SWINDON, UK – We start with last week’s situation in the EPL Top Tens Charts, that’s Week 7, which doesn’t include the two mid-week games.
Points Scoring
The Flames’ David Longstaff now holds the top position in the points scoring chart, having taken over from the Wildcats’ Jonas H öö g in the EPL, and that includes on over all total and by game average.
Goal Scoring
In goal-scoring another Flames’ player, Curtis Huppe, unseated H öö g at the top, but Longstaff remains the leading Brit while the Steeldogs’ Greg Wood has the best game average.
Assist Scoring
At last, it is the Phoenix’s Tony Hand who occupies the top assist scoring position in the EPL, a place he made his own last season. But it is Flames’ Jozef Kohut who has a marginally higher game average.
D-Men
No change at the top of the highest scoring defensive players with the Bees’ Marcel Petran still ruling the roost, and the Steeldogs’ Ben Morgan the leading Brit.
Netminding
There was also no change in the netminding table which is still headed by the Bison’s Stevie Lyle. The Jets’ Greg Rockman, who had edged tantalisingly close to the leader, dropped back a tad almost into the clutches of third placed Alex Mettam from the Lightning.
Penalties
The only change in the penalty-takers’ chart was the Jets’ Adam Greener moving back to the top of the British contingent, while the Steeldogs’ Derek Campbell remains the leading player in the EPL, and both top the charts on game average.
Into the week and as we all know by now the Lightning’s Adam Calder, who suffered a fractured hip in the game against the Tigers, had surgery and, according to GM Vito Rausa, ‘the early prognosis isn’t great,’ so we await developments. On a more positive note, Lightning forward Leigh Jamieson received his call-up papers for the GB side that are off to Japan and the Olympic pre-qualifying tournament, and of course we hope he has a productive time.
The Tigers, meanwhile, said goodbye to Czech forward Jaroslav Cesky who has gone to Basingstoke where he hopes to pick up some silverware. In return, recently released Bison’s Czech D-man Tomas Fojtik was signed by the Tigers. Days later the Tigers also released British forward Joe Henry for what they referred to as ‘gross misconduct’ for having refused to ice during their game against the Bees. While the arguments for his dismissal are obvious, you can’t help wondering why a player would put himself in a position so untenable. Nevertheless, it is a shame to lose a player under such circumstances, and while it is understandable there might be some hesitancy in any future signing, it also doesn’t automatically follow he would do it again. Nuff said.
Also on the move was the Jets’ British forward Josh Bruce who requested release from his contract due to travelling difficulties. While the rumours immediately appeared, contrary to what one idiot suggested I don’t make them up, I merely report what others originate if and when they make sense. Sheesh!
And so on to the mid-week games
Flames 4 – Wildcats 5
What do the Wildcats think they are dong? First they beat the Flames comfortably in Swindon, and then they go to Guildford and do it all again after a string of poor result? Wildcats’ Nicky Watt had urged his teammates to stand up for each other, and that is what Sam Bullas did after two minutes when he crossed umbrellas with Andrew Sharp, who shortly after collected a misconduct penalty in seeking revenge. The game had everything else too like disallowed goals and clanking off posts with the Wildcats having a penalty shot saved, and the Flames scoring 5-on-3.
The match had a familiar trend when the Wildcats started the scoring and even went 4-1 up before the Flames fought their way back to what looked like yet another overtime decision. But it was not to be as this time the visitors’ defence held out, including some excellent work from Dean Skinns who faced almost double the shots Mark Lee did, and a first hat-trick of the season for Aaron Nell.
Phantoms 5 – Phoenix 4 after overtime
The first period started with an air of a rout about it as the Phantoms went 2-down in the opening minutes. But they came back quickly and in the second period and made Steve Fone in the Phoenix net earn his money, which he did. Around half-way the officials seemed to have a communal senior moment and all threw their common senses into the blender to produce 3 misconduct penalties few understood. Nerve-wracking comes to mind in the final period by which time the home side was losing 4-2 as 17-year-old Jordan Cownie scored his first senior goal. Tom Carlon snapped up his second with half a minute to spare after Damien King had been pulled from the goal, and so came overtime which went their way and moved them up the table.
So on to Saturday and Week 7 games.
Wildcats 3 – Lightning
What a strange game with the Wildcats at home after a huge mid-week win against the Flames only to be sunk almost without a trace by a Lightning side now minus Adam Calder and having been beaten by the Tigers on their last outing. The Wildcats managed to outshoot their opponents 3-2 over all, but were 2 adrift in minutes and 4 adrift around half-way so never really had much to offer apart from Joe Baird asserting himself at the back. The loss gave the Wildcats their worst losing run at home of four games, now the worst in league.
