LONDON, UK – Wightlink Raiders forward Robbie Brown had no time to relax following the island side’s heroics in Kent the previous weekend, as he stepped in for the Basingstoke Bison in their EPL Cup semi-final against Manchester Phoenix. The Bison lost the game in Hampshire but then made it through to the final on aggregate after a road win in Lancashire a couple of days later.
Will Brown play in the final against Slough Jets? Will he have Invicta Dynamos’ star and fellow two way Bison player Liam Chong on his line? Will Chelmsford hot shot Aaron Connolly be in Slough colours? All big questions to be answered, along with the obvious query of whether the EIHA will award them a medal should glory come their way?
Anyone seen a contact lense%3F (Ian Snoding)
Talking of Chelmsford, the Chieftains forum has been full of debate as to whether former Invicta and Romford defenseman Mark Williams had signed for the club or not. There has been no official word from the Chieftains but with Williams still under suspension following his antics at the end of last season, it would be no surprise to see him skating out at the Riverside after the ban ends.
Williams is a popular character and will certainly strengthen the Chieftains and make the league more interesting at the same time.
Bristol Pitbulls Coach Richie Hargreaves told the local press of his relief that his side managed to pick up a win against Bracknell the weekend prior, stating that the result was a testament to; “All of the hard work we have put in and the good hockey we have been playing of late”.
Hargreaves then went on to blame “lapses of concentration” and “a failure to adjust to the speed of the league following promotion” as key reasons why his side have struggled so far this year.
It would be pretty hard to argue with any of that, however whilst it has hardly been a smooth year for the Frogmore Street based team, they are still in a good position to avoid relegation and press on next season. Even if things do go downhill, they have their own branded Smart car and how many teams can say that?
The currently mothballed North London Hounds featured again in the Tottenham Journal with owner Nick Rothwell announcing that initial meetings had taken place with the management of Alexandra Palace and that more news would be forthcoming in 4-6 weeks’ time.
The news article also featured a picture of a smiling Rothwell looking rather dashing in a black polo neck and posing in front of the newly refurbished ice pad. The Sky TV front man and former player himself will need more than a handsome chiselled jaw to make a success of hockey at the Palace as former owner and ladies favourite Jan Bestic will testify, but lets hope he can sort things out ready for 2011/12.
One rather interesting fact about the Tottenham Journal article was that the reporter was named as Ian Cooper. Now before any long time British hockey fans start foaming at the mouth at the prospect of the former Cardiff, Durham and Great Britain ice hockey star Cooper returning to the sport as a local sports hack, Pro Hockey News can confirm that the Journal does not employ the now retired long haired ITECH wearing winger, as he is in fact working abroad in the property market these days.
Milton Keynes Thunder announced in the week that they were searching for a new match night DJ, as regular disc spinner DJ Rob Clarkson is hanging up his decks. The now vacant position was advertised on the club’s message board but sadly no formal requirements were listed other than the need for commitment. A call to Pro Hockey News towers in advance could have resolved any confusion:
Position Offered: Match Night DJ for MK Thunder
Skills needed: Be able to withstand cold temperatures whilst pressing a few buttons in synch with the game. A sense of humour is desirable e.g. after any icing call, murmur ‘On the cake’ over the mic.
Required playlist: Thunder Struck – ACDC (Every period and in warm up), Fog on the Tyne – Lindisfarne (only if Mike Knights plays), Coffee and TV –Blur (only if David Coffey scores), Saturday Night is alright for fighting – Elton John (only to be played on Saturdays and if Mike Lucas is on the ice), Shake, Rattle and Roll – Elvis Presley (Must shout ‘Snape’ at the beginning of each chorus over the microphone, as Martyn Snape lines up for a face-off), and lastly Move any Mountain – The Shamen in reference to new goalie David Cassidy.
Salary: Free weekly shoulder massage by suitably qualified MK Thunder physio Nefra Germain.
The fall-out from the big clash between Invicta Dynamos and Wightlink Raiders provided contrasting reactions from both coaches. The jubilant Jeremy Cornish told the BBC that the whole occasion had been emotional and had felt like winning a cup final. The Raiders 5-2 win had ended the Mo’s nigh on two years unbeaten record on home ice, and Cornish was on the score sheet twice.
