LONDON, UK – Around the rinks The result that everyone was waiting for was down in Berkshire where my outside bet for the title the Cardiff ENL Devils pulled off an excellent 6-2 win at Bracknell Hornets. Away form was Cardiff’s Achilles heel last season so if they have put that issue to bed then it could be good times for the Welsh side. Lots of people have told me that Ben Duggan’s goal for the Hornets was amazing, with him controlling the puck mid air before composing himself and slotting past Mike Brabon in the Cardiff goal. I spoke to Devils forward Alan Armour after the game and he was ecstatic but wary of getting over excited after only one good result. I wonder if he is as happy at being described on one internet forum as looking like former Guildford player Stan Marple. This columnist has always had him down as looking like a sweaty George Michael but maybe I am digging myself a hole there. I took no pleasure in seeing that my former team Haringey got walloped at Chelmsford 18-1. It is always difficult to comment too much on a game you didn’t watch but from speaking to various sources it seems that individual errors and a lack of David Wride made life easier for the Essex side. Score lines like this are only good for the individual players statistics, as no fan enjoys watching such a one sided contest. Dave Richards was given a match penalty for the visiting side after leaving the penalty box and gesturing towards the referee. Dave is adamant that the linesman actually told him to leave the box so clearly there is more to the incident that meets the eye. It sounds like it was the only interesting part of the whole game. It’s not the first time Haringey have been beaten on the opening day of the season at the Riverside rink. I remember an 8-1 defeat in the English Premier League when I was playing for the Greyhounds back in 2001. The score line was embarrassing enough although this was surpassed at the end of the second period when during the team talk we noticed that our new Russian import was not in the locker room. We skated out on to the ice for the third period to see our great hope sat on the visitor’s bench finishing off a tray of chips he had picked up from the café and munched, rather than return to the locker room. I did raise a wry smile at the absurdity of it all and heaven knows what the crowd where thinking watching him. Back to 2009 and I have to say I like Lee Mercer, he knows his hockey and he is a top bloke, I know he has a few surprises lined up but I am not going to spoil his thunder by revealing them here. Talking of thunder, Milton Keynes had a good weekend with a narrow defeat at home to Chelmsford on Saturday followed by a win against close rivals Peterborough Islanders. Woolfe was apparently excellent between the pipes on Saturday night but that comes as no surprise to those of us who have played in this league over the last few years. It was also good to see Matt Roberts playing in Thunder colours again after a series of injuries. Matt is a big hitting defence man who I played with at Oxford and he is actually a good player on the puck too with good hands and a strong shot from the point. He does have a short fuse though, as the vending machine at Slough Ice Arena will testify after Matt launched his own helmet over the plexi glass and smashed it back in 2004 when he was awarded a game misconduct penalty. That image still tickles me to this day. Next weekend is our first game and in front of our own supporters down at the High Rd in Streatham. The opposition are Invicta and having bore the brunt of abuse from both sets of fans over the years it will be nice to have at least one set on my side for a change. If you are free on Sunday, you could do worse than pop down to Streatham to watch the game. The car park is secure and I can assure you the atmosphere will be quality. Thanks for reading and stay safe Carrsy Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
