Farewell to Hockey...

Apologies all for the somewhat large gap in posting for a couple of days-have been very busy with what we shall euphemistically call "off-ice issues":

Obligatory News Section: Be warned in advance-if you're looking for objective analysis of GB's bronze medal in Torun, then this is all you're going to get from me-it was quite an achievement for British hockey, given that the two teams above them, Italy and Ukraine, were way ahead of any other team in the group, by all accounts...although, as is ever the case with the international side, there are a host of "if onlys"-not least the final few minutes against the Ukraine-a team which the GB ranks had stood firm against for fifty-five minutes and held to two-all, before the Eastern Europeans finally found a way through and finished the game 4-2 to the good, denying the Brits a superb start to the tournament and perhaps setting the usual tone for Brits abroad-lots of effort, a few bright spots, but ultimately, a pat on the head and the hope that "next time, we'll really push for promotion to the top level"...

There you go-that's all the objective stuff you're going to get today...now onto the point of the post...

"They are all gone
And I alone sit lingering here;
Their very memory is fair and bright,
And my sad thoughts doth clear.”
Henry Vaughan "World of Light"

"I wouldn't want to be faster
Or greener now if you were with me O you
Were the best of all my days"
Frank O' Hara: "Animals"

"Life is different from a skating season, and in life you never know which skate will be your last. Only that one of them will be."
Jack Falla: "Home Ice"

As I sit writing this, the radio is on and playing one of the staple sounds of hockey nights everywhere-(AC/DC's: "Highway to Hell", if you're interested), the sun is high in a clear blue sky and casting long afternoon shadows across the computer screen, and a stray ray of light is illuminating my 2005-vintage poster of Adam Calder on my bedroom door and giving the Blaze forward an almost unearthly glow as he stands frozen in the act of forever releasing a pass while turning hard. It is, one might say, a good day to be alive.

And I am reminded, on this lovely spring afternoon, how much I hate the bright, lamb-skipping, hopeful days of April.

Yesterday, I saw the final game of three playoff weekends in three weeks, as Nottingham pulled off a nailbiting penalty-shot win against Invicta to clench the ENL finals. With the thump of rubber, Invicta forward Andy Smith fired his penalty shot (the tenth of the shootout) into Alan Levers' pads and ended his and everyone else who plays hockey in the British men's leagues' season, sparking wild celebrations for the Lions and glum faces for the Dynamos.

And me, standing at the opposite end of the ice-I heard a voice from somewhere, whispering quietly, in an imitation of the Germans in every single bad war-film you've ever seen...

"For you, my friend, zis season is now over".


I'm not for one minute saying that hockey is now dead and gone until September-there are Coventry Phoenix women's games for me to go and watch until mid-May (which I will)-junior games are still going on and there are my own poor efforts at playing in recreational games to sustain me throughout the summer. Hell, if all else fails, you can always sacrifice sleep and spend the shortening nights marvelling at the speed, passion and skill of the NHL playoffs. All of which sustain the need that those of us who are part of this strange society which only comes together in the darkening nights of autumn and parts in the lengthening days of spring-those who feel tingles down our spines at the sight of steam rising off a freshly-cut ice-rink, or the sound of skates scraping on that same ice.

But, with the closing of the "big-leagues" for summer, something has once again left our lives-the knowledge that every weekend will allow you to forget, for two hours or so, the pressures of modern life and spend a few hours in the company of those who understand why, despite the lack of organisation and God only knows how many problems the sport has, people feel the need to come back week after week to watch what is, essentially, a bunch of people you don't know chasing a little lump of rubber around the ice.

So, on this spring afternoon, let's say farewell, for another year, to the following...

Farewell to the sounds:
The "ka-crunch" of flesh hitting plexi.
The "smack-thump" of a shot from the point hitting a goalies pads.
The sound of composite on vulcanised rubber as another slapshot heads for the net.
The "ssssssssssccccccccchrrrrrrrrippp" of a blade as a player performs a parallel stop.
The gasp of the crowd at a great shot or wonderful save...
The primal roar as gloves drop...
The moment when you walk into the arena, and hear the yells of the programme sellers, the music, the sounds of warm-up and think "game time!"

Farewell to the sights:
Watching the speed and excitement of a breakaway-for either team as forwards play split-second chicken with goalies.
David Beauregard's wrister-stick darting forward like a cobra's head striking and flicking the puck into the roof of the net.
Tony Hand skating with the puck, head up and eyes scanning the ice like a hunting falcon for an open team-mate.
Russ Cowley's stride as he accelerates onto a pass.
The perfection of a hip-check. Seen very rarely this season (in fact once, by Alex Dunn on Adam Calder in a game at the Skydome) but savagely beautiful to watch.
Rysn Finnerty turning hard, hunched low over his skates and grimacing as if he knows he's right on the edge of control.
Brad Voth's snarl, like an angry Rottweiler.
Jeff Legue flying down the right wing like a racehorse, head out, legs back and pumping, and stick far out in front as if for balance.
The two-on-one break, as the crowd rises at the sight of a pair of forwards tearing up the middle like a pair of human drag racers, side by side.
The blur of a goalie's glove as he plucks a speeding missile an inch wide out of the air with less than a second's warning.
That moment before a big hit, watching a player crouched and shifting position minutely like a guided missile as he goes in.

Farewell to the smells:
Hot dogs, coffee, and possibly a slight undertone of hockey-kit and sweat if you have a very sensitive nose indeed...it's the aroma of hockey-season...

As people filtered out of the Skydome last night, I recognised the same slightly sickening feeling I get every April around this time-one that is no doubt shared by thousands of fellow hockey fanatics all round the country. Only now, after nine years of suffering the same, I've realised finally what it is...

It's the moment when we grieve for the death of the hockey season just gone...and it's a moment I dread as the playoff weekend gets nearer.

It's a moment that, in some form, lasts all summer.

But, as every season about this time, when the hockeyless days stretch endlessly into the distance and you're sat scouring the Internet desperately hoping for rumours of new signings and wondering how you're going to fill those long weekend evenings when the round of barbeques, drinks in beer gardens and maybe even a day or two on the beach get wearing, consider this...

Us hockey fanatics think we're doing well, accept that the season has ended, and then, one Sunday night in mid-July when the off-season has already run for what seems like forever and the new season seems far away, we'll look at the calendar, going on with our lives perfectly well but still, somewhere, grieving that we're not at the rink preparing for another hockey match and haven't been for a long while, and the thought will rise...

"hey-we're getting closer to hockey season!"


And at that point, as the days slowly begin to shorten again, the farewells which cause us that dull ache in April finally fade away...and the season begins anew...

I fully appreciate that this post may seem like a bit of a ramble and is somewhat out-of-step with the usual factual content of this blog, but for some reason it seemed important to document the end of a season in such a way...

Later on this week we'll be back to looking at rumours, new signings and all the news floating round the EIHL, but until then, keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Scenes From a Season, Part II

As mentioned yesterday, here come the other five teams...from Hull to Sheffield and everywhere in between....

HULL STINGRAYS
"you see, it's never bad enough
to just leave or give up
but, its never good enough to feel right"
Taking Back Sunday: "This Photograph is Proof (I Know You Know)"

Hull, once again, were a team harmed by a mix of horrifically negative coaching and bad luck when it came to personnel decisions. Rick Kozak, who was supposed to be Hull's big splash of a signing, came and went leaving nothing more than controversy behind him, enforcer Jonathan Bernier lasted a month and then bolted for a contract in the AHL, and Stuart Kerr spent most of the season in the stands with a recurrent injury. Stingrays fans became more and more open in showing their dislike of coach Rick Strachan and his negative, defence-first style of play on forums, and come Christmas it looked like an all-too-familiar story as Hull languished in the lower reaches of the league, saved from bottom only by a season in Basingstoke so bad, it could only have got worse due to a plague of locusts at the Silverdome.

However, post-Christmas, driven by the polished play of Steve Slonina, the scoring of Konstantin Kalmikov and Matt Reynolds, and the intensity of Jason Kostadine, the Stingrays slowly began to haul themselves back into playoff contention, and gave Edinburgh some sleepless nights before fizzling out towards the last two weekends of the season and finally hastening the departure of Strachan. With new coach Sylvain Cloutier promising to bring a very different type of hockey to Humberside, there is finally cause for optimism for the old hockey town on the edge of the North Sea next season...