“I haven’t been playing very well for a large part of the year” said the big Canadian. “So it was good to play my part on Sunday and chip in as I’m not known for scoring goals”
Whilst the Island side celebrated, Mo’s Coach Kevin Parrish fired a warning shot to his side in the Medway Messenger citing a lack of team ethic as a key reason for his sides defeat.
“I don’t care whether we win 1-0 or 10-0 so long as we play as a unit” said Parrish. “If I see any more individuality, then I will have to do the only thing I can do and take their ice time away”
In fairness to Parrish, whilst his words may sound harsh, in reality he faces the same challenge as most ENL coaches with regards to motivation and team discipline. When players are not relying on a big salary what can a coach realistically do if the players fail to adhere to a team ethos or tactics.
The issue then becomes a double edged sword in that the coach needs the better players to win games for the team, but needs to stamp his authority on the team at the same time. With financial penalty rare at this level of hockey, taking away ice time is the only practical solution. Not many coaches are brave or bold enough to follow this through when dealing with key players though, which is understandable yet frustrating at the same time.
Saturday
Forget the Wild West; it was the action in the East of the country that had most people talking on Saturday. It has been a while since Chelmsford and Cardiff had a mass brawl (well a few months at least), so it was no surprise that the Essex and Welsh boys decided to renew hostilities at the Riverside.
Even less surprising was the fact that it all started after a clash between Chelmsford’s agitator in chief Blaho Novak and Cardiff’s hot headed goalie Mike Brabon, with five minutes to go in the game. The slash by the former on the latter sparked a classic old style hockey brawl that also featured all four goalies going at it.
Piggott scores again (Tim Bowers)
Poor referee Juri Solovjovs could only stand back and take notes as the Riverside crowd lapped up every second of action with aplomb (as can be seen by the excitable whooping on the footage of the brawl currently on You Tube).
When it all died down a host of penalties were dished out with Cardiff pair Steven Fisher and Bryn Griffiths suffering the harshest action, along with Chelmsford’s BT Williams, with all three receiving match penalties. Remarkably both Brabon and Novak escaped punishment!
If anyone is interested, the score ended 7-2 in Chelmsford’s favour as they pulled away after a strong start from the visitors. Chieftains’ scorers were Tom Long and Aaron Connolly with a brace each, and Danny Hammond, Kyle Jones and Darren Brown with a goal apiece. Cardiff’s goals came from Steven Fisher and Luke Piggott.
Cardiff’s night got a whole lot worse as their bus caught fire on the way home and they didn’t reach Wales until 5.30am. Rumours that a teenager wearing a face cage was seen running away from the scene with a box of Swan matches and some lighter fuel are thus far unsubstantiated.
Hard luck stories were not restricted to Cardiff however, as down the A12 in Romford; the visiting MK Thunder had problems of their own. With starting goalie Mark Woolf injured, teenage goalie Jake Scriven stepped in again, only for his knee to blow out in the first period.
Step forward the man, the mountain David Cassidy. No, not the American actor and singer who broke teenage hearts in the seventies, but 6 foot 7 inch goalie ‘Cass’, whose previous experience was limited to playing recreational hockey for the MK Jesters.
Wightlink v Bristol (flyfifer.co.uk)
Cassidy played a blinder and earned his man of the match award, however despite leading 2-1 at the end of the first period, the Thunder ran out of steam and Romford won the game 6-2. Raiders’ scorers were Danny Marshall and Anthony Leone with two goals each and lone efforts from Juraj Huska and former Thunder player Tom Davis.
MK scorers were David Coffey and Tommy Mboya, however the biggest smile from the visitors was on the face of Cassidy, despite one of his man of the match beers dropping out of the crate and smashing on to the Romford ice during his moment of glory.
After the previous week’s tension, Wightlink Raiders fans would have been relieved that their home game against Bristol Pitbulls was a less nervy affair. In the lead up to the game, Raiders Coach Cornish had spoken of his friendship with Pitbulls supremo Richie Hargreaves, following the pair playing together for London Racers a few seasons ago.
Unfortunately for Hargreaves, this cosy relationship did not earn him any favours from his former team mate as the Raiders romped to a 14-3 victory. The Bristol boss did manage to get two goals to add to a lone effort from Swede Henrik Sahlin.
Alex Murray got a hat trick for Wightlink with Steve Gosset, Robbie Brown, Nathan Taylor and Richard Facey all getting two each. Dom Hopkins, Stewart Tait and Jason Gorrie rounded up the scoring for the home side, who started slowly but clicked into gear as the game progressed.
