EPL Roundup Week 16

LONDPON, UK – What occupied the news for the remainder of week 15, well the Bison run for one thing. Coach Moria said of the coming Wildcats’ game which had the potential to extend the winning streak a little closer to the 15-streak record, ‘I think they are a stronger team than when we last played them. It looks an easy game on paper because of the results earlier in the season, but it will be a battle.’
 
And what a battle it was with the Bison chasing for most of the sixty minutes and in the end finding that even six goals wouldn’t do the trick with ex-Bison coach Ryan Aldridge’s Wildcats making seven.
 
The unexpected continued with the Bees overturning the Flames in what Coach Cox called their best hockey in two years, and not that he’s bothered but it didn’t change anything at the top of the table where the Flames still reside. But let’s take nothing away from the Bracknell side. They were two goals down at the end of the first period and then 3-2 up after half way yet only managed two shots on the Guildford goal in the final twenty minutes.
 
But there’s a bit more of the unexpected because the Steeldogs hosted the Phantoms, fresh from snapping a point off the Bison and took them into over time where they won 5-4. The Phantoms had been 3-1 up at the half way point and still a goal up going into the third period, but with seven minutes to go it was four apiece with Stuart Brittle claiming the overtime power-play winner.
 
Some sabre rattling came from the Lightning camp. Manager Vito Rausa said of his last year’s league champions, ‘If we can get fully fit then the rest of the league had better look out. There is still a long way to go.’ This time last year the Lightning topped the chart and stayed there until they finally clinched the league title, and as Rausa pointed out, with games in hand it would be foolish to write the Lightning off just yet.
 
But first they had to overcome the Wildcats, and made the perhaps slightly rash claim in view of what happened to the Bison, that they were going to show the Wildcats who was top dog. Coach Nick Poole said, ‘We’ll have the advantage of playing on home ice and after a good break for the guys to have a rest and recharge their batteries.’
 
On the other hand Wildcats’ Coach Aldridge was of the opinion a lack of a break kept his team’s momentum, a view shared by a few others. In the even the Wildcats took the lead and out-shot the hosts in the first period and far from bowing to the Lightning were unlucky to only get a point from a close fought game that ended in overtime. The Wildcats threw netminder Chris Douglas back in at the deep end after almost two months out with injury and he acquitted himself magnificently eventually facing 54 shots and everything but the kitchen sink. But the Lightning top dog?
 
 
Then came the continuing saga of the Sharp/Payette affair. For those not keeping abreast of this soap, in the last episode Phoenix’s rough-and-ready Andrew Sharp took a swipe from behind at the head of Steeldogs’ cuddly bunny Andre Payette who, as we all know wouldn’t hurt a fly. However, Payette went down and Sharp jumped all over the defenceless heap until even his boss Tony Hand joined in sorting the frenzy out. If you take a look at a clip of the incident you will understand why Steeldogs Coach Darlow said, ’This kind of play has no part in the game and there will be action resulting from it.’ So it was no surprise the Steeldogs requested a league review which ten days later imposed a suspension on Sharp which, if it was by coincidence, meant he didn’t ice for the second encounter between the two clubs thereby deflating the hype about ‘round two’ etc.
 
Coach Hand, complained he was given only 24 hours notification of the ban, but said of his former team-mate Payette, ‘He’s as tough as they come, but he’s a fair player. I have the greatest respect for him.’ But, sure as sixpence, you just know there is more to come.
 
Meanwhile, Phoenix netminder Steve Fone added his bit, ‘It does help having someone like Andrew because we’ve seen a few times teams come out and try and bully us a little.’ While this statement makes my eyes moisten a tad when Fone named the Bison and Lightning as culprits I almost burst into tears. Not, I hasten to add, because the Phoenix feel bullied, but because the man who in October not only fearlessly took a blistering slapshot from Jaroslav Cesky at point blank range which in a freak accident caught him between they eyes, but lived to tell the tale and face him again. ‘Bully us a little,’ indeed.   
 
Oh yes, and Manchester won the game and returned to the top of the table.    
 
