SWINDON, UK – After starting off last week’s Roundup with the inauspicious news of Darius Lenenas’s departure from the Phantoms, followed by his unexpected reappearance at the weekend for a ‘farewell’ performance, the brighter tidings peeping over the horizon was that fan’s were clubbing together to cover his wage bill for the remainder of the season. Not without its problems, of course, but a meeting was arranged with owner Phil Wing, who made the encouraging statement that he had the fan’s interest at heart, and, days later it was announced Lenenas was here to stay.
Apparently a fan group has been set up to administer the finances and, presumably, raise the money. I am sure it wouldn’t have escaped the curiosity of Mister Wing that Coach Cruickshank’s aims might at some future date clash with the will of the people, but no doubt there is some small print to cover such eventualities.
So, after the lead taken by the Telford Tigers we are now heading towards the individual ‘ownership’ of players? Wow! Just imagine say eighteen committees looking out for the interests of a team’s members, and all with voting rights. Or, as my gambling-mad Uncle ‘Galloping Gordon’ observed, ‘If you have to have a racing syndicate to spread the load of your commitment, it’s best that you persuade several rich, suggestible, elderly – very elderly – women to join and elect you as fund manager. Then go out and buy a bag of balloons.’
A more benign view, but equally as frustrated came from netminder Steve Wall who expressed dismay at the continued financial crises at the club where after three years is still seeing players like Steve Duncombe who ‘didn’t put a foot wrong’ released to save money. ‘We should have planned for the worst possible scenario rather than the best case,’ he lamented.
Approaching the end-of-month signing deadline for clubs who will need to get the mandatory fifteen games under the belts of any new players they want to compete beyond the regular season, we saw the Flames add Jeremy Van Hoof to their roster. The Canadian has lots of North American experience and the unusual claim to fame of having been drafted into the NHL twice! Coach Paul Dixon said of the signing: ‘He plays a very simple defensive style, which is exactly what we are looking for.’ Now, why is this ringing a tiny bell in my head? So when Dixon added, ‘He is also fully capable of in terms of his physical presence.’ Clang! Why am I thinking of Phoenix’s Andrew Sharp? And straight after a double-header against the Manchester side where Phoenix’s Coach Tony Hand commented, ‘ Guildford are a very strong team with a lot of quality players. It is not as though we were outplayed in any period and if anything we outplayed them, but they got the goals at the right time.’ Coach Dixon, acknowledging the tremendous pressure to which the Flames were subjected said, ‘We are now back in the kind of place one would hope for this time of the season.’
Also signed this week was British D-man John Connolly who, having started the season at the EIHL Braehead Clan, joined the Jets having previously worked under Coach Russell as an Under 20 and Under 18 international.
A mid-week game, rescheduled from weather-hit Christmas, saw the Jets dismantle the Bees thereby gaining revenge for a defeat just a couple of weeks ago and abruptly ending what has been a welcomed revival for the Bracknell club. The first goal came in minutes from new-signing Adam Calder, who later added a second, while Darius Pliskauskas took sixteen minutes to collect a hat-trick. Bees’ Jaroslav Cesky prevented the shut-out, but Michael Jasik couldn’t prevent a puck to the elbow from a slap shot from Sam Waller, and a trip to hospital. Luckily, it turned out nothing was broken and the Slovakian will be back on his bike in a few days. Not back in the saddle quite so quickly won’t be Bees’ captain Terry Miles whose mystery illness is still, well, a mystery. Coach Cox said, ‘He’s having tests again next week, so he’ll be out a little while yet.’
While still on the subject of injuries Tigers forward Joe Henry, out with a broken knee yet who still managed to play the weekend with a little help from a bucketful of pain killers said the fracture clinic had been surprised. I should think so. ’I got hit from behind,’ said Henry, ‘I need another couple of weeks recovery and pysio. They said I should be skating on it in four weeks.’
His boss, Coach Watkins said, ‘We are not a particularly physical side, but the changes we’ve made recently have brought more physicality to our team. ’ Last Sunday against Milton Keynes was the most hits we’ve made in a game,’
Interestingly, following the signing of Andrew Sharp we now have several other teams taking or talking about a more physical approach, notably the Steeldogs, who see it as a way of leveling the, er, playing field. But, one team who will not be adding to their roster is the Phoenix who, sitting at the top of the table, probably see no reason to. ‘We more or less have the team we started with,’ Coach Hand said. ‘I’m happy with the team we’ve got.’
That didn’t impress the Phantoms, though, their Sunday night opponents. Cruickshank commented that apart from Hand, Huppe and Kristoffersson, ‘…if you look at the rest of the Phoenix line-up, they don’t have anything that is out of this world.’
More fighting talk came from the Wildcats where Coach Aldridge said, ‘We know we have the ability to do better and our aim is to finish top of the league, not just settle for a play-off position. Our next seven games are massive; we aim to make it seven wins.’ While Saturday’s opponents, the Steeldogs, might have a word or two to say about that, Sunday in Bracknell the Bees must really fancy their chances after putting the Wildcats to bed and tucking them in snugly on their home ice just a week ago.
So, on to Saturday and ‘have a word to say about it,’ the Steeldogs did with a goal after four minutes, and then re-taking the lead again after the Wildcats equalised near the first break. But, coming out for the second and the Wildcats had finally found the form of recent weeks as Hoog got the first of his hat-trick after a minute and the third with less than a minute to go, but it was all over by then anyway.