Season Highlight: The play of Steve Slonina. Moved back to defence after originally being signed as a first-line centre, the native of Abington, Massachussetts turned heads with his ability to provide creativity from the blue, and was one of the brightest stars in Hull's season.

Player of the Season: Given that Slonina has already earned himselve the season highlight, this one goes to ex-Nottingham Panther Konstantin Kalmikov, who formed a partnership with Matt Reynolds that was always good for a goal or two...

Final Thought: With Rick Strachan finally nudged out of the picture, a new era begins on Humberside-if the Stingrays can keep Slonina, Reynolds and one or two others combined with Sylvain Cloutier's new approach, then maybe Hull hockey is finally coming out of its slump-there were a few promising signs this season-next season we'll see if-as Stingrays fans have claimed-the coaching, not the players, has been the problem over the past year or two.

MANCHESTER PHOENIX
"and if I had the chance
to do it all again
I wouldn't expect anything less"
New Found Glory: "Forget My Name"

What can you say about a team that gets to two cup finals, comes within touching distance of a trophy on two occasions despite playing with only one fit defenceman, and then loses both? A team that has the top scorer in the league by a continent, and wins eight of the twelve end-of-season awards,, including four to that same top scorer?
Well, you can salute them, or praise them to the skies. But, if you're a Manchester fan, or even if you're not, you'll also spend the summer wondering what might have been had the Phoenix not had to play eighteen games in the last month of the season, including two two-legged cup finals against Belfast...and had met Nottingham in the playoffs when not dead on their feet...

Season Highlight: Even though it all went wrong so soon afterward, the first 40 minutes of the Challenge Cup final first leg, where Manchester went 4-0 up against Belfast and the Altrincham Ice Dome rocked to its foundations must be the one...

Player of the Season: Easiest one on the board, if somewhat predictable. Had it not been for this guy, then the Phoenix would have had many, many candidates, not least among them wonder-goalie Stephen Murphy, the polished Kenton Smith or the scarily-good-when-he-wanted-to-be Luke Fulghum. But there really is one player who's far ahead of all of them, and the reason why can be summed up in four numbers. 69 games, 61 goals, 46 assists, 107 points. Step forward, David Beauregard.

Final Thought: Had they had a fixture-list that wasn't insanely congested in the last month of the season, how far could this team have gone?

NEWCASTLE VIPERS
"Well it's 4 AM and it seems to me
Tonight's not going down in history"
I Hate Kate: "Always Something"

I predicted before the start of the season that Newcastle could possibly be an outside bet for the league title if all fell well for them...

Well, how stupid did I feel come October?

The Vipers had a season that was instantly forgettable-even despite the efforts of Derek Campbell, Andre Payette and company to make Vipers games memorable...much like the Stingrays, their much-trumpeted import star (Tyler Willis) simply didn't turn up, their coach (Rob Wilson) was openly hated by a significant proportion of Vipers fans towards the end of the season, and the highlight of their season was being the width of JF Perras' backside and thirty seconds from reaching the playoff weekend. When you further add on that the face of the franchise in the North-East is either this or this, and both are reaching the twilight of their careers and having opposition fans openly laugh at them for various reasons (Longstaff slightly less so than Payette-it's more cosmetic reasons with the Vipers captain, although judging by his player page Payette at least is a superb "embassedtor" for the Vipers, whatever that is) then you can imagine that the 08/09 Vipers season DVD will probably not fly off the shelves...this team looks tired, Vipers hockey looks tired, and both need a revamp desperately...

Season Highlight: Seriously? Erm...OK...probably the play of the young North-East contingent: Ben Campbell and Dean Holland up front, Jamie Tinsley and Jez Lundin on defence and Richard Lawson in goal, all of whom have bright futures in British hockey and prove that the Whitley Bay production line is still bearing fruit...

Player of the Season: For giving hope to retired hockey snipers everywhere that they can still become a fan-favourite without doing much more than putting a few pucks in the net, the award goes to Ed Courtenay...

Final Thought: The Vipers need new blood-desperately. Another season like this and top-flight hockey in the North East may become simply unviable as people drift away...

NOTTINGHAM PANTHERS
"You see it should've been me
could've been me
Everybody knows
Everybody says so"
Reel Big Fish: "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"

Once again, Nottingham had all the pieces in place to win themselves a trophy or two. Once again, they end the season trophyless. Despite having arguably the best creative tandem in the league in Dan Tessier and Johan Molin, the agitating skills and drive of Bruce Richardson, one of the best group of snipers in Jade Galbraith, Brendan Cook and David Clarke, and a defenceman of real class on the ice in Corey Neilson, Neil Black's approach of "throw money at the problems of last season until we solve them" once again failed to bear fruit, losing out to that old chestnut of combining many individuals to function as one matchwinning team (Sheffield) being far more effective than trying to build a team from a group of matchwinning individuals...as we saw most notably when the two met in the playoff finals....

Season Highlight: Fittingly for a team who revelled in scoring individual points, it has to be the two occasions when they did so in spectacular fashion, responding to the ill-advised "Team Hollywood" taunts from Blaze coach Paul Thompson by taking Coventry well and truly apart at the Skydome on December 22nd in response, following it up by doing the same when the two met in the playoff semi. However, the lustre is lost when you realise that, for all the sound, fury and mockery, both Coventry and Nottingham ended the season with the same number of trophies...zero.

Player of the Season: Much as I'd have liked to pick my personal favourite Panther Molin, it has to go to Bruce Richardson-his worth to the Panthers can perhaps be measured most accurately by the fact that he's already been signed up for next season to universal joy from the NIC faithful...

Final Thought: Point-scoring is temporary. But come September, all people will remember is another trophyless season for Nottingham...

SHEFFIELD STEELERS
"I'll be coming home next year
Everything's alright up here
When I come down
I'll be coming home next year"
Foo Fighters: "Next Year"

The Steelers can go into the summer well satisfied after a season which no-one, not even the most rabid Yorkshire pessimist, could complain about. From day one, Dave Matsos' team simply played their game, ignored any attempts to destabilize the dressing-room harmony that you only get from a team who'd been together for several seasons, and did what they came to be known as doing best-winning hockey game after hockey game. After the rocky patch of the early-season ructions between themselves and Cardiff lost them many friends outside South Yorkshire, they could have come out with a chip on their shoulder and lost composure-but they didn't, turning the Hallam Arena into a fortress and strode shoulder-to-shoulder towards a league title which looked almost inevitable from late-January. Built on the foundation of a goalie and defence which made this little construction look easier to get through, along with a bunch of forwards who spread the scoring evenly throughout themselves, Sheffield were arguably the most complete EIHL team since the all-conquering Coventry team of 04/05...and thus sit deservedly on top of the British hockey pile once again...

Season Highlight: Well they're league and playoff champions...so that should do nicely. However, beating Nottingham in their own rink to win the playoffs (and doing so in possibly the most one-sided 2-0 win in history) probably puts the playoff win slightly higher in terms of an individual highlight for many Steelers fans...

Player of the Season: It could be the goaltending heroics of Jody Lehman, it could be the offensive skills from the blue-line of Rod Sarich, the sniping of Joey Talbot or the defensive efforts of Steve Munn that win this, but one player on the Steelers roster has come to embody their mix of hard-nosed play, intensity and skill, as well as becoming the heart and soul of the Steelers franchise. Born in Lethbridge, Alberta but an adopted son of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, it's the player everyone in the league wishes was on their roster however much they may hate him...number ten, Ryan Finnerty.

Final Thought: Proof that sometimes, good things come to those who wait...the 2008/09 Sheffield Steelers.

There you go, then...that's your 2008/09 EIHL season done and dusted. It's all over, folks...

Tomorrow, we'll turn our attention to the international game, as we look at GB's exploits in Torun-before the Breakaway goes onto its summer schedule of one, maybe two postings a week about the Stanley Cup playoffs and all things rumour related... but I shall conclude the review with this thought...

