ENL week 17 Round-up

LONDON, UK – Whilst the players of MK Thunder and Streatham Redskins sat toasting the fixture computer this weekend, the rest of the league’s players were forced to skate off any Christmas excess.
 

Cardiff faced a resurgent Bracknell Hornets, with new signing Lee Cowmeadow in their line up. Not only does Cowmeadow possess one of the coolest surnames in British ice hockey, but he can play a bit too. A glance at his hockey CV suggests he enjoys moving house more than your average prisoner on the run. In no particular order he has played for Cardiff, Blackburn, Milton Keynes, Chelmsford, Romford, Guildford, Fife, Slough and Swindon amongst others.
 
Bracknell travelled to Wales brimming with confidence but found Cardiff a tough nut to crack. An early goal for the Hornets put the Devils on the back foot but they bounced back, and it was the effervescent Alan Armour who sealed the 3-1 victory with an empty netter at the end. The Hornets were missing Canadian defenseman Blair Dubyk, however the Devils were also light on defense with Brent Pope and James Manson both missing. Despite these absentees both teams played an extremely tight defensive game and Cardiff will be delighted with the two points.
 
An eagle eyed Wightlink official emailed me last week, to point out that James Udell was not suspended for the Raiders trip to Invicta. Maybe they can thank me for confusing Invicta coach Kevin Parrish, into thinking he was facing a weakened squad.
 
Wightlink did actually start with a weakened team but only because player coach Jeremy Cornish was delayed reaching the game. By the time he did step onto the ice his team were 3-1 up, after taking full advantage of an early five minute powerplay. John Sarno the main beneficiary of Tim Smith’s high sticks’ penalty, with two goals.
 
Despite the tight first period ending 3-3, the Mo’s took full control as the Raiders ran out of steam. By the end of the game, Nolan Boike had bagged four goals, but it was hat trick hero Andy Smith who picked up the man of the match award in the 8-4 win for the home side. Apparently Mark Williams and Jeremy Cornish had words but to Cornish’s credit he didn’t get involved. I have said before that Wightlink need Cornish on the ice rather than sitting penalties/serving suspensions, regardless of what some fans say about his ability. Sarno failed to build on his good start to the game as he was kicked out for abuse of official. I would imagine the home fans gave him a rapturous send off on the way to the locker room, bearing in mind his antics last season.
 
Wightlink now have the perfect opportunity to bounce back at home next week, as they face struggling MK Thunder. It is a game they should win comfortably if the form guide is anything to go by.
 
The ‘Stormin’ Norman Pinnington to Haringey rumour resurfaced last week. Norm trained with us last season when I was playing at the Palace, and he is still in great shape and would be an excellent addition for the Greyhounds. I suspect owner Nick Rothwell will have to flash the cash if he wants to secure his man though.
 
Pinnington isn’t the only player linked with the Greyhounds recently, but they didn’t unveil any new players in their line up for the trip to Oxford. After a close first period, the City Stars moved up a gear and won the game 7-1 courtesy of two goals from housewives favourite Dean Francis and one goal each for Shurmer, Elliott, Abu Saada, Taylor and Oliver. Haringey’s only goal came from new signing Adam Grey.
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The main talking point of the game was not the impressive performance from the sparkling Stars, but the antics of Haringey’s Dave Richards.
 
Love him or loathe him (and for most people it’s the latter), he certainly gives me something to write about every week. This time it was Oxford’s Mike Lucas who got hold of the cheeky Londoner and managed to get a couple of punches in, to the joy of the partisan crowd.
 
Shortly afterwards, a tired Richards had his gloves off again, but this time against Andy Cox who is a cracking player, but not a fighter. Coxy apparently did quite well in the bout. The Oxford fans enjoyed giving Richards dogs abuse not only within the rink but also online where they described him as a waste of space and spineless amongst other things. There was even a YouTube link of Lucas’s triumph circulated across the net before the end of the night. Not many ENL players provoke that kind of reaction.
 
An expected, yet convincing win for the City Stars, however keep an eye on Haringey over the coming weeks. Rothwell is rumoured to be making moves in the transfer market, and from what I hear, the Greyhounds will be strengthened significantly over the coming weeks (probably just in time to play the Redskins). I have also heard that the team get free pizza after every game, and my former Oxford team mate Mark Krater did jokingly ask me the other day, if I was considering a return to the Haringey as a result of Rothwell’s new post game policy.
 
Peterborough Islanders travelled down the M11 to face a Chelmsford side desperate to bounce back after last weekend’s poor results in Bracknell and Streatham.
 
By all accounts the standard of play was lacklustre and the game dull. The Essex side won 6-2 with Darren Brown securing the Man of the match award, with two goals.  Simon Wren was the Peterborough hero again, as he produced save after save to keep the score respectable for the Islanders.
 
The Islanders need to add more bodies before deadline day if they want to stage a remarkable comeback and avoid relegation. As for Chelmsford I would guess that this win was not as convincing as they probably hoped it would be, after a few poor results lately.  
 
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a Christmas story so I thought I would indulge in a trip down memory lane (not again I hear you shout), to finish this week’s round up.  
 
It was the cold Boxing day of 2002, when I drove from County Durham all the way down to Essex to play for Haringey Racers against Romford Raiders. The 500 mile round trip contributed to probably one of the worst days I have had in hockey.
 
It took five hours to get there and I snapped both my sticks (three hundred pounds worth) early on, and was forced to buy a spare from a team mate after the club refused to get me a replacement; ‘Go have a look in the shop’ was the helpful advice.
 
To add to the misery we lost 17-2 or something ridiculous like that and half the team didn’t show up. My only chance of the game came with around five minutes left. In a rare burst of speed I got clear of the Raiders defence but predictably as I reached the net, the pass was at my skates rather than my stick blade, so under pressure I volleyed the puck past the goalie and into the net with my boot. The referee was not fooled and washed out the goal to the delight of the Romford faithful, who despite the scoreline where as abusive as ever, shouting all manner of insults through the netting. To add to my pain, the announcer quipped; ‘wrong sport mate’ across the PA to reduce the home crowd to hysterics.
 
As I travelled back up North to continue my holiday with family, I wished I had just pulled a sickie and saved myself the £400 the whole affair cost.
 
There will be more glamorous tales from my halcyon EPL days over the rest of the season but for now I will leave you with a quote from the legendary Jacques Plante, who clearly never had to deal with the Romford DJ:
 
“How would you like a job where, every time you make a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo”
 
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
 
Carrsy
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com