how commentators can suffer with their team, have a listen to the British radio from Coventry". How true-you can tell where the puck is on the ice just by listening to Andy Buxton, sometimes...

20:06: I can barely type through laughter. Geoff Foster has just compared watching James Pease skate to watching Liam Daish (former Coventry City and Birmingham footy defender) run. Anyone who had seen Daish and/or Peasey play will know how unfair that is. However, whether it's unfair to Peasey or Daish, I'm not quite sure yet...

(random tangent-I remember watching Daish play once in my many trips to the much-lamented Highfield Road, and as he was skinned for pace by yet another opposition forward, the shout comes from the crowd "Run, Daish! You look like you're moving through treacle!" to which the reply was one of the classic lines "He ain't just moving through treacle, he's stopping to eat every f-ing drop!" I remember laughing myself hoarse-aged about eight years old at the time)

20:17: All you can hear from the crowd are Coventry accents roaring them on...all 120 of them...I've got no idea how long is left, but it can't be that long...

20:20: This is getting silly. Shots are raining in on Divis's net...and there are ten minutes left.

20:26: No Blaze fan ever thought they'd hear the phrase "come on Peasey, we need that goal" on radio commentary. But we just have...And now the Blaze fans are chanting Divis's name...

20:28: Superb work in the background, as one Blaze fan (and I think I know who it is-JP, who is quite well-known in the Skydome crowd) has chanted Divis's name in an attempt to put him off for three solid minutes and counting...

20:30: SCOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEE BLAZE! Danny Stewart finally beats Divis! And there's an explosion of noise from the Blaze crowd now...and they just won't shut up...Divis is getting it big style, with "dodgy keeper" and all...

20:33: Salzburg pressuring...keep it out, lads...

20:34: Blaze powerplay! And time out called...Koenig is waiting to come off as we think about pulling the goalie...

20:35: SCOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEE! ADAM CALDER! Get Reach Up playing! Blaze have come from 2-0 down against Salzburg, one of the best team in Europe, with a minute left...and I'm convinced you could have heard the yell I just let loose in Denmark...

20:40: Blaze go on the powerplay...with overtime to come...the cheers were loud enough at the end of that but now we're going into overtime, so God only knows what'll happen if Blaze score again. Oh, and in a side note, Blaze's qualification is still open at the moment...

20:45: We're in OT. Dear God. I don't remember having my heart feel like this while watching a hockey game since the playoff final two years ago...sudden death...

20:48: SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEE BLAZE! JONNY WEAVER! The Blaze have only gone and flipping done it! The crowd have gone absolutely ballistic, and so have I-That yell was definitely heard in Denmark....

20:52: Over the radio, one of the sweetest chants in hockey when it's your fans singing, courtesy of the Blaze crowd...
"two niiiillll, and you cocked it up"....

20:55: YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS! Did we mention the Blaze just beat one of the top teams in Europe? I'm getting texts left right and centre...the phone-lines will be red-hot right about now...

Updated again at 21:19
Sorry about that cutting off...just had a joyous phone-call with a few friends, all of us not quite believing what just happened...Quite frankly, I still can't...there is a small but vibrant section of Coventry which is in party mode this evening, whereever they might be. And Aalborg rink has probably turned into a Danish Jumpin' Jaks nightclub right about now. Or maybe the Old Orleans.
Anyway...I am drained, so I am now signing off...Will be back for the Slavija game tomorrow...

Catching up with the EIHL

In the frenzy of yesterday's Aalborg diary (I've now moved them all into one post in order to make it easier to read and the blog more streamlined), I forgot to check the scores back home in the UK-Sheffield Steelers beat the Manchester Phoenix 2-1, in a game that looks a bit tight judging by both IH-Update and the reports of the two teams' forums. Although there is a ridiculous disparity in the shot count-Lehman gets forty-three fired on him for the Steelers, letting in just one, and Fankhouser (he of the slightly dodgy moustache) gets just seventeen! And the two he did let in came early in the game (two and eight minutes, respectively). This begs two questions in my mind...

