Cornish & Murray predict good times for Wightlink

ISLE OF WIGHT, UK – Pre season title favourites Wightlink Raiders had a mixed weekend as they opened their English National League season.

 
The EIHA fixture list handed the Raiders a tough opener on their home ice, with last year’s league runners up Cardiff ENL Devils the visitors to the Cube. Despite going behind to a goal from Chris Jones, the Raiders bounced back to take the game 3-1 with goals from Robbie Brown, Nathan Taylor and Dom Hopkins. All three are new faces to the team this season, with Brown and Taylor recruited from as far away as Belfast and Whitley Bay respectively.
 
Wightlink have traditionally cast their recruitment net far and wide to secure promising young talent, and it is important that these prospects settle in to island life as quickly as possible for the Raiders to succeed.
 
“The new guys that have moved into the team house have really settled in well” said Head Coach Jeremy Cornish, who is now in his second season in the role. “The island based guys have showed them around and really made them feel at home.
 
“I like the mix we have and with only Stewart Tait and Dom Hopkins travelling from any great distance, it’s great to have guys closer this season and makes everything easier”
 
The summer has given Cornish time to reflect on his first experience as a coach. A mediocre league campaign was followed up by a fantastic run in the Play-Offs that raised crowd numbers and generated a feel-good atmosphere amongst the island’s hockey community. The crowd was healthy again for the opener against the Devils and this bodes well for the campaign ahead.
 
“It was fantastic to get back on home ice on Saturday and I’m hoping our rink becomes a pretty intimidating place to come to” admitted Cornish. “We had a pretty good turn-out for our first game and I’m hoping that good form on home ice will build up the fan base.
 
“The game itself against Cardiff started a bit slowly, but we seemed to find our form as the game went on. Cardiff are always a tough team to play so it was good to take the two points from the game”
 
Twenty four hours following on from the Cardiff game, the Raiders travelled to Oxford to take on a City Stars side that needed to bounce back from a defeat in Bracknell the previous week. With many tipping Wightlink as potential title winners this season, it came as a shock to see Oxford winning the game 4-2.
 
“Sunday was not a good game for us” explained Cornish. “Even though we out shot them by a large margin we just couldn’t beat their new keeper (Swede Robin Lindva).
 
“To give them credit, they out worked us for large parts of the game and they played well as a team. I really believe our team is better than last season’s, so it’s going to be up to us to get some wins under our belt and make sure we finish better than last year”
 
One positive from Sunday was a first goal of the season for forward Alex Murray. The former Solent & Gosport defenseman enjoyed a fruitful campaign for the Raiders last year, notching 21 goals and 26 assists in 35 games, following a switch up front. It turned out to be a masterstroke by Cornish although it was a decision partly forced upon the Raiders Coach.
 
“We were short upfront last year following the departures of Dave Webb, Kent Johnson and Jon Sarno” explained Murray. “I actually played as a centre in junior hockey, so when Corny asked if I would make the change mid-way through last season I didn’t have a problem with it.
 
“Luckily I hit a bit of good form and it turned out to be a great move for all concerned. It does raise expectations of me to put up similar numbers this season, so naturally it was good to get off the mark at Oxford despite the result”
 
Much like his Coach, Murray believes there were positives to take from the Oxford game and that the performance of Lindva had a big say in the result.
 
“We did everything but put the puck in the net” admitted Murray. “As obvious as that sounds the goalie had a good game, and at 3-2 down he made some big saves. Overall I think we would have liked to have more points on the board after our first weekend but the team looks good, and the guys who have come on board this year are looking really good, so we should be up there this year, challenging for honours”
 
Wightlink have the chance to add more points to their tally as they entertain a Milton Keynes Thunder side, who actually beat the island side 7-6 in the last game of the regular season in 2009/10. Both sides have added new faces since and it promises to be an interesting match-up. The Raiders will be hoping for a convincing win and also more fans through the door after last week’s performance against Cardiff.
 
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com