LONDON, UK – The ‘big four’ all met in the Play-Off semi-finals with the final chance of silverware still in reach. Elsewhere, the other seven teams were relaxing and the Pro Hockey News All-Star selections were debated by fans.
It was all smiles in Romford during the week as forward AJ Smith praised his line mates Anthony Leone and Matt Turner in a gushing piece in the Romford Recorder.
End of season for Bristol excites a wolf
“It’s a pleasure playing on that line with Turner and Leone” admitted the former Invicta man, who has now won the ENL title with both Romford and his former side.
“I think me and Turner have a good understanding of where each other is on the ice and what we’re trying to do. We both like to play attractive, passing hockey and I think it’s working well”
“Leone compliments us perfectly too as he works so hard and creates a lot of space for me and Matty to work in and he’s great at getting open in front of the net”
“All three of us can score goals. There’s no competition for points between us personally but as a line we try and outscore the other two. That’s the sort of healthy competition you need within a team, but between the three of us, there’s no competition”
“When one of us scores, the chances are the other two get the assists anyway”
AJ Smith Twitter man
Smith has been one of the unsung heroes of the Romford side this season, with the likes of Huska, Marshall and McGrath often grabbing the Raiders headlines. With 82 points so far this year Smith was only one ahead of line mate Turner, whilst Leone had notched an impressive 58 himself, before the weekend’s games.
The well-known phrase ‘Fail to Prepare – Prepare to Fail’ must be etched on the minds of the management at Bracknell as the Hornets announced pre-season trials just days after crashing out of the Play-Offs to Chelmsford.
The try-outs don’t start till June however, so any prospective players hoping to pull on the yellow and black jersey still have a little longer to enjoy the summer… or spring at least.
Invicta Coach Kevin Parrish was in upbeat mood following his players’ demolition of Cardiff in the Play-Off Quarter final, as he offered all of them a fresh start following a disappointing league campaign.
“I have been saying to the players in practice it doesn’t matter what happened earlier in the season, everyone starts with a clean slate again this weekend” the Dynamos Coach admitted in an interview with the Medway Messenger.
Reaction to the Pro Hockey News All-Star awards for 2012/13 season prompted mixed opinions spread across the online UK hockey community on team forums, the UK’s largest online hockey debating tool ‘The Hockey Forum’ and of course Facebook and Twitter.
The lack of any Romford players on the All Star team was always likely to be controversial, despite the league champions having Andrius Kaminskas and Juraj Huska both placed on the second line.
My personal opinion is that the team wasn’t too far off what I would have chosen. It all depends on how players play against you or your team and naturally people will be influenced by that.
With Streatham I would say Ryan Ellis and Justin Noble of Invicta looked superb against us and equally Romford’s Tyrone Miller looked like a rock on the blue line for Romford.
Injured D%27s Dan and Darren
When you bear in mind the Redskins finished second bottom of the league though, then I can’t judge how these guys looked against the top teams other than on points – and we all know that points don’t always paint a whole picture don’t we!
Cardiff’s Jamie Hayes appeared to be a surprise choice for some fans but having played against him I have to say I thought he was excellent. He never gave less than 100%, looked good up front and on the point in the power play, plus he played with class even when his team were way up in the game.
I don’t even know the guy so I don’t have an obligation to pump his tyres in any way, and in any case I didn’t vote so no hate mail please.
Speaking of awards, Romford appear to be the first team to announce their end of season awards party with an East London/Essex knees up on the 28th April at their rink. A disco and buffet is promised along with a dance off between the Raiders 1st, 2nd and 3rd lines.
Pro Hockey News is placing a charity bet on the first line coming out on top due to the fact Danny Marshall would have learnt a lot of moves back in his youth grooving to hits like Freedom by Wham and Gold by Spandau Ballet. It is also lucky for all, that Liam Doyle is not involved in the dance off as any regulars at the Roadhouse in Covent Garden will testify.
Unsurprisingly nobody likes getting inured but it can be particularly cruel in the Play-Offs. Wightlink defenseman Dan Pye broke his wrist and Chelmsford’s Darren Elliott was ruled out with an ankle ligament problem. Pro Hockey News would like to wish both players a quick recovery and we hope they are back next season fully fit, wherever they choose to play.
After a rollercoaster season in South London, Streatham’s hierarchy could finally relax for the summer following a late escape from relegation with a win over Slough the previous weekend.
“It seems odd to feel like celebrating coming ninth but it was a huge turnaround and a huge relief after such a stressful season” explained Redskins Coach Barry Spours in an interview with the Streatham Guardian.