Does Fankhouser take a bit of time to get into the game, and thus, is it worth peppering him early?
Having not much else to do on a Saturday afternoon, I had a look at the times when Manchester conceded their twenty-seven goals so far this season, and only five were scored in the first fifteen minutes-which makes me think otherwise. However, this fails to take into account the fact that the Phoenix are a very good defensive team and thus don't usually allow many shots early-they didn't against the Blaze and even took the lead before a middle-period explosion by the home side. The fact that when goals against Fank do come, they tend to come in bunches makes me think it can't hurt to pepper him-beat the guy once and there's a chance you could be three or four up very quickly indeed if you keep the pressure on. Sure, this means that there's a slightly increased chance of conceding, but then, you don't win hockey games without scoring goals...

How on earth did Sheffield only get off seventeen shots? Particularly with names like Ash Tait, Legue, Talbot and Sheppard firing them in. Having seen Fankhouser play, and also seen that his rebound control seemed slightly off (it was almost surreal how many times he'd make a save, and have the puck sat a few feet in front of him or sneak JUST past the stick of the Blaze forwards waiting in the slot)-either his defence had an absolutely stellar game, or the much-vaunted Sheffield attack were just trying to pass around before firing the puck into his body, pads, glove-anywhere but the net. I'm prepared to give Fankhouser the credit for now, but at some point it would be interesting to compare the teams goals-to-shots ratio in order to see which team has the most efficient attack (which may not necessarily be the highest scoring).

Anyway-can you feel the excitement for the Steelers-Panthers game tonight yet? :)

I shall be back later on for the running diary of Blaze v Salzburg...it'll either be the greatest night in Blaze's european history or (more likely) a bit of a damp squib. I'll also be keeping an eye on the EIHL scores...

Until then, keep your eye on the puck...
duly edited, after cocking up the shot-count for the Phoenix-Steelers game-see above.

Blaze v Aalborg running diary

18:28: And so here we go! We are live in Aalborg, with Geoff Foster, and Andy Buxton, with 120 or so Blaze fans making a nice amount of noise. Including the four who stand down by the front of the plexi at the Skydome. For some reason Aalborg are playing Bob Sinclair as the music...which can see me having the odd dance, were I there.

18:31: We start with the triple C line...Carlson, Cowley and Calder. Apparently Aalborg are going to come straight through the middle of the ice. Weaver comes in for a shot which JUST gets saved. Amusingly, all you can hear are the Blaze fans, as the old "When the Blaze go skating in" kicks into play.

18:34: Would it be a bit unfair to expect Geoff and Andy to learn the names of one or two of the Danish team, just in order to make things a little clearer to us at home? Meanwhile, there's just two or three Blaze fans singing.

18:41: Powerplay. Blaze seem to put out the line of Carlson, Calder, Huppe, Cloutier, and Weaver. Otherwise known as the "no f-ing way" line , as in "no f-ing way are you stopping this line from scoring"

18:45: Penalty gets killed. Cloutier comes close, Moore also comes close, but it seems to be a bit quiet. Aalborg sound like a better version of Hull at the moment-you hardly hear the Danes shooting. It's still noisier than the Metro Radio arena in Newcastle, though, Vipers fans. :)

18:50: "It's going to be a great tactical battle?". Hm. It's not sounding a bad game, and the No F-ing Way line is back on. In the Elite League, you'd be able to smell the fear of the oppositin fans with that five out now...

18:52: The Danes play Van Halen! Yes! Welcome to Denmark, where it's always 1985!

18:55: Geoff's managed to confuse David Vychodil (6'2, 213lbs) with both Neal Martin and Adam Calder in one period, both of whom are a little smaller. This is easy to do. In my first or second season, way back when, I managed to confuse Mike Ware (6'5, 215lbs) and Vezio Sacratini (5'8, 170lbs), much to my embarassment. Hey-I was watching the numbers, and 26 and 28 look similar, particularly on those old London Knights shirts.

