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.

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.

A Glaswegian Odyssey: Part 1

Originally published on http://www.ukamericansportsfans.com/ on 28th January 2012

It was Friday. And according to my pre-game preamble, I had some promises to keep. I started at the very beginning. It seemed like a decent sort of a place to start. And I only went and did it: I took my seat in the Braehead Arena having consumed a single pint of cider and not a drop more. Okay, I had another one on the go. But that wasn’t the point. I needed to stay refreshed, after all. The point was, I was sober. Sober, focussed, and ready to take on the task at hand.

Braehead took on the Belfast Giants in the Friday night Elite League clash and, despite popular belief, the much-touted rivalry between the two teams took a back seat as the game started out quietly, both teams coming off the back of losses and both keen to gain the upper hand. A small contingent of Vipers fans settled down, decidedly neutral despite being camped deep in Giants territory, and I couldn’t help the niggling feeling that my game-killing curse might strike again. Surely I couldn’t be doomed to ANOTHER boring hockey match? Nevertheless it was early days, and I had a fantastic vantage point, in a vacant corner low down and left of goal, and in homage to one of my pre-game pledges, my camera was in hand and I was snapping the players doing what they do best, so I was happy enough.

However as the game worn on, and my camera battery wore off, it looked as though my curse had perhaps worn off too. Despite a somewhat muted Glaswegian crowd and a slow start, the game picked up tempo. The Giants were in the ascendancy in the first period, beginning to mount pressure on the Clan goal, the visiting side taking their chances but Clan netminder Jaakko Suomalainen proving equal to the task. As the first period drew closer to its conclusion the game gathered speed and the Giants started to stamp their authority with a number of shots on goal, the best of them a gift of a chance which fell to Aaron Clarke following a beauty of a pass from Craig Peacock, but Clarke couldn’t bury the shot and it gave the home side the incentive, and they were able to exert some pressure of their own before giving up a penalty with just a minute or so to go. The beginning of the Belfast powerplay rocked the Clan but the Finnish netminder stood firm and the first period break came around to the relief of the home fans.

In the period break an irony occurred. I was wearing a Newcastle Vipers jersey, sitting with Belfast Giants fans, in the Braehead Arena. But on the television in the period break were the only team I could really call my own these days, Watford FC, who were playing Spurs in the FA Cup 4th round. It was poignant somehow for me to witness my plucky lads fighting against the big guns, even more so with the memory of my Vipers doing the very same last season. Hmm, my eyes appear to have become somewhat misty. Let’s continue.

Into the second and the Giants finished their powerplay with a couple more chances before the game settled back into a muted rhythm. It needed a goal to spark some life into it; well, ask and you shall receive. Just over three minutes in and the Giants took the lead, scoring almost directly from the face-off. The goal just floated in from the stick of Aaron Clarke and it took both team and fans of the home side by surprise. They responded well, Stephen Murphy having to make a pouncing save from a brilliant Jade Galbraith effort, and the Clan had consecutive powerplay chances. They wound up the pressure and despite heroics from Giants defenceman Jeff Mason, throwing his body in front of the puck not once but twice, the Clan finally made the most of the man advantage, coach Drew Bannister scoring from some clever build-up play by Krestanovich and Bayrack.

Finally! A decent game! I was practically salivating. The Giants came straight back on the attack, and the game became more physical, Nick Kuiper throwing a couple of big hits and Adam Keefe bearing down on his opponents in typical style. The Clan were up to the challenge, Bruce and McPherson showing their strength, and the hard-hitting we had expected started to make an appearance. As the minutes ticked away the pace picked up again, Suomalainen making another couple of important stops, and the Clan had another powerplay following a slash from Ryan Crane, the best chance of it coming from a well-worked pass from Mike Wirll to Brock McPherson, forcing a good save from Murphy.

