LONDON, UK – After some blockbusting NIHL news in recent weeks, it was time for calm across the league as the deadline day passed and everyone strapped themselves in for the final straight.
No spray .. no lay (Kev Slyfield)
Twitter is always a fun place to observe hockey players sounding off but even better when fans get involved, especially when they aren’t hockey fans.
Streatham’s forward Callum Best has stayed well away from social media thanks to his reliance on a £10 mobile phone, but on his return he had fans following him in their droves.
Sadly for the self-proclaimed ‘King of Sauce’, Best had in fact been mistaken for his namesake Calum Best, who not only has one less ‘l’ in his name but was also in the Celebrity Big Brother house at the time.
“Funnily enough I have met him” said the version who hasn’t slept with Lindsay Lohan in an interview with Pro Hockey News.
“I saw him in Magaluf last summer after a few drinks and I went up to him in the street and said ‘Hey Calum, I am Callum too and there is only one Callum Best and that’s me’ ”
“He was cool and we got a picture and went our separate ways”
Best is a Magaluf regular in the summer months, along with referee Stefan Hogarth and a whole host of NIHL players.
London Raiders coach Alan Blyth and his team enjoyed a rare weekend off last week and had only a single fixture to play in the upcoming weekend.
“We will need to play in a disciplined manner and be tight at the back” said the former goalie in an interview with the London Raiders.
“Streatham have proved they have some deadly firepower when given time and space and that’s something that we will working on to restrict”
“This is the business end of the season where we need to be getting results away from home. It should be a cracker of a game as both us and Streatham are looking to climb the table and put in some good solid performances in the run-in to the play-offs”
No splash.. No… erm at Ryde
Ryde Ice Arena was the subject of gossip regarding its future however Planet Ice took one small step to proving their commitment to the facility by splashing out on a brand new shower curtain for the visitors’ locker room.
Joking aside, let’s all hope that the rink remains a fixture on the Island for many years to come, and that the shower curtain is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to future improvements.
Wightlink Raiders coach Jeremy Cornish looked back on the previous weekend’s action in his Coaches Corner on the Raiders website.
“We went into the third period up 2-1, but the game ended 3-3” said Cornish in reference to his side’s game against Milton Keynes Thunder.
“I only complain about the officiating once or twice a season, but last night felt very once sided to me. I know officiating is a very difficult job, but looking at the penalty minutes for our team compared to theirs is pretty remarkable”
“Milton Keynes may have the best goalie in the league. We out shot them 50-25 and to be totally honest they would be nowhere near where they are in the standings without him in net. We had possession for most of the night and we should have closed the game out when it was 2-1”
The NIHL has a good record of raising cash for charity so it was good to see three clubs making the effort to support good causes this weekend.
Mo’s fans raising cash
In Kent the Invicta Dynamos were raising funds for 4 year old Paige Stewart to get the cash she needs for an operation to enable her to walk. If you would like to donate then please text PESA99 £’amount’ to 70070.
Streatham and Wightlink also linked up to collect funds for the British Heart Foundation for their fixtures over the weekend. As part of this, both fans were asked to wear red at the game in Ryde on Sunday which was a bit of a missed opportunity.
Pink should have been the colour of choice, in memory and tribute to WWF legendary tag team the Heart Foundation.
Last but not least and it is a return of Bruise of the Week, with former Haringey, Lee Valley, Cardiff and who can forget, Edinburgh goalie Stefan Nubert.
The PHD graduate was wincing in the library this week after picking up this shiner on his shoulder while playing for Streatham. Who would be a goalie!
Don’t forget that if you see a bruise that you think could be a contender for the award, send in your pics to the email address below.
Saturday
Streatham had waited twenty years to win on the Isle of Wight and they added their second in the space of three months with a 3-2 win over Wightlink Raiders.
Former Raider Robbie Brown scored his first goal for the Londoners with Sean Scarbrough and Adam Wood adding the others.
Wightlink scorers were Corey Watkins and Owen Griffiths.
Streatham’s delight at showering inside the new curtain was tinged with fear as they were joined in the locker room by… a real life yellow slug.
Klima’s new pre-match superstition.. kiss the lucky slug
Chelmsford raced into an early 4-0 lead over Bracknell but then had to fight off a comeback before securing a vital 4-2 away victory at the Hive.
Bracknell is one of those away games that has proven a real banana skin for title contenders over recent seasons, so Dwayne Newman would have been a happy man following this result.
Chieftains’ scorers were Cameron Bartlett, Martin Piecha, Danny Hammond and Lukas Zatopek. For Bracknell it was Valdemar Pelikovsky and Ryan Handisides with the goals.
Bracknell’s night was made even worse by the ejection of Cam Barker on a game misconduct.
In the final game of the evening, Invicta Dynamos beat Cardiff 6-2 in the Big Blue Tent to the delight of their travelling support.
Some of these encounters have been classics over the years but this year both sides were desperate for the points for differing reasons.
Invicta won thanks to two goals each from Michal Oravec and Callum Fowler, and lone efforts from Juraj Huska and the returning Pete Beerling.
The game also saw Mo’s youngster Bradley Gutridge drop the gloves with the more experienced Jamie Hayes to add to the post-game debate.
Sunday
London Raiders continued their recent revival with a clinical and well-disciplined 4-2 win over Streatham Redskins in South London.
Bailey Wootton, Ricky Deacon, Jacob Ranson and Liam Chong scored for London with Sean Scarbrough netting twice for Streatham.
Chris Douglas made a dream debut in goal for the visitors turning away 44 of the 46 shots on his goal.
Chelmsford get big win in Invicta (David Trevallion)
The only goalie possibly smiling wider than Douglas was Chelmsford’s stopper Euan King.
The Chieftains shut out Invicta in their own rink with a 9-0 scoreline that emphasised exactly why the league title is heading to the Riverside this year.
The returning Darren Brown scored two for Chelmsford, as did Martin Piecha and Cameron Bartlett, and these goals added to lone efforts from James Ayling, Matt Turner and Ross Brears.
The result now leaves Invicta two points behind Chelmsford with the Essex side also having the luxury of three games in hand.
Solent Devils made it back to back wins over Cardiff with a 6-3 win in Gosport.
Youngsters George Norcliffe and Ralfs Circenis top scored for Solent with a brace each with the other goals coming from Alex Sampford and Mitch Murray. For Cardiff it was Giacomo Raffaelli, Kieran Latchford and Zak Shanahan with the goals.
Murray also got an early shower after he was ejected on a second misconduct call.
The final game of the day took place in Milton Keynes as the visiting Oxford City Stars looked to put some space between them and Cardiff at the bottom.
The Stars were within touching distance at 5-4 down at the end of the second but a poor third cost them and they lost 8-5.
The result cements the Thunder’s sixth spot in the league table and the Stars remain just one point ahead of Cardiff with the relegation scrap surely now a two way battle between the two.
Saturday 7th February 2015
Cardiff Devils 2-6 Invicta Dynamos
Wightlink Raiders 2-3 Streatham Redskins
Bracknell Hornets 2-4 Chelmsford Chieftains
Sunday 8th February 2015
Solent Devils 6-3 Cardiff Devils
Streatham Redskins 2-4 London Raiders
Invicta Dynamos 0-9 Chelmsford Chieftains
Milton Keynes Thunder 8-5 Oxford City Stars
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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