As hockey fans everywhere drift through the long, lazy dog-days of spring and summer, with only feverish speculation on Internet forums on signings old and new and late-nights spent watching the Stanley Cup to sustain them, then, for many, the thirty seconds at the beginning of this clip sums up the summer thoughts for British hockey fans to perfection...

Enjoy your off-season, people...and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Scenes from a Season, Part I...

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
"Macbeth"

And so, as the last echo of stick on puck or rattle of plexi fades away into the rafters of arenas across the country, the vapour trails of flights carrying your favourite imports home criss-cross the spring skies, and the hockey shirts go back into the wardrobe in anticipation of the long, burning-bright-blue days of summer, another season fades away to nothing more than a collection of memories.

Which, of course, means it's time for the Breakaway team-by-team review of the season. You know the form by now-five teams today, five teams tomorrow...off we go. And, be warned, a few of the song lyrics have a rude word or two in them...

BASINGSTOKE BISON
"Mayday, Mayday, the captain's lost control again
The f-ing ship is breaking up
We're going down in flames"
Gallows: "Abandon Ship"

Poor Basingstoke. Another season which promised moving on from the troubles of the season before, another season that started with hope anew in Hampshire, but unlike the exploits of the Terrific Ten last season, this season was dead by December as players left one by one, the ones that remained seemed less and less happy and every game saw the Bison comprehensively beaten, with rumours circulating that this would be the team's last season in the Elite League long before it was finally announced the day after their season ended without even a sniff of a playoff place to show for it. In my preseason previw I predicted they could finish anywhere from fourth to tenth depending on how their roster meshed...unfortunately for Bison, the second part of that prediction came true.

Season Highlight: It's hard to find one-but in a nightmarish season for hockey fans in Hampshire, there's one game that stands out high above any other...

Kevin Reiter vs Coventry Blaze, 16.11.08. 66 shots, 65 saves.

Player of the Season: Anyone who stayed with the Bison all season, given all the problems they faced, is in line for this award. However, the winner is Bison captain-Brent Hughes, simply for never, ever quitting on his team...

Final Thought: The Bison leave the EIHL not with a bang, but with the quietest of whimpers...

BELFAST GIANTS
"We fool ourselves in believing anything, anything at all
But this night is ours..."
Ten Second Epic: "Well, That's The Thing..."

The Giants were a team who always promised that they were about to make a run at the league title and never really did, despite being loaded with offensive talent, with the likes of Paul Deniset, Evan Cheverie, Andrew Martin and Bobby Robins all legitimately claiming to be among the best forwards in the league. They were a team who were built perfectly for winning trophies, as I mentioned pre-season-however, once again, the league title eluded them thanks to a mix of lack of consistency and other teams (notably Sheffield) being just that little bit better than them...Both cup competitions ended up across the Irish sea, however, so Steve Thornton, George Awada and co must have been doing something right...at least when it came down to individual nights. With a bit more consistency, though, we could have been talking about the Giants as league champions...

Season Highlights: This one's easy-either cup win. Although the Challenge Cup win just takes it for the way the Giants came back from 4-0 down in the first leg in Manchester in order to leave themselves in with a chance of winning...

Player of the Season: Again, this one's easy. Down purely to the fact that he seemed to score whichever linemate or whichever d-pairing was put on to combat him, as well as becoming arguably the most dangerous sniper in the league behind David Beauregard, the award goes to Winnipeg's finest, Paul Deniset

Final Thought: A bit more consistency, and we could have been talking about this Giants team as proof that you don't necessarily need a tight defence to win everything in British hockey...

CARDIFF DEVILS:
"Everybody thinks that
I’ve done something wrong
I’ll make my own way home"
Fandangle: "Pornstars (Aren't For Everyone)"

Cardiff are fast becoming the "nearly team" of the EIHL era, and to some degree appear quite settled in their role as such-beating Belfast in the playoff quarterfinals, pushing Sheffield all the way in the playoff semis, and consistently pulling out performances that makes people think "wait a second, this team are far more dangerous than they look". With an ambitious new owner in Matt Burge, the Devils have gone through this season leaping from bright-spot to shadow to bright-spot to shadow, laying the foundations off the ice, through clever marketing and slow growth in the crowds at the Bay, of a revival which will bring back the glory days of the late 90's in South Wales.
But despite this, dominating the thoughts of anyone who looks at the Devils 08/09 season is, once again, the fact they came close and ultimately fizzled out come playoff time after a decent league season-a familiar pattern which means that the fruits of Burge's tireless work are still, perhaps, a season or two away.
But does anyone in Cardiff care? Not really...because the Devils fans are an educated bunch, and more than any other fanbase in the league, they know the beginnings of a good thing when they see it...

Season Highlight: What do you pick from a season with no cup finals, no trophies and a so-close-but-so-far ending? Perhaps, regrettable though it was at the time, you choose the moment for which this Cardiff Devils season will be remembered...their long-running rivalry with Sheffield...

Final Thought: This season, as with so many, the Devils were the nearly men...but their time is coming closer...

COVENTRY BLAZE
"There is an art, to falling apart
Just follow steps 1 through 10 and you're done"
Kittie: "Everything That Could Have Been"

The Blaze finished second in the league, but this was not a season to remember for many in Coventry, especially in a town used to success. A team which seemed to be lacking the assurance which had become a trademark of Paul Thompson teams, despite a fine showing in the Continental Cup, and question-marks over the performances of much-trumpeted new signings Scott Kelman and Corey Leclair (both players were released by early January) meant that the Skydome was not the confident place it has been for several years-and PR disasters such as the "Team Hollywood" fiasco with Nottingham meant that somehow, the team from the West Midlands just wasn't anywhere near the standard their fans have come to know and expect-work-rate was patchy with only Danny Stewart, Carlyle Lewis, Barrie Moore and Dan Carlson turning up night after night and shift after shift-with predictable reactions from the fanbase. A growing dissatisfaction with the noticeable shift in priorities from a "family club" atmosphere to one of commercial exploitation also began to alienate many longer-term supporters. Thompson himself has admitted that the second-place finish was possibly far higher than the Blaze deserved, owing more to the failiures of other teams than the assets of Coventry, and promised that there will be major changes ahead...but it will be an interesting off-season in Warwickshire...

Season Highlight: Sorry, Phoenix fans...it's this game. Scoring once while the goalie is pulled is impressive. Twice is borderline miraculous. Winning the game in OT-well, that's just the icing on the cake...

Player of the Season: Loved by some for his intelligent play on and quiet, dry humour off the ice, reviled by others for his restrained enforcing style on it, Carlyle Lewis polarised opinion like few other players on the Blaze roster. However, following Kipling's advice in "keeping his head while many around him were losing theirs" as well as chipping in valuable points and being able to calm the yapping of other teams dogs of war, Ryan Finnerty and Bruce Richardson among them, with a trademark cold-eyed stare across the benches and a humourless smile, "Lewie" was one of the most valuable players on the Blaze roster-sometimes, it's the quietest deeds which speak the loudest in people's memories...

Final Thought: This season, the Blaze proved that there are lies, damned lies, and, occasionally, statistics...if your coach is saying you didn't deserve to finish where you did, then there are some problems.

EDINBURGH CAPITALS
"I’ll start this broken heart
I’ll fix it up so it will work again
Better than before"
Motion City Soundtrack: "Broken Heart"

The Capitals were once again a team who improved by inches this season, overcoming import problems, a revolving door of players who joined and then decided against their decision, and the horrific early-season form of Michel Robinson in net to make the playoffs once again, before being steam-rollered by the unstoppable machine that was Sheffield. For many teams this would be seen as a bad season, but Doug Christiansen and Scott Neil can look back on this season with a quiet sense of satisfaction-like Cardiff, they are slowly building back towards the top in Edinburgh and every so often, there are signs it's working.

Season Highlight: Making the playoffs, again. Yes, it's not as obvious or glamorous as some of the other teams, but the very fact that the Caps are now considered a genuine playoff team by many is progress from the previous few seasons...

Player of the Season: Pasi Raitanen runs him very, very close indeed, but you really can't look past Mark Hurtubise-not only one of the best players on the Capitals but one of the best in the league...surely due for higher things next season unless the Caps management can convince him that he'll have more support than just linemate Martin Cingel...

