ENL week 24 Round-up

LONDON, UK – There was a certain kind of irony that only two days after I attended a spirited   meeting aimed at saving Streatham ice rink, a picture of London Mayor Boris Johnson holding a hockey stick and grinning profusely in Trafalgar Square appeared in the Evening Standard newspaper.
 
Sadly this was not a press release from the Mayor to announce a boost to ice facilities in the capital, but instead a photo shoot with the Canadian High Commissioner to mark the start of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

On Saturday I took the well worn route from my house to historic Oxford to take in the City Stars game against Invicta. Some call it a lack of a social life, however I prefer to think of it as dedication to the cause and it turned out to be an entertaining game. Despite the 5pm Saturday face off and the obscene car park fees, there was a half decent crowd in the Oxpens Road rink although I have no doubt that had the game been on Sunday, the Stars would have been counting more gate receipts, which is a shame really. One familiar face in the crowd was former City Star and one time Invicta transfer target Gary Slevin. Slev disappeared off the hockey radar for a while despite possessing the hardest snap shot going, and it would be great to see him back on the ice again next season.
 
Oxford started slowly and I thought the Mos looked particularly good going forward. The lively Nicky Lewis gave Invicta an early lead which settled their nerves and then a defensive lapse allowed Joe Johnston time to round James Skaife and double the lead. The first period was pretty much all Invicta, with Vaisenan and Boike both impressing.
 
Invicta wobbled in the second after an early goal from Dax Hedges and then the following shift the Stars youngster clashed knee on knee with Boike. It was the Invicta man who came worst off however and he didn’t really recover. Oxford’s forwards began to forecheck hard and Invicta’s defence really struggled to deal with it for a brief spell but the visitors got a stroke of fortune when Andy Smiths deflected shot landed perfectly for Vaisanen to poke home for 3-1. Oxford didn’t give up though and Shannon Taylor jinked into the zone and round the net before pulling the puck back to Hedges unmarked in the slot to score again.
 
A disallowed Invicta goal prompted protests and then misconducts for the Lennon brothers Anthony and Karl, along with a personal protest from Coach Kevin Parrish who refused to close the bench door unless the referee would go across and speak to him. Needless to say the referee didn’t, and after a brief delay Parrish gave up and play resumed.
 
The stoppage in play halted the Stars in their flow and the visiting fans breathed a sigh of relief as Vaisanen scored against the run of play to restore the two goal cushion.
 
The third period was scrappy, although Oxford had most of the play but couldn’t find a cutting edge. They went close through Alan Green, whose slap shot beat Joe White but rebounded down off the bar and out to safety. Invicta soaked up the pressure and then sealed the win, when the excellent Lewis skated down the left wing and cut inside before firing the puck low into the net. Most definitely the form of champions and an excellent road win for the Kent side. They didn’t look like losing the game after the first period, despite the Stars exerting pressure.
 
It was a shame the Stars were missing Dean Francis, Andy Cox and Darren Elliott because I think with the speed those three possess they could have made the game a lot closer. One bright spot for the Stars was the debut of Rookie Mike Whillock who has signed from the Ontario Hockey Academy and looked decent. He is on a two way with Swindon’s EPL side so it will be interesting to see how many games he plays for Oxford.
 
The team in red hot form at the moment, the Bracknell Hornets, travelled to the Isle of Wight seeking their tenth straight win. Wightlink Raiders on the other hand were seeking revenge following last week’s defeat in Bracknell. It looked like the home side may be the party poopers after they took the first period 1-0 with a long range goal from Luke Reynolds. Sadly that’s where the good news ended for the Raiders as the Hornets took control and won the game 4-1 with goals from Alex Barker x 2, Ben Duggan and Mark Galazzi. Further bad news for the Raiders came as Dan Scott was stretchered off in the second period, after fracturing his ankle. He was discharged from hospital late on Saturday night and is unlikely to play for a number of weeks.
 
