SWINDON, UK – Last weekend produced some interesting results like the Phoenix losing on penalties to the Tigers. Coach Tony hand said, ‘Over the weekend we conceded just one point, and I’m happy with that.’ Goalie Steve Fone added his view with, ‘Some people see it as a point lost, but I think it was a point gained.’ An alternative perspective came from Telford’s coach Tom Watkins who said, ‘Everyone is excited, and I don’t want to take the gloss off it but it’s just one win.’
So all very neutral and in reality, of course, all these statements have validity and you could hardly expect any coach not to focus on the positives his side achieves. But the fact remains by this time last season the Phoenix had beaten the Bison and Lightning twice, plus the Jets and only lost to the Wildcats on penalties.
The Tigers, for their part, had managed a point apiece from the Steeldogs and Phantoms while this year have so far doubled their points for the same period.
This season, however, the Phoenix have again beaten the Jets and Wildcats and a depleted Phantoms, but have already lost to the Lightning and dropped points to the Bison and Tigers, which is almost a thirty per cent lower success rate.
I don’t suppose for a second they are approaching panic stations in Manchester and more than the Tigers are planning their league-winning celebrations, the point being that all the pre-season comments about it being tough out there this year appears to be supported by the early figures. There are other examples, that is clear, like the current league position of the Steeldogs compared to last year, and the firmness of purpose of a Bees side that last time out were accused of all singing from different hymn sheets.
In fact, Bees’ coach Gareth Cox said, ‘It seems to me that anyone can beat anyone on any given night as even the ‘top’ teams are dropping points.’ But never mind top teams, as an example of the current war of attrition throughout the EPL Cox went on to praise the netminders of his weekend’s double header against the Wildcats, Carl Ambler and Tom Murdy, who between them faced 124 shots but only conceded a goal each. They were ‘outstanding,’ he observed. In fact, the lowest save rate between the pair over the four stats was a smidgeon over 94%, so not bad in anyone’s book.
In a similar vein the Flames’ coach Paul Dixon, following his side’s virtual capitulation to a thinly-manned Phantoms, commented, ‘Just when you thought you were on to something, much of that went out the window.’ To be fair, the Flames did look for a while like they might get back in it but as Dixon pointed out, almost philosophically, ‘We made a great effort to come back, but more often than not a four-goal deficit will not be recovered.’ And recovered it wasn’t.
On the winning side Phantoms’ Rick Skene was taken to hospital following a brave attempt to halt a lively slapshot by fearlessly flinging his body in the way and, as he said, over-cooked it a tad and caught the puck it in the back of the head. Unluckily, the incoming projectile wasn’t deflected by his helmet but, luckily, apart from a gash that you wouldn’t want to show your mother, he wasn’t too bad. Rather stoically he commented, ‘if the same situation came up again, I would react in the same way.’ Get the man an oar, bosun, I want him in my boat!
Sticking with the Phantoms, of which it has been noted there is a manning shortage, well, this was addressed by the signing of former GB junior forward Richard Bentham from ENL Invicta Dynamos and who iced three times for the Steeldogs last season. Bentham is a big lad and for some reason Coach Chris Allen wanted us to know he, ‘has not been brought in to fight, but if things need sorting out I expect he will help sort it out.’ Oo, er, missus, but can he skate and do dazzling things with a puck? Well, he has averaged over a point a game in recent seasons in his ENL career, so that’s a helpful start.
Also on the signing trail were the Wildcats who having also suffered from a few injuries, notably to captain Joe Baird, enlisted the support of former Bees’ forward Adam Bicknell who, as Wildcats’ coach Ryan Aldridge said, will provide ‘injury cover for the rest of the season.’ Although Bicknell never played last year he has plenty of experience having captained the Bracknell side where he went on to fill the position of head coach during one of their most successful periods.
Another signing took place this time in Sheffield where D-man Tim Smith was also acquired from Invicta Dynamos after five seasons there and one with the Phantoms. His ENL experience ain’t half bad either for a D-man at over a point a game last season.
So it was on to Saturday with just the four games and the Wildcats faced the Phantoms where coach Chris Allen said, ‘The win against Guildford has installed plenty of confidence…and we are going into the weekend looking to collect four points.’
Well, Jaroslav Cesky, for one, had some feelings on that because he stuck his first in the Peterborough net early in the game and added a second early in the second. Jonus Höög added a third around the halfway mark, and then things started to waver. Ex-Wildcats’ import Erik Bochna clawed one back for the visitors and despite another goal against, the Phantoms mounted a sprightly comeback which, given a bit more time, might have forced the overtime.
In Slough the Steeldogs took the lead early in the second period but not for long and by the end of that stint the Jets were in the lead thanks to Darius Pliskauskas. With some magical end-to-end hockey it was still anyone’s game although seconds into the final period Adam Calder made a big hole in what was a resilient Steeldogs performance, and five minutes from time Pliskauskas sealed it up with his second.
