ENL South Play-Offs preview 2011/12

LONDON, UK – Eight teams start the ENL South Play-Offs this weekend and only four will progress through to the semi-finals. Pro Hockey News looks forward to the business end of the season.
 
The headaches of the regular season are over. Eight teams have popped a couple of Ibuprofen’s, had a good sleep and are now fresh, ready and heading for the grand finale of the 2011/12 season. Its Play-Off time and only one team will be left standing.
 
Pro Hockey News looks at the ENL South Play-Off Quarter finals and asks, are you ready for three weekends of knockout hockey?
 
 
Chelmsford Chieftains v Bracknell Hornets
Can Clarke rally the troops from league heartache?

 
Last weekend Gary Clarke and his Chelmsford side could only sit and watch as bitter rivals Romford lifted a league title by the slenderest of margins. The Essex boys have no time to lick their wounds as they head to Bracknell on Saturday to take on a Hornets side who have been steady this campaign without pulling up any trees.
 
Player Coach Danny Hughes has bounced back following some awful early season results, to lead his team to comfortable Play-Off qualification. The star of the Hornets show has been the industrious Alan Lack who along with Hughes carries the main goal threat for the team.
 
Chelmsford will be hoping Czech sniper Jakub Klima and Danny Hammond continue their goal scoring form from the regular season, and give the Hornets’ defence a tough couple of games.
 
Chelmsford have a home fixture on the Sunday in case Bracknell pull off a shock win at the Hive the day before.
 
League fixtures: 17/09 Bracknell 2 Chelmsford 8, 01/10 Bracknell 0 Chelmsford 12, 16/10 Chelmsford 12 Bracknell 1, 4/3 Chelmsford 15 Bracknell 3.
 
Did you know? Chelmsford boast two former Hornets in their line up with talented goalie David Wride and Tom Avery now playing in Essex. Wride is also the ENL’s ‘Alan Partridge’ as he resides in a Premier Inn during the week thanks to his daytime job.
 
 
Invicta Dynamos v Cardiff ENL Devils
No love lost but who will have the last laugh?
 
Of all the Play-Off quarter final games, it is the clash between Invicta and Cardiff that stirs the most interest for the neutral observer. Most games in Cardiff between these two teams feature a brawl or three; however this season it was the Gillingham Ice Bowl that saw the ugly side of this fixture.
 
Abandoned mid-way through, the league encounter just before Christmas hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons with crowd trouble, fighting and a Zamboni soaking up blood all being talking points. The game was awarded 5-0 to Invicta on account of Cardiff’s refusal to finish the game; however the Devils had their revenge on home ice a few weeks later.
 
Invicta import Ryan Ellis finished as the league top scorer and he will be looked upon to do the business in the play-offs. Former Devil Corey Watkins will undoubtedly be determined to get one over on his home club, however with the likes of Jamie Hayes, Louis Lockwood and James Preece all regular scorers for the Welsh side, this one could be close.
 
League fixtures: 08/10 Cardiff 8 Invicta 3, 17/12 Invicta 5 Cardiff 0 (awarded), 14/01 Cardiff 3 Invicta 0, 17/3 Invicta 7 Cardiff 2.
 
Did you know? Cardiff youngster Giovanni Raffaelli is officially the third hardest player’s name to spell for ENL journalists after second placed Invicta man Jack Tarczycki and clear winner Bristol Egidijus Bauba.
 
 
Wightlink Raiders v Bristol Pitbulls
Can Hargreaves write a fairy-tale ending?
 
Although separated by three league placing’s, ENL observers would probably agree that this encounter is a difficult one to call. Last season’s league champions Wightlink have got better and better as the season has gone on and have now not lost at home since late November.
 
Bristol are also in good form despite a recent slip up at home to struggling Slough a couple of weeks ago. Player Coach Richie Hargreaves has his team well drilled and with Lithuanian international Egidijus Bauba scoring goals for fun, they will be a tough test for the Raiders.
 
Wightlink have home advantage in the first leg but Bristol have already taken a point from the Island already this season and the following game in Frogmore Street is likely to be an emotional affair, as defeat and subsequent elimination could well make it the last ever competitive hockey game at a rink whose future is under threat of closure.
 
League fixtures: 18/09 Bristol 4 Wightlink 8, 15/10 Wightlink 9 Bristol 3, 10/12 Bristol 4 Wightlink 5, 25/02 Wightlink 4 Bristol 4.
 
Did you know? Bristol Coach Richie Hargreaves and Wightlink Coach Jeremy Cornish are both keen dog lovers with Hargreaves owning a beagle and Cornish owning an Irish terrier. This fact would not be complete without mentioning Pitbulls forward Alan Armour owns a husky called Zeus.
 
 
Romford Raiders v Milton Keynes Thunder
Will the one game give the Thunder a lifeline?
 
The clash between the Thunder and the Raiders has already courted controversy thanks to the lack of ice available in Milton Keynes for a first leg to take part. On one hand this means that the Thunder do not get a home advantage but it also means that the pressure falls on the Raiders to finish the job within sixty minutes.
 
The league champions will start as red hot favourites against a Thunder side who have had a tough time of it since Christmas and limped into play-off qualification. Milton Keynes do however have enough quality to give Romford a run for their money with Slovak Maros Stefanco a regular scorer and Player Coach Simon Howard a solid presence on the blue line.
 
Romford have been pretty much unstoppable on home ice and have racked up some big score lines against lower placed teams with import Juraj Huska a constant threat. After some big celebrations since securing the league Romford will have to be wary of complacency, especially as previous league winners Invicta and Wightlink both failed to secure a double in 2009/10 and 2010/11 respectively.
 
League fixtures: Milton Keynes 0 Romford 7, Romford 9 Milton Keynes 0, Romford 11 Milton Keynes 1, Milton Keynes 3 Romford 6.
 
Did you know? Thunder forward Jamie Randall appeared for three seasons in Romford blue and gold in the EPL and scored 21 goals and 33 assists in 2002/02. Randall then went on a brief loan spell at Basingstoke Bison and is now the UK distributor for Torspo hockey equipment.
 
 
Where can you catch ENL Play-Off action?
Home side listed first
 
07.04.12 Bracknell Hornets v Chelmsford Chieftains   
07.04.12 Cardiff Devils v Invicta Dynamos
07.04.12 Wightlink Raiders v Bristol Pitbulls
08.04.12 Bristol Pitbulls v Wightlink Raiders  
08.04.12 Chelmsford Chieftains v Bracknell Hornets  
08.04.12 Invicta Dynamos v Cardiff Devils
08.04.12 Romford Raiders v Milton Keynes Thunder
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com