Bison triumph as the fireworks continue

LONDON, UK – The regular season ended with Basingstoke Bison lifting the Britton Conference league title in dramatic fashion and Swindon Wildcats taking an early advantage in the Autumn Cup final.

5 hole photography

The build up to the weekend began with the announcement that Bracknell Bees star forward Frantisek Bakrlik would miss the rest of the season and beyond, thanks to an 18 game suspension doled out by the EIHA.

The lengthy ban for consecutive checking to the head penalties was largely applauded by much of the league on social media and continued a distinct change in response from the EIHA disciplinary committee. This columnist has in the past criticised the governing body for a seemingly random and dare we say a biased approach to discipline, but this ban appears to be consistent, thought out and pays no heed to the status of the player.

There is no doubt Bakrlik on his day is the most talented player in the league, and represented a significant investment by the Bees in the summer. For the governing body to effectively end his season early, is a decision they wouldn’t have taken lightly. It also raises a number of questions around the use of video evidence with the Bees unable to provide any footage to counter the decision.

Long-time observers of the league know only too well that far worse incidents than the Bakrlik ones have taken place in recent years, only for the governing body and officials to backtrack when pressured by prominent clubs or individuals. Player safety should always be a number one concern and these big bans are certainly sending a message whether we agree with the decisions or not. Will it continue… ?

Also highly debated during the week was the footage of a fight that took place in the Bracknell Bees 6-1 win over London Raiders at the Hive. You can make your own judgement by watching it HERE

Raiders forward Alan Lack called time on his season with an emotional statement on Facebook. “After the worse eight months for my family and I, I need to take a step back from ice hockey and call it a day” said Lack in a message that was posted in full by the East London Advertiser

A Go Fund Me page was subsequently set up by American Music Mogul and NIHL super supporter Stefanie Reines to help Lack pay for upcoming medical bills. At present over £1,000 has been raised and you can read the full story and donate by clicking HERE

On a lighter note Peterborough Phantoms Captain James Ferrara announced his final team of four for his testimonial event on Saturday 5^th May. Team Pirates will be Captained by all-round legend Dwayne ‘Dog’ Newman and you can read all about the line-up and more HERE

There was more good news for Cardiff Fire goalie Jordan Lawday as he capped a great season for him personally when the Elite League team called him up for their game against Edinburgh Capitals. Sadly the youngster didn’t hit the ice in the Devils 8-0 win but just being involved will be good for his development and is just reward for his displays this year.

Friday action review

The re-arranged Autumn Cup final first leg took place in Basingstoke as the Bison faced off against Swindon Wildcats. The Wildcats had lost 4-0 in their previous game in Hampshire but have been a different beast in the Cup competitions and took a 3-1 win on the night.

Jan Kostal, Aaron Nell and Stephen Whitfield got the goals for Swindon with Ivan Antonov on target for the Cats. The Bison outshot the visitors 30 to 19 but found Swindon goalie Renny Marr in fine form. The second leg takes place in Swindon this coming Friday and you can find a summary of the first leg on the Banners on The Wall website.

Saturday action review

All eyes were on Peterborough and Basingstoke as the Phantoms and Bison looked to rack up the scoring on Streatham and Invicta respectively.

In Hampshire the Bison did exactly as required as they pumped the Dynamos 10-1 thanks to a hat trick from Dan Davies, a brace each for Tomas Karpov and Aaron Connolly plus lone goals for Kurt Reynolds, Ryan Sutton and Ivan Antonov. For the Dynamos Steven Osman got the consolation.

With the Bison closing the gap on their goal difference advantage, the Phantoms needed to blitz Streatham and sped into a 4-0 lead. The RedHawks players had been irked by the pre-game publicity and showed their resolve bringing the game back to 4-4 before the Phantoms scored twice in the third period to take a win that likely felt like a loss. Will Weldon scored two for the Phantoms with Tom Norton, Ed Knaggs, James Ferrara and Owen Griffiths also on target.

Aidan Doughty scored two for the RedHawks to add to goals from Adam Carr and Andreas Siagris. After the game Phantoms Coach Slava Koulikov revealed his team had suffered from a flu outbreak in the build up to the game in an interview you can listen to HERE

Romford’s treasure!

There was much rejoicing in Romford as the ice rink finally got an alcohol license and served booze at their game against MK Thunder. Thankfully local girl Courtney Abraham managed to wrestle the microphone from the wine-fuelled 482 days media team, to belt out the pre-game national anthem with a performance as good as anything heard at Twickenham or Wembley. Courtney actually works at the leisure centre and should seriously consider the next auditions of Britain’s Got Talent. Scouts take notice of the voice HERE

The game went well for the hosts as they won 6-1 thanks to a brace from Marek Nahlik (that takes him to 100 goals for the club) and solo efforts from Ziggy Beesley, Jake Sylvester, Matt Turner and Tom Davis. For the Thunder Ross Green got the consolation.

Sunday action review

After being denied their moment with the mic, 482 Days headed North (clearly in the huff) for the final night of the regular season. The City of Culture was their destination to watch Sheffield Steeldogs lift the Northern title with a win over Hull Pirates.

Basingstoke lifted the Britton Conference title with an 8-1 win on the road at Cardiff. The Bison were held at 1-1 with 16 minutes gone before easing through the gears to finish the season in style. A brace each from the in-form Tomas Karpov and Aaron Connolly did the damage for the newly crowned champions along with lone goals for Stuart Mogg, Josh Smith, Roman Malinik and Ivan Antonov. For Cardiff Tamas Elias got the consolation whilst Lawday faced 81 shots and still ended up with a 90% save average.

In MK, London Raiders confirmed 4^th spot with a 4-2 win over the resident Thunder. A JJ Pitchley hat trick and lone goal from Ziggy Beesley sealed a four point weekend for the Raiders with Ross Bowers and Logan Prince on target for the Thunder.

Bracknell ended their regular season with a 6-4 loss at home to Swindon Wildcats. Sam Bullas and Aaron Nell both scored two for the Cats with Max Birbraer and Edgars Bebris also on target. Josh Ealey Newman, Scott Spearing, George Norcliffe and Alex Barker scoring for the Bees. As ever, there were plenty fists flying at the Hive with Ben Ealey-Newman and Sam Godfrey dropping the gloves, followed by a bout between Harvey Stead and Chris Jones. For Swindon Joe Hazeldine was also ejected at the end of the first period to add to the drama.

Swindon on the march

The final game of the evening was a dead rubber at Streatham as the RedHawks and Invicta locked horns in front of a decent crowd. What followed was a 4-3 win for the Mo’s and no less than 5 fights to keep the crowd entertained. Three of which involved Ben Paynter and Harrison Lillis and the other two matched up Brandon Miles and Mason Webster plus Jacob Ranson and Tommy Ralph.

Invicta scorers were Mason Webster, Josh Condren, Steven Osman and Ashley Jackson. Streatham goals came thanks to a brace from Andreas Siagris and an effort from Ryan Webb.

The results mean the play-off match ups are as follows: Invicta v Basingstoke, Peterborough v MK, Swindon v Streatham and London v Bracknell.