ENL South Round-up Week 7

LONDON, UK – It was business as usual in the ENL South this weekend with goals, fights and off-ice antics giving fans plenty to talk about.
On Saturday, Ryde Ice Arena played host to the battle of the Raiders. Romford and Wightlink not only share the same name, but also many similar qualities. Tough, uncompromising and with fans who like a good scrap, the Raiders’ on both sides match up well on paper.

Whilst they may have been unbeaten in six games going into this game, Wightlink have tied with both Milton Keynes and Oxford on their own pad this season, in games that perhaps they would have marked down as likely victories. The visitors from Romford went one better than either the Stars or Thunder as they walked away with an impressive 5-2 win.
Frankie Harvey continued his good start to the season with two goals for Romford. Imports Pierre Wilhemsson and Al Visockas both got on the score sheet, as did player coach Danny Marshall. Wightlink’s goals came from Robbie Brown and Richard Facey.
Milton Keynes Thunder and Chelmsford Chieftains faced off back to back games against each other with an entertaining clash in Buckinghamshire. The Thunder came back from 3-1 down at one point to hold the Chieftains at 4-4, but sadly for Thunder fans, it was the visitors that edged out in front again to take the game 6-4.
Chelmsford’s goals came courtesy of a brace from Ross Brears, and one each for Blaho Novak, BT Williams, Alex Green and Tom Long. MK scorers were Ross Bowers with two, and Harrison Goode and Jamie Line with one each. The Thunders second goal was shrouded in controversy as the puck appeared to bounce off the bar but yet a goal was given. Some fingers predictably pointed at the goal judge but it was the referee that awarded the goal.
Goal judges in the ENL are pretty pointless to be honest, unless they are impartial and used consistently by officials. Those two boxes are never ticked in my experience at this level so why bother (other than to count shots for the goalie stats)? Referee’s sometimes don’t even have the courtesy to go and speak with the goal judge after an incident, which kind of says it all.

On Sunday the two teams met again at the newly refurbished Riverside rink in Chelmsford. The council obviously opted to employ a designer who spent a number of childhood holidays in Blackpool; such is the amount of neon lighting now around the place. Personally I can see the place dating very badly quite quickly but let’s be honest, many ice rinks in this country need refurbishing so hats off to the local council for sorting this (despite the delays).
The best news of the night was the crowd figure of over 800 for the Essex side. I don’t think there has been a crowd that big since the mighty Billingham arrived in the play-offs back in 1998. One of the most impressive parts of the refurb is the new scoreboard installed on the far wall. This has a large video functionality which could really enhance game nights if used correctly. If I was marketing the Chieftains I would definitely have a clip of Head Coach Birrell glaring into the camera shouting ‘What a rush’ after each goal, in the style of legendary WWF tag team Legion of Doom. We wait with interest to see how the Chieftains management use their new play thing.

When the game did face off, it turned out to be a one sided affair. A 10-2 victory for the Chieftains sent the majority of the crowd home in good spirits, with a hat trick from Matt Turner being the most notable talking point. Two goals from Tom Long and one each from Aaron Connelly, Ross Brears, Blaho Novak, James Ayling and Danny Hammond were the other notes on the Chieftains scoring list. Ross Bowers and Jamie Line got the goals for the Thunder.
Oxpens Road hosted the second derby of the season as Oxford City Stars entertained the youthful Swindon ENL Wildcats. The last encounter between these two ended in a convincing win for Oxford and the same outcome was expected again.
Credit to Swindon for coming back from 3-1 down at the end of the first to only 4-3 behind at the end of the second period. To the delight of the home crowd, the Stars stepped it up in the third and took the game 7-3. Gareth Endicott and Darren Elliott both got two goals for the Stars with Wayne Fiddes, Joe Edwards and Josh Oliver getting one each. Swindon scorers were Grant Richardson, Ryan   Burgess and Stephen Whitfield.

