A Declaration of War...

"So pick your friends out
I'll take my place and you'll take yours
Load your guns up...
Cause now I'm ready for your war..."
Hadouken!: "Declaration of War"

For the latest from the EIHL, have a gander at the post below this one (Arrivals and Departures)...this one is all NHL.

As for the somewhat antagonistic lyrics opening...don't worry, I'm not going all Dubya on you...let me explain...

You may have noticed, or at least formed the opinion, that I'm something of a Pittsburgh Penguins fan. This, in recent hockey terms, was the equivalent of being a six-stone-weakling in a maximum-security prison for the first year or two of my hockey-watching life, right up to the point where one of the greatest talents ever to strap on a pair of skates fell into the Steel City's lap, thanks to a bit of luck in the 2004 and 2005 entry drafts...the seasons were grim but with first Evgeni Malkin and then Sidney Crosby arriving, things have got better and better...and us Pens fans have enjoyed every minute of it (and if you don't know who Crosby and Malkin are, then let me show you)...

Evgeni Malkin...

Sidney Crosby

Anyway...this presents me with something of a quandary, as my good friends Matt and Becky, over at Five Minute Major, are (and don't hold this against them) fans of the Detroit Red Wings, who beat the Pens to the Stanley Cup last year, and are the only obstacle in the way of my team's charge to the Cup again this year, with the finals starting this Saturday, May 30th.

Well, at least Matt is. Becky is first and foremost an Edmonton fan, and thus is well-prepared for being the experience of being on the losing side in a 21st-century Stanley Cup Final...to Carolina, no less...although given the history of the Oilers, not too-well prepared...

And so, naturally, war has been declared-in true hockey tradition, the Breakaway and Five Minute Major, while being good friends away from the ice, will now engage in verbal combat throughout the Stanley Cup Finals, with Matt and Becky cheering for the Red Wings, and me advancing the cause of the Pens. There will be taunting, there will be jokes, there will be below-the-belt pop-culture references, and at the end, one blog will earn the right to claim their team are the better...

And naturally, you lot out there can follow every sledge, every dig and every obscure joke for your own entertainment...

And it starts now...the gloves, from this point, are off...I shall preface every post relating to the duel with an appropriate catchy title, as soon as I or FMJ (or even you lot out there) think of it, but for now...let's consider just why the Pens will emerge victorious...

"Heads I win, tails you lose
out of my way I'm coming through
roll the dice don't think twice...
and we crush...crush 'em"
Megadeth: "Crush 'Em"

Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby, Bill Guerin, Sergei Gonchar, Brooks Orpik, Marc-Andre Fleury. That's the starting line of the 2008/09 Pittsburgh Penguins. Two of the best power forwards in the NHL, one of the best goalies to come out of Quebec since some bloke named Patrick Roy, a lethal offensive defenseman, and a stay-at-home d-man who, some say, can cause an opposition forward to wet himself just by a raised eyebrow. Oh, and the best player to strap on a pair of skates since Wayne Gretzky, too. You can talk about the likes of Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Lidstrom all you like, but they aren't Sidney Crosby. And thus, they pale in comparison.

And then we have the rest of the roster. Evgeni Malkin, who, by the way, is like Alex Ovechkin, only even better. Jordan Staal-the best young forward in the NHL who isn't Crosby, Ovechkin or Malkin (Hang on-did someone say "Darren Helm"? Who's he?...). And a supporting cast including Petr Sykora and Ruslan Fedotenko, both Cup winners already...it's a murderer's row of forwards. Including two of the top five scorers in the NHL this season.

On defence-Kris Letang and the monster that is Hal Gill. This is a team that has a third line that can (and has) beaten many first lines...mainly because it has Miroslav Satan (a career NHL top-liner with over 350 goals) on it...simply because there was no space for him anywhere else.

Sure, you will say that the Red Wings and their loaded team came out on top last season. But that was last season. Even many Pens fans thought that team was a year too early.

This time round, though...there's a firm belief that the March of the Penguins will not be stopped. Especially not by a team whose best d-men are 47, 39, and 35, has the league's third-best Russian as their superstar, and is growing old faster and becoming more boring and over-praised than Susan Boyle (if you're not British, look her up)...

I predict Pens in six. Or more likely seven...

And no superstition about touching a conference trophy, never mind Chris Osgood and friends, can change that result...

Let's go Pens!

Arrivals and Departures

"tick, tick, tick, tick, on the watch, and life's too short for it to stop
Oh baby, your time is running out..."
La Roux: "Bulletproof"

I know...it's been a bit of a while...but then again, just rounding up the signings is a bit mundane, so I thought I'd wait until we actually had a decent amount of news. And after ten days since the last round up, we do...

Bracknell survive, Telford die...: Well, technically the Tigers are still alive, with the new owners taking a year out to consolidate, but the EPL still loses its westernmost team while one of the marquee names hangs on by the skin of its teeth. No one said a summer in British hockey was easy...

On to the signings, now...we've said far too much about the negative aspects of British hockey this summer...

Mike Berry and Todd Griffith to Newcastle: The Vipers signings so far this off-season have been a statement of intent-they're moving away from the big bruisers to those who can stick up for themselves but also use speed and brains as well as muscle to put the puck in the net. Todd Griffith is known to the EIHL after his stint in Newcastle last season as a useful (and skilful) forward, equal parts sniper and pest, and Berry looks much the same judging by his size (5'11, 180lbs) and scoring record (15+24 in the ECHL last season for 39 points). With Andre Payette returning to handle the glove-dropping duties also, the Vipers are clearly building a team of human sandpaper aimed at grinding teams down through constant pressure and no mean amount of skill-which, if blended properly, is a very strong brew for this league indeed...


Jeff Legue and Jason Hewitt to Sheffield: Meanwhile, the Steelers continue their philosophy of evolution over revolution-indeed no player who didn't play for the Steelers last season is confirmed as signing for them yet, although the goalie at least may well be new to these shores after Jody Lehman's departure for Denmark. Hewitt is a very good defensive forward (and British to boot) while Legue is one of the quickest and most dangerous forwards in the league-he and Joey Talbot head the Steelers attack once again, although there could still be a new star import forward to come...

Pavel Gomenyuk back to Hull: These re-signings, while not the most exciting, have all been very good ones up until now, and the Stingrays' returning d-man is no exception. He's not the most skilful in the league, but deceptively good in this league...rarely noticed by the fans but a key part of his team nevertheless, as he has been throughout his time at Hull and Newcastle...

Mathias Soderstrom to Coventry:...and continuing on such a theme, the Swedish d-man and one of the Blaze's best-loved players ever returns to the Skydome for another season. Like Gomenyuk, his impact on the team is rarely noticed, with many in the Blaze fan-base picking him out as the weak spot of the Blaze defence thus far. Unfairly. He'll never light up the scoring charts but "Matty" will once again be a welcome presence on the blue-line in the West Midlands.

Mark Garside returns to Edinburgh:...and with it, earns himself some serious pluses in the "loyalty" column...the young Glaswegian has developed into one of the top British forwards in the league over the past season or two, and can be expected to continue his meteoric rise next season...

Dominic D'Amour to Nottingham: A new-to-the-UK signing, finally! Linked with the Blaze last season, the 6'2, 221lb Quebecer is the player the Panthers hope will be their Steve Munn-an intimidating physical force who can chip in at the offensive end where needed, but will always take care of his own end. And make it an extremely unfriendly place for opposition forwards to visit...Well, that's the theory...

