ENL South Round-up week 7

LONDON, UK – Another weekend of ENL South action took place against the backdrop of its most successful club in the past decade suffering a very public crisis of sorts.
 
Invicta Dynamos fans were left scratching their heads as the club descended into crisis mode during the week. With an injury list that would keep BUPA in profit, the last thing Coach Kevin Parrish needed was the confirmed departures of Richard Bentham and Tim Smith, who signed at Peterborough Phantoms and Sheffield Steeldogs respectively.
 
With Robbie Brown and Corey Watkins also touted as possible departures, the Kent club were moved, not for the first time this season, to clarify their position and refute speculation.

 
The stark reality of not being the biggest fish in the pond is something Mo’s fans will have to get used to, unless the club increase their budget and scouting pool to match local rivals Romford and Chelmsford for the limited talent pool of players available.
 
In the same way that the likes of Streatham, Haringey and other south east based ENL clubs have been unable to compete with the Mo’s in previous years in terms of player recruitment and retention, now the goal posts have moved for the Kent club also.
 
The fact remains though that the Mo’s have been very unlucky with injuries and unforeseen issues that both Romford and Chelmsford have not had to cope with to the same extent. They still have some excellent players within their squad so there is no reason to feel too sorry for them at present, as they are only a couple of bodies away from being a major force.
 
In a bid to quell the fans disquiet further, Parrish promised a press release after the game against Slough on Saturday via his Twitter feed.
 
A well deserved promotion was given in Cardiff as long serving ENL Devils Coach Mark Cuddihy was handed the role of Operations Manager for the whole Cardiff Devils organisation.
 
“My enthusiasm for wanting to drive the club forward comes from a long history of being involved with the Devils over the past 25 years” said Cuddihy within the official press release.
 
“More recently most will know me as the Head Coach for the   ENL1 team and one of the trustees   of the DCF, but I played in the first ever junior hockey game for Cardiff and have grown up though the development system. Hockey, and more importantly the Cardiff Devils are in my blood”
 
Indeed it is fantastic that a man who has travelled far and wide with the ENL Devils for the past few seasons and understands the grass roots of British Hockey has been given a role of such standing.
 
Hockey in this country needs voices like this at the top of the game so hopefully Cuddihy will make the most of this opportunity.
 
After a few months trotting around Canada on a ‘working’ holiday, Chelmsford defenseman Danny Cox had clearly had enough of Tim Horton’s and that sickly gravy served at Swiss Chalet and returned to the UK earlier than expected.
 
In desperate need of reinforcements to add to their sparse squad (ahem), Chelmsford wasted no time in re-signing the East London based man.
 
In a surprise move out west, Bristol Pitbulls defenseman Andrew Shurmer quit the club and the promptly signed at Oxford, a club he had played for last season.
 
The reasons for the move were not revealed, however this is not the first time Shurmer has switched clubs mid season in recent years. There is an old Ethiopian proverb that says ‘the restless foot will tred on a turd’, but hopefully Shurmer settles at Oxford this time, and Coach Ken Forshee was clearly delighted to have his old defenseman back at Oxpens Road.
 
“I am very pleased to get Shurmer back” said the Stars Coach in an interview with Pro Hockey News.
 
“He should really help our transition game and our power play. I feel he is a much underrated player in our league and he is very smart and calm on the puck”
 
An amusing email dropped into the Pro Hockey News inbox this week with Absolute Ice Slough offering an ‘ice karting experience’ at the Berkshire venue. Anyone who has seen ice karting will know that it tears up the ice to a level that hockey is pretty much unplayable without numerous zamboni resurfacing attempts making it right.
 
A couple of EPL teams learnt this to their frustration after booking ice karting displays as part of the period break entertainment, only to find that the following period descend into chaos with the puck bobbling nonstop across the corrugated surface.
 
Only players from Whitley Bay can cope with an ice surface in such a state as they are used to playing on ice that feels like it has been ploughed by a tractor on a regular basis.
 
Whoever is marketing the kart experience at Slough clearly has a knack with words though.
 
“Budding Buttons and speedy Schumacher’s can put the pedal to the metal in their 240cc twin engine pro kart, fully geared up in helmet, racing suit, and gloves” roared the advertisement.
 
“Drivers can feel the thrill of being a giant ice hockey puck, racing just a few feet from the cold slip of the ice, before returning to a world of regular traction after a 30 minute session”
 
So for £32 you get to feel like a giant hockey puck? If that’s the aim surely it would be cheaper to just get on the ice dressed in a rubber suit, sign the obligatory disclaimer and get the ENL Jets to hit you with their sticks, although admittedly it might be difficult to rim a human round the boards using a standard carbon fibre twig. Maybe they could draft Dom ‘The Cannon’ Hopkins in from Wightlink to help out with his big shot.
 
One man who won’t be appearing for Wightlink again this season is goalie Colin McGill who was released by the island side after seemingly disappointing in a Raiders jersey. This leaves the Raiders with just Liam McAllister as an option between the pipes and leaves Coach Jeremy Cornish searching for another stopper.
 