Tigers 3 – Bees 5
Continuing the trend of not living up to their last games, the Tigers also seemed to struggle to find their footing. In fact it took them two periods by which time they were losing by three goals and, while James Preece gave them hope early in the third it never lasted long because the Bees slotted in another just to make sure and which moved them up into forth place in the table.
Steeldogs 4 – Phantoms 2
And yet another side that seemed to fall back into their old ways after two great results against teams higher in the league. The Steeldogs ended their 4-game losing run by sticking to their simple plan of intimidation, which worked very nicely thank you very much. A short-handed goal by the Steeldogs’ Edgars Bebris seconds before the first break created something of a deadlock for a period, but with the Phantoms’ Jozef Sladok carrying a hand injury their capacity to reply physically was hindered somewhat. But it probably wouldn’t have made any difference anyway even though they had plenty of shots and some near misses on James Flavell in the Steeldogs’ goal, because there was simply something missing.
Bison 6 – Jets 2
Bison improved their home-winning run to 4 games with what was a surprisingly comfortable win over the Jets. Although things were tight for half an hour, by the end of the second period the Jets had sunk without trace under a 4-goal barrage and Adam Greener had been presented with a ticket for 14 minutes in the hot tub for what looked like unprovoked roughing on Joe Rand. For the Jets, an individual effort by ‘Frankie’ Bakrlik short-handed with ten minutes left wasn’t anywhere near enough of a reply as the Jets extended their losing run to 3 games.
And so on to Sunday.
Jets 1 – Bison 2 after penalties
A much tighter game than the previous evening match-up with the Jets keeping the Bison on a much shorter leash and only succumbing to a power-play goal from Greg Owen in two periods. But it took a lot of penalties to do it with over an hour all told, and a penalty shoot-out too which at least gave them a point while ensuring the Bison remained at the top of the table.
Lighting 3 – Wildcats 0
With a second short bench of the weekend, which included two missing imports, the Wildcats really suffered. The emphasis was on defence, and the Lightning duly obliged to test the theory including a claim for a bizarre goal, subsequently disallowed, ‘scored’ through a hole in the side netting. Not that it mattered because the Wildcats’ forwards simply couldn’t put up any numbers, particularly top scoring Aaron Nell or Jonas Hoog, and while Alex Mettam was probably considering sitting down and opening his flask of coffee, it was Dean Skinns in the Wildcats’ net who probably prevented an even worse rout.
Phoenix 9 – Steeldogs 1
To say the Steeldogs have a problem or two is something of an obvious understatement, but it wasn’t so much of a defeat by the in-form Phoenix but more like someone opened a trap door and the visitors all fell through. The expected rough stuff materialised, but in fact it was the Phoenix who took the lion’s share of the penalties including Ciaran Long being sent to take the dog for a walk for a high stick. So the Phoenix went marching on to a seventh consecutive home-winning game, while the visitors go back to the drawing board.
Phantoms 7 – Tigers 2
With the loss of Joe Henry and an injured Declan Ryan on top of a short bench anyway, the Tigers did well to contain the Phantoms for as long as they did. However, it was the final period when things got, well, interesting as a peevish game got plain fractious and at one point saw Phantom’s Will Weldon punted over the touchline by the ref for joining a fracas, and Sladok forget his hand injury to punch Daniel Croft. The icing on the Phantoms’ cake, though, was applied thickly by Luke Ferrara with a bish, bash, bosh hat-trick in less than 150 seconds which, while probably a record of some sort, to be fair to the Tigers and stand-in netminder 19-year-old Brandon Stones, did give the scoreline a bit of a lopsided look after 4-2.
Bees 4 – Flames 3
After being turned upside down a week ago by the Phoenix, the Bees were back on track although against the Flames there were moments of luck at both ends. The home side took a quick and decisive lead then fell foul of a short-handed unassisted goal from Rick Plant who scored a second and equalising goal around half way. Although the Bees took the lead again, and lost it, it was their own short-handed goal from Lukas Smital just a measly fifteen seconds from time which secured them a 4-point weekend.
Sunday night, then, and the Phoenix and Bison remain top on points, although it is the Phoenix who reign on goal difference. Or is it? With the mystery that is the formula for splitting teams with equal figures – and you can’t get much more equal than these two at present – it is the Bison on top. On the other hand, who cares at this point in the season when it makes no significant difference anyway and it would be much nicer to consider them equal? That is unless you are a Bison fan, I suppose. However, the Bees went up another position into third place, and the Lightning have now jumped the Jets into fifth. The Phantoms, meanwhile, jumped the Steeldogs, but it is the Tigers who are beginning to look as though they have been cast adrift, and will no doubt be looking to fill some of their vacancies quickly despite the obvious difficulties at this point in the season. Now, it is to the coming Wednesday we turn our attention as the Lightning host the Jets in a critical mid-table clash on Wednesday.
Can’t wait.
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