There you go...that's the EIHL news...check above if you haven't already for a declaration of war (of words)...and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Still Alive...

Hey all...

I know I've been quiet for a week now, but at some point tonight there should be a posting summing up the past weeks' happenings in British hockey...just been busy with work etc...

Tuesdays with Peter-In Conversation with Peter Hirsch

"There's talk on the street; it sounds so familiar
Great expectations, everybody's watching you"
The Eagles: "New Kid In Town"

Tuesday evening was a big night in Coventry, as Danish international Peter Hirsch, arguably one of the biggest new signings of this season's EIHL, met the fans at a packed Crosby's Sports Bar, the new Blaze venture at the Skydome. The Breakaway was of course there in the crowd, and was lucky enough to be given some quality time in conversation with the Blaze's new starting goalie, on topics ranging from what attracted him to Coventry to what it feels like to face Sidney Crosby. Here's what transpired-italics are quotes, non-italics are my additions:

First of all, I asked Peter what had attracted him to Coventry. It appears that an ex-Blaze favourite was key in influencing his decision:

"I was looking to come over here at Christmas (Hirsch was rumoured to be coming in as a replacement for JF Perras) but my club stopped that. But I'd spoken a lot to Neal Martin (ex-Coventry and Hirsch's team-mate at Aalborg last season) about coming to the EIHL and he'd told me about the organisation, Paul Thompson and the fans, and said nothing but good things about them...the more he spoke to me about it, the more I thought "let's do this". And so here I am"

I then asked the quietly-spoken Hirsch if he was surprised by his welcome, and knew about the excitement his signing had caused..."I didn't know what to expect-I'm surprised by how many people are here, but in a good way...the fans really seem to care about their club and it's nice to see so many people come to welcome me."

The welcome may have surprised him, but it didn't show-during our conversation there was a constant stream of fans coming up to him to wish him well, say hello or just have a few words-he took the time to speak to all of them equally and left every fan with a smile on their face at the end of the conversation, however brief.

The next question covered his hopes for the season, and also asked if the high expectations and excitement of Blaze fans left him feeling under any pressure. His answer was unequivocal: "I hope to have as good a season as I can in goal and help the team in any way I can-I want to win, just like the fans do."

As for his outlook on bad games? It appears that the man himself is far more critical of himself then even the most rabid fan:

"Oh, I hate them. If I have a bad game then I spend a long time thinking about it-it's a long night in my house if we lose! But I try my best to avoid that."

Goalies are being known for being the most superstitious among hockey-players, and with many, their number is of crucial importance. Hirsch will wear eighty-four on his back this season after wearing 31 throughout his career, so what's the story behind the number change-to such a "non-goalie" number too?

"There isn't any reason for picking 84-I'd worn 31 since I was about 15, but last season I had quite a bad year, and so when they asked me what number I wanted this season, I just picked the first one that came into my head-it was like I was having a new start in a new country, so the number-change came out of that, and 84 just seemed nice and far away from 31. Plus, I should be the only player in the league wearing 84, I think!"

There you go...that's simple enough. No conspiracy theories here...

Given that Hirsch has been on the other side against Blaze before, and there are several players remaining from that Continental Cup team in 2007/08, I asked him what his impressions were of British hockey thus far:

"In Denmark, we know nothing about British hockey-but the Blaze were much better than we expected-they were fast, good shots, and we had to play very hard to beat them."

Encouragingly for Blaze fans, Hirsch is not a goalie who likes an easy life...

"One thing I notice from looking at the game reports-most games you face 30, 40 shots. I'm not a guy who likes to spend 17 minutes waiting for his first shot-I like to always be in the action, making saves."

This led to another question-are you the kind of goalie who likes to play the puck or will you freeze it whenever you can?

"I do whatever the defence tells me-if they say put it in the corner, I put it in the corner, if they say freeze it, I freeze it...I just do whatever has to be done to stop the other team scoring."

That's not to say he's a passive goalie who lets his defence dictate his play, though..."If I think they're not doing stuff that'll help me, then I'll let them know very quickly."

The topic then moved on to British fans...Hirsch is complimentary about his new home rink:

"It (the Skydome) is a nice place-it's not like Aalborg, but that was a brand new arena so nowhere is-it's going to be a fun place to play hockey"

One of the Skydome's foibles, due to the seating arrangements, is that it's the only rink where the home goalie spends two periods in front of the away fans. Given that he's played in some pretty passionate atmospheres, and the EIHL rinks often get noisy with fans baiting the opposition goalies, how does he deal with the crowd?

"The worst thing is when you hear your own fans shouting bad stuff at you-that gets into your head sometimes. Away fans, though...I love it. The more shouting, the better-I just play harder."

He pauses, and then smiles wickedly, before adding...

...and if I make a great save, I'll let them know about it."

Hirsch's pedigree is unquestionable-in his international career he's played against some of the top players and teams in the world, beating the US and drawing with Canada-what's it like facing superstars like Sidney Crosby?

"There are three parts to it-before the game, during the game and after the game. Before the game you're like "wow, Dany Heatley..." or "wow, Sidney Crosby" and it's always in your head. During the game, you don't think about it-you're just trying to stop the puck, or (and here we see the man's sense of humour as he makes a rueful stick-sweeping motion) pull it out of your net"

But surely you notice these superstars during the game?

"You can't. One time, when Denmark played Canada, Sidney Crosby was playing for them, and he scored a hat-trick past me. After the game I was sat in the locker room and said "That Crosby guy didn't do much". My team-mates looked at me amazed and said "Peter, he scored a hat-trick!" I didn't even know..."

What about beating the US and drawing with Canada-surely that must have been a great night:

"The US game was good, but that game against Canada I was angry because I thought I had a bad game and we should have won (at this point, my eyebrows are raised very high indeed in surprise) ...I was sat in the changing room being angry with myself even though everyone else was happy..."

With standards that are that high, Hirsch will doubtless become a favourite with the demanding Skydome faithful...

For my last question, I asked the Dane what his thoughts were about playing in the coming season, and for his first impressions of the team-mates he'll be playing with. His response was instant...

"I can't wait. I'm really excited-the team looks really good-the guys I've met so far are really friendly, the fans seem like a great crowd. I can't wait to skate out on the ice in front of them in September...".

Hirsch may be excited, but you can almost guarantee the people he'll be playing front of come September are even more so...with a pedigree from the top Scandinavian leagues and the highest level of international competition, there's no denying the friendly Dane will be one of, if not the best goalie in the EIHL next season. I came away from my chat with him convinced that the league has found a new star goalie to rank with the likes of Christian Bronsard, Jody Lehman and Andrew Verner-and the man himself will quickly become a huge Blaze fan favourite...as well as a focus of envy for those of other teams...

That's your interview, with many thanks to Peter and the Blaze for their time in both setting it up and answering the questions...we'll be back in a few days for another look at off-season happenings in the EIHL, as well as the latest updates on the Bracknell Bees' fight for survival...

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Star-Struck...

Hi all,

Just to let you all know, last night the Breakaway was lucky enough to get an interview with Peter Hirsch, Coventry Blaze's new goalie, on his first visit to the Skydome. That interview should, all being well, appear round about 6pm this evening.

Feel free to tell your friends...and keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Bought and Paid For Tuesday Thoughts...

"We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it
And all of the memories, so close to me, just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending"
Avril Lavigne: "My Happy Ending"

It's been nearly a week...I did warn you that the Breakaway was off on HBST (that's Hockey Blog Summer Time, for those of you unfamiliar with it)...but it's been a fairly interesting few days...with, as everywhere else, money and/or the lack of itbeing a dominant topic in the British hockey world.