The Jets continued their current home-winning run extending the streak to five games against the Tigers who were a goal down after a minute and then trailed from then on despite the better shots-on-goal. But it wasn’t without a fight as Scott McKenzie proved with a neatly spaced hat-trick for the Tigers.
Also on the trail were the Bees who went to Peterborough and after getting the face-off fisticuffs out of the way which resulted in Nicky Watt and Thomas Jeffery being out of the way for four minutes, seemed limp compared to their recent enthusiastic form. A confident Phantoms almost romped home with six goals including an impressive reward from Lelenas for his fan club and for the Bees a morale sapping disallowed goal for handling the puck thirteen minutes from time when the score was 5-3, which was their last real chance of recovery.
Who would have thought that after putting the Phoenix in their place twice last weekend, the Flames could not possibly be on the rampage, especially with import number six, Van Hoof, now on the roster and playing his first game? Not only that, but if any more incentive were needed there was the possibility of sharing the top spot with the Manchester side. But rampaging they were not, at least not in Basingstoke where the home side went a goal up through Kubenko after a minute, and although Rempel equalised four minutes later, Ollie Bronnimann then stepped up with the first of his hat-trick minutes later and that-basically, was that.
And the Phoenix? Well, they visited Milton Keynes and did their best to wait for the Flames to join them as the number one team by continuing their so-so form for a sixth game. In fact, since they last played, and beat, the Lightning. Smulter opened the scoring at the end of the first period and Emersic continued to bloom with two more for his new club, but apart from a few flashes of brilliance such as Kristoffersson’s two goals in under a minute, which Lukas Zatopec answered with a cracker a minute from time, the Phoenix didn’t look too sharp. In fact, not to Sharp at all as the Lightning made it seven home wins in a row and creep closer to the jets and Bison.
Sunday and the Phoenix were at home to the Phantoms and again started shakily with Glowa on the score board for the visitors after five minutes on a power-play, and Kristoffersson ten minutes later equalising in a five on three. Period two was the same with a short-handed goal from Glowa, and the reply from Kristoffersson.
The third and the Phantoms pulled away again only for another equaliser then a mistake by Steve Wall punished by Tony Hand and the Phoenix were in the lead for the first time. It was well into the third period before it looked like the home side were finally taking control with two more goals, but even then the Phantoms pulled one back.
In a weekend where the Flames had the possibility to regain the league top spot, it should be remembered they faced the third and forth placed teams – Bison and Jets – while leaders Manchester faced the next two – Lightning and Phantoms. At home to the Jets, it took seconds from the end of period one for Nathan Rempel to open the scoring, and six minutes into the next period for the Jets to equalise through Calder. It was nip-and-tuck through the second with new signing Van Hoof getting on the score sheet, but in the final minute at three apiece it was Calder again who finally gave the Jets the lead. The third was again closely fought, but two minutes from time the Jets made sure it was all over, and the Flames said goodbye to the top spot. At least for this weekend.
Sunday must be cold bath night at the Wildcats because against the Bees they went down by four goals in the first ten minutes to the ‘Terrible Trio’ of Pinc, Cesky and Jasik when the Wildcats swapped Hadfield for Douglas, who had only faced six shots! Coach Aldridge must have gnawed through the taps before he remembered Sunday was supposed to be warm night, and the fight-back began. It then took over half an hour for the deadlock to be broken when Bauba and Aldridge made it 4-2, but then Cesky put it beyond reach even though Hoog managed to add another for the Swindon side who must be wondering if there is anything between hot and cold.
Sadly for the Steeldogs they suffered their seventh shut-out of the season, this time by a rampant Lightning who extended their away winning run to four games. But, things didn’t go all the Lightning’s own way because after Jacob Heron opened the scoring after seven minutes, it took another half an hour for goal two, this time from Adam Carr. The third goal didn’t come until well into the final period, and two in the last five minutes, including a second from Carr, gave the scoreline a slightly lopsided look.
Being a sucker for the underdog, it always induces a warm feeling when a team like the Tigers bare their teeth, and at home to the Bison that is what happened. Tigers took the lead after four minutes through Scott McKenzie, who was then taken to hospital with a suspected broken collar bone, and didn’t conceding it for another eleven minutes. Just before the first break Chris Wiggins injured Ashley Stanton with a stick to the face, and both left the ice, Stanton with dizzy spells and Wiggins with sixteen minutes. But in the end it was their depletion that told on the Tigers with the game winning goal coming a minute into the third and the Telford team with not enough legs to fight the distance.
Undoubtedly the growing injury list is taking its toll on some teams, as it did last year, and you get the impression that the Phoenix, if they were to lose one or two from their top line, would become very vulnerable. But the big disappointment must be for the Flames who were unable to get back on equal terms with the top side, and looking at next week’s fixtures, are likely to find that another difficult weekend.
Meanwhile the EPL Cup Final details were announced for Coventry over the weekend of the 9th – 10th April with the first semi-final being between the Phoenix and the Bison, and in the second the Flames will face the Jets with the final Sunday afternoon.
Can’t wait!
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Contact the author Bill.Collins@Prohockeynews.com
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