18:56: Aalborg score. Bjarke Larsen puts a delayed penalty goal in after Carlson did his hooking thing...

18:57: Has Andy Buxton ever commentated on a game that wasn't a "great spectacle"?

18:59: End of the first period. It's not bad so far, from the sound either on the ice or the commentary off it...Right. Off for a toilet break. Back in twenty minutes with the second period...

19:14: And we're back in Aalborg! They're playing Hermes flipping House Band as we start the period...

19:16: There are two Cockneys in the Danish crowd, by the sounds of things...all you can hear is "KARM AAN ARLBERG!" back and forth...Blaze back on the powerplay...

19:19: We've got a name for one of the opposition! The Aalborg goalie is Peter Hirsch, everybody. He's just made a save from Weaver. Still nowt happening on the powerplay, though.

19:21: Both commentators have called Aalborg "Salzburg" in the past thirty seconds. Is it Saturday already and I've missed it?

19:23: Two Aalborg players have names now-Henrik Blomqvist and the Blaze's Matty Soderstrom have a verbal or two.

19:30: Penalty kill. Huppe goes into the box for High Sticks. Andy comes out with "there's no point arguing, they can't understand you anyway". Forget that most Swedes and Danes speak good English...

19:34: "Watkins tries to rim one for Vychodil" is followed by "Cowley's on his knees and sliding into the crease". The non-ice-hockey watchers in the CWR studio are cringing, thinking that there's reckless innuendos coming out of the sport...:)

19:42: Blaze are now 5-on-3, and Aalborg score just as the 5-on-3 ends. Trouble is, the penalty hadn't yet expired. So Blaze are still a man down. Still-Herning went 2-0 up, and Blaze managed to come back against Danish opposition then, so there is hope...

19:50: "A thousand years ago, they gave us the Vikings. It's taken a while, but we're invading them this time-to win". The CWR ad-writing team, everybody! Loving their work. Blaze are 2-0 down at the end of the second and Rumun (Ndur) sums up the task with "we've got twenty minutes to score twice. We can do that". Now it's rugby-union time, so another toilet break beckons. Back in twenty minutes for period three...

20:05: Mmm, lamb stew....We're back for the third period...two minutes late, but it doesn't sound like owt has happened..

.20:06: I speak too soon. Cowley gets close...I have to admit, I thought I'd have to quickly swallow my lamb stew in order to celebrate a goal, there...

20:07: The Aalborg DJ has heard the dubious reactions of us in the UK-a bit of Metallica's "Whiskey in the Jar" raises a smile...

20:10: Blaze are absolutely murdering Aalborg possession-wise at the moment...several chances go begging. In another upset, the Danish DJ (who we'll call Magnus, for ease's sake) follows up Metallica with Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls"...
"whoa, won't you let it all hang out, fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go round"...
Now that song will be in my head all night...and on a night out in Coventry, that is not a song you want, for fear of giggling when you see the dancing in Jumpin Jaks round about 2 am...

20:13: Ouch...we just heard Danny Stewart hit the ice from 400 miles away. Without the radio...

20:14: "Sweet Child O'Mine"?! Magnus the DJ has turned it right around from the first two periods...Meanwhile, Moore rips one just wide...

20:17: Now Magnus has lost it...we've got Danish dance back. Back on the game-erm-what? Where did the last ten minutes go, cause there's only seven minutes left...

20:20: Can you say the phrase "hot goalie"? Hirsch is stopping just about everything...

20:23: It's all gone quiet now. And Hirsch has stopped another one! Stewie could have flicked that one in, by all accounts-a rebound right in front of him.

20:25: Hmm. Make that 3-0. Three on one breakaway and Aalborg sew up the game through Tobias Holm. Apparently there's been a load of "decorative stuff" dumped down the far end. The word is "confetti", I think...

20:27: The Blaze fans finally make some noise again-a bit late at 3-0...and Magnus pulls himself back up again with a bit of AC/DC...which wakes the two Danish Cockneys up...

