ENL week 31 Round-up

LONDON, UK – With the Isle of Wight in uproar, Cardiff assembling the barricades and Invicta still simmering with rage, the ENL play-offs continued this weekend amidst controversy.

 
Much has been said already on various websites and forums regarding the Wightlink/Cardiff saga, so I won’t bore regular readers with too much detail. In summary it appears that Wightlink iced an illegible player in their 7-5 win over Cardiff in their opening play-off game. Wightlink are furious as they had confirmation from the English Ice Hockey Association that the player was eligible. Cardiff were subsequently awarded two points and this catapulted them back into contention. I did say in last weeks round-up that Cardiff needed a miracle after their two defeats to the Raiders, and I have to confess it was not a throw away comment.
 
Chelmsford travelled to Wales ready to face a full strength Cardiff side including Elite League prospect Ben Davies. Davies had travelled back from the Elite League Devils earlier game in Nottingham and the Chieftains soon wished he had encountered the world’s largest traffic jam or indeed a flat tyre in the style of Wightlink’s Dan Hughes.
 
Fans and players of both sides were united in their praise of the youngster as he put in a fantastic display to influence the Devils’ 5-2 victory. Two goals each for Davies and Chris Jones added to a sole effort from Tim Burrows for Cardiff whilst the Cheiftains goals came from Jerry Pavlus and Aaron Connolly. Jones night went from delight to despair as he had a potential hat trick taken away from him, after he was ejected for a clumsy hit from behind on Sean Easton. The Devils are gaining a reputation for mass brawls on their home ice and they added to their tally sheet with another inspired windmill fest. With the risk of suspension quite high, it was surprising that Cardiff would risk jeopardising their newly invigorated play-off campaign by getting involved in such frivolities after a 5-2 win. Luckily for them, referee Anthony Decaux chose not to dish out anything more than ten minute misconducts.
 
“It was a Sunday afternoon” said 19^th Century writer Thomas de Quincey, “wet and cheerless; and a duller spectacle this earth of ours has not to show than a rainy Sunday in London”. Quincey used the dreary London weather as an excuse for his first taste of opium. For hockey loving Londoners, Easter Sunday’s predictably cloudy skies gave an excuse for the less risqué alternative of travelling to either Oxford or Chelmsford for an ENL play-off hockey fix.
 
After the previous night’s controversy in Cardiff there was only one place to be on Sunday night and that was in Essex. It is fair to say that if the BBC’s hit comedy series Gavin and Stacey gave Wales and Essex a bond, the Chieftains and Devils well and truly tore it to shreds on the ice. It started before the puck had been dropped when Blaho Novak collided with a Cardiff player in pre-match skate around and then Phil Manny and BT Williams both got ten minute misconducts within the first thirty seconds.
 
Call it a coaching masterstroke or simply revenge for the previous nights shenanigans, but Chelmsford coach Dean Birrell’s decision to recall goalie Andy Moffat set tongues wagging pre match. Apparently released by mutual consent a few weeks ago, the Kirckaldy stopper’s return to the fold lasted a whole five minutes and 18 seconds as he skated the full length of the ice to fight his old nemesis Mike Brabon in the Cardiff goal. Brabon (usually well up for a scrap) for once controlled himself and wisely covered up, meaning that Moffat was ejected and Ben Clements took his place in the Chieftains goal.
 
Whether this rattled Brabon or not is debatable, but with top scorer Steve Fisher fighting Rudi Dzurko and also getting kicked out of the game, it certainly unsettled the Devils who then went on to lose 10-1 in amazing turn around from the previous night. Chelmsford scorers were Darren Brown x 2, Danny Wright x 2, Rudi Dzurko, Aaron Connolly, Jerry Pavlus, Danny Hammond, Richard Whiting and Blaho Novak. Tim Burrows got Cardiff’s lone effort and the Welshmen were missing Ben Davies, Brent Pope and James Manson from the line up.
 
The result ends Cardiff’s play-off campaign, although with a rumoured EIHA investigation into Chelmsford’s conduct I wouldn’t shave my play-off beard off just yet if I was a Cardiff player. Whilst Chelmsford’s conduct was questionable on Sunday, I don’t think there is a single team in the play offs who can take a holier than thou attitude when it comes to this intimidatory acts of violence this season (maybe Oxford excepted).
 
Cardiff can look back on a good campaign overall, despite the play-off disappointment. Coach Mark Cuddihy did a great job steering them to runners-up position in the league with such an unsettled roster, and some of the players have put in extra miles guesting for the likes of Romford. I am sure they were pretty gutted on the bus journey back down the M4 however I think the damage was done to their campaign the previous week with below par performances against Wightlink. It will be interesting to see how many of the players move on to pastures new next year and what the next batch from the strong junior development in Cardiff produces next season. If they all choose to stay then they will be a force again next season. Their priority during the summer however, should be getting a bus company to sponsor them and save the guys some expenses.    
 
Oxford City Stars faced an Invicta Dynamos side still seething from losing the points in the forfeited game against Bracknell. With a decent crowd bolstered by a travelling support from Kent, the Stars failed to shine and the Dynamos brushed them aside with a convincing 7-2 win. Two goals each for Nicky Lewis and Andy Smith added to one each for Elliot Andrews, AJ Smith and Peter Vaisanen. The result effectively ends Oxford’s hopes of qualifying unless my mathematics isn’t up to scratch. Oxford were always up against it in a group with both Invicta and Bracknell, and I am sure they will look for a strong performance against the Dynamos next week to repay the Green Army’s travelling support this season.
 
This means that the play-off final is likely to feature the winners of next week’s Chelmsford v Wightlink double header, versus the winner of Bracknell v Invicta game. Who wants to predict the final two? Not me I am afraid.
 
Elsewhere, news that Haringey General Manager Tim Partington has quit the club due to personal circumstances is another blow for the North London club. Having said that, after having the misfortune to click on a YouTube clip featuring Greyhounds defence man Alastair Band dancing excitedly round the Alexandra Palace locker room in his birthday suit, I can understand why the former Greyhounds GM stood in background, decided enough was enough. Jokes aside, I am sure we all wish Tim good luck in the future with whatever he decides to do.
 
Better news for the Greyhounds was owner Nick Rothwell’s appearance on Sky Television. Rothwell is a respected TV presenter and he featured on Sky’s live coverage of the Elite League play-off final.  
 
So that’s it for this week’s round-up. Just when I think there will be nothing to write about, another scandal seems to erupt so lets hope it is a quiet week until the teams hit the ice on Saturday.
 
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
 
Carrsy
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com