Re-views and Previews... Part 2

I continue my review of the final weekend in the Elite League regular season, and preview the play-off quarter-final match-ups.

3rd v 6th – Nottingham Panthers v Braehead Clan

Following another disappointing performance in the league this season, the Panthers took the heat off of coach Corey Neilson somewhat by winning the Challenge Cup, and there’s no denying that with a strong crowd behind them and on their home ice the Panthers will want the playoff silverware badly, to bolster their season’s successes. Their final weekend saw them shut out the Capitals at home 7-0 before they travelled to Belfast for both teams’ final game of the season, a tight encounter that really set the tone for the playoff hockey they have ahead of them. The Panthers can be a good clutch side at times and are capable of big performances under pressure; it’s their consistency that lets them down and they are prone to a silly mistake or two, so it will be interesting to see which Nottingham side turns up for their final run-in.

Braehead ended the season as the undisputed top team in Scotland, with over twice as many points as their nearest rivals, and they battled right to the end for 5th place with Coventry. They had a fantastic final weekend, beating Hull at home before clinching a stunning late victory in Sheffield, and they proved they have strength in depth as nine different names went on the scoresheet across the two games. Braehead have blown hot and cold and netminding has at times been a problem for them; they may opt to go with Brit Mike Will over the erratic Jaakko Suomalainen as Will has performed admirably for them and won them games in pressure situations; he could be one to watch for the future.

For me this is the biggest opportunity for a team to overthrow one of ‘the big three’ teams in this quarter final stretch. It would be a massive upset for the hosts of the final four weekend not to be present but the Clan have undone Nottingham before and I believe that in at least one of the legs, they can do it again. For Nottingham their home ice form will be key and they will want to hit the Clan hard and early at the National Ice Centre, especially if they are trailing from the first leg.

Prediction: Home wins each way; I think Nottingham will want to win this at all costs and will take the victory based on a big home win. Aggregate score 7-6

4th v 5th – Cardiff Devils v Coventry Blaze

The fourth quarter final is a clash between two teams who were pitted against one another this weekend just gone, in a double header that would see both sides getting into the spirit of things and the playoff hockey in full flow. They will meet each other two more times to decide who will progress to the final four and this one really is too close to call. Honours were even this weekend just gone, with each side winning their home game. 17 goals were scored and there were two fights; Chris Frank achieved a Gordie Howe hat-trick if you take both games as one but worrying for Cardiff ended the weekend on crutches following a rip-roaring tilt with the Blaze’s Brian Jurynec. The attacking advantage probably goes to Cardiff who outshot Coventry 78–51 across 120 minutes of hockey, however Blaze’s Peter Hirsch had the stronger weekend in net, saving 70 of the attempts on his goal in comparison to 42 stops by the Devils’ Stevie Lyle.

The double header was a thrilling way to end the season for two sides who have fought closely all season and have fostered a healthy rivalry both on and off the ice, and I have no doubt we will see some feisty clashes across the two games. Of all the match-ups I think I will be keeping the closest eye on this one; Cardiff will be looking to repeat their success of 2011, when they made the playoff final and only just missed out in a close battle with Nottingham. The Blaze seek to return to the final four having missed out in 2011 and they have certainly been stronger over the last couple of months than they were earlier in the season. Cardiff have arguably the advantage with the second of the two games being played in their barn, the notoriously tough Big Blue Tent, and they will look to minimise any damage the Blaze can inflict on them in the first leg at the Skydome and seek to use their physical presence and speed of attack to get the job done in the second leg. The sometimes lightweight Blaze have found their scoring form but are a little loose in defence and it will take a monumental effort from Peter Hirsch to turn away the shots that will rain in on him from the prolific Devils forwards.

Prediction: Cardiff have been the stronger side consistently throughout the regular season and I believe they will take the final spot in the final four. It will be a close one, but Cardiff will desperately want to avoid it going to a shootout, at which they have been hopeless this season. I think they will nick it. Aggregate score 9-7.

Not to be outdone… 9th v 10th – Edinburgh Capitals v Fife Flyers: the Revenge

I can’t let the weekend review pass without commenting on what could respectfully be called a good old time hockey tilt in Kirkcaldy on Sunday night (or in layman’s terms, a mass brawl). With nothing left to play for the teams, placed 9th and 10th in the Elite League respectively, and with the score stacked 9-3 in favour of the visiting Capitals, the players decided to abandon the hockey-playing and act out the much-vaunted old-school rivalry on the ice, with a cheap shot to Fife goalie Garrett Zemlak triggering a series of fights which saw 7 players ejected from the game and a combined total of over 300 penalty minutes doled out by the toiling referees. It was an inauspicious end to the season but certainly a memorable one.

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So, I’m excited to see how next weekend plays out as we discover who our final four will be. I have a few more nuggets of wisdom up my sleeve to share with you before the season is out including my Elite League Dream Team, plenty of play-off build-up, and a beard analysis the likes of which has never been seen before. You don’t want to miss it.

Re-views and Previews – Part 1

The final weekend of the regular season. This time last season, the Vipers faithful had their final game at Whitley Bay against Dundee, and travelled there the following day to complete an unforgettable season and say goodbye to Danny Stewart’s tireless and amazing squad. It was pretty momentous, especially in consideration of all that came to pass in the following weeks and months with the club being dissolved, so it was understandably less of an occasion for me personally this time around. It came and went in the blink of an eye. I sat at home on the sofa mostly, quaffing a variety of alcoholic beverages and eating curry whilst watching scores come in on Twitter. However the weekend contained more drama and talking points than the prior few weeks put together, as the warm weather seemed to spark players into action as they caught scent of the playoffs on the spring breeze, and it really set the tone for what looks to be a thrilling series of playoff encounters.

Despite there being almost a full schedule on Sunday the quarter-final berths were settled on Saturday. So I’ll pass comment on the weekend’s activity team by team, in a playoff preview style. I haven’t even figured out how this is going to work yet. But come along for the ride and we’ll figure it out together. We’ll do two today and two tomorrow. Bitesize previewing, if you will. Big bites, but still.