Sunday
Romford Raiders headed to the High Road to take on a Streatham side looking to halt a six game winless streak. It is fair to say that all of us in the Redskins camp have had a tough time of late, but all credit to the guys who managed to run the high flying Raiders very close, losing 3-2 despite going into the third period 2-1 up.
Kemp denies Marshall (Rick Webb)
Admittedly the Raiders were short benched however the way they celebrated the win suggested that we had given them a tough game and they were relieved to get out with two points.
Rupe Quiney looked strong on his return from injury and Casimir Madren-Britton showed why he has been courted by teams in higher leagues of late. Both of these guys have a good chance of doing well if they focus and develop their talents.
Romford brought a good amount of fans to the High Road and it is always nice to play in front of an atmosphere. Raiders goals came from Juraj Huska, Danny Marshall and Anthony Leone. Redskins scorers were Tomas Valko and Peter Molnar, however the star of the show was goalie Shane Kemp who picked up a deserved man of the match award.
Wightlink faced another tough Sunday road trip as they headed to Wales to face a rapidly improving Cardiff ENL Devils side.
Bentham evades Deacon (Tim Bowers)
No one will have been more relieved at the visitors 4-2 win than Jeremy Cornish who will be satisfied with a four point weekend. Cardiff can also take credit for putting up a real fight in this game despite their long slog home from Essex the night before.
Wightlink goals came from Jason Gorrie, Robbie Brown, Alex Murray and who else but Cornish with an empty netter. Cardiff scorers were Neil Browning and Luke Piggott.
Oxford City Stars hosted a Chelmsford Chieftains side knowing defeat would mean three consecutive home losses. Sadly for City Stars fans, this statistic became reality as the Chieftains won 7-2 in a comfortable session.
Kyle Jones got two for Chelmsford with Tom Long, Darren Brown, Blaho Novak, Matt Turner and James Ayling all getting one goal each. Oxford scorers were Mike Whillock and Dax Hedges.
Green v Connolly (Pete Magnuson Photography)
An unlikely bout took place at centre ice as Chieftain Aaron Connolly and City Star Alan Green dropped the gloves to give the Oxpens Road faithful another talking point. City Stars Coach Ken Forshee was also dismissed following two misconduct calls.
Oxford get little respite next week as Invicta Dynamos roll into town, however the City Stars have often proved a bit of a bogey team on home ice for Kevin Parrish’s men so you never know what will happen.
Invicta had a straightforward win over basement dwellers Swindon with a a 13-0 score line that probably gave the Ice Bowl faithful no real satisfaction following the disappointment the previous weekend.
That said, teams can only beat what is put in front of them and when Swindon travel it appears they do so with half the squad they ice at the Link Centre.
Daniel Borges was chief beneficiary with four goals for the Dynamos, with Callum Fowler hitting a brace and Nicky Lewis, Andy Smith, Liam Chong, Zach Sullivan, Karl Lennon, Dan Fudger and Corey Watkins all scoring one each.
Young goalie Andrew Dickson earned a shutout and for Sullivan this was his first league goal, so congratulations go to them both. The other talking point was a fight between Dynamos defenseman Tim Smith and former Bristol blue liner Luke Merrick.
MK beat Bracknell (icehockeyphotography.co.uk)
Milton Keynes posted an impressive home win over Bracknell Hornets to boost their play-off qualification chances and move to within one point of the Hornets with a 5-2 victory.
Thunder scorers were Maros Stefanco with a hat trick and Connor Goode and Martyn Snape with one each. Cassidy once again played in goal for the Thunder and was beaten twice by Bracknell’s Danny Hughes.
Mike Lucas had an early bubble bath after he punched Tony Barclay following an altercation; however the big guy won’t have minded too much given that his side bagged a much needed win.
So with less and less fixtures to play Wightlink are in pole position but next weekend they host Romford in what will be a classic encounter. Romford are taking a large contingent of fans down to the island so it should be a cracking atmosphere.
Results
Saturday 19th February
Chelmsford 7 Cardiff 2
Wightlink 14 Bristol 3
Milton Keynes 2 Romford 6 (Played in Romford)
Sunday 20th February
Invicta 13 Swindon 0
Streatham 2 Romford 3
Milton Keynes 5 Bracknell 2
Oxford 2 Chelmsford 7
Cardiff 2 Wightlink 4
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.