We went into the third with a tied game and it seemed inevitable that it would revert to the slow, cagey style in which the game had started out, neither side wanting to give anything away. It seemed for a time as though perhaps the home side might have the advantage as the Giants started to make mistakes, and they were able to capitalise, a great pass from Mike Bayrack to Tim Wedderburn setting up Mike Wirll to make the shot and giving the Clan fans something to really shout about. Would that be the end of the visitors’ hopes?

Apparently not. In a game with more swings and roundabouts than an adventure playground the advantage shifted again, the Giants needing less than three minutes to level the scores, another goal seemingly from out of nowhere, returning Giant Paul Deniset finishing the chance. Now it looked like it was the Giants’ game to lose, and they could have extended their lead with a wraparound chance from Aaron Clarke followed shortly after by a stinging shot from Keefe, but the netminder stood up to it. The Giants had a new found swagger and Clan fans couldn’t watch as they turned the screw. Even I was on the edge of my seat and I didn’t mind who won; it was the most nail-biting encounter I’ve seen as a neutral and I was LOVING it. The Giants continued to press, the busy Aaron Clarke with another shot which made it past Suomalainen, but only as far as Drew Bannister who coolly swept the puck from the crease – the Giants fans roared with frustration; the Clan fans breathed again. Rob Dowd put one over which clanged into the plexi glass right in front of us. I didn’t even flinch. I’m well ‘ard, innit.

The Clan were defending for their lives and it was working, it gave them the confidence to mount one last attack on the Giants goal, Galbraith with a great effort with just 30 seconds left on the clock, and a second shot with just 11 seconds to go, I’ve no idea who that was, I was far too excited! Every Clan fan was on their feet – had it gone in? NO! Stephen Murphy stood on his head to keep it out and was the hero of the dying seconds. The hooter sounded. I remembered to breathe. I didn’t even realise I’d been holding my breath.

Overtime! It was only my second experience of it in a live environment. And wow, are those bad boys fun! Hell for leather, no holds barred, all or nothing, end to end. Shot after shot, probably about three penalties that would have been called in regulation time, even the referees seemed to be having a ball, my heart rate was through the roof, I remembered why I once felt as though hockey was damaging to one’s health. It was an intense five minutes but neither team could find an opening and so the deadlock remained, and into the shootout we went.

It was my second ever overtime experience, but my first ever shootout, and I was as giddy as a schoolgirl. I’m not going to go into a great deal of detail because, well, penalties are penalties, but suffice to say it was captivating, and it took ten attempts before the result was decided. There were four misses in the first round of shots. Craig Peacock netted first, followed by Jordan Krestanovich, looking every inch the class act. Then Jeff Mason, scored. Jade Galbraith took an AGE over his second, keeping us all in suspense before finally scoring. Rob Dowd was as cool as a cucumber taking his second shot. But the otherwise excellent Mike Wirll for the home side had his shot saved, and it was all over. My heart was in my mouth. And it wasn’t even because of the random group of men without their tops on who started jumping up and down at the end.

So, what of my promises? Stayed sober? Check. Took notes? Check. Took some decent photos? Check. Didn’t dance during every stoppage? Er, almost. Squad numbers? Easy. Facts? All day long, baby. Beards? My lips are sealed. Oh, and, er, there was the small matter of my pre-match prediction. Read it and weep people, read it and weep. Actually, I almost did when I saw it coming to pass in front of my own eyes. Damn my amazing prediction skills and damn my not having put any money on them!!

I could go on about that game all day. In reality, it was a decent game, perhaps not a classic, but by heck how I needed that. It was fast, furious, good clean fun, hard fought from both sides, I couldn’t even pick out a man of the match for either side, although the both defences were excellent, Tom Dignard mopping up everything that came his way for the Giants and Jeff Mason as strong in attack as some of the forwards. For the Clan Tim Wedderburn and Jim Jorgensen both stood out, and both netminders had strong games, but in truth, everyone looked good to me. I may not have a team to support anymore, but I’m sure as hell still biased. Towards hockey. I bloody love it.