Sunday was the day of reckoning for all hockey players across the league. A test of who wears the trousers in their personal relationships, as hockey clashed with Valentines day to the disgust of many hockey wives and girlfriends (and possibly boyfriends). My plan was to get in early with the card and chocolates, take the dogs out on a long walk in the woods and then sly off in the car with brownie points intact. I am pleased to report that my plan worked to perfection and so I set off to our game against Cardiff in a positive mood.
 
My mood was to be enhanced as we put on arguably our best performance at the High Road this year to give Cardiff a real scare. We led 4-1 and then 6-3, but credit to Cardiff they kept going and managed to get a 6-6 draw, after a succession of goals from the point. Russell Stevens had a cracking game for the Redskins with two excellent goals to seal the man of the match award. Louis Lockwood got two and Peter Molnar and Shane Walsh got one each for the South Londoners. Cardiff’s goals came from Luke Piggot x 2, and one each for Tim Burrows, Alan Armour, David James and Gareth Dixon.
 
It got a bit feisty at the end with Phil Manny and Armour taking exception to Lukas Zilak and Gennadi Yufit, but if you had offered us a draw at the start of the game I suppose we would have probably taken it. Stefan Nubert had a good game in goal for us deputising for the injured Will Sanderson, and Cardiff coach Mark Cuddihy sported possibly the worst haircut ENL has ever seen since Alistair Band last year at Haringey, with a mohican enhanced by a big beard.
 
Talking of Haringey, they celebrated a convincing win over relegation rivals MK Thunder at Alexandra Palace. I said last week that Phillipe Mueller would be an excellent pick up for the Greyhounds, and he scored a hat trick to add to goals from Scott Beeson, Stuart Appleby and Michael Ranby in a 7-3 win. Jamie Holland, Dan Chaplen and Ross Horsley scored for Thunder. A big win for the Greyhounds, who were also missing Norm Pinnington from their line up. The Thunder now have to pick up some points from their remaining games to avoid a relegation play off, however with some of the play off placed teams seemingly relaxing lately, they have a decent chance.
 
Chelmsford coach Dean Birrell was a relieved man after they arrested a recent slump in form with a surprise 3-0 victory over a weary Bracknell Hornets at the Riverside. Ross Brears, Aaron Connolly and old hand Danny Wright got the goals for the Essex side, who certainly needed a confidence building win against prospective play off opponents. Reece Covington and Brad Watchorn dropped the gloves with the Hornet just edging the bout on points. So Bracknell’s winning streak comes to the end but I think fans from across the league will salute the tremendous achievement for the amateur outfit.
With Cardiff and Bracknell dropping points over the weekend, Invicta showed the mark of champions as they completed a four point weekend with a 4-1 win over Wightlink. Nolan Boike was reportedly on crutches following the knee injury picked up at Oxford and Wightlink had injury worries of their own with Scott, Gossett and Reynolds all missing. John Sarno has returned home across the pond for personal reasons, so Raiders fans will be hoping he returns otherwise they are going to be depleted for the play offs, especially with Scott also ruled out.
 
Grant Baxter offered Wightlink’s Jeremy Cornish to fight in the very first shift of the game but the Raiders player coach wisely refused. In what was by all accounts a rather drab affair, Invicta sealed the two points with two goals each for Andy Smith (one an empty netter) and Nicky Lewis. Wightlink skipper Dan Hughes got the consolation for his side.
 
Invicta coach Kevin Parrish will be very happy with the weekends results, as will Haringey coach Sergei Smollenko. Streatham’s Barry Spours and Chelmsford’s Dean Birrell will also be smiling but MK coach Lewis Clifford and Wightlinks Jeremy Cornish will be cursing bad luck. As for Cardiff coach Mark Cuddihy, I would guess he is staying indoors and only venturing out with a hat on.
 
Best wishes to all players who got injured this weekend, this season seems to have been particularly bad for injuries across the league and I share your pain.  
 
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
 
Carrsy
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com