20:29: The scoreline isn't fair, apparently. A good point-I'd love to see the shot count for this game-Hirsch has absolutely stood on his head in the Aalborg goal.

20:33: Andy channels his inner Jerry Springer as Geoff asks him for his "final thoughts", which add up to "Hirsch was awesome, and the Aalborg players know that. Blaze played well, but the Danes did their job and took their chances"

20:35: And so that's that. Nothing to add from me, really...there is no way I'm hanging around to listen to Steve McClaren, so here ends the first running diary...back tomorrow, I hope.

Hope you enjoyed it, and keep your eye on the puck...

Game time...almost

Almost, anyway. You join me settled on my bed, with a 250g bar of Dairy Milk Double Chocolate, a couple of cans of ginger-beer and a pair of headphones which don't...quite...work. This could be something of a problem. I've decided to split this up period-by-period...and so it shall begin. Keep checking back every couple of minutes. Or even at the end of each period-it'll refresh itself, with the BST time...

Slavija v Salzburg, David v Goliath...

...and it appears David has forgotten his slingshot. Salzburg are 4-0 up already, and their forum are into full "well, this one is over" mode...they've already got the back up in. Something of a running diary will now follow in preparation for later...but then, seven NHLers against a team where the oldest player is 24 is always going to turn out badly...

16:12 BST: Salzburg have five in the box. Hmm. I reckon penalties could be a problem...although there is a classic moment on the Salzburg forum as a poster modifies the sign seen outside German football matches, posting...

"Penalty bench sold out. Standing room, and season ticket holders only."....

16:38 BST: Make that Salzburg seven, Slavija 0 at the end of the second. Hmm. This could be a bit of a nothing third period. We are told there are about ten Austrians and maybe a hundred Blaze fans. Could make tomorrow's game interesting..

16:56: Third period begins. But I'm not fancying following this much-so I'll leave it until the last minute and go and sort myself some chores...

17:24: The game finishes 8-0. Ouch. Now for the important game of the evening...check back in an hour or so...

Almost-live from Denmark...

Quick note-just found out that the Blaze photographer Mark Tredgold, whose excellent shots of Blaze games from the past few years can be found at his website (http://www.tredders.com) is running a photo blog from the Blaze trip to Aalborg, which he is updating regularly to give those stuck in the UK a "feel" for the trip-it is an excellent idea and can be found here:

http://web.mac.com/marktredgold/Site/Blog/Blog.html

For some reason, it's not running hyperlinks today, so you'll need to cut and paste the addresses into the address bar on your browser.

Is it me, or is there snow in Denmark already?

I shall keep checking that as well as doing my own diary...

The "Biggest Game" Debate, part I...

Morning all-another day-another few posts...I'm using a break in job hunting to reply to my first comment (and comments from readers, ideas for new features, etc are of course welcomed at any time, cause apart from anything else they give me ideas for future posts, and hopefully build up some sort of head of steam)...



Anyway-the first comment to come in takes issue with my little pop at the Steelers/Panthers hype machine in this week's Round the Rinks, and reads thus...

"Surely, the fact that this Saturdays Panthers Steelers game will sell 6000 tickets, at the same time of the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final, makes it the biggest game in UK hockey?"

Fair point. It can't be denied that fans in both Notts and Shuff always look for the games against "them up t'road" first when the fixture list comes out. And based purely on attendance, you could make the same argument. And the rivalry was huge once-as shown by this little disagreement between the two teams. Rumour has it it was started not just by the cross-check, but when someone mentioned that Scott Allison wasn't the greatest use of a week's wages...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioyQi-rb1DM

When this happened, there was no debate. Notts/Shuff was the "one game everyone in British hockey had to see once"