 
Saturday
 
Bristol Pitbulls raced into a 3-0 lead as a shell shocked Wightlink Raiders took time to wake up in the clash between the two teams on the island. Thankfully for those of a Raiders’ persuasion, Jeremy Cornish and his men managed to pull themselves up and hit nine unanswered goal to take a comfortable win.
 
High scoring Raiders import Joe Rand hit a hat trick with Cornish and Alex Murray getting two each and Niall Bound scoring the other. Bristol scorers were Egidijus Bauba with two and Jamie Newton with one.
 
Despite his promotion to the higher echelons of the Cardiff organisation, Coach Mark Cuddihy left his platinum lined office in Cardiff Bay behind and travelled to Bracknell to take his familiar position on the ENL Devils bench for their game against the struggling Hornets.
 
After a tight opening, Cardiff’s firepower was too much for Bracknell and they took both points with a 7-2 win. Jamie Hayes continued his goal scoring form with a brace and there were also goals for David James, Richard Sadler, Josh Haslam and James Preece.
 
After a turbulent week, Invicta probably expected to have a relatively easy game at home to Slough ENL Jets to ease the pressure. The Ice Bowl was tense as the Mo’s were made to work hard for a win with the 5-4 score line thanks to goals from David Heath, Erik Kriznat, Carl Thompson and Lewis Tribble. Two goals from Andy Smith and one each from Justin Noble, Jack Tarczycki and Nick Lewis were enough to seal a much needed home win and confidence boost.
 
 
Sunday
 
Oxford City Stars hosted Wightlink Raiders at Oxpens Road hoping to take a win after letting points slip at home in recent games. The Stars got off to a great start with two goals in the first four minutes as Wightlink began the game slowly for the second day in a row.
 
The visitors recomposed themselves and eventually won the game 4-3 thanks to Richard Facey, Jeremy Cornish, Joe Rand and Alex Murray. Oxford scorers were Gareth Endicott, Darren Elliott and Dax Hedges.
 
Streatham were desperate for a win in the home game against Slough but pushed the self-destruct button for the first two periods trailing 5-1. A comeback of epic proportions took place in the third as the Skins pulled it back to 5-5 before giving away a power play goal in the final minute of the game.
 
Credit to Slough for playing some excellent hockey, especially in the second period but the contrast between our lazy sloppy play in the first two periods and then transformation in the third proves that myself and the other Redskins players shoulder the blame for not starting the game as focussed and determined as we ended it.
 
Slough scorers were Jamie Milton and Zoran Kozic with two each and solo goals from Carl Thompson and Daniel Rose. On the score sheet for Streatham were Adam Mahoney, Chris Fox, Chris Rasmussen, Norm Pinnington and Stevie Balmer.
 
Milton Keynes Thunder made the long trip to Cardiff to face an ENL Devils side high on confidence. Milton Keynes have had a good start to the season themselves so it was no surprise that this was a close game that ended 5-3 in the home side’s favour.
 
The game was 3-3 with two minutes to go before Cardiff took the spoils thanks to two goals from Richard Sadler and one each for Jamie Hayes, James Preece and Robert Sedlak. MK scorers were Joe Edwards, Tommy Mboya and Grant Bignell.
 
The Riverside played host to Chelmsford v Bracknell with the result probably not in doubt from the face off as the rampant Chieftains thumped the Hornets 12-1 in a one sided affair.
 
A hat trick each for Jakub Klima and Alan Green did half of the damage for Chelmsford with Danny Hammond hitting two and Darren Brown, Ross Brears, Tom Long and Gary Clarke getting the others. Bracknell’s consolation came from Nick Minhinnick. Chelmsford’s Green also had a fight with Graham Bellamy to liven up the game for the home crowd.
 
Invicta made the trip to local rivals Romford for a cup game they probably didn’t fancy too much. The Raiders didn’t turn the screw too much on their rivals however as they won 6-1 thanks to a brace from Andrius Kaminskas and goals from AJ Smith, JJ McGrath, Billy Phillips and Grant Taylor. Invicta’s lone goal came from Ryan Ellis.
 
After the game Invicta released a statement that attempted to explain the departure of Bentham and also laid blame for some internal issues on accommodation problems for the non-local players they had signed this year.
 
The positive aspect of the statement revolved around a team meeting that has taken place and that all the players now agree on a way forward.
 
For anyone who wants to read the full lengthy release it is probably best to visit the club’s excellent website: www.invictadynamos.co.uk
 
Results
 
Saturday 15 October 2011
 
Invicta Dynamos 5 Slough Jets 4  
Bracknell Hornets 2 Cardiff Devils 7  
Wightlink Raiders 9 Bristol Pitbulls 3
 
Sunday 16 October 2011
 
Oxford City Stars 3 Wightlink Raiders 4  
Chelmsford Chieftains 12 Bracknell Hornets 1
Streatham Redskins 5 Slough Jets 6
Cardiff Devils 5 Milton Keynes Thunder 3
Romford Raiders 6 Invicta Dynamos 1
 
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com