1st v 8th – Belfast Giants v Dundee Stars

Belfast had just a single game for their final weekend, and they hoisted the Championship banner at the Odyssey before taking on a Panthers side they had seen a fair bit of in recent weeks, losing the Challenge Cup final and seemingly building up a bit of tension between the two sides as the game turned out to be rather feisty, with a fair bit of rough stuff between the two sides. The most agitating agitator in all of British hockey-dom, Darryl Lloyd, threw himself into the game 110% and succeeded in getting under the skin of Panthers defenceman Brock Wilson and a six-man brawl ensued, resulting in a fight between Giants captain Jeremy Rebek and heavyweight Guillaume Lepine. Still waiting for the decision on that one, although hats off to Rebek for getting involved with one of the league’s best fighters. It sounded like a fantastic, hard-fought game and resulted in a late win for the Champions, Craig Peacock netting in overtime to put a cherry on top of an already very tasty and exceedingly large cake. It could safely be said that these two sides are ready for some playoff hockey, and could potentially meet in what would be a very juicy final at the NIC.

But first things first, Belfast enter into a two game quarter final series with the Dundee Stars, whose late spate of wins to lift themselves into a playoff berth seemed to catch up with them somewhat in the final weekend. They managed an overtime win against Fife after a low-scoring 1-1 game before being soundly beaten by 7th place Hull on Sunday, however, with what is clearly the toughest quarter final draw on offer it could conceivably be argued that the Scottish side were right to try and preserve their bodies, as they will need every ounce of energy at their disposal in next weekend’s double header.

The tie will take Dundee over to Northern Ireland for the first leg before both teams return to Scotland to contest the second leg, and Belfast will undoubtedly be looking to get the job done in front of their home crowd and take an unassailable lead back to Dundee, who cannot be underestimated, having run Belfast surprisingly close on almost every occasion that the two teams have met so far this season.

Prediction: As hard as Dundee will work for this one, it’s a tall order and I can’t imagine any outcome other than a Giants win. However I do think it will be a closer tie than the gap in league positions suggests. I’ll plump for an aggregate score of 10-6.

2nd v 7th – Sheffield Steelers v Hull Stingrays

Sheffield had something of a topsy-turvy final weekend as they travelled to the Scottish capital and pummelled its inhabitants 13-2, before returning home on Sunday to face the Glasgow contingent in the Braehead Clan, who were able to pull out a massive victory at the Motorpoint, beating the Steelers 5-4 with just 3 seconds remaining in regulation time, and posing questions over the Steelers’ mental toughness going into what could potentially be a tricky quarter-final match-up for them. It’s their fourth loss in five games, one of those being against their quarter final opponents. Could it be that Ryan Finnerty’s side have let the pressure of a long season get to them? They will need to show their mettle if they want to avoid disappointing an orange army who will be travelling the short distance to Nottingham en masse for the playoff final four weekend and will fully expect to see their team a part of the action.

Hull had a mixed final weekend, losing to Braehead before beating Dundee to secure 7th spot, a place which has been theirs for some time and never seemed in doubt despite their mixed fortunes this season, as they mixed some great wins in with some unacceptable defeats, but they have toughened up of late and will be fully prepared to dig their heels in and take this one to the wire.

The head to head statistics make interesting reading: the Steelers dominated the opening exchanges between the teams but the scorelines became closer and closer until the Stingrays were finally able to beat their Yorkshire rivals just last weekend. Have they learnt what it takes to beat the Steelers, and more importantly can they do it twice? Key for the Steelers, the fitness of Jeff Legue, who was the star of the weekend for them as he has been so many times this season, scoring 5 goals in two games and proving his consistency to be one of the main reasons Sheffield remained in contention for the title for such a long time. His ability to score clutch goals will surely come into play and in a tie that will finish in front of home fans at Ice Sheffield on Sunday, Hull will need to have a commanding lead in order to give themselves the best possible chance in Sheffield, who will not be easy to beat on their home ice, despite the more limited crowd size of IceSheffield which rather strangely is where the tie will be played.

Prediction: I think another close encounter is on the cards with Hull’s recent good form against the Steelers. I think they can win the home leg, but I believe Jeff Legue and the Steelers will dominate the second. Aggregate score? I’m going for 7-6

Part 2 shortly...

Just Like Starting Over

Originally posted on http://www.ukamericansportsfans.com/ on 20th March 2012

Just how do I go about writing this report? It was the game after the Championship-winning night before. It was St Patrick’s Day. And I’m not going to lie to you, I had imbibed a not insignificant amount of Irish beverages prior to my arrival at the Odyssey. Not to mention the night before. The Giants players would surely have a sore head or two amongst their ranks as well and as for the Steelers, it was hard to imagine how they would approach this game; they still had a few hundred travelling fans to go out and play for, but with the title race over, would their minds already be focussing on the play-offs? Just how could this hockey game live up to the previous night?

Putting negativity aside, I am always ready for ice hockey, so I kept an open mind. In the opening minutes of the game it definitely seemed as though the Steelers were the more up for it; they had their game faces on and the teams looked more evenly matched than they had at any time the previous evening – could this be the Sheffield side’s chance to exact a little revenge? It certainly seemed that way as they almost took the lead after five minutes, Colt King with a great effort which was saved, the subsequent rebound fluffed by Jeff Legue, who went on to have a couple of better chances despite his side being short-handed in the following minutes. The Steelers penalty kill was sound and they continued to compete with the unsurprisingly sluggish champions for the remainder of the period, the Giants unable to find a way into the game.

The deadlock was finally broken after 15 minutes, Colt King poaching a tap-in goal from a Jeff Legue shot on the powerplay. This was more like it – I believe ‘let’s have it’ or words along those lines may have escaped from my lips at that time. It boded well for the second period.

