LONDON, UK – It was the second period break and the locker room was full of laughter and smiles. The game was balanced and either team could snatch victory but that hardly seemed to matter, as talk amongst the sweat drenched men drifted to irrelevant topics such as post game beers and women. The limping man in jeans and baseball cap surveyed the scene before delivering a speech that quickly re-established the focus and ultimately ensured a victory. The message was sobering but true: ‘Play every game as if it’s your last because one day it will be’. I have to concede I was one of the guys in that locker room four years ago and the speech was delivered by a man who knew only too well the personal impact of a prematurely ended hockey career. Former Basingstoke Bison coach Mark Bernard had only come along to help out for one game, but he could see the players before him taking their careers for granted, and used his own frustration to hammer home the point. I wish I could admit to have followed that advice over the past few seasons. Sadly I can’t and I would guess I am not alone in that. Those words flashed through my mind as I stood in my suit watching my team take on the Wightlink Raiders on Sunday, unable to play because of an ankle injury. The level of my frustration surprised me. Make no mistake I was gutted not to be out there. Wightlink are an ugly uncompromising outfit with some good players and have seemingly built a team to intimidate as well as win games. With players like Jeremy Cornish and Dan Scott they certainly have a presence. They had demolished a short benched Haringey 13–1 the previous night, so were riding high on confidence. To be fair I think they may have got a shock when they skated out in to the hostile High Road atmosphere and the first period saw us tie 1-1. The lack of legs and a few daft penalties saw us lose three goals without reply in the second however the support was still as loud as ever. We tied the third period and it was good to see Peter Molnar get his first goal with a lovely top shelf effort. James Tanner also had a good night between the pipes in his first start of the season for us. To top off a poor night for yours truly, the period break cup of tea I shelled out £1.50 for, tasted like sewage. Those water bottles on the bench full of council pop would have tasted sweeter for sure. Whilst they do have three solid lines I cannot see Wightlink challenging Invicta for the title on that performance. That said, when the Dynamos travel to the Island, I think the Kaiser Chiefs popular ditty ‘I predict a riot’ would be a good soundtrack for the teams to warm up too. Someone should let Danny Dyer know in advance so he can take a camera crew to the game. One man who may very well be involved in the aforementioned riot is new Invicta signing Mark Williams. I really like this guy as he plays hard but is fair with it. He made his debut against the Milton Keynes Thunder who were in an upbeat mood after last weeks 8-1 drubbing of Peterborough. As usual Mark Woolfe in the MK goal kept the scoreline close although all accounts point to a subdued performance from Invicta despite their 5-2 victory. Peterborough Islanders bounced back from a 14-2 drubbing at home to Oxford by snatching a surprise 6-3 win in North London against the Haringey Greyhounds. Veteran Scot Ross Mackintosh got four goals for the Islanders and both Leon Groom and Dave Richards dropped the gloves in a featherweight championship clash. The result capped a stinking weekend for the Greyhounds whose previous night’s capitulation had seen them described as ‘mind bogglingly bad hockey team’ by one internet poster. Oxford City Stars fired a warning shot across the league with a 4-3 win over the Bracknell Hornets to give themselves a four point weekend. My good mate Darren Elliott proving that even with a twitch you can still get a hat trick if you put your mind to it. It was also good to see power forward Grant ‘Ace’ Bailey get his first goal of the season and the City Stars seemingly ready to challenge the big boys this year. My last words are of congratulations to the four Cardiff ENL players called up to the Elite league game against Sheffield Steelers. James Manson, Steve Fisher, Corey Watkins and Andrew Shurmer all got the call up and played their part in a classic 6-5 victory. Its great news for the ENL and testament to Cardiff’s excellent junior set up. The exception is Andrew Shurmer who was a product of another excellent junior development system at Swindon. Shurmer must also be the only player in British ice hockey to have built his own pub in his back garden complete with draught ale and a dartboard. You learn a lot of interesting facts reading this column don’t you?! I hope to be fit to take on my former team Haringey next weekend so fingers crossed. I don’t think I can take another game as a spectator. Thanks for reading and stay safe Carrsy Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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