Telford must have been feeling perky after the Manchester win when they visited Basingstoke, and things were fairly even for the first period with just a Marcel Petran goal in it and an exchange of bonhomie between Jiri Hanzal and Nicky Chinn. On the half-hour Craig Tribe got the Bison’s second but Andy McKinney put the Tigers back in with a chance a minute later. From then on things tumbled and bounced downhill as the Bison players almost queued up to take their turn at goal-scoring while Chinn extended his friendly disposition to Callum Bowley which was, surprisingly, declined. Bison’s Liam Chong then did the wallop-and-wobble by which I mean took a huge hit and staggered off with the whole affair culminating in what was advertised as a ten-round heavyweight contest between those old pugilistic pros Tom Watkins and Chris Wiggins, but in fact didn’t make one round so Joe Miller and Josh Bruce did a finale.
Meanwhile, in the blue corner the Lightning hosted the Bees for the full ten rounds, but not that you would have thought it from the start which saw two goals from Blaz Emersic start things rolling for the home side. Then, after a Lightning third from Leigh Jamieson two minutes later Peter Jasik slammed in his first giving the scoreline a bit more respectability and, four minutes later, repeated the matter despite the Bees being heavily outshot in the second. So it was still game-on.
The final twenty opened with the completion of Jasik’s hat-trick and after a further fruitless seventeen minutes of battle it was overtime, here we come. But that wasn’t the end of the drama because the extra period produced nothing, and it rapidly looked doubtful the penalty shoot-out would either. After a staggering nine pairs of players failed to force a result you almost wanted to jump off a cliff to avoid the tension but then Grant McPherson did the decent thing and put everyone out of their misery, apart from Sergejs Louskins I suppose, who then missed and cost the Bees what would have been an astonishing win, although it has to be said they did get an astonishing come-back point.
And on to Sunday with the Phoenix and Flames back in it for a five-game evening and you really have to wonder what happened in Guildford where the home team put on a first period display that certainly didn’t allow for prisoners. David Longstaff kicked things off unassisted and by the thirteenth minute when Matt Towe did the same it was for the forth Guildford goal. Even a Bison time-out and substituting Matt Colclough for Dean Skinns in goal didn’t stop the flood and by half way it was all over and time for a nice cup of tea.
The Phoenix, on the other hand, must have been hoping for a better Sunday than last weekend and although their first was the result of some mayhem in front of the Jets’ goal, the second from Juraj Faith put things on a more stable footing as the home side machine kicked in. But then, slap my forehead and call me daddy, up popped Pliskauskas followed by Ryan Watt a minute later and it was all equal again by the end of the period.
In the second things started to take on a more temperamental disposition after Joe Greener had a goal disallowed for kicking and Pliskauskas got his second only this time for Slava Koulikov to make things all nice and neat again in time for the overtime period. But in another impressive Jets’ fight back they claimed the two points in Manchester thanks to Dan Davies. Coach Sheppard had set out his stall clearly earlier in the week when he said, ‘My aim this season is to concede two or fewer goals in every game, and back our forwards to score three or more.’ Partly achieved, then.
The Steeldogs’ coach Andre Payette, after going a goal down to the Bison last week only to fight back to win at home said, ‘I am really pleased at the way the lads bounced back…as I am keeping our undefeated home-ice record intact.’
And that position was safe and sound for at least another week because the Sheffield side had two road games this weekend, the second of which was in Bracknell. And what a tight game it was apart from penalty minutes of which the Steeldogs took the lions share at a ratio of three-to-one. But in the end it was a Janis Ozolins goal ten minutes from time that was all the separated the two.
Another tight game occurred in Telford where coach Tom Watkins had complained his side needed to be, ‘more ruthless in front of goal,’ and at home to the Lightning the Tigers took the lead in the dying seconds of the first period through Josh Bruce. It wasn’t until the end of the second that Michael Farm scored the equaliser on a power-play and the Lightning, who with two unanswered goals in the third, took the points and for the second weekend in a row made it all four.
Alternatively, the Wildcats despite taking a two-goal lead in Peterborough failed to capitalise on the previous evening’s much more convincing start and by the end of the second period found themselves on an equal footing. The third was far livelier with some exciting end-to-end stuff as both sides could smell points in the air. But three minutes from time Luke Ferrara wrapped it up with the two teams sharing the spoils from their double-header weekend.
So where does all this leave us? Well, with four teams at the top of the table on ten points and with the Lightning screaming ‘dee-dah’ and with flashing blue lights on because they have games in hand, plus a mid-week game against the Tigers. Close behind this group are the Flames also with games to spare, but it is the Lightning who are the only side to have achieved a four-game winning run, while the Jets have the best away streak in the league on three. So things beginning to take shape.
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Contact Bill.Collins@prohockeynews.com
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