The Giants response was rapidly executed however; they equalised just 37 seconds into the second period, Craig Peacock the sniper for the home side. Doug Christiansen must have had a word with his players in the period break – okay lads, you’ve won the league, but let’s prove why. Socks pulled up, the champions began closing down the Steelers more efficiently and the visitors were unable to maintain their early game pressure. The tide was turning.

Four minutes later, Giants Captain Jeremy Rebek took advantage of another lax defensive moment for the Steelers, catching them sleeping to take his side into the lead. It triggered a flurry of three goals in less than two minutes; following some major action in front of John DeCaro’s net in which the Sheffield netminder pulled off an excellent save, Giants scored their third straight from a face-off, Gareth Roberts letting rip an excellent shot into the top right hand corner of the net, DeCaro unable to get near the attempt. Sheffield called a time-out but it couldn’t stop the flow of the clinical Belfast team, who used a failed Steelers’ attempt on goal well-saved by Stephen Murphy to their advantage, turning defence into attack and charging down the ice, Jon Pelle picking out his shot and taking the lead to 4-1.

The Steelers just couldn’t catch a break and I found myself feeling rather sorry for them, the Giants were once again in unstoppable form, their delight from the previous night evident in their boisterous and effusive play in the second period. They were rampant. The Steelers managed to peg back the score to 4-2 with another powerplay effort, but the fight had all but left the building and it felt like a foregone conclusion.

As if to reinforce this notion, the third period began in a rather flat manner, and only livened up when Belfast had their first powerplay opportunity, but despite some good build-up play there was nothing doing. However there was a flavour of just why this team are champions on display throughout the third period: some Tom Dignard being brick hard, some good saves from Murphy when he was called upon, some Darryl Lloyd feistiness, the latter still busy proving just what a handy player he is to have around, goading Steelers Captain Jonathan Phillips into an elbowing penalty after he had him suitably riled, resulting in a 5-on-3 chance for the Giants with around five minutes to go in the period. There was no question they would score, and score they did, another to add to the tally of Craig Peacock.

Back-up netminder Andrew Dickson was given an airing and made a couple of saves, and the crowd noise built once again to a crescendo as the game drew to a close, the result never in doubt and as expected, the whole thing a bit of a damp squib. What followed was worth seeing however, as the League Cup made its first appearance in Belfast for six years, and was proudly lofted by one joyful Giants player after another. It was good to see, but the welcoming arms of Rockies sports bar were calling the neutrals home and as the world and his wife had their turn on the cup and it stopped being people I’d actually heard of, I succumbed to the urge for further refreshment and left the Odyssey for the last time this season.

When all is said and done, Belfast deserved to win the league this year beyond any shadow of doubt. They worked for it and earned it, simply outclassing their opposition at almost every time of asking. Their netminding and defence were by far the best of any team, they had plenty of power in their forward lines and they have arguably the stand-out Brit of the year in Robert Dowd. Whether or not they will be able to replicate it next year is another question and hinges upon how many of the team can be persuaded to stay, and who they bring in to replace the leavers. But now Doug Christiansen has tasted victory, there’s no doubt he will want to do it all over again next year.

Can they become a dominant force in British ice hockey, or was this a one off, unique to this particular group of individuals? Can a team win the league not once but TWICE with a British netminder, thus proving Dave Simms wrong on the same point twice? Will I EVER catch a Subway that’s been shot from a cannon into the crowd at the Odyssey Arena? I’m excited to find out the answers to these and other questions, but all in good time. First and foremost – will the Giants extend their dominance into the play-off section of the season? Discuss. Or at least, I will discuss, in my play-off preview, coming soon. Tune in, fine folk. Oh and please feel free to leave a comment or two, it makes me feel all warm inside. Thanks for reading, bye for now!

This Was the Year That Was

Originally posted on http://www.ukamericansportsfans.com/ on 17th March 2012

This is the year. Four little words. A simple statement of intent, and a refrain that has been repeated all season long by players and fans of the Belfast Giants alike. The words have taken on a life of their own on Twitter, where much of the inter-team banter has been situated this season, where the hashtag #thisistheyear has followed almost any comment about the Giants’ Elite League campaign. And it all came down to one weekend. If this was the year, then last night was the night to prove it. To put their money where their mouths were. This was IT.

The Odyssey was jumping, packed out with a season high crowd of over 7,000, and I was euphorically inhaling the rarefied air up in the corporate boxes – a treat organised by our Belfast friends, and there was no better occasion to enjoy the comfort and exceptional view than this. The stage was set, the cider was cold, the Steelers were orange. We were ready for a spectacle the likes of which had never been seen before. Well, this season at least.

View from the corporate box: Because I'm worth it

The first period opened brightly, with a couple of chances either way, Stephen Murphy looking the more assured of the two netminders in the Giants goal. The Giants established their dominance fairly early on, the forwards moving together, with a real sense of urgency, and the defence mopping up everything that came their way, as per usual (did I tell you I love Tom Dignard? I love him.). The first goal came after just over five minutes, and was met with jubilation all around the arena – this crowd was ready to win the league, there was no doubt about it. When a second goal was fumbled in through a hapless Steelers defence just a few seconds later, it looked as though the writing may be on the wall.

It would be an uphill struggle for the shell-shocked Steelers for the rest of the period, swimming against the tide, the Giants exerting their authority over their opponents, the momentum and the crowd both massively in their favour. Was this over already? Sheffield could not settle, they looked uncomfortable and out of place. Actually, sod it, I’ll sum up the period in a simple sentence that will leave you thinking I’m rather immature: Belfast took a firm grip on the game early, and Sheffield lacked penetration in key areas. Yeah yeah, whatever. IT’s TRUE, OKAY?!

In all seriousness, Belfast proved themselves worthy of winning the Championship on their first period showing alone. They harassed Sheffield in defence, closing them down and not giving them an inch. It was cleanly fought, with not a single penalty, and seemed to fly by, but maybe that’s just because we were living the high life, and had a beer wench. No really, we did.

