EPL Roundup – First scratch on the paintwork

SWINDON, UK – Week three took off with coach’s comments about the weekend’s performances. Understandably Wildcats’ Ryan Aldridge was a bit miffed at two defeats in two days by the blazing Guildford Flames declaring, ‘…our roster is very different, but we fell apart from front to back.’ A bit more specifically he pointed the finger at his senior players saying that they failed to ‘increase their intensity to match big arrivals.’ It might be remembered the first of the two games had to be brought forward a day due to local industrial action by council workers at the Swindon rink and GM Steve Nell saying that if the action went on long he feared the Wildcats would be no more after October. So good news, at least in the short term came when Nell confirmed the next home game, against the Phoenix, would go ahead as scheduled. Coach Aldridge, however, said his money was going on the Phoenix for the title. ‘I’d probably give it to Manchester over MK,’ he said.
 
And talking about the responsibilities of senior players, Coach Watkins at the Steeldogs had similar concerns. ‘I am looking for more from my senior players,’ he said. ‘Guys have got to be leaders, and we need to talk more on the bench.’
 
Coach Gareth Cox with the Bees also had a comment or two. ’We can’t afford to have nights off,’ he lamented, ‘our top players, our top Brits, we can’t afford it.’ But he was a bit more positive when he said, ‘We’re still ‘juggling’ the lines around a little bit. We’ve got options, but I’m happy.’ But probably not so happy is netminder Carl Ambler who, out with a groin strain, watched his understudy Adam Marashi concede a hat-trick to Lightning’s deadly D-man Lukas Zatopek while thinking it could have been me. Or anywhere near as contented as one of the Bees ‘dangerous brothers’, Jaroslav Cesky, who said, ‘The money is not everything. Some players play for money, and some players play for pride.’ For some unfathomable reason the sentiment brought a lump to my throat, although it might have been because it reminded me of my old grand-pappy who used to say, ‘It is no good running a pig farm badly for thirty years while saying it’s because you were cut out to be a ballet dancer.’
 
Then we had the reassuring aftermath of the curious case of the disappearing shoot-out. Remember, there had been an ice problem in Peterborough in their game against the Jets which caused it to be abandoned at the end of the second period with the score at two apiece. Referee Steve Wardell, however, ordered a penalty shootout which, I guess, technically meant the game wasn’t quite as abandoned after all. Maybe. Anyway, the extra point went to the Phantoms but assuming Wardell knew the rule, which states a shoot-out to decide the extra point can only occur after sixty regular minutes play plus overtime, he must either have discounted it for some reason he thought acceptable or, oh, I don’t know, decided to inject a few minutes suspense as compensation for losing a period of play. Clearly the league didn’t make a ruling because the following day they withdrew the point and amended the result to one each with no clear explanation meaning we all had nothing to fret over any more and could sleep soundly again.
 
All, that is, apart from Bison’s Rick Skene who pinched a nerve in his neck causing him to miss a part of the weekend’s activities although coach Steve Moria says he hopes he will not be out too long. Also out was Lightning’s Lewis Christie with ligament damage to an ankle, and Phantoms’ Warren Tait recovering from a groin operation.
 
Coach Pete Russell, meanwhile, feared the Jets were struggling to find their top form. ‘At the moment I think they are putting too much pressure on themselves,’ he said, urging them to put a smile on their faces, grab a beer from the bench on passing and play the game with gusto but for fun’s sake. He said he felt his team was more concerned with keeping him, the owners and the fans happy which was causing tense play and mistakes.
 
Come Saturday, then, it looked like the advice was sound as the Jets found their composure and went two up against the indomitable Flames, and Coach Russell must have been quietly smiling to himself from the bench as he handed out the cans. But then the Flames slipped into gear and ran the whole gamut of players adding their names to the points’ chart, like they did last weekend, and with their stronger power-plays the Jets took another dink in their bodywork.
 
And talking of dented bodywork, who would have thought it would be the Wildcats who would put the first scratch on the Phoenix paintwork, especially after their performances against the Flames a week before? Scratch? More like a gouge really because the Swindon team took the lead early and it wasn’t until the quarter-hour until the Phoenix equalised. Toivo Suursoo put the Wildcats ahead again and this time the Phoenix were back in it six minutes later when Archer snapped up a rebound off the dazzling back-up netminder James Hadfield. And still only half way through the game. The second half produced some great hockey, a cartful of shots at 41 to 23 overall, but no more goals, and neither did the overtime period, with the Wildcats deservedly clinching it in the shootout.    
 