In the funding race, the clock is everyone's opponent: Remember I've been hinting over the past week or two about problems in the EPL? Bracknell are still in negotiations, although there has been (as is usual when teams are in danger of going under) a massive response to funding appeals, with 20k being raised...There is better news in Romford, meanwhile, as it appears that there will now be a team of some description on the ice next season in Essex.

However, it amazes me that every off-season sees teams (at both EPL and EIHL level) circling the drain and appealing for help, yet there's still a chase towards more and more spending, seemingly...and on that topic.

Talk is cheap. Success? That means chucking money...and not getting told off for it: Remember the "brave new world" of the EIHL? I'm sure you do, given that it was barely a month ago that we were all being told that from now on, there'd be heavily-policed wage-caps. Looking at the signings so far, one would find that slightly hard to believe. Speaking of which-let's look at them...

Hull sign the Mitchells: Young winger Lee returns for another season at Hull after cementing his place as one of the best young British prospects last season, while his brother Craig joins from Edinburgh to strengthen the Stingrays d after a fairly impressive debut season for the Caps...

Panthers re-sign the Lion...: Sean McAslan has returned to Nottingham from Denmark, to much rejoicing in the Lace City. As one of the best forwards in the league last time out, he's going to be a key part of their goalscoring force, if not the leader. Especially with both Johan Molin and Brendan Cook departing to Sweden and the CHL respectively...

...the Witch...: Danny Meyers also returns to Nottingham-although many Panthers fans think he must have cast some sort of spell on Corey Neilson in order to do so...

...and the Wardrobe: Nottingham have now signed their starting goalie to complete their announcements thus far-and at 6'3 and 220lbs, Kevin St.Pierre ain't exactly small...however, according to Blaze's Danny Stewart, who played with him at Fort Wayne Komets of the UHL before coming to the UK, he's a very good goalie at this level, and surprisingly mobile for his size. However, I would counter that with this: he was dropped last season in favour of none other than Davis Parley. Those of you who saw Parley play for Nottingham may sense that this is not exactly a recommendation-however, we shall see. Certainly, he's not one who will let the defencemen protect him when he can do it himself.
It does seem, though, that he can throw himself around in a good way when required too...

Fun with Pronunciation, EIHL style: The first "oh God, how do we say that" signing of the season has gone to Newcastle, with Jason Tejchma joining Newcastle...judging by his stats, it appears the Vipers may actually be signing someone who puts scoring ahead of the odd scrap...

And now on to the rumours...

Derek Campbell (Vipers variety) to Coventry: Is it just me who thinks that the player every Blaze fan loves to hate would be a perfect foil for Carlson and Calder-his reputation may have been unjustly damaged by the style of play in Newcastle, where he was a plain irritant-but in Manchester the Ontarian earned himself 67 points as well as 190 PiM's...Blaze fans, ignore what you've seen in Newcastle, cause you may have just found a diamond in the rough...

Continuing with Blaze rumours...sources within the club have leaked what would seemingly be the whole team-so here's your Blaze roster (rumoured) for next season...let's see how close it is...

Peter Hirsch
Tom Murdy

Jon Weaver
Kevin Bolibruck (ex-Sheffield)
Samy Nasreddine (or Neal Martin, depending on who you talk to)
Jason Robinson
Ben O'Connor
Matty Soderstrom (possibly)

Derek Campbell
Adam Calder
Dan Carlson

Luke Fulghum
Greg Owen
Greg Chambers

Danny Stewart
Tom Watkins
Russ Cowley

That will do me...

And there's your Tuesday round-up-keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Tuesday Factual Frolics...

"So I guess we're back to us, oh cameraman, swing the focus
In case I lost my train of thought, where was it that we last left off?
(Let's pick up, pick up)"
Panic At The Disco: "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"

And back we come to factual matters, after yesterday's excursions off into the realms of nostalgia...let's have a look what's going on the the EIHL so far this week...

Greg Wood from Coventry to Manchester: The Phoenix are very lucky...Wood was almost criminally under-used at times last season in the opinion of many Blaze fans after an excellent breakout season in Basingstoke the year before, and will only get better at EPL level...

Patrick Bateman to Belfast: The Giants continue their policy of signing new imports to the country, bringing in this 27-year-old winger from Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL to replace Bobby Robins, who's apparently disappearing off to Denmark. He's not bad, judging by his stats from last season...

In related news, the Steelers also had the chance to sign Alex Ovechkin, but decided that Brad Cruikshank could fill the role instead: The latest bit of PR coming out of Sheffield has them turning down Andre Payette in favour of Brad Cruikshank. Which makes sense on a hockey level...but you wonder why they're running around telling people "well, here's this guy who we could have had but didn't". It's like me saying "well, I could have had Angelina Jolie as a girlfriend, but for the fact that there's no chance in hell she'd go out with me...". It just seems a completely pointless press release...although it does link Payette with both Hull and Edinburgh...

Speaking of which...perhaps not pointless but more just amusing...the Steelers have joined the Blaze this season in immediately following a signing with several more press releases of current players telling everyone how great the signings are...although they've perhaps released a classic of unintentional comedy with Jon Phillips' reaction to Cruikshank's return. At first glance all is well and makes sense, right up to when Phillips says this...

""Some clubs just look for a big guy who is tough, they forget that over here you have to be able to skate and play as well. That's where we had the advantage on so many teams last year"

Erm...Jon...that makes sense, but your team willingly paid money to Andrew Sharp last year. Was that just a memory lapse on their part?

Trevor Koenig to Nottingham. Or Sheffield: This is fun...depending on who you believe Trevor Koenig is on his way back from Denmark to either Steelers or Panthers...the theory is that the Steelers have leaked that he's a Panthers target in order that they can then gloat when he becomes a Steeler...

Can we not just have Dave Simms and Gary Moran find a spot on the wall of a neutral venue somewhere, take aim and see whose...erm...liquid waste is projected further up the wall at the beginning of the off-season, and just say that the winner's team is better for the duration of that off-season? All this one-upmanship is getting tiring, and it isn't even June yet.

Luke Fulghum and Jason Robinson to Coventry: This is a growing rumour round here-he'd appear to fit perfectly on a line with Adam Calder and Dan Carlson, and after thirty-four goals last season, there's no doubting the 6', 196lb Colorado Springs native would fit in very nicely on the wing...
Meanwhile, Jason Robinson is also linked with the Blaze as they revamp their defence...the ex-Racer, Viper and Steeler has spent this season in the IHL in America, but would seem to be in the mould of "big, stay-at-home and proven in the EIHL" that the Blaze lacked so sorely last season...

Meanwhile, in the EPL: Telford, Romford and Bracknell are, as medical slang has it, "circling the drain"...they're all still in desperate need of funding and May 15th is the deadline for committing to competing in the league-this one is worth keeping an eye on for the rest of this week...

There you go..that's a quick look round the British hockey world for a Tuesday...

Haunted, or Ghosts of Seasons Past

A quick heads-up...if you're looking for factual stuff or rumours, that lot will come tomorrow. Today sees me getting in touch with my inner Jack Falla (if you're a hockey fan and you haven't read "Home Ice" or "Open Ice" yet, then you really should)-although there is a Summer Hockey Watch at the bottom for those who crave on-ice action...