Final Thought: An ancient Chinese proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step...the Caps have taken that step over the past two seasons-and now the hard work starts.

That's your first five teams reviewed...check back tomorrow for the other five.

By the way, I am aware of continuing events in Poland-I intend to look at the GB team and their exploits or otherwise in Torun later on this week...

Bank Holiday Double Overtime...

A few quick reflections on EPL weekend on this Bank Holiday-apologies for the lateness of the post but-well, Bank Holidays are a time for taking it easy. :)

The EIHL season review will be up tomorrow evening...

The "best league in British hockey"? Hm...: For all those (well, they are a minority, but a loud and annoying one) EPL fans on THF claiming that this is a far superior league to the EIHL...

No, it isn't.

For a start, the combined might of EPL fandom couldn't fill the Coventry Skydome, while the EIHL filled the far bigger NIC over two days...and before we get the "most of those were Sheffield and Nottingham" argument-a third of the blocks in Coventry were taken up by MK and Peterborough fans...

That's not to say the games weren't enjoyable-the Guildford-MK Lightning semi in particular was full of controversy, passion and noise from the crowd-mainly due to the quite frankly insane Lightning fans, who travelled in large numbers and weren't exactly shy in announcing their presence. However, given the choice between seeing that every week and seeing EIHL...I'm going to take the Elite League every time...right up until the point where the EPL becomes the most sustainable option for British hockey as a whole.

The Loneliness of the Volunteer Goal-Judge: With apologies for referencing a classic of English literature in a hockey blog, I had to write a little about being roped in as a goal-judge (with no experience) this weekend, given that Guildford "scored" to win their semi-final at my end with thirty seconds or so to go. People wonder how hard it is to flick a light on when the puck hits the net, but following a little rubber disc zipping around between players and with bodies constantly shifting around in front of you is bloody hard work concentration wise-particularly when you have about half a second to decide whether a puck has hit the crossbar or the roof of the net. For the record, I thought Vaclav Zavoral's point-blank shot was into the roof of the net and back down...and was somewhat surprised when it was washed out without even a thought of asking why the light had gone on...but that's referees for you...

"Invicta"-somewhat appropriate, really: The team from Kent, proudly carrying the Latin for "unbeaten" as their team name, and their opponents from Sheffield took part in the game of the weekend in the ENL cup final...outshining their more illustrious competition with a superb 4-4 draw and game settled only on penalty shots...

Frankie says-the best team won: For the whole weekend the MK fans were running on some sort of 80's theme, with many slightly-more-home-made versions of this iconic t-shirt (with "Relax" replaced by "Go Lightning") floating around...but their colour and quite-frankly-horrific silver playoff shirts lost to the far more polished and reserved Phantoms, who left their talking to be done on the ice, and in Latvian international Maris Ziedins had by far the most impressive player of the weekend as they completed the EPL triple...

I know it's a little short, but that's your brief reflections on the EPL weekend...check back tomorrow for the first part of the all-new, all-improved-from-last-season EIHL season review (taking in Basingstoke, Belfast, Cardiff, Coventry and Edinburgh, with the other five teams to follow on Wednesday as we work through the EIHL season, best players, best moments and all in a week). For an idea of what to expect, here's a look back at the 07/08 season review... this season will be bigger, better and more comprehensive...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

EPL Round the Rinks: Finals Preview

"It's all or nothing now,
And I'm doing my best
To make it all fall
Right into place."
Sarah's Redemption: "All or Nothing"

It's time for the EPL to get its season in the sun now, as the second top division of British ice hockey (or first, depending on which side of the fence you're on) converges on Coventry for its own season-ending jamboree. Naturally, the Breakaway will be there watching, although Twitter updates may be difficult as, in their infinite wisdom, someone's decided to ask me to be a goal judge. However, given that I'm likely not to be the only EIHL fan travelling for a hockey fix, and many EPL fans also have a read of this blog, let's have a look at the four teams vying for playoff glory in the Midlands this weekend...

PETERBOROUGH PHANTOMS

The team from the east of England are this year's EPL league champions, and come into the weekend as slight favourites, much in the same way that Sheffield did for the EIHL tournament. Generally agreed to be more than worthy of their title by EPL fans, the Phantoms contain the skills of Brent Gough, the Eastern European flair of Latvian international Maris Ziedins, and a resolute core of young British talent, forward Craig Peacock being the standout among them.

Key player: #16, Nathan Rempel: Familiar to EIHL and ex-BNL fans alike from his stints at Cardiff, London and Bracknell, the Canadian centre is among, if not the best player in the EPL, bar none, and is a key component to the Phantoms both for his goalscoring and willingness to get stuck in...

GUILDFORD FLAMES

It wouldn't be an EPL finals without the Surrey club. Second behind Peterborough in the league this season, the Flames are one of the longest-running clubs in the EPL, and contain two of the top British defencemen of the past ten years in player-coach Paul Dixon and Neil Liddiard, along with one of their potential successors in Stevie Lee, who they poached from Hull last season. In the forward ranks, Lukas Smital, who is a legend just down the road in Bracknell, resident head-case Vaclav Zavoral and young Swiss-British star Ollie Bronnimann provide a distinctly European flavour of skill to the imports, alongside club stalwarts Nick Cross and Rob Lamey. In Joe Watkins in net they have arguably the best netminder outside the EIHL, also...

Key player: #76, Taras Foremsky: The Canadian was poached from Peterborough halfway through last season and is one of the top forwards in the EPL, capable of both scoring goals himself and setting them up for his linemates. He's not played every game this season due to the Flames having five imports on their roster and only being able to ice four on a given game-night, but has still managed to be the Flames' top scorer this season with thirty-three goals, two ahead of Smital...

SLOUGH JETS

The team from the Hangar, led by the ageless British hockey legend that is Steve Moria, still scoring 46+42 in the league season at the age of forty-nine (!), and backed up by the finishing of Joe Ciccarello and the grit and leadership of captain Nicky Chinn, enter this weekend as one of the outsiders for the title, composed of a mixture of experience and youth which has served them well throughout the past few seasons. With ex-Nottingham Panther Blaz Emersic also on the roster, along with highly-regarded defencemen Paddy Ward and Kevin Phillips (brother of Belfast's David), the Jets are a workmanlike team who are perhaps a decent outside bet but will have trouble against the steamroller that is Peterborough this season...

Key Player: #27, Nicky Chinn: The Welshman is well known around British hockey for being the most effective agitator/enforcer/power-forwards ever produced by the UK, and even at the age of thirty-seven (a relative spring chicken compared to his player-coach Moria), he's still a highly effective EPL player...if he can get into the heads of the Phantoms defence, then the offensive opportunities may just open up as the Phantoms lose a little of their polish in frustration...

MILTON KEYNES LIGHTNING

One of the most successful teams when travelling to Coventry, winning twice in as many years and beating Peterborough both times, the Lightning have gone from strength to strength since forming out of the wreckage left when the Kings moved to Solihull back in the BNL days. This season they have the talents of ex-Phantom James Archer and a whole host of other young or young-ish British players who have spent time at the highest level of British hockey, among them Michael Wales, Adam Radmall and Lewis Christie. Player-coach Nick Poole is an MK legend after spending many years with the Kings and Lightning and one more against them in the shirt of bitter rivals Peterborough, while Gary Clarke is on his way to similar status after consistently outscoring the other British players in the EPL by a long way. As for imports-Andre Smulter is Clarke's foil on the top line, and has had a career season of 40+ goals to show for it, while Lukas Zatopek, Joakim Wiklander and Ales Parez take the other forward slots, although Parez is injured at the moment...

Key Player: #14, Gary Clarke:It has to be arguably the best British player not playing in the EIHL. Clarke can win games by himself and needs to be the first player opposition teams focus on when they're looking to shut down the Lightning danger-men...

That's your four teams...the semi fixtures are thus:

Peterborough v Slough
Guildford v MKL

Not having seen a huge amount of EPL hockey this year, I wouldn't like to make a prediction, but given that it's expected...Peterborough/Guildford final after two close semis, and the Flames to nick it. Just...

That's your EPL finals previewed...

Thursday Thoughts...