Everything started off promising for the Bees taking a lead in the fourth minute through Ashley Calvert and for ten minutes looking like they were going to be tough for the Basingstoke team. Even with the Bison grabbing two goals in a minute, the first a bit controversial because some say Ondrej Lauko took a stick to the face when shooting and others that he scored without wearing a helmet, the Bees were back in it right after the first break. Then came three unanswered Bison goals before Nicky Watt pulled one back for the Bees on a power play seven minutes from time but by then it was all over.
 
The Phantoms started off in strong form but it was the Tigers who opened the scoring through Tomas Janak and, although the Phantoms equalised, the Tigers went ahead again through Marek Hornak. On the half hour the Phantoms equalised again only for Janak to take the Tigers ahead on a breakaway. Three minutes later Joe Miller replayed the same manoeuvre for the Phantoms, and with Stephen Wall then saving a penalty shot, it was overtime here we come where the Phantoms needed just a minute to wrap it up 4-3 and another game with a big shots on goal difference at 47 to 26.
 
So the Bison win took them above the Jets in the league table and the Wildcats jumped to seventh. Milton Keynes went up to forth with the Steeldogs dropping and the Bees now bringing up the rear.
 
Sunday, and the Bracknell side faced the Phantoms fresh from their win and even though they were a couple short and the Bees were at full strength plus Grant Rounding and Ben Austin, it was still a one-sided affair. Glowa started the ball, er, puck rolling in the third minute and Ziedins got his first minutes later. By the break the Bees were down by four, and with Ziedins scoring another in the second and a minute into the third he claimed his hat-trick. Last year’s ‘terrible trio’ of Watt, Pinc and Cesky managed to net a face-saver in the last five minutes denying Wall his shut-out, but it was the Phantoms who went home with a four-point weekend.
 
After the shaky start last night against the Jets the Flames again started off from the back of the grid going a goal down after just two minutes and taking quarter of an hour to equalise. Although coming from the back, with their current record you can’t help thinking it shows perseverance and this was shown by both teams which produced a close fought second period. But the breakthrough came at the start of the third when David Longstaff put the Flames ahead, and although half way through the final period the Bison equalised taking the game into overtime, Lukas Smital did the honours after two minutes giving the Flames another double-win weekend to their name.
 
The Phoenix hosted the Lightning and it was as friendly as terrier and a ferret in a sack. Within minutes we’d had a few minors plus two double-minors for roughing, ten minutes for checking to the head and another ten for checking from behind. It was that sort of game. Even veteran Tony Hand dropped his gloves, for the second time recently as it happens, to do the ice waltz with Grant McPhearson, and on the quarter hour when the Phoenix scored the first goal McPhearson was given 5+game for an obvious tripping on the face-off. By the break the hosts were 2-1 up and in the second the Lightning were quickly back in it but only for a few minutes because on the half-hour James Archer put the game out of reach with Curtis Huppe adding the fifth minutes from time.
 
In what turned out to be a surprisingly close game the Jets managed to take a step closer to being back on course by taking the lead after eight minutes against the Steeldogs. Although Peter Vaisenen equalised on a power-play close to the half hour, the Jets took less than a minute to re-establish the lead, the game was fought at close quarters right up to the closing few minutes when they scored their third.
 

It is hard to figure what happened to the Wildcats after Saturday’s superb win over the Phoenix. Things didn’t start too badly for them when Tigers’ Andrejs Maslovskis opened the scoring to which the Wildcats replied. But in the second period Maslovskis added his second followed by one from Honak. A short-handed goal from Jozef Kohut kept the Wildcats in with a chance until seven minutes from time and an empty net goal finished it. Coach Aldridge praised Kohut, but bemoaned some of his team not giving their all, a complaint he made the previous week.
 
So how did all that affect the table? Still top, of course, is the Flames, the only unbeaten team now with the Phoenix a point behind. There is then a four-point gap and some juggling around with the Wildcats back to ninth below the Tigers, and the Bees still bottom.
 
To round off the week we heard more of the continuing saga of Robert Farmer. It may be remembered the young forward signed for the Phoenix in June only to be offered a trial in the US shortly after, which the club generously agreed to. That didn’t come to anything and he passed on to the Ottawa 67’s who played him once, then released him. Phoenix, of course, have just let Dean Holland go and although a third line forward, Coach Tony Hand said Farmer still had a contract with the Phoenix and he wanted him back. And what an excellent replacement he would be. He did add the rider, however, that Farmer’s return was dependant on him not wishing to travel further in North America, which does make you wonder just what sort of contract he has.  
 
No doubt all will be revealed and in the meantime that’s it for the Roundup and it’s on to week 4. Can’t wait!   
 
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