Romford Raiders faced arguably their toughest test at home so far, as Cardiff ENL Devils came to town. The Devils were hit and miss on the road last season and they got off to a terrible start in this game, allowing the Raiders to race into a 3-0 lead. The visitors never recovered and went on to lose 6-2 in a bad tempered affair.
The tone had been set early on when the Romford DJ decided to cement Anglo/Welsh relations by playing ‘Mary had a little lamb’ as Cardiff came on to the ice in reference to a Welshman’s supposed sexual affiliation with sheep. This act did not go down too well in some quarters but the Devils were unable to exact revenge on the ice as they went down 6-2.
Fists flew during this game with Raiders JJ McGrath and Tom Davis slugging it out with Cardiff’s Phil Manny and Lee Duance respectively. Amongst the bad blood there were goals as well, with two each for Danny Marshall and AJ Smith, plus a goal each for Pierre Wilhelmsson and Anthony Leone. Cardiff scorers were Gareth Dixon and Adam Wood. The two sides face each other in Cardiff this coming weekend so it will be interesting to see what occurs in that match.
Sunny South London was the setting for the clash between Streatham Redskins and Bristol Pitbulls. The Redskins had the free weekend seven days prior   so we were determined to bounce back after our last home performance against Wightlink (where we went down 6-0). It is fair to say that following that loss, Barry (Spours – Redskins Head Coach) was not a happy bunny. The Tuesday practice session that followed is now referred to as ‘that Tuesday’ and comes with eyebrows raised and an expression of fear across the face of anyone describing it. The Thursday session that week was no more enjoyable.

The Pitbulls travelled down to Streatham looking for their first road win but sadly they returned west empty handed. An 8-4 win for the Redskins had initially threatened to be a rout after a 5-1 first period, but the Pitbulls shook off the bus legs in the second and third and kept things respectable. Jack Tarczycki hit a rare double for Streatham, as did Liam Rasmussen and Russ Stevens, with Michael Ranby and Ed Koral getting the others. Bristol’s goals came from Steve Osman, Ali Band, Henrik Sahlin and Shannon Taylor. The two sides face each other in Bristol again this weekend.
The last fixture on Sunday saw the current league champions Invicta Dynamos take on Play-off champions Bracknell Hornets at the salubrious Gillingham Ice Bowl. A convincing Dynamos victory would have been most people’s prediction prior to this game, but the hosts were made to work hard for a 4-3 victory.
Hornets’ goalie David Wride proved his worth yet again for the visitors with a fine display between the pipes. Wride has long been a recruitment target of the Dynamos but instead has proved a thorn in their side over the years. This game was actually tied at 3-3 with only three minutes remaining and it took a late effort from Mike Timms to seal the win with his second of the game. Dynamos other goals came from Liam Chong and Daniel Calitri. Hornets scorers were Danny Hughes, Radek Simecek and Tony Barclay.
Rumours of a return for veteran forward Dean Edmiston was hinted at on the Invicta website causing Head Coach Kev Parrish to release a statement to clarify the clubs position. In the statement he basically said that forty one year old Edmiston was skating again and he could rule nothing out. I remember watching Edmiston play for Fife Flyers when I was a kid and he was a quality hockey player.
 
It says something for the players of his generation that they can take so much time away from the game and yet still come back looking good. Former Slough Jet David Heath often skates in London with the London Devils recreational hockey team, and he still has the moves despite taking a break from pro hockey a few years ago. Heath could do a good job in the ENL and I would imagine Edmiston could too.
Some teams have now played a quarter of their fixtures for the season and the league table is certainly taking shape. Invicta sit top with points on the board and are clearly in command at present. Chelmsford and Romford have games in hand but they need to keep winning to catch the leaders.   At the bottom, the newly promoted sides Bristol and Swindon are both struggling yet have a number of   games in hand over a Milton Keynes Thunder side only one point ahead.
Contact the author:   david.carr@prohockeynews.com