ENL South Round-up Week 20

LONDON, UK – First played second in the most exciting set of weekend fixtures so far in the English National League. Add in some goals, fights and drama and it all adds up to another great weekend of ENL hockey.

 
The South Wales Echo delivered promising news about Cardiff’s prospects as they reported that Tim Burrows, Steven Fisher, Chris Hart, Chris Jones and Luke Piggott have all been training with the Elite league side coached by Gerad Adams. At least one of those five players would seemingly be in with a good chance of a full time call up, especially given the fact that fellow Cardiff youngster Ben Davies left the Elite league side for Basingstoke a couple of weeks ago.
 
In last week’s round-up I remarked that Invicta Dynamos Coach Kevin Parrish would need to bolster his blue line, and so it proved as Streatham Redskins defenseman Jack Tarczycki headed down the A2 to join the title chasing Mo’s.
 
Naturally everyone at Streatham was sad to see Jack go, especially given that he didn’t really say goodbye to anyone and no one is really 100% sure what prompted his decision. A cynical mind would suggest that cold hard cash was the motivating factor, and of course that will always understandably hold some allure, however in Jack’s case I really don’t think that is the primary reason he chose to join our rivals mid-season.
 
Regardless of anything else, he recently bought a gas guzzling BMW so the cost alone of driving to Gillingham four times a week will probably swallow more cash than an import wage at this level of hockey, especially with the price of petrol as it is. So with that sound logic I’d assume it is safe to say he didn’t chase the pound signs.
 
Whilst Streatham as a hockey club are historically much richer than Invicta, the two clubs are at different levels in 2011. There is no hiding the fact that Invicta have bigger crowds, more resources and are a more tempting proposition for a young hockey player at the minute.
 
They are challenging for silverware every year and can maintain a decent sized squad, Streatham on the other hand are constantly battling to stay competitive and when injuries hit, everything is affected from training to games. I suspect Jack found it difficult to deal with these issues and didn’t need much persuading to head back to the Dynamos title charge.
 
When and if Streatham get the new rink and subsequent sponsors and fans, don’t be surprised to see the table’s turned and the boot will be on the other foot. That’s the way hockey works. Players will do what’s best for them in most circumstances whether it be convenience, cash or ice time, and as Don King once said; ‘If you want loyalty, get a dog’.
 
Speaking of new ice rinks (kind of), it was my great pleasure to attend the Gala opening night of the refurbished Alexandra Palace last Friday. Of course it was disappointing to see that plexi-glass had not been added, but from what I have heard the costs of relaying the ice pad were far higher than expected and this meant that a number of other improvements had to be canned within the 2.3 million pound budget.
 
The real plus point is that the boards are capable of holding glass if further investment arrives. At a rumoured cost of just £20,000, steps are already being taken within the hockey community to try and club together to fund the installation of plexi for mutual benefit.
 
Whilst interviewing the Haringey juniors upstairs in the old Greyhounds locker room (the refurbished rooms were being used by Dancing on Ice stars), it was sad to see a dust covered programme from the senior sides last home game in March 2010 left lying in one of the stalls. Inside, the editorial was musing over the visit of Wightlink Raiders and speculating whether Jeremy Cornish would drop the gloves with Greyhounds hard man Norm Pinnington.
 
That particular bout did not happen, but Mr Cornish was certainly stoking up the flames ahead of the Raiders clash with Invicta Dynamos on Saturday. Pulling no punches during an interview with the BBC in the days before the game, the big Canadian diplomatically suggested his side would crush the visiting Mo’s and generally take delight in doing so.
 
Saturday
 
As if there were not already enough reasons to head to Ryde on Saturday to watch the top two teams in the league go head to head, match sponsor Roddas Cornish Clotted Cream laid on free cream tea packs for the first 300 spectators attending. The thought of hundreds of hockey fans settling down to cream tea and scones inside Ryde Arena never fails to raise a smile.
 
Whilst the cream tea packs earned rave reviews in their own right, the game didn’t disappoint either as both sides played their part in an absolute cracker.
 
At 3-2 down with only one minute remaining in the game, who else but Jack Tarczycki popped up to fire in a dramatic equaliser for Invicta on the power play. The goal sparked wild celebrations amongst the travelling fans and left the home support winded.
 
Wightlinks scorers were Alex Murray, Jason Gorrie and Dom Hopkins. Tarczycki had also opened the scoring for the Dynamos and Corey Watkins got the other.
 
The match was full of incident; not least the ejections of Dynamos coach Kevin Parrish and defenseman Tom Dennis. Parrish was ordered off the bench following a fracas with Wightlink forward Brad Watchorn and Dennis went for dropping the gloves with an unwilling combatant following an incident with Mo’s goalie Andy Moffatt.
 