Friday Night Lights

Written for, and originally published on, http://www.ukamericansportsfans.com/

Do not adjust your television sets. That’s really ice hockey on your screen. No, really! It’s a travesty that it took this long, but finally, on Friday 9th December, it was time for the first televised game of the season, as league leaders the Belfast Giants travelled to the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield to take on arguably their main rivals for the title, the Steelers.

The stage was set: a group of Vipers fans gathered in Newcastle’s best new sports bar, Shark Club (it’s Canadian don’t you know), in the VIP area no less (as is befitting of our stature). The screen was large. The beer was cold. The build-up was exciting, although the lovely Anna Woolhouse and her guests were rather drowned out by the banging dance tunes being played in the bar which was a bit of a shame, but at least we managed to pick up most of what Simmsey was saying, as thankfully his voice really seems to carry (damning him with faint praise there)!

The game started out at a high pace, it was end to end stuff right from the off, all the players putting on a good show for the Sky cameras and neither team giving much away in the opening minutes. It was always going to be a close encounter: the timing of the broadcast was fortuitous as the Steelers looked to close the gap on the top-placed team, and with three games in three days they had a great opportunity to do so. But Belfast drew first blood, scoring on the breakaway just over halfway through the first period, Jon Pelle pouncing on a pass from Craig Peacock and burying it in the back of John DeCaro’s net to put the Giants in the driving seat. The Giants were always dangerous on the counter-attack, the blistering pace of Brock McBride in particular a real weapon and a sight to behold, and it seemed for a while as though they would take control, but the game became more physical and the tide turned.

This is what ice hockey on a big screen on a stripey wall looks like!! Them blurs, thems is hockey players! Yet another piece of fabulous photography brought to you by me.

In the second period things evened out again, the one goal lead lending itself to a pulsating yet cagey game. But tempers started to fray and the Giants started to pick up penalties, the Steelers with powerplay after powerplay through the second and third periods, piling the pressure on the Giants’ net. It seemed during the third period that the Giants actually wanted to be short-handed as every time a man returned from the box, another would make the effort to be sent there. Revolving door for Belfast please!

But the Northern Irish side’s penalty kill, along with an imperious display of goaltending by Stephen Murphy, thwarted wave after wave of pressure from the home side and frustrated Steelers fans, the tempo ramping up throughout the third period to a nail-biting crescendo. It looked to be all over as the Steelers just couldn’t find a way to penetrate Murphy’s defences. Back in the pub, conversation broke out. People drifted to the bar. Tabs were settled. The seconds ticked down on the clock…

And then came the game-changer. With 0.42 seconds remaining, Ashley Tait scored what looked through cider-warped eyes to be a good, and priceless, goal, to level the score for the Steelers and take the game to over-time. A shock to the system for the Giants, and the sucker punch was the gift that kept on taking, robbing them of the extra point after less than a minute of overtime, Jeff Legue picking up the puck on the Giants’ blueline and slotting it coolly past Stephen Murphy to end the game.

Steelers celebrated. Giants raged. Coaches vented at officials. Players may or may not have done things they probably shouldn’t have done. Both goals were shrouded in controversy, the first seemingly coming off the back of a missed hand pass, and the second, debated endlessly on the social networks ever since, could well have been offside. In the stop-frame replays Legue looks onside. But should he have had the chance to score that goal at all? It seems not. Passions were running high as Belfast fans and players alike wondered if this could be a turning point. Could that one point be the difference between them winning and losing the title? It would be a brave man who would make such an assertion at this stage in the season. But in the heat of the moment, and given the strength of the Steelers of late, these are the questions being asked.

In any case, for a one goal game it was a great spectacle, and the two teams should be proud of themselves for showcasing British hockey in such a close-fought and exciting encounter. The controversy rumbled on following the game, the players making their feelings known, as has become customary. It’s good for us neutrals, that’s for certain. Speaking of neutral…

Two tickets to the gunfight?

