ENL week 32 Round-up

LONDON, UK – My hockey weekend started at the unusual venue of the Ivy House Social club in Croydon, South London. The Redskins end of season presentation night was a boozy affair so I can’t really report who won what. All I can tell you is that Ed Korals’ speech wouldn’t have been given a PG certificate at the cinema, nor would the images of Richard Hardy and Russell Stevens cavorting in sparkling thongs in front of the grinning Barry Spours, as he attempted to hand out the trophies.

 
The weekend got even weirder as I entered Bracknell ice rink to watch the crunch play-off game between the Hornets and Invicta Dynamos. First of all the zamboni exploded on the ice as I walked through the door and then up in the bar I was having a good chat with Vectis Tigers forward Ricky Rutherford, when an excitable Brad Watchorn squeezed my backside and put his arm round me. Sadly for Bradley I was not his expected target and his face was a picture when he realised I was not who he thought I was; i.e. Wightlink forward Joe Reynolds.
 
After a little help from some of the Hornet’s players the zamboni was pushed off the ice to get its gas cylinder exchanged and the game commenced. It was soon pretty clear that the Dynamos would have been better off if the zamboni had not recovered as the Hornets surprisingly bossed the game pretty much from the start. It would be easy to pick fault with Invicta’s performance but I think that would be doing Bracknell a disservice. Aside from the usual busy performances from the Galazzi brothers, Ben Duggan and Alex Barker, it was the likes of Grant Rounding and Tony Barclay who really stood out. The whole Bracknell forward line gave the Dynamos defence a torrid time and even defence man Tom Avery was moved up front and looked comfortable.
 
Invicta on the other hand looked jaded, but I think this may have had something to do with the Hornets defence which looked impenetrable for the most part. Smith and Vaisanen normally glide past slower defenders, especially on the stretch play, but Bracknell have a mobile defence and on the rare occasions Invicta broke through, Hornets goalie David Wride dealt with their efforts comfortably.   The bottom line was that Bracknell players were first to the fifty-fifty pucks throughout the game and it was their sheer effort that saw them win the game 5-2.
 
Grant Rounding and James Galazzi bagged a brace each for the Hornets with Ben Duggan also getting on the score sheet. Invicta’s goals came from Elliot Andrews and Peter Vaisanen. At the end of the game Bracknell piled on to the ice in celebration at making the play–off final, whilst the suspended Watchorn serenaded the Hornets fans with some dancing in the stands that Steve Stiffler would have been proud of. Meanwhile the dejected Dynamos applauded their large contingent of travelling support that had noisily backed their team throughout. I do think it’s a shame that more fans don’t watch the Hornets. They are an excellent hockey team and fully deserve their place in the final.
 
Following the game I made the biggest personal impact in years at the Hive, as the previous night’s festivities caught up with me and the gent’s toilet instantly became a bio chemical hazard. So if anyone saw me in the bar sweating like Gary Glitter, now you know why! Despite this, it was good to see so many familiar faces at the rink with fans and players travelling from places like Cardiff, Oxford, Haringey and Streatham to see the game. Another thing that was good to see was the whole Dynamos team heading to the bar after the game despite the disappointing defeat. In some other sports, a losing team might have skulked off home via the back door so fair play to Mr Parrish and his men.
 
Whilst Bracknell were dumping the league champions out of the play-offs, Wightlink were hosting a Chelmsford team on the Isle of Wight, in the first game of their double header weekend. Pre game talk centred around the ill timed holiday of Chieftains top scorer Danny Hammond, however when the game did commence, it was the expected close encounter. In the Prohockeynews.com preview of the game I singled out Hammond as a key man in this fixture along with BT Williams. As it turned out, neither player played a part in the game, which was typical as the Bracknell v Invicta preview piece also featured two guys who weren’t involved i.e. Gareth Cox and Brad Watchorn. It’s a good job these games aren’t gambled upon or I might get sued for misinformation.
 
Wightlink fans hoping for a repeat of the heroics shown by the Raiders last time they were on home ice, may have been slightly disappointed with the final 2-2 score line. Kev Tanner had another good game for the Raiders and scored two goals but the Chieftains hit back with goals from Blaho Novak and Ross Brears. The game got a bit feisty with Novak living up to his agitator tag and Wightlink coach Jeremy Cornish was reportedly less than impressed with the chippy teenager. The clash on the island set up a winner takes all fixture in Chelmsford on Sunday night.
 
A big crowd gathered at the Riverside for this eagerly awaited game, knowing that the winner would face Bracknell in the final. I have to be honest and say I expected Chelmsford to win it on their home ice, especially given their demolition of Cardiff the week before. To mine, and I am sure a few people’s surprise the Raiders came from behind to win 5-3 in a close, if not bad tempered encounter. Alex Murray yet again stood up to the plate for the Raiders as he got two goals, with Kevin Tanner, Dan Hughes and lastly a delighted Jeremy Cornish also getting goals. Chieftains’ goals came via a brace from Danny Wright and a goal from Jerry Pavlus. Raider Stuart Tait and Chieftains Novak were both ejected midway through the game, so at least one part of my preview piece was proved correct.
 
It is stating the obvious to say that Wightlink’s small squad are better suited to play-off hockey than a full season of fixtures. They have really pulled together for the play-offs and I am particularly pleased for the supporters on the island as they have waited a long time to see a winning side. I also think Chelmsford can take heart from a good year in this league. They are young and talented and if Birrell can add a goal scoring import forward this summer, and retain his current squad, they will be dangerous next season.
 
The last game to report on this weekend was a non event down in Gillingham. The shell shocked Dynamos took on an Oxford City Stars side who I am guessing would rather have not travelled down to Kent for a meaningless game. The 14-3 score line was not particularly surprising and probably not very satisfying for the Mo’s who also picked up the league trophy. Coach Kevin Parrish was quoted on a local news website as saying his team would refuse to accept the trophy from an EIHA official (in protest at their forfeited tie with Bracknell a couple of weeks ago), and that they would turn their backs and applaud their fans instead. Thankfully for all concerned, BBC Kent radio host Gemma Sterba did the honours and a potentially embarrassing episode was avoided.
 
The match itself saw Peter Vaisanen get four goals in what could be his last game in a Mo’s shirt (only based on most imports moving on after a season).Elliot Andrews got two goals in what is reportedly his last ever senior hockey game, as did Karl Lennon, Anthony Leone and AJ Smith. The Mo’s other goals came from Andy Smith and Nicky Lewis. Oxford’s goals came from Joe Edwards and two from Shannon Taylor.
 
I don’t know the circumstances behind Elliot Andrews retirement from the game but given that he is still a good player at this level, I don’t understand why he would want to hang up the skates. I understand he may move into coaching but I hope he doesn’t regret retiring too early. I wish him luck in whatever he chooses to do next in his life; however I am sure he won’t bin his kit just yet.
 
So from six teams we are now down to two. Who would have thought we would be seeing a Bracknell v Wightlink final to decide the play-off champions of the South. Whatever happens in the final, both teams can be proud of their efforts over the last couple of weeks. Jeremy Cornish will have his team pumped for the final, but Hornets coach Gareth Cox will be quietly confident given his teams domination of the Raiders in the league season. The underdog role has suited the Raiders thus far during the play-offs and to write them off would be unwise.
 
For the players of Invicta, Oxford, Cardiff and Chelmsford its time to fire up the barbeque, put on the shorts and head to the beach… Or more likely, sit indoors and grill burgers on the George Foreman while the rain lashes down outside.
 
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
 
Carrsy
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com