ENL South Round-up week 4

LONDON, UK – The pucks finally dropped across the ENL South this weekend but not before rumour, misery, mystery and a shock transfer gave us all plenty to talk about during the week.   With news spreading that various NHS trusts were battling with debt across the UK, Romford Raiders did nothing to alleviate the pressure as two of their players sought medical help, bringing bad news to Player Coach Danny Marshall.

Highly rated youngster Frankie Harvey was ruled out for months after surgery on his knee and winger AJ Smith was given a six week estimated recovery time after breaking his thumb in the game against Oxford the previous weekend (more on that later).   Also going under the knife in the area was referee Joy Tottman who had to see a plastic surgeon on Wednesday to put her ear back together after it was split in half by a puck whilst she officiated the Chelmsford v Invicta game. When Joy enquired how many stitches she had in her ear the surgeon admitted to losing count, which is enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine.   When it comes to ‘real’ suffering though, spare a thought for Bristol Pitbulls’ defenseman Mike Hargreaves who eased the pain of a puck shot at his foot by posting a picture of his ghost white feet (with barely visible bruise) on popular social media site Facebook following Bristol’s defeat to Wightlink. Needless to say, sympathetic responses were in short supply for the affable former Wightlink, Swindon and Oxford player.   In a rare move, Invicta Dynamos released a club statement early in the week to quash rumours that forward Robbie Brown was heading to Elite league side Edinburgh Capitals. This rumour had spread across the league because it even made the airwaves of the Redskins locker room the previous weekend.   It is natural that Robbie would be linked with the short benched Scottish side given his prior experience at Belfast Giants in the same league, and his goal scoring antics at Wightlink last season. Regardless of the stated contract Brown is apparently bound by, it is safe to say that in British hockey, if someone wants to switch clubs they generally do.   Kevin Parrish’s saviour and trump card could come in the form of Peterborough Phantoms coach Chris Allen, who could well take Brown on a two way after getting him to guest along with Corey Watkins and Richard Bentham against MK Lightning this weekend.  The ice time and higher standard of hockey Brown will get in such a scenario, plus the stable wage should give enough incentive for him to stay south of the border and away from the Capitals grasp on a full time basis at least.   The good news regarding Brown was tempered by a press release soon afterwards that top defenseman Tim Smith would be given a two week leave of absence from his duties. Smith missed the previous weekend’s defeat at Chelmsford and hopefully he will back soon from whatever the issue is. It is widely accepted that Smith is as important to the Dynamos blue line as his namesake Andy Smith is to their forward line.   Streatham’s problems mounted as star forward Michael Ranby announced he was leaving and signing for Chelmsford. I must put a disclaimer in at this point given that I have shared a ride with Ranby for the past season and a bit so it was particularly gutting to hear that he was going as he is a top lad.   For Head Coach Barry Spours this leaves a massive hole in the Redskins line up, but aside from that, for the rest of us it leaves a big hole in the locker room which was already bruising from the departures of Rupe Quiney, Joe Johnston and Louis Lockwood over the summer.   Ranby had been a breath of fresh air since he arrived from Haringey in 2010/11 with his commitment and hard work on the ice and his ridiculousness off the ice that keeps everyone smiling. I hope it works out for him at Chelmsford although not against us.   On to happier news in South London as we managed to sneak a peek at the plans for the new temporary rink in Brixton (due to open in mid-December). I have to say that the seamless plexi planned for the rink gave me a shiver of excitement, almost as much as the news that there would be a Wetherspoons beer garden attached to one end of the complex.  The Wetherspoons rumour turned out to be untrue (although there is a pub) but the seamless plexi has been confirmed so ENL players across the league will be able to check themselves out in the reflection of the glass during warm up.   Yes we would all prefer to stay in Streatham and we can’t wait for the new rink to be built but personally I think a temporary move to Brixton is an excellent way of expanding our existing fan base. Great public transport courtesy of the Tube and bus links will make us extremely accessible for casual fans and bring us closer to central London.   Don’t believe the horror stories and stereotypes of Brixton, it is a buzzing area and the nearby Academy music venue is visited by lots of Home Counties based people every week with no issues, so take note ENL fans. If people can travel from all over the South of England to Brixton watch the likes of Bruno Mars, The Smashing Pumpkins and Example over the next few months then there is no excuse to miss your team against the Skins!   Bracknell Hornets youngster Alan Lack received some good news as it was announced he was signing a two way deal with the EPL Bees. Whilst Lack can be an annoyance for opposition fans and players alike, there is no denying he has the potential to be a very good hockey player with his speed and tenacity.     