The period concluded with controversy, a perceived trip on Craig Peacock which may or may not have ended with a goal was adjudged to be a penalty shot; Rob Dowd was nominated to do the honours.

What can we say about Rob Dowd’s penalty effort. I appear to have started a new paragraph just to analyse it, but let’s be fair, it doesn’t really deserve that. It can be summed up with one word: cocky. He went far too wide, showboating and made a total mess of it; John DeCaro soaked it up with ease. It’s not the way it’s done: it could have been a deciding goal; Anyway, enough about that.

It was like a different game after that. There was suddenly a spark, the Steelers using the missed penalty to their advantage, swinging the momentum and scoring a goal to make it a one goal game, Rod Sarich laying off a lovely pass to Jeff Legue who doesn’t miss opportunities like that. Oh and then there was a disallowed goal for the Giants – apparently it was kicked in. I didn’t even see it. Hey, I’m just being honest.

Second period. It began following another mysterious Odyssey-related delay, and when it did start it started quietly. It was tactical (my code for – nothing much happened). It picked up a few minutes in, a shot each way forcing a couple of decent saves, and we got our first penalty of the game after about 26 minutes of play. Toothbrushes were brandished as the first oral hygiene powerplay took place, Don’t ask. Adam Keefe and Rod Sarich had, er, words, and an injection of fizz was just what the game needed. On the powerplay, Peacock missed a sitter one on one but it didn’t matter, just a few seconds later the Giants scored their third goal from Aaron Clarke. The Steelers would have to have a monumental effort to pull this back. There were some handbags after that involving Stephenson, Keefe, Finnerty and Walton, it was all quite exciting as passions bubbled over and it threatened to turn into a real cracker of a game. However Steelers weren’t up to to the task, they still couldn’t find an opening, and were unable to put any pressure on the rampant Giants.

The third period. It started. Quietly, again. We waited for the inevitable. Things livened up again five minutes in as Clarke had a great chance, and a minute later the killer blow was struck, Paul Deniset scoring the fourth goal which would surely see the Giants win the league for the first time since 2006. It was a shame that in a game as big as this, it couldn’t go down the to the wire, but it wasn’t to be, despite Colt King doing a sexy spinny thing which I believe may have an ice hockey term to describe it but really, it was very good, but sadly didn’t result in a goal. I needed to mention it though as it was about the best thing a Steeler did all night. Mike Ramsay had a great attempt on the turn following that, and there was a brief moment of hope amongst the orange contingent, especially as their team were on the powerplay. There was a moment when it looked as though King might punch someone but it was just wishful thinking, and the Giants executed another faultless penalty kill.

There was a 5th goal at some point. The time ticked away, the noise reached crescendo. There was hugging, shouting. On the ice helmets and gloves were thrown in unsion and players staged a sort of mass group hug thing. They had done it. The Giants had won the league. And with a British netminder too. Who’d have thunk it. There’s no doubt they deserve it, and I’ll analyse the whole thing on another occasion when the dust has settled but for now, let’s just let them have their moment. Did it make me horribly depressed, despite actually wanting them to win it? Well, yes. Nothing brings home the fact you don’t have a team more than watching another team win a championship. I actually envied the Steelers their disappointment. At least they had a team to be disappointed about, to be proud of despite the lack of success. There was champagne spraying, Mike Hoffman dancing, yet I have never felt so outside of something in sport in all my life. Nonetheless, I am thoroughly happy for the Giants – they won it fair and square.

Less of my morosity and more of the joy – good on the Giants. Sadly from a neutral point of view, which is the only one I have to speak from, it creates a bit of an oddity, a non-entity game tonight; the Giants will undoubtedly have sore heads after a night of celebrations, and the Steelers have nothing left to play for but pride. Nevertheless, I will bring you all the action as always. Join me for it, shortly. TTFN!

If you’re going to get one, get a Big one: An Elite League title decider weekend preview

Originally posted on http://www.ukamericansportsfans.com/ on 15th March 2012

Large. Of considerable size. Substantial. Immense. Weekends in British ice hockey do not come much bigger than this one. Weekends in general don’t come much bigger. When this weekend was plucked from the calendar and booked back before Christmas, we had no notion that it would come down to this: two nights, two games, and in them two teams with the final score to settle: who will lift the Elite League trophy this year? Who will be champions, and who will finish second best, runners up.

If it wasn’t big enough, this also happens to be St Patricks’ Day weekend; Belfast will be jumping with visitors as well as being teeming with its own celebrating residents; in addition to the mouth-watering hockey-shaped treats on offer, they will visit for the beer, the rugby (it just so happens to be the Six Nations deciding weekend) and of course the legendary craic. And if all that wasn’t enough, legendary sports bar Rockies is back much to the delight of the visiting hockey fans. Oh, and the games are being broadcast live on BBC Radio. Mainstream coverage, anyone? Don’t mind if we do!

Sheffield Steelers fans are making the journey in their droves, along with a fair few neutrals, myself included. But it’s time to lay my cards on the table. Because when one is passionate about sport, it’s almost impossible to be truly neutral. I want the Giants to win the league, and I have from the outset. But both teams have provided us with some great entertainment this season and I have to say, I really like this year’s Steelers. They are creative, rugged and have a habit of pulling out wins when they’re under the cosh. Which they have had to do on a number of occasions this season, and it’s what has seen them through to where they are today, challenging for the top spot once again.

However they’ve fallen short on occasion too, dropping key points against arch-rivals the Panthers and more recently their opponents for the title, the Giants. Their intercontinental cup jaunt to Denmark earlier in the season left them trailing games and points and they’ve been playing catch-up ever since, which has to take its toll psychologically, notwithstanding the frenetic schedule that has seen them packing in the games late in the season. There’s no doubt they must be tired, physically and mentally. Do they have enough left in the tank? Two games in a hostile Odyssey Arena will need to yield a full four points if they are to have any hope of staying in the race, and that is one hell of an ask, against a Giants side who have rarely been found wanting this season.