"I'm not sure, starting over
It's a different situation
A different situation..."
Tegan and Sara: "Burn Your Life Down"

The EIHL season is now officially over, although there is still a fair bit of hockey to play in Britain with the EPL, ENL and women's leagues still running until the end of April, and in the case of the women, early May. However, this is the time of year when players begin to move around, we say goodbye to the first departures from the EIHL and begin to look back on the season just gone. Tomorrow, we shall focus on all things EPL (a league which I'm conscious I probably don't write enough about) as we preview the final weekend taking place just down the road from me in the Coventry Skydome, and early next week will see the final post-mortem of the EIHL season as we consider the efforts of each team individually, but today's post is all about the first movements in the EIHL...

Jody Lehman to Aalborg: Ouch. The first move of the off-season is a big one, as the league loses its best goalie to the Danish league. With Sheffield rumoured to have lost out on Andrew Verner to Europe, and Lehman also supposedly turning down a "blank cheque" offer to return to Coventry, the EIHL champions have big skates to fill already...

Bruce Richardson returns to Nottingham for another season: Damn, damn, damn. Much as opposition fans may despise the chippy centre, few can argue he was the Panthers' version of Ryan Finnerty this season-an agitator par excellence who reminded me of no-one so much as Sylvain Cloutier with his drive, will to win and ability to grab his team by the scruff of the neck and drag it along with him...the Panthers have re-signed the heartbeat of their team to start the off-season...

Sylvain Cloutier becomes Hull player/coach: Stingrays fans, you really won't realise just what a gem you've got there until you see him play in your team's shirt for the first time. Cloutier is arguably one of the best players, of any team, in the EIHL era-he will simply not allow his team to lose, or slack off, while there is still a chance to gain two points-and if this means him throwing his body where very few people will ever throw a stick, and getting himself injured doing so, then so be it. The Stingrays have a hell of a start to their off-season, right there...

And now to the first rumours...

Peter Hirsch to Coventry: Supposedly this was going to happen in January, but with the off-season now looming and Jody Lehman having gone to Hirsch's team Aalborg, this rumour just won't go away...

Dylan Gyori to Cardiff: That's their first line centre sorted if true...

Sebastien Thinel to Coventry: A goalscoring winger? Yes please. Particularly if he brings his twin brother Marc-Andre with him...

Greg Chambers to Coventry: Supposedly already a done deal...

Mark Hurtubise to Manchester: Hurtubise and Beauregard on the same line, leaving Tony Hand spare for a second line pairing? Is it just me who thinks that any non-Manchester fan is going to be seriously worried at that prospect?

Johan Molin to Coventry: I appreciate that this section is very Blaze-centric, but obviously hanging around the Skydome, these are the ones I'm most likely to here. As a replacement for Sylvain Deschatelets, the little Swede will do very, very nicely indeed.

Ryan Finnerty to Nottingham: Wishful thinking from a Panthers fan, I think...:)

There you go-that's the rumours for now...check back tomorrow for a preview of the EPL finals, and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek International Musings...

We fly a flag in some foreign earth
We sailed away like our fathers before
These colours don't run..."
Iron Maiden: "These Colours Don't Run"

I appreciate that this is a little late, but with all the Elite League issues over the past few days, they've obviously taken precedence over any other news, for example the announcement of the final GB squad and their two games against Finland U23's before their trip to Poland for the World Championships. Last night in Ice Sheffield, the British team went down 6-2 to the Finns in their first warm-up game, and now face them again this evening at the Coventry Skydome, a game which you can follow live on the Breakaway's Twitter feed from 7:30 pm or so...please do me a favour and let me know what you think of it either via a comment on here or by email...

Just in case you're not aware of the GB squad, here it is, direct from the EIHL site:

Netminders

Jody Lehman (Sheffield Steelers)

Stevie Lyle (Belfast Giants)

Defencemen

Shane Johnson (Belfast Giants)

Danny Meyers (Nottingham Panthers)

Ben O’Connor (Coventry Blaze)

David Phillips (Belfast Giants)

Mark Thomas (Sheffield Steelers)

Forwards

Greg Chambers (Basingstoke Bison)

David Clarke (Nottingham Panthers)

Russell Cowley (Coventry Blaze)

Robert Dowd (Sheffield Steelers)

Jason Hewitt (Sheffield Steelers)

David Longstaff (Newcastle Vipers) – Assistant Captain

Matt Myers (Nottingham Panthers)

Greg Owen (Briancon Diables Rouge)

Phil Hill (Cardiff Devils)

Colin Shields (Belfast Giants)

Ashley Tait (Sheffield Steelers) – Assistant Captain

Tom Watkins (Coventry Blaze)

So far, so similar...Phil Hill has replaced original pick Jonathan Phillips due to injury, and Mark Thomas has returned to the international squad...which in my eyes is a return that should perhaps have happened a year or so earlier as a replacement for Leigh Jamieson, but that's probably why I'm just a fan and not the GB coach...Shane Johnson, Greg Chambers and Jody Lehman are the only dual-nationals in the squad, with Lehman expected to be the starter, and Stephen Murphy and Stevie Lyle fighting it out for the backup slot, with Lyle slightly ahead at the moment...

That's the GB team disposed of fairly quickly...let's look at the opponents...

NETHERLANDS:
The Dutch are one of the weaker teams in the group, with players based mainly domestically (goalie Phil Groeneveld and forward Jamie Schaafsma play in Italy, and defenceman Chad Euverman plays in France). They also have players ranging from eighteen to thirty-five, and a name that may be familiar to longer-term British hockey fans in forward Doug Stienstra, who played for Bracknell Bees in the 2001/02 ISL season. However, the Dutch are not seriously considered to be among the medal threats-and usually sit just above the relegation zone...

UKRAINE
The team from the far east of Europe are, along with Poland, possibly the most unknown quantity in the group. There is one name which may be familiar to British hockey fans...Vyacheslav Timchenko played one season for Hull Stingrays in 2003/04-however, the team now play exclusive in the Russian or Ukrainian leagues. They're the team with the oldest average age in the tournament-the youngest player is 25-year-old Andri Mikhnov. The Ukrainians are arguably one of the stronger teams in the group, as well as GB's first opponents on Friday...

POLAND/ROMANIA
We'll take the two Eastern European teams together. The Poles will be familiar opponents to this GB team, having beaten them on penalty shots last time the two met in Olympic qualifying, while the Romanians are one of the lower teams in the group, and will simply be hoping for a medal. The Poles, along with GB, Italy and Ukraine, will all fancy their chances of gold and will be the ones fighting for top spot-a result against them is going to be tricky to get, particularly with the Eastern European home advantage, but is crucial if GB are to progress...

ITALY
The Italians are perhaps the team the British players will find most familiar, particularly the Blaze contingent as they face six of the Bolzano squad who narrowly beat them in the Continental cup-speedy little American-Italian centre Jonathan Pittis being perhaps the most dangerous. I've also seen forward Mike Souza play when he spent a brief period in the DEL with Cologne a few seasons ago-and he will be one that the GB defence need to keep an eye on...
However, even if you're not a Blaze fan, the Italian squad still contains several names that should be easily recognisable to those who've followed British hockey for more than a season or two:, ex-Dundee Star Cristiano Borgatello, ex-Blaze and Newcastle Vipers forward Steve Gallace, and ex-Cardiff Devils forward John Parco are all in the squad for the games in Torun, as well as Trevor Johnson, who I believed was the same one who played for Belfast but, I am informed by Mattski, is not, hence this post being slightly changed. They also contain the tallest player in the tournament in 6'8, 203lb Bolzano captain Roland Ramoser. The Italians, having already played at the Olympics in Turin, rival Ukraine as the strongest team at the tournament, and will certainly be one of, if not the toughest opponent GB will face this week.

There you go-that's all the info on GB's trip to Poland you'll need...if you're not coming to Coventry this evening, don't forget the Twitter update feed, and keep keeping your eye on the puck.

Tuesday Thoughts: Decision Time...