So what is it with the Bees? Week 16 started with them taking the lead after just two minutes against the Bison and ending the first period two each. At the end of P2 they were only one goal behind and in with an excellent chance of a point right up to the final minutes when the trap door dropped and they all fell through. Regardless, on top of their win against the Flames this was no mean performance either, and a scoreline that doesn’t reflect the first fifty-five minutes. But even if Coach Cox closed his eyes for those final minutes I am sure he has a lot to be happy with.
 
And talking of improving, whatever it is Coach Aldridge is putting in the Wildcats’ feeding bowels must be working because in Guildford’s fifteen home games only the Jets and Phoenix have gone onto their ice and won outright, and while the Tigers and Lightning also managed a point, it is the Wildcats that have joined that exclusive trio. In fact, not only did the Wildcats start off the scoring after ten minutes through Jozef Liska, but in less than ninety seconds in the middle period stuck in three goals with Liska completing his hat-trick into an empty net with seconds to spare.
 
But to complete an eventful first day of the New Year, there was also the Jets clash with the Phantoms in a record-equalling seventeen goal bonanza. The fun began after two minutes through Jet’s new-signing Ryan Watt, and was answered minutes later with a nip and tuck battle to three-each on the quarter hour which is how the first period ended. A minute into the second period at four apiece it was the Phantoms who put their foot down and two goals and two minutes later Jets coach Pete Russell prudently called a time-out, presumably to steady things, but to no avail and the Jets were 7-4 down at the next break. But then it was all ‘threes’ as in a three minute period mid-way through the third period the Jets stormed back with three goals including a second by Watt and a clincher by Paddy Ward which took it over time with the Jets once again showing remarkable comebackability to get the two points on penalties.
 
So what a way to start the second half of the season which, had the goals scoring average applied to a five-game day, would have produced a record fifty-eight goals! Nothing changed at the top of the table other than the Phoenix now have a game in hand and the Flames a headache that is going to take some big pills to alleviate with a defeat by the Bees and the Wildcats behind them.
On to Sunday and yet more of what is looking like the farce of the Phoenix: was Sharp playing against the Lightning, or not? Apparently the league imposed a 2-game ban, and, depending who you listen to, the Phoenix either appealed the second game suspension successfully, or had ‘further negotiations’ with the league. Either way the clandestine nature of this affair does nothing for the EPL or the sport, and if you can get a five game suspension for arguing with the referee, as did Coach Watkins, why only one game for a deliberate attack which could have caused a serious injury? To make the whole business more sordid, eye witness accounts to the original fracas say Sharp’s assault was actually instigated by Coach Hand himself who immediately before was involved in an altercation with Payette who, as he skated away, didn’t see Hand turn and say something to Sharp who then lunched himself after the Steeldogs player.
 
Fortunately Payette wandered away unscathed but it did kinda remind me of something my old grand-pappy once told me. ‘Son,’ he said. ‘Once when your dad was a little ‘un he came to me crying saying he felt the whole world was against him. Don’t be so silly,’ I told him, ‘you ain’t met the whole world so it can’t be more than two or three.’
 
Oh yes, and Manchester won the game and go three points clear at the top of the table.   
 
Elsewhere, the first Sunday of the New Year, the Bees finally managed to convert all their hard work into points with a well deserved 3-2 victory over the Jets with Peter Jasic grabbing his second goal which turned out to be the clincher three minutes from time.
 
Although you cannot deny the mighty effort from the Jets Saturday night to get back into the Phantoms’ game, the Peterborough side were clearly not too disheartened and pounded the Bison with a four-goal shut-out, improving by a point on the previous week’s encounter and their first victory over a top-four side.
 
Talking of shut-outs, the Tigers prevented theirs by a couple of seconds when Ashley Calvert popped in a goal to save a six goal drubbing.   Tigers’ coach Tom Watkins was quite desolate. ‘We were very poor and I can’t take any positives away from this game,’ he said. ‘I didn’t see any fight in them tonight – even when Andy McKinney went up against Andre Payette, the rest of the team didn’t react, they just coasted.’
 
So, not a happy note on top of the Phoenix farce on which to end, and while Week 16 it isn’t quite over because there are a few more games, it is for this Roundup.
 
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Contact the author  Bill.Collins@Prohockeynews.com