The Giants have delivered in all areas, all season – in Stephen Murphy they have a strong, confident netminder, in front of him a stingy defence composed of some of the brightest sparks in the league this season in Dignard, Mason and Kuiper, and at the front they’ve had the firepower to win games, in no small part due to exceptional Brits Rob Dowd and Craig Peacock. ‘It’s theirs to lose’ is the mantra that’s been repeated by pundits, journalists and fans alike for the past few weeks, and it’s true. It would be fair to say that this weekend is more of a title confirmation than a title decider, as all Belfast need to do to etch their name into that trophy is to win one of the two games in front of what is likely be a capacity home crowd, and as long as they don’t go to pieces, they should be able to do that.

Key battles will be fought all over the ice, but Belfast’s squeaky clean defence face one of their stiffer challenges up against probably the league’s top forward, Jeff Legue, who is capable of scoring clutch goals in exactly these sorts of situations, along with a collection of other bright attacking talent. The hits should be hard thanks in no small part to the return of Belfast’s Darryl Lloyd, but these teams respect one another and I predict a cagey start, hopefully developing into full-on, balls out, play-off style hockey. The importance of the netminders having strong performances has already been discussed and is undeniable. Head to head, the teams have played four times this season and have shared honours even. They really couldn’t be any more closely matched.

So what will it come to on the day? What will decide the fate of the League title for the 2011/12 season? Could it be the influence of a coach, Doug Christiansen looking on from the bench, or Finnerty out on the ice, dogged and determined as ever? Perhaps it will come down to one piece of luck, one breakaway chance, one sneaky goal, the tightest of margins. Perhaps even a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out. Or maybe, just maybe, one team will step up to the challenge and exert themselves over the other, stamping their authority on the game and leaving it all on the ice to prove they have what it takes to be league champions. Whatever happens, it’s going to be compelling. And I’ll bring you every twist and turn right here over the weekend – if I’m able to get past jubilant Irish folk to my laptop, that is. I have only three words left to conclude my preview, and these are they: Bring. It. On.

The Business End: Elite League Run-in Analysis

Originally published on http://www.ukamericansportsfans.com/ on 13th March 2012

Is it just me, or has this season flown by? It only seems like yesterday I was previewing new teams and giggling at the names of new players and just a few short months later, here we are with just a couple of weeks left in the regular season, said players have become household names and it's time for us to try and figure out how it will all end.

It's been a season of three mini-leagues; key battles have been fought at the top, in the middle and at the bottom of the league and will continue to be fought for the remaining fixtures. Here is a summary of what each team has in store for them over the final two weeks, and where I predict the chips will fall when the season draws to a close on 25th March.

Tough at the Top

Belfast Giants

Games remaining: Sheffield twice, and Nottingham once, all at Home

This is the sort of run-in that separates the men from the boys. With their remaining games against top 3 opponents, this will make or break the season and decide the championship. Despite their away form being the key to this seasonӳ success for the Giants, it seems unlikely they will not win two of the three games in front of an Odyssey crowd who will be baying for blood. Even if Sheffield win one of their two games in Belfast and achieve a full complement of points from their remaining fixtures, if the Giants can win two, the title will be sewn up. Nottingham will be tough final opponents, particularly given that the two will have faced each other in the double-headed Challenge Cup final, a tie which the Giants look set to lose given their poor showing in the first leg. However with a strong showing against the Steelers they could potentially lift the cup this Saturday night, rendering the final game meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

Points Prediction: I think they will pick up 5 of the 6 available

Predicted final position: 1st

Play-off opponent: Dundee Stars

Sheffield Steelers

Games remaining: Belfast twice and Hull on the road; Edinburgh and Braehead at home

Sheffield can pick up a clutch of points in their remaining games, however if they don't win both games against Belfast this weekend the title race is over and the incentive may be somewhat lost. It's too little too late for the Steelers, who despite a valiant effort with a densely packed schedule in the second half of the season haven't maximised their opportunities and unless they can pull something absolutely monumental out of the bag at the Odyssey this weekend, they cannot win the league this year. They look to set up a play-off quarter-final meeting with the Hull Stingrays.

Points Prediction: 8 of the 10 available

Predicted final position: 2nd

Play-off opponent: Hull Stingrays

Nottingham Panthers

Games remaining: Braehead, Edinburgh at Home, Belfast on the road

With nothing to play for but pride and third place all but in the bag it's possible the Panthers will take their foot off the gas and look towards lifting the play-off trophy in front of their home crowd, but Corey Neilson and co. will not want to lose against the likes of Braehead at home so will dig their heels in and pick up a few late points. This game in particular looks likely to be a preview of their potential play-off quarter-final match-up so they will be taking notes on an opponent who has bested them twice already this season and could prove a stumbling block on their road to the finals weekend.

Points Prediction: 4 of a possible 6

Predicted final position: 3rd

Play-off opponent: Braehead Clan

The Middlemen

Cardiff Devils

Games remaining: Edinburgh, Dundee, Coventry at Home; Fife, Coventry on the road

Cardiff have a chance to finish their season on a high, with one of the easier run-ins and a chance to pick up a clutch of late points and secure fourth spot in the league. However they will need to be careful ֠with their two Scottish opponents battling for 8th spot and Coventry battling for 5th, it will be far from an easy ride. However with the Blaze having a chance to overtake Braehead in 5th, it looks likely as it has all season that they will face each other in the play-off quarter-finals, with a double-header against one another in the final weekend of the season things could get feisty between these two sides, and itӳ hard to say who will have the mental fortitude to fight their way through to the finals. For the Devils the return of Mark Smith could be key.