"you live in an incestuous world
where your conscience holds no weight
you sold us down the river like rats..."
The Enemy: "You're Not Alone"

Or, alternatively...given that I was torn between a positive and negative opening to this post (Hull should perhaps take note of the title of the Gallows song, though, given their connections with Nottingham):

"The crowd go wild
And they signal applause
Well done for getting this far"
Gallows: "Just Because You Sleep Next To Me, Doesn't Mean You're Safe"

Well, the decision has been made. After all the thunder and lightning, sound and fury and arguments of the playoffs, the Elite League will stay pretty much as-you-were for next season. Rather than run through all the changes (well, all three of them) let's simply take the official Elite League press release, which can be found here, paragraph by paragraph...

Following pro-active negotiations at a meeting of the nine clubs on Monday, the Elite League are delighted to announce that a new format involving all the clubs has been reached.

So far, so PR fluff. Although whether "proactive" is Elite League-speak for "the majority tell the minority to fall in line or fall apart" or actually means that Phoenix, Vipers and Capitals were actively involved in the discussions, we'll likely never know-just as we'll never know whether Scott Neil's public statement that he would not be funding Elite League hockey in 2009/10 was genuine or just a very brave bluff indeed...

Chairman Eamon Convery confirmed, “we’ve just enjoyed a memorable Playoff Finals weekend, bringing the curtain down on the 2008-09 season and following today’s meeting all the clubs are looking forward to the 2009-10 campaign.”


The clubs may be, but whether or not their fans are so sure, given that the last season of the ISL began with similar positive noises after off-season rumours of trouble, remains to be seen. Certainly it seems very strange that such shrewd and switched-on businessmen as Neil Morris and Scott Neil can go from open rebellion to looking forward to carrying on based on one meeting-they may be continuing in the EIHL but this smacks of the EIHL quelling fan's fears to me rather than the absolute truth...

“Representatives of the Edinburgh Capitals, Manchester Phoenix and Newcastle Vipers joined with their counterparts from the Belfast Giants, Cardiff Devils, Coventry Blaze, Hull Stingrays, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers and it’s my pleasure to advise that all are committed to the future of the Elite League.”

Interesting that the "little three" are given prominence in mentioning that all the clubs were at the meeting...surely there'd be no need to do this if, as we're told, all teams are invited and able to attend all meetings?

“The weekend was a spectacular success with both days sold out and it’s that level of success that these clubs and their officials have worked hard for since the inception of the league and wish to continue to build and improve upon. When we see so many supporters from all the clubs from across the country intermingling and everyone having a great time, it’s a massive endorsement of the product we’re promoting and keen to improve upon wherever possible.”

It's a "spectacular success" in ticket sales and the "festival of hockey" aspect off the ice...but there could be so much more done both to endorse it AND promote the sport. On more than one occasion throughout the weekend there were cries of "why don't the Elite League actually try and make something of this event to those outside the sport, or even at least make it feel like more than just three games of hockey that a lot of people happen to have turned up for?" Even if someone on the roof of the NIC had taken some footage of the hockey-shirted multitudes from all over the country gathered in Bolero Square, it could be used to show just how much of a following hockey has...the number of times people in Nottingham asked me what all these people were doing here and why it seemed to be the same every April was staggering...surely a few banners or billboards up in Nottingham City Centre for the week before the playoffs can't cost that much given that the EIHL must be raking it in from the weekend...

“To that effect, the Elite League in 2009-10 will operate with some revisions to the previous formats.

Hello...this could be interesting...

The clubs have agreed to a new maximum of ten import (ITC) players per roster on any given game night.

Per game-night roster? So that presumably means that, if you wished, you could have another ten sitting in the stands waiting for the next game?

Oh, and another thing...where's mention of the wage-cap? Let's see if we get that further on in the article...

The regular League season will see all teams meet each other three times home and away for a 48-game season.

Interesting...three home and three away doesn't seem too bad. Still no mention of a wage-cap, though...

The Knockout Cup as we know it will cease

Only two seasons too late...but nice to see that the EIHL top brass have finally realised that NO-ONE CARES ABOUT THE KO CUP, given that it was generally accepted as a filler to keep the league going after London died a few seasons ago...

but a new revised Challenge Cup will be unveiled and work on the full format of the competition, leading to a one-game, neutral venue final has begun already.”

Interesting...although perhaps they should bear in mind that "revised" doesn't mean "change the groups around a bit so everyone only plays each other once instead of three times". More like "all the early-season games count only to the CC, rather than just trying to fit two group competitions into the beginning of a league season so no-one's quite sure what rules we're playing under or where the points are going from night to night"...

“ The Elite League is also keen to introduce a new early-season tournament weekend and again, work on an exciting new three-day festival has already begun. And then of course, the culmination of the season will be the post-season playoffs and the goal of every club to get through to the Playoff Finals weekend.”

So...two playoff-weekend style events? In a credit crunch? With the prices of the first one already borderline silly? Hm...I'll reserve judgement on this one. The idea is good, but many a promising idea has been well and truly messed up by poor execution...Of course, if you revive the "Autumn Cup" to replace the KO Cup and have the Challenge Cup as a straight knock-out competition (with weekends dedicated to it FA Cup style from January onwards) then that would make a lot of sense...you'd need to get EPL clubs involved for it to work like that, though...Forget equalising the games with import levels etc, though-after all, the FA Cup doesn't try and give the big teams drop to the level of the smaller teams, which gives giant-killing its lustre when it happens...

“We will confirm exact details of the revised Challenge Cup format and the early-season tournament as soon as possible. Everyone left the meeting in a positive frame of mind and determined to continue to work toward a bright and exciting future.”

PR fluff again...Oh, and in case you're keeping score, still no mention of the wage cap...


“The Elite League has a tremendous product and I am of the firm belief that the agreements reached today and the revised competition formats will energise the supporters for another spectacular season of top-flight ice hockey.”

...and still no wage-cap. According to the Steelers forum, it will remain the same...which presumably means that the complete lack of enforcement will also remain the same, given that Belfast were widely accepted as being £4000 a week over it this year...and Nottingham and Sheffield were also mentioned by several league owners as being so, with figures of £3000 and £1500 excess quoted by several sources...

After all the claims and counter-claims, it seems that the more powerful teams, by dint of either numbers or a bit of networking behind the scenes, have got their way, presenting it as a great compromise because they've not tried to forge ahead selfishly and leave several other clubs for dead.

I hope that all this means that all teams survive and the EIHL continues beyond next season, but I can't shake the nagging feeling that, in refusing to adapt to a world where there is less money floating around ice-hockey than there was in the ISL era, and trying as hard as they can to keep their vision of hockey intact, the bigger clubs have once again failed to take into account the gap between the haves and have-nots in the EIHL...and thus there is no guarantee we'll not be back here again next season. Certainly, the "bright future" alluded to in the PR seems more to be the muted glow of a twilight sun at best, rather than the searing brightness of mid-day that they'd have us believe...

And as everyone knows, at twilight, the darkness of the lights going out is never far away...

Tomorrow, we'll consider the GB team as they prepare for their trip to Poland...tomorrow evening will also see live Twitter updates on their game in Coventry against Finland under-23's on the Breakaway's feed at www.twitter.com/breakawayblog...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Playoff Weekend Double Overtime...

"Call out the instigator,
Because there's something in the air
We've got to get together sooner or later
Because the revolution's here"
Thunderclap Newman: ""Something in the Air"

If you've been following the Twitter feed (and have been able to make sense of it, given that I was working out how to use it best throughout Saturday and Sunday and over-ran on several occasions at least) you'll know that the events on the ice saw Sheffield and Nottingham (the Steelers 5-2 over a Cardiff who fought like...well, devils from puck-drop to final buzzer and the Panthers 6-2 over a Blaze team who quite simply seemed disinterested after a bad start saw them go 3-0 down quickly...from then on it just got worse with only brief moments of hope from Danny Stewart and Barrie Moore goals at 3-1 and 4-2 to brighten a dire day for those in blue and white) triumph and give the EIHL top brass their dream playoff final-which was duly won by Sheffield thanks to goals from Ryan Finnerty and Steve Munn. Off the ice, meanwhile, the Breakaway (well, me) had a highly enjoyable playoff weekend, spending much of it with Becky and Matt from Five Minute Major, as well as also meeting up with Mark from the Angry Budgie for a hockey chinwag...For a flavour of the kind of conversations you overheard at PO weekend, have a gander at their excellent "Overheard at the Playoffs"...A few (very) quick thoughts on the on-ice action...:

Blaze? There was barely a flicker...: In contrast to the first semi-final, which was fought out tooth-and-nail by two committed Steelers and Devils teams, the second semi saw possibly one of the most one-sided games in EIHL playoff history, as Nottingham cruised through against a Coventry team which seemed to be already on their summer holidays-in mind if not in body. However, there were a few exceptions...Danny Stewart and Barrie Moore being perhaps the most notable.