"And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone..."
Evanescence: "My Immortal"

"In a world where you are possible,
my love,
nothing can go wrong for us."
Frank O'Hara: "Taxicab Song"

Ice-rinks, if you look hard enough, are full of ghosts. The banners commemorating past triumphs and (sometimes) dead teams hanging in the rooftops, occasionally stirring when capricious breezes, which the romantics amongst us would say are caused by the spirits of skaters long-gone passing by, swirl around the rafters. Walk into an empty changing room at any time of the day or night, and if you've got an especially sensitive nose you can smell the many, many kitbags that have passed through the door-the sweat seems to soak into the walls, so that if the light catches them right you can almost see the sheen of many layers of steam and sweat on them. If you've got especially sensitive hearing, or you're the last one left in there after your team-mates have departed, the silence seems full of echoes of the joy, sadness and everything-in-between of every other player who's ever shared that bench with you...just occasionally, you can hear them.

And then there's the eerie experience of sitting in an empty rink after the last competitive game you know you'll attend of a season, whichever team it is that shuts the rink down for the summer. This time round, the game was the women's match between Coventry Phoenix and Peterborough Penguins, played in front of about fifteen people (a match report of which will appear later in the column), but still no less a game for the lack of spectators. After the final buzzer, and the players' departures, the Skydome went dark as the lights were turned off for the public disco session following afterwards, and the ice sat, shimmering whitely in the darkness.

In the real world, current chart hits began pumping out of the speakers at far too loud a volume, and the ice was quiet for only a few seconds before the first of the Saturday night crowd stepped on and the disco lights began tracing their patterns...

But for me, packing away the music box in the stands, in that few seconds and for several more beyond, the ghosts performed again, as they do every season.

The sounds coming through the air were not the vocal stylings of some American teenager, but the roar of hundreds of hockey fans, with the bass note of a goal horn. On the ice, championships were won and lost, goals were scored, players laughed, yelled and cried, and history repeated itself again and again...as those ghosts that inhabit the Skydome raged, raged, once again, against the dying of the hockey season's light.

And then, reality intruded again as Britney (or it may have been Beyoncé) warbled over the speakers with redoubled force. This was it.

See you next season.

There may be sadder combinations of four words in the English language, but few, for those of us who are sometimes called "rink-rats", are laden with such a mixture of sadness and hope...

Sadness because, from the time the first puck drops every year, we know the moment where the ghosts rage is coming, and we're powerless to stop these four words of farewell being uttered once again to friends, team-mates, and acquaintances everywhere, and that there will be several months when part of your life and many familiar faces will simply disappear from view.

But the hope is always there, burning, with the knowledge that these four words aren't a farewell, so much as an "auf Wiedersehen"-when uttered, they're less words of parting, and more a promise that sometime soon, the rink will not be a cold place where hockey is played only by the spirits-and you and the addressee will be there as the ice is once again used for the purpose it's designed for-making dreams come true and memories that will last long after the last goal-light goes out, and even the ghosts cease to play.

And it's this yearly cycle and the moments like this within which give every building in which hockey is played its soul, and contributes to making this sport of ours the greatest one on earth...

Summer Hockey Watch

And now, as promised, a brief report on the game mentioned above...there may be some problems with the orders of the scorers given that I'm having to run off memory thanks to my pen running out...

Coventry Phoenix 5, Peterborough Penguins 0 (English Womens Div 1 (Midlands)

Technically, the Phoenix could still finish second in the division, although given that their winning margin would have to be 51 goals or more in order to do so, the game was played in the manner of a typical dead-rubber end-of-season encounter, but was no less entertaining for that. The home side quickly established the pattern of the game, with the Phoenix forwards setting up camp around Mandy Ferleyko's net despite the best efforts of the Penguins to clear the puck-indeed, the opening period saw the line of Jenny Adams-Hannah-Maurice-Sarah Powell continue right where they'd left off the week before, Powell finding a gap under Ferleyko's pads after three minutes to open the scoring off after her two linemates combined to work her some space. The Phoenix pressure was relentless, with Tam Donoghue enjoying a restful afternoon compared to her Penguins counterpart-she and the Phoenix defensive unit were dealing comfortably with the few Penguins attacks while Ferleyko was channeling Gandalf at the other end in stopping 21 of 23 shots in the period, although she was eventually beaten by Rosie Adey to leave the score 2-0 at the end of the first.

The second period saw more of the same-both Phoenix forward lines, freed somewhat from their defensive responsibilities by the calm play of those behind them, went straight for the jugular, although Ferleyko and her defence put up stern resistance once again. However, a speculative shot from Adams found the smallest of gaps in the wall and crept through almost un-noticed-indeed the puck sat just over the line for a few seconds before Maurice made doubly sure-an action which probably contributed to her being awarded the goal on the game sheet. This was the only goal of the period as the Penguins defended tightly and came close to scoring themselves through Laura Batchelor...

Into the third, and the game seemed to run out of momentum as the season of both teams ended not with a bang, but rather by simply fading away into the ether. That's not to say that the effort wasn't there, or that the two Phoenix goals, scored by Hannah Southam and (I believe-apologies if I'm wrong) Adey again weren't well taken, but the end-of-term-ness of the game was perhaps best summed up by the Phoenix putting all five defenders on the ice as a line for the last ninety seconds in an attempt to get one of them a goal...an attempt which succeeded just too late as Hannah Bridges got the final touch in a scramble just after the clock ran down...

There you go...that's a decent mixture of philosophy and on-ice-action for a Monday afternoon-

Next time (tomorrow or Wednesday) we'll take a look at the latest rumours flying around and react to any signings...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Friday Snap-Shots...

"The knowledge that seeking the favor of another
Means the murder of self.
This is the resolution
The end of all progress"
Lamb of God: "Ruin"

The news keeps coming...it's been a busy week in the EIHL...Let's deal with the signings announced today first of all.

Greg Owen to Coventry: There is much joy in Coventry, and much envy everywhere else, as one of GB's premier forwards returns from his French excursion to join the Blaze-the ex-Bison centre won a regular-season championship with the Briancon Red Devils, and despite being offered a wage-rise by them, has returned to his home country...with the Blaze now containing six of the GB World Championship roster from this season.

Konstantin Kalmikov back to Hull: Another fan-favourite returns to the Stingrays-Hull now have a top-line to be reckoned with in Kalmikov, Cloutier and Huppe...there appears to be real optimism on Humberside for the first time in a long while.

The one problem I can see, exemplified more by the Owen signing than the Kalmikov one at the moment, is that there appears to be very little evidence that teams are budgeting to stay within a cap of any kind, with the Blaze at the moment perhaps providing the most glaring evidence. I don't claim to know the financial dealings of any team, but let's look at what we do know as hockey fans by having a gander at the current Blaze roster and their pedigree...

A few minutes research into all the players on the roster will make you think "hm, they're not coming cheap"...and with most of the imports still to sign, you wonder just how twenty players are going to fit within a budget when eight or nine of them can reasonably be expected to have already taken up a fair chunk...

The answer either involves very creative accounting indeed (not a first for the EIHL) or the simple declarative statement "they won't".

It would take a very naive mind to believe, at the moment at least, that everything is above-board when it comes to the "recommendations" the EIHL supposedly adopted in April.

So far, it looks like we're headed for another financial arms-race...and with less pounds to go round, and British hockey's penchant for spending money it doesn't have, the brave-new-world we were promised back in April appears to be some time in coming yet.

Thursday Thoughts...