Saturday   Chelmsford had a rare Saturday home game as Cardiff came to town. New Chieftains forward Michael Ranby dressed but didn’t play much part in the game due to a recent bone graft in his mouth. Cardiff’s hard working forward lines posed a big challenge for the Chieftains but the home side prevailed with a 5-3 win.  Gary Clarke bagged a brace for Chelmsford with Ross Brears, Alan Green and Danny Hammond getting the others. Adam Harding, Chris Jones and Jason Stone were on target for Cardiff.   Milton Keynes Thunder have had a good start to the season but even they were probably not expecting to travel to the Isle of Wight and come away with a win. They surprised the resident Wightlink Raiders by not only taking the two points but doing so with a 4-1 scoreline.   MK goalie David Cassidy put in a quality display for the visitors with only Dom Hopkins able to beat him to score for Wightlink. Thunder scorers were Mark Turner, Maros Stefanco, Connor Goode and Jack Robinson.   Simon Howard will be absolutely delighted with this result and rumours are that the Thunder celebrated with a Domino’s pizza on the coach home. Hockey players know how to dine in style that’s for sure.  Bracknell has never been a happy hunting ground for the Oxford City Stars however with the Hornets in a slump at present; it was not too surprising that the visitors came away with a 3-0 win.   Oxford goalie Chris ‘Disco’ Douglas earned a shut out with a quality display in between the pipes, as Gareth Endicott hit a brace and Kiwi import Martin Lee got a single goal.     Sunday   Streatham travelled to Slough to take on an ENL Jets side that have had a solid start to the season. In all honesty it was not a classic encounter although both sides put plenty of effort in.   A 3-3 tie was the end result with Streatham throwing away a 3-1 lead in the last five minutes of the game with some individual errors not helping matters. Slough’s Zoran Kozic dropped his gloves and then took his helmet off before offering Redskins defenseman Casimir Madren-Britton to a fight midway through the third.   At first it looked like Britton was going to skate away, but he then dropped the gloves and the pair then recreated a scene from the movie Zoolander where Derek Zoolander and Hansel prance round each other pulling faces for a minute or so, before everyone got bored and they both skated off without a punch being thrown.  Scorers for Streatham were Stevie Balmer with two and Peter Molnar with a long range slap shot. Slough goals came from the impressive Andrew Melachrino, veteran Dave Heath and Sam Godfrey.   The highly anticipated Essex derby took place at Rom Valley way as rivals Romford Raiders and Chelmsford faced off for the first time this season. It was Romford who took the first win as they triumphed 5-4 in a tightly contested game.   JJ McGrath got two for the Raiders with Danny Marshall, Anthony Leone and AJ Smith getting the rest.   Spotted an error? AJ Smith scoring despite having a broken thumb. We can only assume that Raiders physio Sam Taylor has developed the Mr Miyagi method of healing, so if you hear a big clap and the rubbing together of palms coming from the Raiders locker room, you now know what she is up to.   Tom Long hit a hat trick for Chelmsford and Gary Clarke scored late on to put the home fans nerves on edge before the final buzzer.   Local rivals Oxford and Bristol went head to head at Oxpens Road with both sides brimming with players who have dressed for both sides. The familiarity ended up with the teams cancelling each other out as Oxford threw away a 4-1 lead after the second period to allow the Pitbulls to hit three unanswered goals and earn a 4-4 tie.  Oxford goal scorers were Andy Cox, Dax Hedges, Josh Oliver and Paul Gore. Pitbulls scorers were Steven Fisher with two and one each for Sam Feeney and Steve Osman. Oxford will be annoyed to let their lead slip but Bristol should be pleased with their point. Bracknell Hornets travelled to Cardiff still searching for their first win of the season but Cardiff proved too strong and won convincingly with a 7-3 score line.   Cardiff scorers were Chris Jones with a hat trick and one each for Jamie Hayes, James Preece, Luke Piggot and Ricky Deacon. On target for Bracknell were Danny Hughes, Ricky Rutherford and Alan Lack.   The last game of the evening took place at the Gillingham Ice Bowl where the Invicta Dynamos hosted a Wightlink Raiders side desperate to bounce back from the previous evenings defeat on the island.   Wightlink Coach Jeremy Cornish was unable to get the win his side wanted but they gave the Mo’s a good run for their money before eventually going down 6-5 to the delight of the home crowd.   It was former Wightlink man Richard Bentham who broke the hearts of his former employers as he scored the winning goal, with Justin Noble bagging two and Andy Smith, Corey Watkins and Ryan Ellis also getting on the score sheet. Damon Larter hit two for Wightlink with Nathan Taylor, Joe Rand and Dominic Hopkins also getting a goal apiece.   The results leave Romford top of the table with a 100% win record and Bracknell at the bottom with a 100% loss record.     Saturday 24 September 2011   Bracknell Hornets 0 Oxford City Stars 3   Chelmsford Chieftains 5 Cardiff Devils 3   Wightlink Raiders 1 Milton Keynes Thunder 4   Sunday 25 September 2011   Invicta Dynamos 6 Wightlink Raiders 5   Romford Raiders 5 Chelmsford Chieftains 4 Oxford City Stars 4 Bristol Pitbulls 4   Cardiff Devils 7 Bracknell Hornets 3   Slough Jets 3 Streatham Redskins 3   Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com