LONDON, UK – The Britton Conference continued to hit the headlines with a Twitter spat, a discipline update and the return of a familiar face.
Swindon satisfied (Kat Medcroft)
The transfer merry go round continued for a second week as Swindon Wildcats lost Toms Rutkis and Sam Zajac to Cardiff and a job offer in the North East respectively.
For Rutkis he suddenly had to pencil in a road trip to Fife with the Devils Elite League team, whilst for Zajac it meant a dent in his air miles and an end to his long distance commute to Wiltshire from Gods Country.*
Bracknell Bees decided to release forward Steve Osman, who was promptly snapped up by former club Invicta Dynamos. The Mo’s Coach Kev Parrish also decided to bring former Basingstoke, Wightlink and Oxford sniper Jaroslav Cesky out from the wilderness and boost his young squad after a run of poor results.
There is a theory that when Kiwis move to London they simply can’t handle the big city and end up going wild with the sudden nightlife on offer. In the same way that Swindon fans, long restricted by their one sided large balcony at the Link Centre could not contain themselves when they visited the Ice Arena Wales last weekend.
Footage of Wildcats fans celebrating their team’s goals by sprinting a lap around the top of the four sided seating emerged on Facebook during the week, and did raise a smile in the Pro Hockey News London office.
Take off the hats? Mans not hot.Take off the hoodies? Mans not hot
Streatham celebrated the arrival of their new team hoodies with a merchandise photoshoot by Rick ‘Badgerman’ Webb featuring the new RedHawks ski hat design for 2017/18. The hat is likely to be a big seller and a regular sight across Streatham Common, the Alps and Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park this winter. There was also another reason to celebrate as the club were included in the BBC Children in Need ‘This is Britain’ book thanks to a picture of Alex Sampford and the team taken by Mel from Fusional.
The league released a Press Release regarding discipline for hits to the head. The statement was a result of ‘increased blind-side hits to the head’ and received a largely positive reaction from most NIHL supporters.
One interesting fact to note was the minimum suspension for such an offence was stated at six games which means that the recent Frankie Bakrlik incident is arguably a benchmark for the lowest sanction. It also means that some players might be out for six games on the whim of a referee report, rather than the multiple angle slow motion footage immediately released by Invicta after their player was hit by Bakrlik. Interesting and might we say controversial times ahead a real possibility, although the league do have to be seen to act on such dangerous plays.
Saturday action review
Invicta Dynamos handed debuts to their two new signings against London Raiders at Lee Valley but found themselves 2-0 down after only six minutes. The Raiders eventually won 5-2 thanks to a brace from the returning Jake Sylvester and lone efforts from Olegs Lascenko, JJ Pitchley and Alan Lack. The Mo’s goals came from the returning Mason Webster and Callum Fowler.
Raiders delight (John Scott)
Talented youngster Ben Ealey-Newman stepped up from Bracknell Hornets to boost the Bees in their Cup game in Basingstoke but the visitors ended up on the wrong end of a 6-1 scoreline in Hampshire.
Dan Scott and Hallam Wilson top scored for the Bison with a brace each to add to lone goals from Roman Malinik and Tomas Karpov. For the Bees it was Josh Martin with the consolation and he also dropped the gloves with Josh Smith to add to the game notes.
Also in the Cup, Peterborough Phantoms travelled up to Sheffield for a late face off against the Steeldogs. A 6-3 loss followed for the visitors as goals from Adrian Palak, Milan Kolena, Ashley Calvert, Liam Charnock, James Spurr and Cameron Brownley secured the points for the Steeldogs. Darius Pliskauskas, Ales Padelek and Glenn Billing got the goals for the Phantoms, who can take some solace in the fact that their town isn’t due to host Mrs Browns Boys for three consecutive nights this coming week, unlike the Steel city.
Swindon Wildcats Player Coach Aaron Nell was the hero at the Link Centre as he scored an overtime winner to defeat Telford Tigers in the Cup. Nell had already scored in regulation time along with Jan Kostal to tie the game 2-2, with Rick Plant and Joe Miller on target for the Tigers.
Sunday action review
NIHL media outlet 482 Days started the day in hilarious style by misjudging the mood of the Bracknell Bees on Twitter. The ‘yellow laptop’ dubbed the Bees five game losing streak as ‘miserable’ in a preview tweet, but the Bees were not impressed and retorted with a ‘don’t tell us how we are feeling’ style response. As the Bees did say… a positive attitude is always the way forward!
Rumours that 482 Days would have to run 10 punishment laps around the top of the Hive in the style of the Wildcats fans to get back in the Bees good books are not yet confirmed.
Streatham made it six wins in seven games with a hard fought 3-2 win over London Raiders in SW16. The RedHawks had Alex Sampford to thank for his two goals, with Aidan Doughty also on target. Marek Nahlik and Sean Barry scored for the Raiders.
Thunder and Fire (Lucy McGill)
Brandon Miles and Alan Lack dropped the gloves in the first period to give the crowd something else to talk about.
Milton Keynes Thunder needed a big third period to beat the improving Cardiff Fire 4-2 at the Thunderdome. Alex Whyte, Jamie Line, Grant McPherson and Rio Grinell-Parke were on target for the Thunder with Kalle Allner and Michael Stratford scoring for Cardiff. Fire goalie Jordan Lawday had another busy night facing 53 shots, while Thunder gave youngster Josh Crane a rare start between the pipes.
Bracknell extended their losing streak to six games with a narrow 4-3 loss at home to Swindon. The Wildcats secured the Cup points thanks to another brace from Aaron Nell and lone goals from Jan Kostal and Jordan Kelsall. Bees scorers were Matt Foord, Callum Best and James Galazzi.
Eventful weekend for Martin (Kev Slyfield)
The night got worse for the Bees as Danny Ingoldsby was handed a match penalty for roughing by referee Will Hewitt. The Bees welcome back Bakrlik from suspension next week as they bid to bounce back in Streatham on Sunday.
Invicta Dynamos managed to pick up another league point with a 2-2 regulation tie against Peterborough Phantoms before losing on penalty shots. Darius Pliskauskas was the hero in the shootout as the only scorer, after scoring the equaliser in regulation to add to Glenn Billing’s effort. For Invicta Jaroslav Cesky opened his account for the club to add to Scott Bailey’s goal.
Results
Saturday 25 November 2017
London Raiders 5 Invicta Dynamos 2
Swindon Wildcats 3 Telford Tigers 2 (After OT – Cup)
Basingstoke Bison 6 Bracknell Bees 1 (Cup)
Sheffield Steeldogs 6 Peterborough Phantoms 3 (Cup)
Sunday 26 November 2017
Streatham IHC 3 London Raiders 2 (Cup)
Invicta Dynamos 2 Peterborough Phantoms 3 (After OT)
MK Thunder 4 Cardiff Fire 2
Bracknell Bees 3 Swindon Wildcats 4 (Cup)
*Please note the reference to Gods Country is a generic reference to the North East of England and not specifically Newcastle as that would not sit well with this column.
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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