"And I just can't see through the evidence
It's evident
It's right fucking there in black and white and red"
Alkaline Trio: "Bloodied Up"

"I don't blame you for walking away
I'd do the same if I saw me"
Alkaline Trio: "This Could Be Love"

Afternoon all...

The past few days have seen a few more signings, but very little good news on the British hockey front. The EIHL is fine (for now) and signings are proceeding apace for now (more on that later) but if you look at British hockey as a whole, there is once again cause for concern as the days warm up...

Down in the EPL, a league whose fans were trumpeting "their" blueprint as superior to that of the EIHL barely six weeks ago during the Six Team League Incident, all is most certainly not well. Wightlink have now confirmed their drop to the ENL after being unable to find sufficient backing to continue running an EPL team, and Romford are all but dead due to their rink management effectively pulling out having seemingly decided that hockey in this country is simply not profitable enough. Meanwhile, Bracknell are still unconfirmed as competing next season after wrangling between rink owner John Nike and the Bees owners reached a stalemate.

Meanwhile, Telford are looking for a new owner after their current ownership decided they could no longer run the team due to personal and professional factors. As for the situation in Scotland-that is one that would takes weeks to surmise.

Which begs the question-how on earth is British hockey going to survive?

Well, there's always the fans to rely on, isn't there? After all, we're such a loyal bunch we'll keep throwing money at our passion endlessly...or so the owners seem to think...

But hold on.

On my tour through British ice hockey sites, I noticed this press-release about playoff shirts on the official EIHL site from a few weeks ago. All very dramatic, isn't it? I'm sure that you're now rushing to the official auction site expecting to only see the last few and thanking God for the benevolence of the EIHL officials in allowing you to get your hands on such a rare piece of hockey memorabilia...

Well, hold on a minute...the EIHL may have been taking lessons from Alistair Campbell, because here's the Ebay shop. It's still open two weeks after it was supposed to have shut...

You know that "limited number" of shirts left? How about (of 50 shirts produced for each team)...

8 left from Basingstoke
8 left from Belfast
4 left from Cardiff
14 left from Coventry
4 left from Edinburgh
16 left from Hull
8 left from Manchester
9 left from Newcastle
8 left from Sheffield

So, of the ten teams, only Nottingham have sold all their shirts, few of the above left have bids on them (not even the minimum price of £65) and of them, there are several which are actually players shirts instead of random blood shirts...

It seems that the days of the EIHL, and indeed British hockey, having fans who will willingly fork out for anything to do with their team are well and truly gone.

This means, to my mind, that this coming season will need to see changes in the way the sport in the UK is sold to people...with the days of economic prosperity which have fed the EIHL up to this point well and truly over, clubs can no longer be run as businesses.

In my years of watching hockey, those running the British game have become noticeably more aware of the need to get people through the door...however, it seems they're becoming less and less aware of the value of keeping them there-the "otherness" of hockey has been lost as rinks around the country have tried to play as safe as possible and appeal to everybody from kids to those who've been watching the sport for many years.

However, in the process, hockey has become just like everything else-the passion has slowly been sucked out of arenas as an emphasis on "family" entertainment has effectively killed any semblance of home advantage-I can't remember walking into a rink in the past few years where, as an away fan, you actually think "wow, we're not at home anymore".

I'm not saying that every away fan should be given a complimentary tarring and feathering, nor am I advocating abuse of any kind...but it occurs to me that in trying to make their rinks as friendly and welcoming as possible, the powers that be in British hockey are actually turning people off the sport...

This is why the Giants signing Sean McMorrow seems to me to show some new thinking...he's made no secret of the fact that he's going to attempt to be a Belfast fan favourite by making the Giants building a nasty place to come and play...if he gets the Giants faithful behind him in doing so it could be a very savvy move indeed...

Anyway...enough of a random bit of ranting that didn't really seem to be going anywhere...on to the news and rumours:

Stevie Lyle to Cardiff: Hm. Interesting one, this...Lyle is a legend in South Wales after his exploits there as a teenager...but whether he's worth a three-year contract..

Russ Cowley to Coventry: Speaking of three-year contracts, last years Blaze coach's and players' player of the year returns to the Skydome for his seventh, eighth, and ninth seasons...to general rejoicing.

Stephen Murphy and Graeme Walton to Belfast: The Giants are into the second year of trying to prove that, contrary to accepted wisdom, you can win the EIHL with a British-trained goalie. Murphy is coming off a superb season in Manchester, but even so, the Northern Irish crowd are notoriously hard on their netminders, so it'll be interesting to see how this one works out. Graeme Walton, meanwhile, is slowly becoming Mr Belfast-the local boy returns for his seventh professional season, all of which have been spent at the Odyssey. Not a player who'll make waves offensively, but arguably one of the most under-rated dmen in the league, the GB international will once again be a key cog in the Giants blueline machine...

Brad Cruikshank back to Sheffield: One of the EIHL's most respected players, the gritty Canadian centre is a key re-signing for the Steelers.

Tommy Sandahl and Curtis Huppe to Hull: The Stingrays have a new starting netminder, as well as one of the most lethal snipers in the EIHL. The Cloutier revolution continues apace on Humberside...

And that's your Thursday Thoughts done...

Tuesday Thoughts...and Summer Hockey Watch...

"Here's to new beginnings
For what it's worth"
Walls of Jericho: "Try, Fail, Repeat"

Let's go off on our usual trip through British hockey, and while we're at it, give some attention to the girls for a change as we look back at a top-of-the-table clash at the Skydome last weekend...

Well, at least there's no pretence that he's here to play: Belfast have been making waves this weekend, deciding, it appears, to follow the news of skilled defenceman Tom Walsh with...well, the signing of the not-so-skilled-but-quite-scary Sean McMorrow. As you'll see from his stats, scoring is not exactly his forte (he's got a grand total of twelve goals in his career), but with 2297 penalty minutes in 427 career games, you'd be right in thinking that he's been signed more for this sort of thing...this is his one and only appearance in the NHL-although if he can do that to Chris Neil then he shouldn't have much trouble with the average EIHL enforcer...

There's a proverb about glass houses and not chucking projectiles that comes to mind here: The past few weeks has seen much discussion on the way forward in British hockey, as per usual, with those on the English Premier League side of the fence very vocal about how their level (4 imports, no wage cap) is the most sustainable way forward and much hay being made about the troubles of the EIHL. However, all is not exactly rosy in the EPL, with Romford officially dead due to all hockey being pulled from their Rom Valley Way home, and Bracknell and Wightlink (Isle of Wight) teetering on the edge of extinction at the moment (although Telford at least are moving forward with new season plans after last season's problems).
It appears that, when it comes to picking a place for your team to rest in British hockey, nowhere is truly safe...it will be interesting to see, with all the changes we've already had in British hockey, whether there are more still to come...

Random "things that make you go "hmm" link: This one, in which one of my favourite sports writers discusses the way that players and teams now "manage" every one of their interactions with us mere mortals who watch them...admittedly comparing American superstars like Lebron James (he plays basketball, for those of you not up on your American sports) with, say, Brad Voth or Adam Calder may be a little overblown, but I found it interesting reading, especially when thinking of the way the Blaze organisation interact with their crowd at public events...

And now, on to some on-ice action...feel free to skip this bit if you've got no interest in women's hockey...

Summer Hockey Watch

Phoenix Rising: Coventry Phoenix 7, Telford Wrekin Raiders 1 (English Women Division 1 (Midlands), 2nd May 2008.