Points Prediction: 8 from a possible 10

Predicted final position: 4th

Play-off opponent: Coventry Blaze

Braehead Clan

Games remaining: Fife and Hull at Home; Nottingham and Sheffield on the road

With two difficult road trips on the horizon, Braehead will be looking to their home form to keep the ship steady and clinch 5th spot; the battle between them and Coventry is key to avoiding a clash with the Panthers in the play-off quarter-finals. Notoriously good in pressure situations, the Nottingham side will be desperate to avoid an embarrassing absence from the play-off final weekend and will be arguably a much tougher match-up for one of these two sides. However Braehead have faltered of late and Iӭ not sure they are strong enough to hold off the challenge of a Blaze side who are having a storming run-in and who have a game in hand on their Scottish rivals.

Points Prediction: 2 of a possible 8

Predicted final position: 6th

Play-off opponent: Nottingham Panthers

Coventry Blaze

Games remaining: Edinburgh and Cardiff at Home; Edinburgh, Dundee and Cardiff on the road

Like Braehead, Coventry will be looking to avoid finishing in 6th place, where they currently reside. They have a game in hand on the Glasgow side however and will look to take advantage of this; the Blaze are in great form at the moment, scoring plenty and playing well, Shea Guthrie, Mike McLean and Robert Farmer all improving their game just at the right time. Itӳ late in the season for them to come good but itӳ promising for a play-off quarter-final against potentially the Cardiff Devils, with whom they have been closely matched all season.

Points Prediction: 7 of a possible 10

Predicted final position: 5th

Play-off opponent: Cardiff Devils

Basement Battles

Hull Stingrays

Games remaining: Sheffield and Dundee at Home; Fife and Braehead on the road

The Rays have quietly gone about their business this season maintaining what seems to be a very comfortable and familiar position for them in 7th, their performance matching that of the 2010/11 season, although at times it seemed as though they should be doing a lot better; no doubt Sylvain Cloutier will hope that next season they can be battling with the likes of Coventry and Braehead for a higher spot. In their final run-in, they have a chance to collect a few extra points to consolidate 7th spot and prepare for a tough play-off quarter-final clash, probably against the Steelers.

Points Prediction: 6 of a possible 8

Predicted final position: 7th

Play-off opponent: Sheffield Steelers

Dundee Stars

Games remaining: Coventry at Home; Cardiff, Fife and Hull on the road

Dundee are resurgent at the moment – where was this team earlier in the season? With free-scoring Mark Kolanos, who Stars fans are so enamoured with they are purportedly offering cash to the club from their own pockets on order to secure his services again next season, and goaltender Chris Whitley also in sparkling form, they have picked the perfect time to hit their stride and I believe they have the momentum to see it through. With Edinburgh in freefall, 8th spot is theirs to lose; even with the Caps’ game in hand I can’t see Dundee losing their grip on this one. They have some winnable games remaining despite most of them being on the road, as they look to set up a daunting play-off quarter final against the league champions – most likely Belfast.

Points Prediction: 7 of a possible 8

Predicted final position: 8th

Play-off opponent: Belfast Giants

Edinburgh Capitals

Games remaining: Coventry and Fife at home; Coventry, Cardiff, Nottingham and Sheffield on the road

Despite a surprisingly successful first half of the season, the Capitals find themselves back in the familiar surroundings of the bottom two with the end of the season closing in on them. TheyӶe had a terrible run of form despite some really strong team performances, and the late resurgence of Dundee all but puts paid to their play-off hopes unless they can string together some shock results in what is by far the hardest run-in of any team in the league. Their fate is in their hands, however I think it will prove to be too much for them.

Points Prediction: 2 of a possible 12

Predicted final position: 9th

Fife Flyers

Games remaining: Hull, Cardiff and Dundee at Home; Braehead and Edinburgh on the road

In a season in which they were always going to struggle, Fife have at times stuck their head above the parapet and looked to be a cohesive and hard-working side, and they have pulled off some decent results at home. Sadly with key imports missing and tragic circumstances putting on-ice matters into perspective, Fife will be unable to make much of an impression in their remaining games, but will undoubtedly pull together to try and put smiles on the faces of their loyal fans, who will hope for a stronger campaign next time around.

Points Prediction: 1 of a possible 10

Predicted final position: 10th

Devils dominant despite Clan comeback

Originally posted on http://www.ukamericansportsfans.com/ on 5th March 2012

Another Friday night in front of the television.

It’s the story of my life as a nomad hockey fan this season. I’d give one of my lesser digits to be at a rink somewhere soaking up the atmosphere and willing my team to glorious victory, but instead I’m rinkless, teamless and more often than not hockeyless, with only Paddy McGuinness on Take Me Out and a bottle of averagely priced white wine for company.

Okay I’ll quit the dramatics. I was in front of the TV Friday gone, but it was a TV in Newcastle’s Shark Club, and the company was even better than Bolton’s finest son as the Viper crew once again gathered to enjoy a spot of Elite League ice hockey courtesy of Sky Sports. The last time we’d come together for such an occasion it had been just before Christmas; Belfast had played Sheffield at the Motorpoint Arena, and the title was still winnable by one of three teams. Ironically enough, a repeat of that very fixture was occurring 130-odd miles to the south, the stakes very much higher this time, and so it was of slight disappointment we found ourselves with an altogether different prospect for our viewing pleasure that evening.

Braehead Clan v Cardiff Devils, a battle for fourth spot in the league by what on paper looked like two well-matched teams, and in reality had proved to be true, Cardiff losing in a shootout the last time the two sides met, in an exciting 5-4 game at the Big Blue Tent which saw an impressive 75 shots on goal overall. Perhaps we would be in for a treat after all. But there was no denying at least half an eye would be kept on the happenings in Sheffield.

I know I’m late to the party with my match report as the fine Richard Flynn of this parish has already provided an excellent summation of proceedings, but I’ll share my views anyway, to keep me busy on a boring Monday morning as much as anything else. And you’ll just have to listen. Because, well, er… I need to be heard!

Anyway, on with the fun and games. It was a somewhat depleted Cardiff side that took to the ice in Glasgow, down to just seven imports following the departure of Brad Voth and the suspension of repeat offender Chris Frank, so they travelled with slimmed down numbers and a couple of extra young Brits. Could Braehead turn this to their advantage?