However, (to break a rule of mine and bring football into the argument), the Merseyside derby (Liverpool-Everton) will attract 45,000 this weekend, also at the same time as the WC semi-yet no-one outside of Liverpool is calling it "the biggest game in British football". The hype machine (well, Dave Simms, who is the closest thing to one in British hockey) always seems to give the impression that thousands of British hockey fans will be hanging on the edge of their seats waiting for the updates from the NIC or Hallam Arena, and that the team that loses will suffer some huge heartbreak, or lose bragging rights for the year-and that there is no other game in the UK hockey scene which excites such passion. This just isn't the case. I remember going to a Steelers/Panthers game in the old ISL at the Hallam, being all excited on the way up to finally see the "biggest rivalry in British hockey" and then spending sixty minutes sitting in a echoing half-silent arena watching a game which, although good, just didn't have that life-or-death fire which you get in truly great rivalry games. For example (and keeping Nottingham as one of the teams) the Challenge Cup semi-final of the 04/05 season, particularly the NIC leg, with Coventry as the other team, FELT like a rivalry game-both sets of fans were well and truly yelling themselves hoarse, the teams were playing like the losers would be killed and eaten by the winners, and the banter was flying back and forth. Every goal meant something, every hit was cheered, and so on.

And then you have Coventry-Cardiff. If you'd ever gone to the old and much-missed Wales National Ice Rink for a Devils-Blaze game and NOT been swept up by the atmosphere, even as a neutral, then you're clinically dead. Ask any Coventry or Cardiff fan about the games they look forward to the most, and it's a safe bet that Blaze/Devils, especially in Cardiff, will come top of the list. And Coventry/Belfast and Sheffield/Manchester have seen some pretty intense games in the past too-moving down to the EPL the rivalry between Chelmsford and Romford has half the numbers of most EIHL rivalries yet at least as much intensity...yet still people are told that Steelers/Panthers is the big one......

It seems to me that, while it's still a HUGE game for both sets of fans, the Steelers/Panthers rivalry is living somewhat on past glories-and every year, particularly as the teams play each other three or four times a season, the hype machine grinds into action a little more slowly and a little less convincingly...the fact is, there are newer rivalries that are just as intense as this one, and the sooner the leagues realise this and starts marketing them as well, instead of relying on this fading giant of a rivalry, the better.

Feel free to comment, either way-this is a debate that can run and run.

Check back later today for the running diary of Blaze's first game in this year's Conti Cup....and keep your eye on the puck. :)

First cock-up, and Blaze radio coverage

Just realised (and I promise this is the last post for today) that I forgot to put the Blaze fixtures in in the Conti Cup...that's two minutes for being an idiot, I think...Anyway-here they are...

Friday: Coventry Blaze v Aalborg (1830 BST)
Saturday: Coventry Blaze v Red Bulls Salzburg (1830 BST)
Sunday: Coventry Blaze v Slavija Ljubljana (1630 BST)

All three games are apparently being covered on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire (available off the BBC site if you're not in the local Coventry area-search for Coventry and Warwickshire) with live commentary and all...Of course, being the friendly person I am, and shamelessly nicking an idea from one of my favourite writers, (Bill Simmons, the guy linked to at right) I shall be doing a running diary of at least the Aalborg game while listening to it. I'm not quite sure whether this'll take the form of blog post after blog post, or one long stream-of-consciousness type thing-I've seen both work. We shall see. But keep checking back while you're getting ready for your nights out on the Friday evening...and you can listen to the game with me-virtually, as I do the same.

For the record, I do have a social life-it just involves a lot of hockey. :)

Until tomorrow...keep your eye on the puck at all times...