The men may have been on their summer holidays for a month or more, but hostilities are still very much alive for those of the so-called "fairer sex" as the women's season comes to a close-this match at the Skydome, as well as marking the fifth anniversary of the first ever match played by a Coventry women's team, was Telford's last and Coventry's penultimate game of the season-in four meetings so far honours were even, with both sides winning their home dates.. With Milton Keynes having secured the title already, this game was a vital one in the race for second-a Phoenix win would see them still having to go level on points with the second-placed Raiders if they won their game in hand the following week, despite the away side's vastly superior amount of goals scored, as well as keeping their unbeaten home record...so while there may have not been any trophies or position on the line, pride was most definitely at stake, particularly with the Raiders having come out on top by 7-1 and 8-4 in the last two meetings.

A cagey start to the game from both teams saw little goal-mouth action in the first minute or two, with the first genuine chance falling to Hannah Southam of the Phoenix, who chased down a loose puck in the Telford zone and flicked a backhand high past Gill Poxon in the Telford net to give the home side the lead in the third minute. This seemed to rattle the away side, as the Phoenix's top line of Sarah Powell, Hannah Maurice and Jenny Adams began to exert some serious pressure on Poxon's net-pressure that was rewarded when Powell scored twice in as many minutes, first flicking home a rebound off a Maurice shot and then being left with an unmissable chance in front of the net thanks to a pinpoint pass from Adams.

Meanwhile, at the other end the Raiders were doing their best to get back into the game, with their top-line of Kat Lester, Jade Poxon and Heather Metcalfe testing Tam Donoghue in the Phoenix net on several occasions, despite resolute Phoenix defending. The game settled down quickly into a steady ebb-and-flow, with the Phoenix having slightly the better of the game thanks to the combined attacking efforts of the Powell-Maurice-Adams trio, who looked likely to find the net on every shift, and some fine positional play from Jayne Buxton, Southam and Rosie Adey on the second line backing them up.

Into the second period, and we saw more of the same, although the Raiders clearly had had something of a talking-to in the first break while some of the home side seemed tempted to rest on their laurels a little...the game went back and forth as in the first period, with Poxon being alert to deny the speedy Maurice on several coast-to-coast rushes. She could do nothing about Phoenix's fourth, though, as a long clearance out of defence was deflected off Powell's skate and left Maurice in the clear to finish beautifully, high on the glove-side. A remarkably clean game nearly saw a moment of magic moments afterward as a laser of a long pass from Phoenix captain Nicky Blower found Buxton in the clear, but Poxon was again equal to the task. The Raiders, too, were finding their attacking legs as Ann Maclean fired a shot just wide with Donoghue stretching to get across after a superb centering pass. The period ended four-nothing, but this game was by no means won.

The third saw the Phoenix lose their rhythm a little as the lines were shifted around-the passing was noticeably less crisp and the Raiders duly took advantage, the Metcalf-Poxon-Lester line finally being rewarded for their hard work as they cut through a static defence with almost arrogant ease before Poxon finished off a sweeping move. The Phoenix bench seemed stung by this and the lines were restored to those which had been working so effectively-Jayne Buxton benefiting as she finally gained reward for her intelligent play by thumping home a close-range effort after good work from Jenny Carter. Hannah Southam's "shoot first, pass later" approach then gained her a second goal, before Rosie Adey finished off the scoring. There was still time for a flurry of shots at either end, but in the end the home side celebrated their fifth anniversary with a fairly comprehensive 7-1 victory...


That's your Tuesday Thoughts for this week...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Hot Off the Presses:

"And now, the generals are saying they'll take a stand
But their heads are buried deep, deep in the sand"
Kara's Flowers: "Sleepy Windbreaker"

Manchester, as announced by owner Neil Morris at their fans' forum oh...about half an hour ago, are now an EPL team-the speculation is true...Morris has said that he will inform the EIHL board of the decision this evening.

Their signings thus far are Steve Fone from Coventry, with Adam Summerfield backing up in net, the returning Carl Graham, Luke Boothroyd and Adam Walker, and new signing Joe Graham from Nottingham, along with several ENL Phoenix players.

Other news from the forum has Belfast being openly pointed at as a wage-cap breaking team, and hints at several returnees from previous Phoenix seasons being rumoured (Joe Tallari being one). Despite the Vipers fan forum last week also saying they were committed to the EIHL for at least this season, you now have to wonder just whether, as many fear, the Elite League's days are now numbered.

So there we are. It's an eight-team EIHL. And has become one AFTER the league planned to go forward with nine teams and tried to convince us that everyone was on the same page...

You see that white stuff on the floor? That's spilt milk, and that sobbing you can hear is the directors of eight teams crying as they wonder how they're going to sort out the hole this'll leave...

Your move, Elite League...British hockey fans are watching you more closely than ever now...

Ins and Outs...

"Can I go now?
Say what you have to say
Happy you've got your way
There's nothing to discuss"
Jennifer Love Hewitt: "Can I Go Now?"

It's been an interesting few days in British hockey, to say the least...

Greg Chambers to Coventry: Hm. Reviews from Bison fans say his attitude is not the greatest in the world, the bloke likes a drink or two and quit on his team last season. Add to that that he's always seemed to be the kind of player who has all the talent in the world but needs to either constantly be the best on the team (he only came into his own at Bison when first Kevin Bergin in 06/07, Doug Sheppard in 07/08 and then Brad Cruikshank in 08/09 moved on to pastures new and he was effectively expected to be the sole scorer), or a fire lighting under his rear-end (for brief sparks of superb play-he seems to play in fits and starts rather than constantly be at the top end)...

In Coventry, we shall see what happens...

Tom Walsh to Belfast: Stats are here. It appears Belfast are starting the off-season by addressing some of the defensive issues they had last season-certainly Walsh has a huge amount of pedigree for this level.

The big news of the day in the EIHL, however, is Manchester's decision over where they're going to play next season. Official announcement is tonight but an article has already appeared on the website of the Scotsman newspaper, claiming that Edinburgh will be EIHL and Manchester are moving to the EPL. The article has now been removed, but it quotes Phoenix owner Neil Morris as saying:

Club owner Neil Morris said: "Despite a quite remarkable campaign in many respects last season, the club as a business didn't realise its financial planning and that prompted a serious re-evalution of the operation.

"When we laid all the cards on the table, the option to move to the EPL ticked all the boxes.

"We believe that the English Premier League offers not only a great challenge for Tony Hand and his team but also the best opportunity to ensure the long-term future for the club and the sport in Manchester."

All will be revealed this evening...and the Breakaway will, all being well, have the news and confirmation for you either way as soon as it breaks...check back around 9pm or so...

Tuesday Musings...

"there's a happy ending
Every single day."
Amy Macdonald: "Mr. Rock n'Roll"

After our Transatlantic trip yesterday, we return back home...and given that the news in the off-season is somewhat sparse at the moment, we shall get the tidbits we have in the EIHL out of the way nice and quickly...

Vipers local lads return: After David Longstaff and Mark Gouett became the first two to commit to Newcastle last week, two more Vipers, both native North-Easterners, have confirmed they'll be wearing Vipers colours for another year, as Ben Campbell and Dean Holland prepare for another season in black-and-yellow. These two are slowly becoming very good players indeed after making the jump from the Newcastle/Whitley development system two seasons ago, with Holland making his mark at the Skydome by demolishing Joe Henry in a lightweight scrap this season. It's fair to say that Campbell is more skill-oriented in his play, while Holland is your prototypical local-lad, flying around the ice with seemingly no fear-the two of them were highly impressive on the Vipers' third line last season and will only strengthen the Vipers roster this season...