All in all this game was a great advert for the league and showed how tight it is at the top. This result gives the Mo’s a slight advantage in the title race but there is plenty of hockey to play. The only slight concern is how the league could only muster two officials for what was undoubtedly the biggest game of the season in the ENL.
 
Referee Blaine Evans may not be everyone’s cup of tea and a number of accounts suggest he did not have the best of games, but it is not really fair on him nor the fans paying the money to watch that he has to officiate with only a junior linesman as his assistance (no disrespect to the linesman intended).
 
Another title chasing rival, Chelmsford Chieftains visited a Streatham Redskins side that had provided little resistance in the two previous games between the two teams with 5-0 and 5-1 score lines in favour of the Essex side.
 
We (the Redskins) were all obviously fired up for this game and the spirit from training on Thursday certainly carried onto the game, and we came out flying. Chelmsford managed to come out of the game with a tie courtesy of a 5 on 3 power play goal in the closing stages. The less said about the calls that led to the powerplay the better, but I will just say we were a little unlucky.
 
Streatham’s goals came from Liam Rasmussen, Michael Ranby and Peter Molnar, whilst Chelmsford scorers were Kyle Jones, Blaho Novak and James Ayling.
 
Streatham defenseman Fred Carnegy had an early shower after he was kicked out for a third man in call, as he went to protect Molnar from the clutches of Chelmsford’s Sean Easton, however Easton himself also earned himself a bizarre game misconduct for berating the referee after the Chieftains equaliser.
 
Oxford City Stars travelled to Bracknell to take on a Hornets side starting to find their form. In yet another close game of the evening, the Hornets managed to edge the visitors 3-2 in a chippy encounter.
 
Ben Duggan continued his goal scoring return to the ENL with two goals for Bracknell (one of which was a penalty shot), and Tom Fisher grabbed the other. Gareth Endicott and Grant ‘Ace’ Bailey were on target for Oxford who will be disappointed with the loss.
 
Bracknell goalie David Wride had another excellent game between the pipes to frustrate Ken Forshee’s men, and he will be vital in ensuring the Hornets qualify for the play-offs this year.
 
Sunday
 
After the previous night’s drama against Chelmsford it is fair to say that the Redskins bus journey to Swindon for a 7.15pm face off was a jovial affair, made even more amusing by the strides worn by our Czech defenseman Lukas Zilak. He has been bemoaning the late delivery of his team tracksuit for weeks, so he taught the club a real lesson by strolling up in what can only be described as 1970’s golf trousers.
 
Any thoughts of an easy night at the Link Centre were soon wiped out by a first period that saw a determined and organised Swindon side teach us a lesson as they out worked and out thought us.
 
With veteran former Durham and Blackburn forward Robin Davison pulling the strings, the ENL Wildcats gave us a real scare throughout the game, and at 5-3 down with only eleven minutes remaining I think all of us of a Redskins persuasion were fearing the worst.
 
Sadly for the home side they just could not hold on to the points, and when Peter Molnar broke through to score our winner with just over a minute remaining, it just typified what can happen when a team is on a losing slump as Swindon are.
 
Swindon scorers were Shannon Taylor with a brace and Loris Taylor, Sam Feeney and Jamie Newton with one goal each. Streatham scorers aside from Molnar were Casimir Madren-Britton, Russ Stevens, Gennadi Yufit with one goal each and Joe Johnston who scored two.
 
Swindon’s first goal caused a bit of drama and rightly so. Taylor went through on goal and appeared to hit the post, however the goal judge’s light flashed briefly, as often happens when a shot is taken quickly and the judge reacts instinctively. The referee, who had shown no indication that he thought it was a goal, suddenly whistled, and skated across to the goal judge to ask him if it was a goal. Now the fact that the goal judge gave the goal may stick in the throat however I could accept it if there was any consistency with this type of situation.
 
The role of a goal judge in the past few years has been only to count the shots on goal or provide an opinion to an undecided referee when the official suspects that he saw the goal go in. When I captained the Redskins last season and even the City Stars on occasions I have had referees consistently point blank refuse to even speak to the goal judge when there has been any debate about a goal.
 
Now suddenly we have a referee who wants to give the make or break decision to an off ice official! This is not a criticism of the Swindon goal judge just the inconsistencies that at times plague our league.
 
Spoursy (Streatham Head Coach Barry Spours) looked speechless at the end of the game in the locker room. We had been given a real roasting after the first period, some practical advice (with menacing tones) after the second, and whilst obviously pleased with the win he was clearly bemused by the performance at the end.
 