Not at first, it seemed. In under a minute Cardiff struck the first blow, Phil Hill making a sweetly timed pass to line up Jeff Pierce, who slotted past Jaakko Suomalainen, the Clan netminder caught napping. The opening minutes of the game were fast and furious, and end to end, with Braehead having plenty of the play and both teams attacking then counter-attacking. It was a really juicy contest and I found myself desiring of popcorn. But with just 6:41 on the clock Cardiff doubled their lead to put a dent in Braehead’s hopes of winning the game, Jeff Pierce once again involved, the key playmaker this time, Stuart MacRae turning in the rebound from Suomalainen’s save.

Cardiff were at their fast, fluid, attacking best in the first period, and continued to pile the pressure on the home side, Suomalainen finally waking up to make a couple of decent saves, and Braehead’s defence coping admirably, soaking up the pressure. Jeff Pierce was having a storming game for Cardiff, and his line was on fire, providing the lion’s share of the attacking options and overwhelming Braehead as the period wore on. The game wasn’t short of physical play either, the most notable incident occurring in front of the Clan’s net, little terrier Sammy Zajac taking exception to a check by Devils’ defenceman Josh Batch. Zajac tore after him and a fight ensued in which he didn’t fare badly considering the height differential, which amounted to nearly a foot. He really knows how to pick ‘em. Good lad.

The third goal was always coming, and this time it was from the powerplay, the short-handed Clan unable to pick off defenceman Jamie Vanderveeken who was left alone to shoot from distance and accurately so, and hot on its heels came a fourth for Cardiff, a poor pass from Braehead quickly pounced upon and turned over by Scott Matzka who made no mistake with his shot. Shoulders slumped as we feared a rout instead of the close game we had been hoping for. But the remainder of the period was far from a damp squib, the two player-coaches clashing after a questionable check from behind, and the resultant Clan powerplay producing a couple of good attempts from Jim Jorgensen and Mike Bayrack, Stevie Lyle standing up to both in the Devils’ net.

Optimism remained that despite trailing by four, Braehead would find their way back into the game in the second period, and our hope was rewarded after just 48 seconds, a lovely move from the Clan starting with Jorgensen making a perfect wraparound pass to Jordan Krestanovich, who coolly slotted the puck home to bring the deficit back to three goals. The Clan had a renewed vigour, and the second period was much more evenly matched, Cardiff dropping slightly off the pace in order to defend their lead, and Braehead having more of the puck.

The second period was to be a tale of two refereeing decisions. Both arose over a Braehead Clan goal, and both related to the relative legality of said goals. The first was cut and dried, from a neutral perspective. There was a melee in front of net and Kevin Phillips scored a goal. He totally scored, it was definitely a goal. You could tell it was a goal because it like, went in the net and everything. The puck bouncing back out from the crossbar was a dead giveaway.

The men in stripes had obviously not had the vantage point that we on the TV had (questions remain as to why) but they took advantage of the available technology to review the footage, and funnily enough, came to the same conclusion as us. The goal stood.

In the second incident, Brock McPherson scored what looked like a perfectly reasonable goal. However there was dispute from the Devils, who claimed a penalty should have been called prior to the goal being scored. The refs hadn’t signalled the penalty, but once again using the video footage, they reviewed the incident and deemed that there had indeed been a penalty. Goal disallowed.

It was a strange turn of events that called into question the use of video technology in the sport. Arguably the outcome would have been the reverse if the Sky cameras hadn’t made the footage so readily available – the first goal would have been disallowed, the second allowed. In this situation, it seems to not have affected the outcome of the game. However in other games, the same could possibly not be said. All questions for another blog post on another day.

The final period began with the scored delicately poised at 4-2. With a period like the last, the Clan could well have come back to take both points – but they needed to turn it up to 11. And they did, seemingly determined to make up for missed opportunities, their third goal finally coming around four minutes in, Ryan Campbell with a well-executed solo effort that Lyle should have done better with.

The game continued at full speed, the Devils trying to fight their way back into the driving seat. Meanwhile, back in the pub, the Vipers fans were engaged in an invigorating and vocal debate about the use of video technology.

Following my confession of love for Tom Dignard in my last post, this week’s swooning over a player of awesome proportions is brought to you by Jim Jorgenson. He worked non-stop in the final period to keep the momentum in Braehead’s favour; he may be a defenceman but he is amazing on the puck, incredibly creative and an excellent skater, and he was single-handedly responsible for a clutch of Clan chances, seemingly in place of Jade Galbraith, who’s 30th birthday was not going down as one of his better performances, as he seemed to go missing for long periods at a time. He almost had a fight in late in the third, giving Devils’ coach Gerad Adams a bit of a shove but then thinking it may not have been such a good idea after all. Good decision from the birthday boy there.

The end of the game was a bit of an anti-climax as the Clan failed to make their sustained pressure pay; they were unable to get back into the game or force overtime, and we were left to reflect on one of the most exciting games we’d seen all season, whilst catching up with the drama in South Yorkshire, as the Belfast Giants won in a penalty shoot-out over the Sheffield Steelers, hammering one more nail into the coffin which houses their title hopes. The overly rotund lady has not sung just yet. But she’s doing her warm-up exercises.

2 Bel-fast 2 Furious

Originally published on http://www.ukamericansportsfans.com/ on 21st February 2012

Bounceback-ability. A fabulous made-up word that perfectly encompasses the key personal quality my nomadic Elite League journey this season has required. If I’ve been to a poor game, I’ve philosophically put it down to bad luck and toddled along to the next one with just as much positivity as ever – this COULD be the game of the season. Why not?

Okay, a visit from Fife Flyers to the Odyssey Arena was unlikely to result in a truly magnificent spectacle. But you just never know. I was relying on the visitors to at least provide some entertainment, something which Hull had singularly failed to do the previous evening. I also hoped Belfast would grace us with a bit more of their flare and physicality rather than just grinding out an expected victory.