However, another Vipers product is off to pastures new, with Jez Lundin taking up a role in the EPL, reportedly for Guildford-this is a slightly strange move in my eyes as he appeared to be developing into a key part of the defence at the MRA...however, with Stephen Lee using a season in the EPL to good effect in turning undoubted potential into ability and a contract in Nottingham, maybe Lundin feels he can go the same way...

Phillips returns to Sheffield: Meanwhile, the Steelers have started their off-season with the excellent step of re-signing one of the best British players in the game, as well as their captain, as Jonathan Phillips returns to the Hallam Arena for a fourth season. The Cardiff product is, in my eyes, possibly the best Brit forward out there along with Colin Shields-the Steelers faithful should be extremely pleased that they've ensured the return of a quality player straight out of the box...

Shields and the other Phillips return to Belfast: Meanwhile, across the Irish Sea, two more premier Brits have returned to their club of last season, as Colin Shields and Dave Phillips become the second and third Giants signings of the off-season...

I accept that news of returnees is never as exciting as new players, but with the signings above all three clubs have ensured that the crucial "Brit-pack" areas of their rosters are being well taken care of...which can only be a good thing...

And now, in the first of an occasional series...which will mostly follow the Coventry Phoenix women's team as they play their last two games of the season, but begins elsewhere, and is intended to place a bit of focus on the grass-roots/often neglected aspect of the sport now that the big boys have taken their sticks home for the summer...

Summer Hockey Watch:

On Saturday evening, I was once again to be found at the Skydome, watching hockey...as the Blackburn Buccaneers and Coventry Chargers met in the Sub-Zero Summer Cup for recreational teams.... You can follow the trials and tribulations of the Bucks over at Five Minute Major throughout the summer, as both Becky and Matt play for them (think of it as adopting a team for the summer)...and for this game, they, for some reason, wanted me to write a report...so here we go...

Coventry Chargers 11, Bucks 4:

This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a game for the purists-but then what rec hockey game is? The Chargers started in calm and organised fashion, while the Bucks, quite frankly, appeared to have their minds still on the bus-a state of affairs which saw the home side score three goals in four minutes early on in the game.

After the initial lethargy had worn off, however, the Bucks began to give as good as they got, with Pete O'Connell, Darren Shaw and Joe Young being instrumental in driving the team forward, supported ably by the rest of the bench, as they countered the Chargers' superior skating ability with good, old-fashioned Northern grit-exemplified by O'Connell being hurled headfirst into the boards, while twisting through the air, after leaving a shot to the last possible second on a breakaway and being caught by the goalie's stick. The Bucks defence were also holding as firm as possible against the well-drilled forwards coming at them, aided in no small part by Gary Buckman in net...however, the superior skating of the Chargers allowed them to far outshoot their opponents, and inevitably, some of these crept past...

Into the second period, and the goals kept going in at the Bucks end. However, it wasn't all one-way traffic by a long shot, with Richard Allan and Tyler Moe-Slepika testing the Chargers goalie on several occasions before the Chargers got themselves on the board through a close-range Shaw effort and seconds later, a Young shot that somehow sneaked into the bottom corner, to end the second period withe the score 7-2 in the Chargers favour...

The game had by now settled down into a steady rhythm of thrust-and-counter-thrust as we went on through the third period, with both sides creating chances but the Chargers by far the more clinical-a state of affairs which led to four quick goals going in at the start of the third, including two very nice slapshots from the blue.... It should have been five as the home-side's Matt Spring chased down a long clearance, got to it before Buckman could clear, left the goalie out of position, went past a desperate diving block with ease, and then somehow managed to place the puck wide of an open goal from a distance of roughly a foot, much to his embarassment and the amusement of all present...

This unbelievable let-off put the wind back in the Bucks' sails, and Shaw's second goal, taken calmly in a scramble round the net, ensured that despite the unequal scoreline, the visitors could travel home with some pride. The last significant action of the game, however, would be one of the most memorable, at least for one person present. In another scramble around the Chargers net, the Bucks fired in several shots in succession, before the puck broke loose to Matt Reynolds...the Bucks forward, who may be more familiar to you, dear reader, as the same Mattski of Five Minute Major fame, duly ended a goal-drought of over two years with a classic poacher's finish low into the bottom corner...

Despite the scoreline, this was by no means a whitewash...both teams played the game in good spirit, with the disparity in experience (the Chargers are a team full of ex-Coventry juniors, while the Bucks have been in existence for eighteen months only) noticeable only in the skating and finishing abilities of the respective teams...the home side may well congratulate themselves on the win but there is much to build on for the visitors also as the competition continues...

There you go...that's your Tuesday musings...

Thoughts for a Rainy Day...

"I could go back to every laugh,
But I don't wanna go there anymore,
And I know all the steps up to your door,
But I don't wanna go there anymore."
Taylor Swift: "Come In With The Rain"

Apologies for not writing much this past week...I did warn you that the Breakaway was moving on to its summer schedule, however...

But, on this day which combines two of the most depressing parts of life-it being rainy and a Monday, the continuing rumours of Manchester joining the EPL are another reason to be somewhat worried about the EIHL this season...

But that is a topic for another day, as the announcement doesn't take place until Thursday...

Back in the league itself, Cardiff have made a big splash by signing Stevie Lyle to a three-year deal to be their starting netminder-an interesting one as it appears to be driven by equal parts sentiment as well as sense.

That's not to say I don't think Lyle is a good netminder-after all, he is arguably the best that Britain has to offer, and has been for several years. However-is he worth locking into a three-year deal to be your starter, especially after mixed reviews from Belfast? Me, personally...I don't think so, not by a long shot.

But that, again, is a topic for another discussion-perhaps nearer the start of the season when we have rosters to compare with...

Quite frankly, after all the in-fighting, rumours and back-biting of the past few weeks, I've had enough of British hockey for now. That's not to say I don't miss the Sunday night fixes of live hockey terribly...but there is something to be said for following the viewpoint stated by Becky and Matt over at Five Minute Major of the "back to basics" approach...

And so, today's post is going to forswear British hockey completely.

Today...just for the hell of it, let's cross the Atlantic. It's some NHL talk on the Breakaway! Giddy up! Saddle up with me and take a ride across the North American continent as we look at the current state of the Stanley Cup playoffs...

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston Bruins (1) v Montreal Canadiens (8): BOS win series 4-0.

Move on, people...if you're a Habs fan, this Original Six series involving the most bitter of rivals was roughly the equivalent of watching a car-wreck involving your mother-in-law trashing your brand-new Ferrari, on purpose, and getting off without a scratch. The Bruins simply rode roughshod over les Habitants...and led to the notoriously impatient Canadiens crowd booing their own team in game four...

NY RANGERS (7) v WASHINGTON CAPITALS (2): series tied 3-3.

Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is what a series should be. The Rangers were 3-1 up after game 4, and possibly already thinking about their opponents in the second round as they headed back to Madison Square Garden for a potential series clincher. Two games later, and Alex Ovechkin and company have dragged them back to Washington...the DC fire-brigade have already cancelled all leave in anticipation of a bona-fide, five-alarm barn-burner of a game seven. This one will be worth staying up for on the 28th...