Okay, let’s be up front about this. It was the fight that those of us who are that way inclined would have wanted to see, the two Canadian tough guys named after guns taking it to one another on the ice. But hockey isn’t that simple and for one reason or another – it could quite simply be that the two of them are friends. Or maybe they just didn’t feel like it – they appeared disinterested in sparring, instead showing us what else they were hired for; both putting in good shifts for their teams, King in particular having a strong night up front. Speaking of which…

Colt King: Intelligent Enforcement

‘No Keefe-watch this week?!’ I hear you cry! Yes I may be fickle. But King had a more note-worthy week than Keefe, plus the title of this section sounds like an American cop show. Win win. Don’t worry, I’ll return with a further instalment of Keefe-watch in weeks to come.

Colt King: So hard, they named an alcoholic beverage after him

In a three game weekend for the Sheffield Steelers Colt King proved beyond a shadow of a doubt why Ryan Finnerty put his faith in him this season. For a start, he may be a tough guy, but he’s no goon. He stands up for his team-mates, sure, but he picks his battles carefully; this isn’t fighting for fighting’s sake. He seems to thrive on the implied ass-kicking that he will mete out to anyone who messes with him or his team; having viewed the punishment he doled out to Lepine early on in the season even the toughest in the league will be cautious around him. But he means business when he’s on the ice and is one hell of a presence on his forward line, making a nuisance of himself constantly, distributing the puck with clinical precision and using his physicality in a clever way, shielding the netminder and blocking defencemen to allow his linemates to put in the shots. He’s no goal-poacher and he’s not the fastest guy on the ice but he’s undeniably one of the most valuable forwards in the league when he plays the way he did on Friday against Belfast.

And when he does choose to fight, man does his opponent know about it. In a clear response to Kyle Bruce’s hit on him in Glasgow three weeks previous, King invited Bruce to drop the gloves in Sheffield on Sunday night, and on his home ice proved why he is a force to be reckoned with, winning the tilt in convincing style and causing damage to Bruce in the process (here’s hoping it’s nothing serious). And there’s no show-boating with him either, in contrast to other notable tough guys in this and other leagues. He skates, head down, to the penalty box. Mission accomplished. And continues on his way, five minutes later. Impressed? You will be. More importantly, does he have his own song yet? And if not, why not?

Around the League

In the Sunday basement battle, Dundee Stars picked up two desperately needed points at the expense of visitors Fife Flyers in the first league meeting between the teams, scoring seven goals and gaining some long overdue confidence as well as a first win for new coach Brent Hughes.

The other two Sunday games were once again thrillers (what is it about Sundays?), Braehead Clan coming away with a point and almost upsetting the Steelers on home ice despite being short-benched, the hockey player who most sounds like a German dessert, Steelers’ new boy Francis Trudel, scoring the winning goal in overtime to top off an impressive start to his Elite League career. But the prize for unexpectedly amazing match of the weekend has to go to the tie between Edinburgh Capitals and Hull Stingrays, which was bursting at the seams with 12 goals in regulation time, the teams trading scoring throughout the game eventually tying it 6-6. Amazingly neither team were able to score in overtime, so to a nerve-wracking penalty shoot-out in which the Capitals were finally victorious. Yet again the Elite League pulls cracking entertainment out of the bag.

And so it’s the start of the week once again and I’m left to reflect on the weekend’s action on and off the ice. If I were any sort of aspiring professional I should be attempting to write up these reports immediately following a match. But then I wouldn’t have the full picture. Plus I’m normally drunk and/or hung over at the time. Plus there’s nothing like a couple of days following twitter feeds to add fuel to the already brightly burning fire of inspiration. That’s my excuse. And I’m sticking to it. But there are plenty more talking points to chew over so I’ll see you again soon, folks. TTFN.