“I have been at teams before where you are bottom of the table and everything falls apart, but the guys here didn’t – they kept going and kept together. Right at the end you could see they were still a team”
“These challenges either pull you apart or pull you closer together and with us it was the latter. I had a feeling when they skated out on the ice that they looked confident and pumped up and were really determined”
“It wasn’t easy at first but slowly but surely we got in the game and when we went 7-2 up, Slough looked like they had given up”
Streatham joy
With a new rink in Brixton and the prospect of a new permanent home back in Streatham in a couple of years, Streatham will have an interesting summer recruiting players for next season.
The future is not as clear in Bristol as the Pitbulls reflected on the end of their season and uncertain times over the coming months. The planned closure of Frogmore Street to accommodate students gives everyone decisions to make, including the hockey teams and also the EIHA.
“I’m optimistic that it’s not the end for us” said a defiant Pitbulls Coach Richie Hargreaves, who had been voted ENL South Coach of the Year just days after his side lost to Wightlink.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t progress to the semi-finals for our supporters, who came down here in numbers and created a fantastic atmosphere”
“I’m still proud of my players for what they have achieved this season. Last year we were in a dogfight at the bottom of the league from start to finish, so to make the play-offs and compete in every game this time around has been a fantastic effort”
“My guys never cheat. Everybody here plays with their heart on their sleeve and we’ve rarely left the ice after a game with any regrets. We can always do things better, but never could we have worked any harder”
“We’ve had a great three-and-a-half-years since re-introducing a team to Bristol and I’m hoping that we will be able to find a way forward out of the situation we are in”
“We’re heavily engaged with both Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council and we think they like the idea of having a rink and what it brings to the local community and Bristol as a whole”
“We’re hoping now that the season is over and done with that we can fully concentrate our efforts on moving forward and trying to resolve the situation in a way that keeps ice hockey in Bristol”
It spells a big summer for the ENL South and who wouldn’t want to be a fly on the wall when the league slots are decided for next season. Before all that, there was still some on ice action to sort out…
Saturday
If the previous weekend saw the odds stacked in favour of some clubs, the match ups over the two days this time were too close to call.
Starting off the action on Saturday were Invicta Dynamos and league champions Romford Raiders. Invicta knew that they would have to make home advantage count before the following day’s trip to Rom Valley Way.
* In a game that saw the lead head towards Invicta, then Romford, then Invicta and finally Romford again, the visitors walked off with a 6-4 win. Romford goals came thanks to a brace from Juraj Huska and one each from Anthony Leone, AJ Smith, Shaun Yardley and Tyrone Miller.
Ryan Ellis hit two goals for Invicta with Tim Smith and Adam Copland hitting efforts from defence.
Down on the Isle of Wight, the Wightlink Raiders faced Chelmsford Chieftains without their star import Joe Rand, who was nominated Pro Hockey News ENL South Player of the Year (try and engrave that on a small trophy) during the week.
Without their scoring machine the Raiders couldn’t trouble the visitors and the Chieftains headed back to Essex with a solid 4-1 lead. Darren Brown hit a brace for Chelmsford with Jakub Klima and Danny Hammond also on target. Wightlink’s scorer was Connor Pollard.
Sunday
At the Riverside, Chelmsford made sure of their qualification to the final despite a brave effort from Wightlink.
Chelmsford won 5-3 on the night with Jakub Klima hitting two and Alan Green, Gary Clarke and Danny Hammond also getting on the score sheet. Wightlink goals came from Nathan Taylor, Richard Facey and Damon Larter with goalie Liam McAllister signing off his first season on the island with an assist.
Phillips hits three (John Scott)
Invicta knew that a trip to Romford would be difficult enough without the home side having a two goal advantage from the first leg. To their credit, the Kent side came out fighting and took the lead early on thanks to a Justin Noble goal.
Goals were traded by both sides but Romford upped their game in the third period and skated off with a 7-3 win on the night. Raiders’ goals came via a hat trick from defenseman Billy Phillips, a brace for Juraj Huska and efforts from Matt Turner and AJ Smith.
Invicta scorers aside from Noble were Callum Best and Andy Smith, whose goal took him to the milestone of 400 for the club.
Both benches were involved in an ill-tempered fracas at the end after Dynamos’ agitator Corey Watkins was ejected for an altercation with Raiders goalie Michael Gray.
The result means that the top two in the league will now meet in the play-off final and it gives Chelmsford the chance to avenge their bitter rivals or… watch the boys in blue and gold lift a league and play-off double.
Players and fans of both clubs will be counting down the days.
Results
Saturday 14th April 2012
Invicta Dynamos 4 Romford Raiders 6
Wightlink Raiders 1 Chelmsford Chieftains 4
Sunday 15th April 2012
Romford Raiders 7 Invicta Dynamos 3 (Raiders advance on aggregate)
Chelmsford Chieftains 5 Wightlink Raiders 3
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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