CAROLINA HURRICANES (6) v NEW JERSEY DEVILS (3): series tied 3-3

This series is the very definition of "see-saw" as it heads back to Jersey for the decider, with both teams proving they can win in the "other" barn. It also makes for the most exciting hockey TV night thus far in the season, as this Game 7 takes place at exactly the same time as Caps v Rangers. Sometimes, fate does indeed throw us hockey fans a bone of the juiciest, meatiest kind...

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (4) v PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (5): PIT win 4-2
(giggles)
(laughs out loud and restrains oneself from doing a victory dance)
Sorry about that. As those of you who've read the sidebar on the right will be aware, I'm a Pens fan. As those of you who know anything about the NHL will be aware, there is something of a rivalry between the Pens and the Flyers due to the two of them being in the same state (Pennsylvania). That rivalry is not a friendly one...and the series reflected this. Ask Kimmo Timonen.
However, the Flyers rallied from a horrific first two games to bring the series back to 3-2, and things looked interesting for a while, including shutting out the Pens on their own ice in game four...but eventually, the form-book won out...

WESTERN CONFERENCE

ANAHEIM DUCKS (8) v SAN JOSE SHARKS (1): ANA lead series 3-2
Hello. This has been probably the story of the playoffs so far, as the powerhouse Sharks have well and truly been cut down to size by their underdog Californian neighbours, thanks in no small part to the stellar play of Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. The Sharks now need to prove their mettle and win twice in a row, with one of them being in a bear-pit of an Arrowhead Pond (yes, I know it's a new name now, but that just sounds far better...), otherwise, the Western Conference top seeds will be the first big casualty of the playoffs...

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (7) v DETROIT RED WINGS (2): DET win series 4-0

Proof, if any were needed, that one superstar and a bunch of up-and-coming youngsters, however good they may be, isn't in the same league as the team who have so much talent on their roster, it's almost embarassing. The defending Cup champions are off and running with relative ease,while the Blue Jackets have shown that...well, they're not a laughing stock any more. The future is bright in Ohio...

ST LOUIS BLUES (6) v VANCOUVER CANUCKS (3): VAN win series 4-0
See above-it's much the same story in this series. The Canucks simply had just that little bit more class than the young Blues, winning three of the four games by one goal. The 'nucks are moving on with hope in their hearts, while the Blues, too, will realise that the future is brighter than many would have credited looking purely at the series result...although that won't go all the way to deadening the sting of narrow defeat...

CALGARY FLAMES (5) v CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (4): CHI lead series 3-2

If you had to pick the series most likely to go to a Game 7 beforehand, this would likely have been it. It's the very definition of crash-and-bang v twist-and-turn, as the smaller, speedier Blackhawks try to avoid getting blasted right off the ice by the aggressive, hard-checking Flames...doing so pretty well in the first two games before the Albertans really put their feet down hard in games 3 and 4 to level the series, before unaccountably backing off a little and being punished in game 5 with a very flat performance indeed. The Flames, however, have a recent habit of pulling off the Great Escape...although as yet, no-one has yet stood out, the Saddledome crowd are already asking themselves who will step forward and take on the role filled so well by Martin Gelinas in their last cup run...

There you go...that's you now up to date on events across the pond...

Finally, just because I can and in order to end this on a high note...and from the "random finds on youtube" file, here's the greatest sports commercial/scene-scetting music/speech montage ever written...it just seems appropriate come playoff time...I defy you not to have "we got ourselves a game!" stick in your head for long afterward...

And remember, fans of the underdog in both the British leagues and the NHL, as you're watching your rosters built this off-season and despairing at the Nottinghams and Sheffields of this world once again throwing money your GMs can only dream of at players...

The Theory of Evolution claims that "only the strong shall survive" but the Theory of Competition says "just because they're the strong, doesn't mean they can't get their asses kicked!"

Keep keeping your eye on the puck...

Midweek Musings...

"I'm going in for the kill
I'm doing it for the thrill...I'm hoping you'll understand..."
La Roux: "In for the Kill"

And so, even though we're only a matter of weeks into the off-season, it appears that this summer, putting any speculation to rest by going in for the kill and getting the squads sorted and settled early is the order of the day in the EIHL, at least in Nottingham and Cardiff. The Devils already have Brad Voth, Jay Latulippe, Mike Prpich, Wes Jarvis, and Mike Hartwick returning, while the Panthers, too, appear to be going for evolution rather than revolution in their squad, with Bruce Richardson, Kevin Bergin, Nick Toneys and coach Corey Neilson already returning...both teams also have pulled in players from elsewhere in
the UK. Let's look at the new signings and a rumour or two now...

Stephen Lee to Nottingham, from Guildford: This is an excellent signing for Nottingham-the product of the Hull junior system was playing Elite League hockey for the Stingrays at the age of 17, before being enticed away to the EPL for a season. At the EPL finals he looked the best d-man present despite still only being nineteen, and is already being talked about in the same breath as Jon Weaver, Ben O'Connor and Danny Meyers in the crop of current British d-men. Expect him to have a similar impact in Nottingham to O'Connor's in Coventry this season, as he finally gets the chance to prove how good he really is...

Mark Richardson to Cardiff, from Nottingham: This is a big loss for the Panthers. Richardson joined them mid-season to step in on D after problems in Basingstoke, and has quickly become popular among the Panthers fans with his forward-looking outlook-the Devils defence instantly looks a little stronger...

Peter Hirsch to Coventry, from Aalborg: The rumour that wouldn't go away has finally been confirmed, as Danish international goalie Peter Hirsch becomes the first new import announced of the 2009/10 EIHL season-to much joy in Coventry. Outgoing goalie JF Perras has been linked with a return to Edinburgh...

Craig Peacock to Belfast, from Peterborough: Another standout EPL player makes the step up to the Elite League-the 20-year-old was also linked with Coventry and Sheffield, and comes off a 106-point season in the all-conquering Phantoms team from last season-the Giants hope he can enjoy similar success to Sheffield's Rob Dowd. However, despite the hype, I wasn't hugely impressed with him during the EPL finals-he reminded me of Sylvain Deschatelets in that he always seemed to be involved in anything good the Phantoms did, but never made you think "wow, this guy is good" in the way Sheffield's "golden child" has this season...

Jeff Glowa and Lee Esders return to Hull: Two excellent signings for the Stingrays, as Sylvain Cloutier ensures the return of two fan-favourites to start building his first Stingrays team...

That's the signings-now for the rumours...

Chris McAllister to Sheffield: Interesting...he'd certainly continue the recent Steelers tradition of building a strong, physical defence..

Danny Stewart to Hull: One hopes not-Stewie has been one of the core players of the Blaze in recent years, but with some fans now feeling that new blood is required and the fiery little winger has had his day (me, however-I'd have him back as one of the first names on the teamsheet) and Sylvain Cloutier being an admirer, this one is a "possible"...

And, in other news...

Erm...this isn't exactly fitting with the whole "we're punching far above our weight" schtick, Coventry...: The Blaze have taken a new step in British hockey, and moved away from purely hockey operations as they've taken over the bar attached to the Skydome, which up until now has been called Mbargo-it will be renamed "Crosby's" and is described as a "sports/hockey bar in the centre of Coventry"...launch night is tomorrow...

The Breakaway will of course be nipping along to let you know what it's like and whether it's worth adopting as the new hockey fans' watering hole in the centre of Coventry...however, given that the Blaze directors were on the fans' mailing list barely a week ago pleading poverty in their bid to travel to the Conti Cup, am I the only one that thinks taking over a city-centre bar in a recession having done so is kind of like turning up to a bankruptcy hearing in one of these?

Aye well...that's your lot for now...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

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...