It is never nice to see a man put through so many emotions in the space of one evening so I am sure I am not the only one on the squad hoping training does not involve extended iron man this week. Having said all of this, a three point weekend is a good return for us, especially given the upheaval during last week.
 
Swindon can count themselves very unlucky to not get at least   a point out of the game and if Davison can be persuaded to ice more regularly, they will give somebody a bloody nose at the Link Centre sooner rather than later.
 
Oxford City Stars and Bristol Pitbulls renewed hostilities at Oxpens road following the previous encounter that left a bitter taste between the two sides. Whilst not as dramatic as the events at Frogmore Street a couple of weeks ago, the two sides played out yet another tense bad tempered game, that saw the City Stars win 3-0.
 
Bristol’s penalty kill saw plenty of action as the visitors racked up 20 minutes in minors, with player-coach Richie Hargreaves accounting for 12 of them. Gareth Endicott, Darren Elliott and Ken Forshee hit the target for the City Stars who will be delighted with these two points.
 
Tensions nearly boiled over at the end of the second as Hargreaves and Elliott went for each other; however the game passed over without any ejections or crowd trouble.
 
Milton Keynes Thunder travelled to Chelmsford in a quietly confident mood despite missing top scorer Ross Bowers from their line-up. Chelmsford desperately needed the two points following the previous night’s draw in Streatham and they were in no mood to roll over in front of their own crowd.
 
The Chieftains ran out easy winners in the end with an 8-2 win courtesy of a brace each from Ross Brears, Aaron Connolly and Danny Hammond. Blaho Novak and Tom Long also got on the score sheet for the Chieftains whilst Harrison Goode and Maros Stefanco got the goals for MK.
 
MK enforcer Mike Lucas dropped the gloves with Chieftains Canadian Kyle Jones after the Thunder man had made a hit on Novak.
 
The result is probably just about enough to keep Chelmsford in the hunt for the title and much needed in terms of staying ahead of fourth placed rivals Romford Raiders.
 
Talking of the Raiders, they faced a Bracknell Hornets side who had already taken points from them this season.
 
Every game is becoming a must win for Romford as they have played less fixtures than any of the other teams in the top four. The fans at Rom Valley Way had plenty to smile about as Raiders Captain Anthony Leone smashed home a hat trick to help the Raiders on to a 6-4 win.
 
Romford’s other goals came from Frankie Harvey, Juraj Huska and Jason Buckman. Bracknell’s goals came from Tony Barclay, Tom Fisher, Tom Smith and Danny Hughes.
 
An unlikely bout occurred as Bracknell’s Ben Duggan and Romford’s AJ Smith dropped the gloves to give the fans something else to discuss in a relatively low key game.
 
Invicta Dynamos managed to make it a three point weekend as they recovered from a late night on Saturday to defeat Cardiff ENL Devils at the Gillingham Ice Bowl. In a predictably feisty match, the ENL Devils were in no mood to simply roll over and the Dynamos did well to win the game 9-5, especially given their injury hit blue line.
 
Dynamos scorers were Jack Tarczycki and Mike Timms with a brace each, and Nicky Lewis, Scott Beeson, Daniel Borges, Callum Fowler and Andy Smith. Cardiff’s goals came from David James, Robert Sedlak, Gareth Dixon, Ricky Deacon and Steven Fisher.
 
The game provided plenty of talking points as former Cardiff player Corey Watkins and his former team mate Phil Manny dropped the gloves not once but twice in the game, and Adam Copland also had a scrap with Devils player Lee Duance. It is fair to say that the three fights gave the fans extra value for money and that the regulars at the Ice Bowl would have gone home happy.
 
One incident that may have serious implications on the Dynamos was the ejection of goalie Andy Moffat, who lost the plot during the game and clubbed Devils forward Ricky Deacon.
 
Moffats match penalty means he misses next weekend’s clash with Chelmsford, and it will be interesting to see if back up Andrew Dickson gets the nod, or if Joe White straps on the pads for another emergency appearance.
 
So after a weekend of fun and games, Invicta hold the upper hand again and with the deadline approaching I don’t think the top four will all have the same squads following its passing. There are still deals to be done and switches to be made.
 
Last week’s drama involving Tarczycki worked out well in the end for both parties and you have to wonder how Invicta’s weekend would have turned out without him in their side.
 
Results
 
Saturday 22 January
 
Streatham 3 Chelmsford 3
Wightlink 3 Invicta 3
Bracknell 3 Oxford 2
 
Sunday 23 January
 
Invicta 9 Cardiff 5
Chelmsford 8 Milton Keynes 2
Swindon 5 Streatham 6
Romford 6 Bracknell 4
Oxford 3 Bristol 0
  Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com