Round the Rinks 12th October-EIHL Weekend Preview

And so the first weekly Round the Rinks entry kicks in-with a brief preview of the EIHL weekend action. You'll get a separate Blaze preview, obviously, but this one is for the rest...
The Blaze are in Conti Cup action this week, so their preview is the entry below.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, the tired and rusting old bandwagon that is the Sheffield-Nottingham hype machine has rattled back into action, with people still trying to claim it's the biggest game in UK hockey even though few people outside the two cities actually care about Panthers meeting Steelers. The rivals also face surprise package Manchester at home on Friday (Sheffield) and surprise package number II Edinburgh away on Sunday (Nottingham) as well as their meeting in Nottingham on Saturday. I can barely hold the excitement...
Seriously, though, it should be a decent game, with Nottingham on something of a roll and Sheffield still trying to convince us all that they are still the biggest team in Britain, honest. I'm not even going to TRY to predict the results yet, cause I'm always wrong, but maybe the two rivals should stop hyping up the Saturday game and concentrate on their other opponents, both of whom are far more dangerous than they've been given credit for this season, and both of whom have run the Blaze very close at the Skydome.

Hull have released their umpteenth "(insert player name here) says Stingrays can win this weekend" press release (although given that their games this weekend are Belfast and Newcastle there's actually a grain of truth in that), Cardiff and Belfast are both "on their last chances with the current roster" yet again as they face Basingstoke (twice) and Hull and Manchester respectively. The Bison's current off-ice uncertainties are detailed below, but they could forget them by at least splitting the points with the Devils, who are still labouring to get their full team firing after an eventful off-ice summer with rink woes...Newcastle just have the one game with Hull, and will no doubt be hoping that Belfast have tired them out the night before. There could be a few penalties in that one, because both the Stingrays and the Vipers like a bit of rough stuff. The Giants will just be hoping for a win, any win, in order to stave off the growing criticism from the Northern Irish crowd...

The full fixture list, then. All league unless stated...

Friday
Sheffield v Manchester


Saturday
Hull v Belfast

Basingstoke v Cardiff (Challenge Cup)

Nottingham v Sheffield

Sunday
Manchester v Belfast

Newcastle v Hull

Edinburgh v Nottingham

Cardiff v Basingstoke

Game on. :)

"Set Europe a-Blaze..."-Continental Cup Preview

Phew. Four in one day? Let's just say that my blog production is flowing like Carlson and Calder on a good day...there may be some days where you don't get an entry, some where you get one-and there there's a day like today, where I don't have much else to do, and so you get several.

Well...The Blaze are off to Europe again as representatives of Britain this weekend, and unlike the last trip, I'm not making this one. Damn redundancies. But enough about my job woes-what you lot really want to know is what's occuring in the Continental Cup.

Blaze's opponents, first of all...

Red Bulls Salzburg: Possibly the only team in the competition to actually have their sponsor as their team name rather than just part of it, the Austrian side are the danger team-they've got more money than Vienna has Schnitzel and some players who've spent some time in the NHL, including Rick Jackman, who played for my Pens, and Reinhard Divis, who was in St Louis for a spell. Up front are ex Coyote Frank Banham and ex-Canuck Josh Green, so they've got punch at both ends of the ice. Although-they are only 5th in the Bundesliga, so you never know.
Aalborg: Hosts. The Danes could be a problem-in their home rink they'll fancy their chances, and with a team of players who are all but unknown to the Blaze, it could be an interesting first game against them.
HK Slavija Ljublijana: If you're looking for an in-depth analysis of Slovenian ice-hockey, you're in the wrong place. Trouble is, no-one seems to know anything about Slavija, and their website is only available in Slovene, so it's bloody hard for me to find owt out about them. But, since everyone seems to think they're the underdogs of the group-let's hope they are.

Now, everyone in the UK seems to think there's a bit of a curse attached to British participation in this competition-Nottingham have a bad month whenever they travel to it and then come back, Blaze did in the 05/06 season (well, that season is one that people would rather forget, mainly because it was such a comedown after the treble the previous year rather than the fact that Blaze won nothing for the first time in two seasons-Blaze have in fact only gone three of their eight seasons without winning or getting to the final of at least one competition, if my maths are correct. Paul Thompson has come out with the usual fighting talk in the press today, saying that there's "no such thing" as the curse, Blaze are strong enough etc etc. Hopefully he's right, or you may soon see the tone of these entries change slightly for the worse.