Playing skill? Undoubted. Morals? Hmm...: Ryan Finnerty...taunting a goalie you've just scored on followed by dropping a knee onto a player who's down after you've hit him cleanly? Not good, mate. Really not good. However, moral dubiousness aside, the Steelers number 10 was arguably the stand-out player of the weekend for me...

That's what happened on the ice-now to off it-the events here threatened to make the games themselves something of a sideshow...:

For someone who's supposedly secure, they can't take criticism very well: On Saturday, I ended up sat over next to the Newcastle fans, just in time to watch (and join in) with their "six team league, you're having a laugh" chant, which became the running theme of the weekend for many. It was interesting to note that Dave Simms, up above the Vipers fans doing commentary for Radio Sheffield and BBC Cov and Warks, looked decidedly uncomfortable at both the length and volume of the Vipers' protest...

If even the stewards are on their side, then you've got problems, EIHL: Interestingly, a few minutes into the fifteen minutes of constant chanting, a few NIC stewards came up to the block and stood watching...when asked what they were doing there they informed the Vipers that a complaint had been made (from someone in the boxes above) that there was a loud and abusive song being sung. After standing there for a minute or two they further informed the Vipers that all was perfectly well as far as they were concerned...

The rot is setting in for the "big four" also: The Phoenix fan who originally posted the news that a six-team league was in the pipeline also mentioned to many (in a conversation that quickly spread around the arena thanks to the Phoenix fans telling as many people as they could) that he had been contacted by the GM of one of the top-four clubs (Belfast and Nottingham depending on who you heard the rumour from) pleading with him to stop asking questions as the resultant uncertainty and fans' reaction had already cost his club several thousand pounds in season-ticket revenue for next season as fans waited to renew their season tickets, if they didn't say straight out "no thanks"...with fans I spoke to from Coventry, Hull, Belfast and Sheffield all saying that the season-ticket renewal forms would remain un-filled until there was certainty, and definitely so if the league dropped to six, it appears that people are already voting with their wallets.

Not that I'm saying anything, but...: it was also noticeable that the music volume went up late in the Panthers/Blaze semi, round about the time the protest was going on..given that at the time you had Vipers, Panthers, Phoenix, Devils, Bison, Blaze, Capitals AND Giants blocks all joing in (fairly raggedly, but there were people visibly clapping along in all these blocks)...it seemed a strange time to play music, which, it is genuinely agreed, kills atmosphere the louder it is...

So...travelling to Belfast is an issue, but (potentially) travelling to Belgium and Holland every few weeks isn't?: Interestingly, and seemingly somewhat randomly, the trophies on final day were presented by the presidents of the Belgian and Dutch hockey associations. That seems somewhat strange, to say the least...although rumours that teams from both countries are being courted by the EIHL to form some sort of Western European Elite League may explain just why they were there...it could also be a case of people adding two and two and making ten.

No comment from me...make your own mind up...: For those of you who are perhaps unaware, or maybe don't know too much about the Elite League organisation or what the issues are that have caused the splits in the EIHL hierarchy...this is essential reading. It's Edinburgh GM Scott Neil opening the doors wide to the inner workings of the EIHL over the past year or three, from an Caps perspective. It makes fairly grim reading...

Manic Monday: Today is D-day for the EIHL, as the teams meet to thrash out the structure for next season. All we can now do as fans is await the outcome...you can rest assured there will be reaction to it on here as soon as it breaks...

And finally, some good news: Possibly the highlight of the weekend was the presentation of a British Olympic Committee award for "outstanding courage and dedication to ice-hockey" to Kingston Diamonds player Beth Davies, who was injured by a check during a junior game last season so severely that it was feared she would never walk again (her neck was broken)-her recovery was followed by the British ice-hockey community with great interest and much hope that she would be at least able to return to normal life...barely a year later she is back playing ice hockey. The award was presented on ice just before the final, and Beth received it in person, as well as a standing ovation that went on for several minutes from the roughly 6,000 hockey fans in attendance. It was one of those all-too-rare moments that made you feel genuinely proud to be a fan of the sport in this country...

That's your thoughts on PO weekend...I'm sure, like me, you're awaiting the outcome of today's EIHL meeting with interest...

Later this week we'll have a preview of the GB team as they head off to the World Championships in Torun, Poland, as well as a look at the EPL finals...

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

Playoff Fever...Round the Rink...

First of all...you may have noticed that the page has changed slightly...this is due to the fact that the Breakaway has now joined the Twitter age...and will be live from Nottingham throughout the weekend, so keep checking back every few hours to follow just what I'm getting up to, as well as updates on the matches themselves, unedited and (almost) live...

Yes, I know that all the games take place in one place, but here we go, team-by-team, previewing the Nottingham weekend...straight into the Playoff Preview (the Sheffield section was written by Dave Chaston of Steelers TV)...

CARDIFF DEVILS

Gameplan: The Devils are a team for all seasons. Don’t let the size of players like Brad Voth and Doug MacIver fool you into thinking this team is all about brawn-granted they are built with a fair dose of grit and hard work, but there is also a deceptively high level of skill sprinkled into the mix which has seen the Devils surprise teams on many occasions this season as they switch styles mid-game. Built on solid, uncompromisingly physical defence and speed coupled with relentless pressure on the forecheck, their default gameplan is not a complicated one, and sometimes lacks the glamour of, say, a run-and-gun offence like their opponent in the semis, Sheffield’s. No-one, least of all the opposition, can deny that it’s very effective indeed when the parts of the Devils machine are all working in sync, however...the Devils are a nightmare to play against for those players who play best given a little time on the puck, like many of the Sheffield forwards...as their opponents in the quarter finals, Belfast, found out to their cost.

Three To Watch:

1) Brad Voth (forward): The 6’5 Albertan is a player you simply can’t miss when you watch the Devils-whether it be for his distinctive blond locks, his sheer size or the fact that he is usually in the middle of everything the Devils do. Add to that the notion that if you looked up the term “fan favourite” in the dictionary it would likely say “see: Brad Voth’s relationship with Cardiff” and you begin to get a sense of how important the big number 26 is to his adopted home town. Voth is one of the few players in the league who provokes the phrase “I hate him, but only because he’s not playing for my team” to pass the lips of many opposition fans…the heartbeat of his team and a player who can hit, score (usually at vital moments) and will never back away when needing to stand up and be counted, the Calgary native gives the impression that he’d willingly sacrifice a limb to give the Devils that vital advantage that will win a game…

2) Wes Jarvis (defence): A player having a career year is always worth watching, and with eighteen goals and eighteen assists from defence this season, this big, 29-year-old blueliner from Toronto, signed for his defensive capabilities, has become one of the Devils’ two offensive d-men, although when placed alongside Tyson Teplitsky his offensive capabilities remain relatively unnoticed by many. Not bad for a player who was cut by Basingstoke last season after scoring only one goal and three assists in 28 games…

However, Jarvis is not all about attack-the 6’4, 230-pounder can take care of business pretty effectively in his own end, being surprising mobile for his size-although size itself is a useful intimidation factor for the Devils, particularly as he’s often paired with the equally massive Doug MacIver in front of Peter Aubry. Don’t expect any end-to-end rushes from this guy, but if you like d-men who do the simple things, are always willing to stand up for their team (154 PiMs should be an indication that Jarvis can more than take care of himself if necessary) and have a booming shot, then you’ll like Jarvis a lot…

3) Mike Prpich (forward): This season, Prpich has shown the Cardiff faithful just how good a player they were denied by injury problems last season, becoming the main offensive producer alongside Jason Silverthorn. His work-ethic and hard-nosed approach have won him many friends in South Wales, while his eye for goal was seemingly the only thing that won the Devils points in the early part of the season as he was hotter than a sauna in the desert. He leads the Devils in scoring with 35 goals and 32 assists, nine ahead of Jay Latulippe in second place, and fifteen scores ahead of the much-more-heralded (at least based on his previous record) Jason Silverthorn. The 26-year-old native of Kenaston, Saskatchewan can fairly be considered the Devils’ main danger-man, and will be the main focus of the Giants defensive efforts along with fellow forward Latulippe…

