BASINGSTOKE, UK – The Summer Cup regular season has wrapped up and we now know the finals day pairings. In what was the closest cup competition in years, there was one team above the others, as Chelmsford Nighthawks maintained a 100% win record, something that has not been seen in the Summer Cup competition before. Though the feat Chelmsford pulled off is impressive, so was the performance put together by Solent and Gosport Scorpions, who finished third in the standings and securing its first playoff spot since 2003. The Scorpions have to be the surprise team of the season as one of the Scorpions’ players predicted that they would be finishing ‘somewhere near the bottom’ on the Summer Cup website. The Scorpions side has built steadily over the last few years, whilst maintaining a core of its talented players, it has recruited players whose background is in EPL and ENL hockey. The team also has one of the strongest goaltending tandems in the Cup and both keepers saw regular action throughout the season. Peterborough Eagles also class as a surprise as last season the team finished outside of the playoff race and now marched in to the playoffs in fourth place. The Eagles are a team that are strong at home and usually travel with a seasoned squad, though its away trips are always the longest, at times having to do cross country trips to Cardiff and often having to play double headers. Below the playoff line there was a fierce fight for the top finish as Basingstoke Cougars, Bristol Mad Dogs and Solihull Wolves were eying a spot at the playoffs till two games remaining. Basingstoke were offered a favour with its local rivals Scorpions beating the Eagles, meaning the Cougars had a shot, but fell short by only two points. Bristol Mad Dogs were also in the running for a playoff spot, but with a few narrow losses the team was left at 6th spot. Wolves finished 7th and Cardiff Bay Lightning wrapped up the season in 8th. The playoff pairings were Chelmsford Nighthawks – Peterborough Eagles and Swindon Panthers – Solent And Gosport Scorpions. Out of the two pairings the Nighthawks and Panthers will be playing for the ultimate Summer Cup crown, in what will be a fierce fight and Solent and Gosport will be facing Peterborough for the third place title. The finals weekend is taking place at Swindon Link Centre next weekend. Contact the author Janne.Virtanen@Prohockeynews.com
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