I was rewarded for my faith. Well, partially. It was an upbeat start to the game, the home side resplendent in pink jerseys and socks, which looked rather fetching in contrast with the blue and yellow of Fife. Gok Wan would have been thrilled. Both sides opened brightly on the ice too, and there were chances at either end, both netminders needing to be on the ball from the off. Garrett Zemlak of Fife made a couple of good stops, and was clearly on top of his game – he would have to be.

The Flyers were definitely up for this, and they were the first team to have a man advantage, which quickly increased to a two man advantage as Belfast had a second player sent to the penalty box, but they failed to capitalise on the 5 on 3 opportunity, the Giants in fact having a better chance, short-handed, as Tom Dignard robbed the puck from a Flyer to go on the counter-attack. The 5 on 3 over, and the first goal was clocked up by the Giants, Jon Pelle exiting the penalty box at top speed, stealing possession and taking the puck up the ice to score unassisted. It was only another great stop from Zemlak that stopped the Giants doubling their advantage just a few seconds later. It was easy to forget Fife were still on the powerplay, misplaced passes the main culprit as they continued to struggle even with the extra man.

By contrast, Belfast know how to make the most of their powerplays. Their second goal materialised just seconds into their first one of the night, Nick Kuiper burying a well-taken shot past Zemlak. A few minutes later, the third came, a cheeky backhand pass from Aaron Clarke finding the stick of Rob Dowd, with less than a minute remaining in the period.

It all seemed so unfair. It was a much better game than Friday’s turgid encounter with Hull; Fife were acquitting themselves very well, and my ears were alive with the sound of banging boards, as in a shocking turnaround from the day before, there was actually the odd hit or two. Heaven! Yet they were already 3-0 down and it was threatening to be a whitewash. And it got worse just a minute and a half into the second period, Craig Peacock scoring on the counter-attack. It was the same old pattern – Fife would make a mistake, which would be immediately punished by the clinical Giants. The gulf in quality was vast. Belfast are showing their colours as champions elect, punishing the mistakes of fumbling opponents rather than going out of their way to make their own chances. And it was working for them to spectacular effect. Fife weren’t ready to lay down just yet, and had a couple of chances of their own as the period progressed, but it was hard to argue that the Giants’ four goal cushion hadn’t somewhat killed the game.

Nonetheless, Fife went on the powerplay and had a couple of decent efforts, Frankie Bakrlik trying to score by skating around the goal and turning the puck in, forcing a great save from Stephen Murphy. At the other end Zemlak was busy keeping out everything being thrown at him. The game found a bit of added spark following an incident involving Giants’ James Hutchison, who went crashing into the boards after what seemed to be an accidental coming together with a Fife player, but suddenly Adam Keefe was throwing hits with added vim and vigour. Hutchinson limped out of the game and a minute or two later Keefe was snapping at the heels of Fife’s Thomas Muir, who actually went back to the bench to avoid a possible clash with the Giants tough guy. Mike Hoffman was involved in the big-hitting too, and I can’t deny that my heart was rather a-flutter. Well it was about bloody time.

The period ended after a successful Fife penalty kill and a couple of decent shots from the blueline by Tom Dignard, who was unlucky not to add his name to the scoresheet. I like Tom Dignard. I mean, I really like him. He and Nick Kuiper are in a class of their own when it comes to Elite League defensive pairings in my humble opinion, Kuiper a gritty, hard-hitting player who you would not mess with finding an interesting counterpart in Dignard’s quiet, assured presence, the two of them taking care of business with ease, and frustrating opponents all day long.

Fife’s attempts to stay in the game had succeeded in the second period in that they had at least stemmed the Giants’ flow, but the home side put paid to this early in the third period, scoring two goals in quick succession, Aaron Clarke and Captain Jeremy Rebek involved in both, and Fife rung the changes, putting in back-up netminder Blair Daly. Fife faded in the third as expected; as with Hull there was a real lack of bite to their game, they seemed afraid to hit the Giants and as such struggled to gain possession. The Giants fans were more excited about pizza than they were about the game and us neutrals were once again left feeling dejected by the predictability of it all. Notable incidents of the closing minutes included a brilliant strike from Mike Hoffman to score goal number 7, Nick Kuiper defending rather too fiercely an attempt on goal from Danny Stewart, and a Fife chance which was thwarted by a stick breaking mid-shot. It just wasn’t their day.

There was a minor twist in the tale with just 8.9 seconds remaining on the clock as Fife were awarded a penalty shot after what appeared to be a trip in front of goal. The consolation was scored by Stephen Gunn and sparked a furious reaction from Adam Keefe who seemed to be objecting to the manner in which the goal was scored. He was promptly ejected, following by his captain Jeremy Rebek, both slapped with game misconducts, only to return a few minutes later for a rather feisty round of handshakes which threatened to explode into violent reaction. It was all rather unnecessary and was quite exhilarating really. I’m easily pleased, having seen not a single fight all season. Don’t you judge me.

The post-game festivities continued with a most entertaining jersey auction, in which Nick Kuiper engaged the crowd in the style of an authentic auctioneer and despite being fond of the pink jerseys I had decided against purchasing one, although a newly developed case of itchy-head tourettes threatened to let me down at the most inopportune moments – darn involuntary hand movements. They raised a huge amount of money for a great cause, Hoffman, Keefe and Dowd’s jerseys all selling for in excess of £300. Naturally! In other news, one of the merry band of travelling Vipers had won the 50/50 so we enjoyed a post-hockey round of drinks courtesy of the Belfast Giants, which was an excellent way to round off an enjoyable weekend.

Thanks as always for reading, join me for an open and frank discussion of all things Elite League next week, at some point, when I can gather together my rather scattered thoughts into some semblance of order for you to digest. It will be the best read of your life. Or your money back, guaranteed*.

*Money back not guaranteed. But if you paid to read this, you’re doing the internet wrong.