COVENTRY BLAZE

GAMEPLAN The Blaze of this season, it is generally agreed, have not been the terrifying juggernaut built on the perfect proportion of grit to skill that they have become known for being over the past few years..despite this, they still play a forward-looking style of hockey looking to beat teams with eighty percent skill and twenty percent grit. Like all Paul Thompson teams, they rely on excellent organisation (which, sadly, has been lacking on the ice occasionally this season, to their coach's evident frustration) and the offensive skills of stars Sylvain Deschatelets, Dan Carlson and Adam Calder amongst others. Erik Hjalmarsson, Carlyle Lewis and Danny Stewart provide the grit, while Tom Watkins and Greg Wood will never, ever be outworked...although they were given a scare by Newcastle in the quarter-finals

THREE TO WATCH

1. Dan Carlson (centre): The speedy, smallish American centre from Edina, Minnesota is arguably the best two-way centre in the EIHL, and the player many Blaze fans would pick to build their team around. His partnership with fellow forward Adam Calder has won the Midlands side countless games in their time together, but his play at both ends of the ice is equally strong. As his play goes, so does that of the Blaze.

2.Sylvain Deschatelets (centre): The other half of the two-headed centre monster along with Carlson, the ex-Cardiff Devil from Blainville, Quebec is the Blaze's second-top point scorer this season behind Calder-which may surprise those Blaze fans who have criticised him for laziness this season. Deschatelets can drift in and out of games but there are few better passers in the league, and at 6'2 and 195lbs he has the size to create some problems in front of the net too where necessary...

3. Jonathan Weaver (defence): The Sunderland-born defenceman, who converted from forward during his time with Newcastle, is so crucial to the Blaze that he's spawned a running joke...the Blaze powerplay tactic is described by some fans as "take puck into zone, pass to "Weaves", shoot. Repeat until goal is scored". That is possibly overstating the case somewhat, but it cannot be denied that the GB captain is a crucial part of the Blaze both offensively (23+46 this season) and defensively...his smooth skating and ability to find a team-mate with a pass from anywhere to anywhere on the rink means that, like Dan Carlson, he'll be at the heart of everything Blaze do, at both ends of the ice...

NOTTINGHAM PANTHERS

GAMEPLAN

The Panthers are perennially a team who flatter to deceive-a team who many feel have earned the derisive “Team Hollywood” nickname pinned on them by Blaze coach Paul Thompson earlier this season. They are traditionally a fast-skating team who prefer to play with finesse over power, although this season they have reached the best balance of the two seen at the NIC for some years as Corey Neilson has finally begun to place his coaching stamp on the East Midlanders, assembling a team of small, skilful forwards like Johan Molin and Dan Tessier, some of which, like Bruce Richardson, have more than their fair share of attitude to go with it. The Panthers are most dangerous coming forward, with lingering question-marks over their defence and goalie Michel Robinson after the latter’s atrocious start to the season with Edinburgh. They are very similar to the team they beat in the quarters, Manchester Phoenix, in liking to pass the puck around and attack with speed and lots of movement, but are slightly less happy with getting involved in a physical battle, preferring to try and win with brains and intelligent play (even when indulging in more questionable practices off the puck) than outright brawn…

THREE TO WATCH

1. Johan Molin (centre): The little Swede, known as much around the league for his silver skates as his quicksilver skating, is a superb creative player, who burst onto the EIHL scene with Manchester two seasons ago and has won admirers around the league with his hawk-eyed vision, lightning-fast puck-handling and effortless skating, allowing him to blow by defensemen as if they weren’t there…along with Dan Tessier, he will definitely be looked to to create as many chances as possible for the Panthers this weekend against his former club…

2.Jade Galbraith (wing): Much-derided for looking like he often overindulges slightly in the fine restaurants (well, chip-shops) around the NIC, Galbraith is not the quickest of wingers but is deadly around the net, as he has shown more than once against the top teams this season, becoming one of the Panthers’ top five scorers in the process. Mainly, however, he’s been picked in this list because of his shot…if given time in front of the net, much like his linemate Brendan Cook, Galbraith will punish you…

3. Kevin Bergin (centre): The only genuine power-forward on the Panthers roster, the big Montreal-born forward can score goals, set them up, defend and, where necessary, drop the gloves, to surprisingly good effect (although one fight against Carlyle Lewis earlier this season could have gone a lot better for the Panther). One of the Panthers’ most important players, he, along with Molin, Brendan Cook, Galbraith and Dan Tessier, forms the core of the Panthers attack this season, with Dave Clarke flying the flag for the British…

h4>SHEFFIELD STEELERS

GAMEPLAN
On the back of winning the league Sheffield have had a few weeks off, resting star agitator Ryan Finnerty (ribs) and giving Dan Green the nod in goal ahead of Jody Lehman for 3 out of 4 games. The last weekend of the season was officially the one that saw their rested players "get back into game-shape", but with all respect to a Bison team who lost heart around a dozen games into their record-breaking losing streak, there was only going to be one winner of that weekend...as was the case with the quarter-final after the Steelers built an 8-2 lead in the first leg...
The Steelers are a team built around some of the best players in the league, with Jody Lehman in goal, Rod Sarich and Steve Munn in front of him and Joey Talbot the leader among a host of forwards who can put the puck in the net. Able to play any style effectively, but arguably at their best when picking teams apart with speed and guile, the Steelers were deservedly league champions and have to be among the favourites for playoff glory and being the first team to repeat winning the playoffs in the EIHL era. Although this patient style has often seen the Steelers have accused of playing 'boring' hockey, usually by teams they've just beaten, no one can deny that Sarich and co's ability to neutralise a team's offense works wonders, even against such pairings as Hand/Beauregard and Calder/Carlson. Even should you manage to break through their defensive barrier, there's still the small matter of beating Lehman, who has had bad days better than some netminders' best...

THREE TO WATCH

Robert Dowd (centre): The 'Golden Child' has managed 49 points (24+25) so far in his first full season with Steelers, and can no doubt be expected to expand on that this weekend. Small and fast with an eye for the pass that'll set up an open team-mate for an easy tap in as well as a lethal shot himself, he brings to mind players of the calibre of Tony Hand with his outstanding natural ability. Although comparisons with British hockey's greatest ever homegrown player are perhaps a little overblown at this stage (after all, Dowd hasn't been drafted to the NHL and will likely not be due to the changes in the game since Hand's youth) it cannot be denied that he is the most exciting young player in British hockey by a clear margin...

Jody Lehman (netminder): Crucial to the Steelers EIHL title win, and in immaculate form for the majority of the season, setting a British Ice Hockey record in the process with no less than NINE shutouts, Lehman is almost universally acknowledged to be the best goalie in the EIHL. Last season saw him shut the door on his former club Coventry Blaze (with whom he won the Triple Crown of league, playoff and Challenge Cup title in 2004/05) to lead the Steelers to the playoff trophy, and the native of North Battleford, Saskatchewan could well be the key to ensuring the Steelers get that far again.

Brad Cruikshank (wing): Signed from the struggling Bison earlier this season, where he was captain, the 5'10, 180lb power forward from Kelowna, British Columbia has become a favourite of the Steelers fanbase for exactly the same reason he was so loved in Basingstoke-he plays the game like a mad-dog released in a junkyard, hunting down opposition defencemen, and is always willing to turn round and bite anyone who attempts to take liberties with either him or his team-mates. Players who are willing to do the dirty work in the corners and put their bodies where few would place a stick as well are immensely valuable at playoff time, and in Cruikshank the Steelers have arguably the most valuable such player in the league...he will play a big part in neutralising any efforts to throw the Steelers off their game this weekend...

So, that's your four teams...here's the matches...with Breakaway's predictions of who'll win in bold...

First semi: Coventry v Nottingham

Second semi: Sheffield v Cardiff...

Final: Sorry, Blaze fans...Sheffield do the double...