LONDON, UK – With the Winter Olympics in full swing, and GB sat at home there were no missing NIHL stars for what turned out to be a busy week of second tier UK hockey.
One word…. TEAM (James Assinder Photography)
Only four weeks remain of the regular season and with the transfer deadline passed, it marks the beginning of a final countdown to one of three things. First the small matter of who wins the league, secondly, who jockeys for which play-off spot, and thirdly, who lifts the Cups.
Inside every locker room in the league the coaching staff know who they see in front of them is all they can use, and for the players, they know that for all of them it will be the final few games they all play together as one group. To quote Vinny Jones in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: ‘It’s been emotional.’
For those inclined to skate over the summer months the final crescendo to the season also represents those last opportunities to build up a summer stock of tape, akin to squirrels stockpiling nuts ahead of winter.
Following high levels of anticipation/narky comments on social media, the EIHA announced the ticketing arrangements for the Final Four weekend in Coventry with staggered telephone sales over the 26-28 February. The news had fans far and wide scrambling to book Coventry’s number 1 ranked hotel on Tripadvisor.
With ‘great rooms’, ‘outstanding staff’ and ‘breakfast cooked to order’ it was only the early birds who secured a stay at the Premier Inn Coventry South (A45) Hotel.
When Swindon Wildcats clambered out of the smouldering ashes of the EPL to join the NIHL, their fans and players may have expected a more relaxed schedule. The Wildcats current fixtures are more NHL than NIHL and they enjoyed not one but two midweek games including an ultimate relationship strainer – a game on Valentine’s Day.
So while Swindon’s non-hockey lovebirds gobbled a £50 Valentines set menu for two at Sally Pussey’s in town, the Wildcats WAGs settled into the stands to watch their men play Telford Tigers in an entertaining National Cup Semi-Final 1st leg. On the plus side at least they saw the Cats score a last minute equaliser to tie the game 3-3 so at least the mood for post-game love wasn’t extinguished. Scorers for Telford were Nick Oliver, Dale White and Filip Supa. For Swindon Player Coach Aaron Nell scored a brace before Sam Bullas popped up late on with the equalising goal.
Tough night for the Mo’s (David Trevallion)
The reward for such a gutsy comeback was a trip to Kent the following evening to face Invicta Dynamos. Hands up who enjoys the M25 and M4 on a Thursday afternoon? Anyone… anyone… Bueller… Bueller…
Lucky for the Cats it was half term so at least the UK’s most infuriating stretch of motorway was mitigated by less commuters. The Dynamos went into the game after another of their players departed earlier in the week with forward Seb Downing citing work commitments as a reason to call time on his 2017/18 puck whacking.
Showing little sign of fatigue the Wildcats won the game 7-3 thanks to a brace from Aaron Nell and lone goals from Floyd Taylor, Chris Jones, Toms Rutkis, Max Birbraer and Phil Hill. Invicta’s goals came via a brace from Brandon Webster and a lone effort from Jaroslav Cesky. Highlights of the game can be viewed HERE
Saturday action review
Former Peterborough goalie Stephen Wall was the special guest as the Phantoms inducted him into their Hall of Honour. The popular stopper joined Sting, Donna Air, Jimmy Nail and the Big Brother voice over man as a true Geordie hero, in Bretton Way at least.
His former team went on to beat the visiting MK Thunder 5-1 in a game that featured many of Wall’s former team mates on both rosters. Goals for the Phantoms came from James Ferrara, Leigh Jamieson, James White, Will Wheldon and Ed Knaggs. For MK it was Ross Bowers with the lone goal.
Wall drops the puck (Lucy McGill)
Cardiff Fire had failed to pick up a point from any of their 27 games prior to the weekend, but on Saturday they finally added the elusive digit as they took Invicta Dynamos to overtime with a 3-3 tie in regulation before losing out to a Jaroslav Cesky overtime winner.
Josh Haslam, Tamas Elias and Jackson Price were the scorers for the Fire with Mason Webster, Ashley Jackson and Steven Osman also on target for the Mo’s.
The result was met with jubilation from neutrals although it’s fair to say the Fire would have preferred the win having come so close. For the Mo’s it was a good character win to snap a seven game losing streak.
To add to the storyline Brandon Webster and Elis Sheppard dropped the gloves, prior to Mason Webster and Jordan Powell also tangling. The Mo’s limited squad was dealt a further blow when it was revealed that Lois Colvin suffered a broken nose and had to be treated by ER Therapy, plus George Hoang was ejected for checking to the head in the second period.
Fire on Fire !!!!! (Marcus Thomas)
Swindon made it two convincing wins over Streatham in a row in Wiltshire as the Wildcats continued their lung busting schedule with a convincing 6-2 victory.
Stephen Whitfield, Max Birbraer, Luc Johnson, Sam Bullas, Edgars Bebris and Ben Nethersell were on target for the Wildcats, with Ben Paynter and Andreas Siagris on target for the RedHawks.
Bracknell steamed into a 2-0 lead in Basingstoke thanks to early goals from Josh Martin and Frantisek Bakrlik, but the Bison stormed back to win 5-2 and give their title hopes a big boost. A brace from Ryan Sutton added to goals from Grant Rounding, Tomas Karpov and Roman Malinik for the Bison.
Sunday action review
If Cardiff were semi-pleased with their first point of the season, they continued their momentum with a 2-2 tie at home to Swindon Wildcats in regulation. The Wildcats went on to win through an overtime winner from Max Birbraer, but the Fire took the headlines thanks to such a stunning effort and their second point in as many days.
Despite going behind in the first two minutes thanks to a goal from former player Chris Jones, Cardiff stunned everyone by taking a 2-1 lead through Josh Haslam and Sam Bryant, before Jones equalised to take the game to overtime. Fire goalie Jordan Lawday was once again the star of the show turning away an incredible 76 shots!
Whilst two overtime losses may frustrate Fire Coach Mark Cuddihy and his players, the point against Swindon in particular is a massive credit to them for their passion and perseverance. Who would bet their house on the Welsh side not picking up at least another point in their last three games? MK, Streatham and Basingstoke are the teams in the firing line (yes we said it).
Phantoms brave the freeze (Kev Slyfield)
Once described in the past as ‘hotter than the sun’ by one former NIHL player, Bracknell ice rink has gone a full circle in recent years and now packs a chill. Long gone are the days when a player attempting to skate with a full Itech would have visibility akin to the inside of a Mini Cooper hosting a particularly passionate evening.
The Bees even sent out an advisory to all fans attending the game between the Bees and the Peterborough Phantoms. It read:
“Please be aware that there is an issue with the rink heating & therefore the rink will be a lot colder than usual. Make sure you wrap up warm! Hospitality food may also be unavailable tonight.”
The Phantoms were 3-0 up by the end of the first and won the game thanks to goals from Tom Norton, Will Wheldon, Leigh Jamieson, Glenn Billing, Owen Griffiths and Nathan Salem.
Phantoms goalie Euan King looked odds on for a shut out with the score stood at 6-0 with just three minutes remaining. Jan Bendik and Matt Foord ensured he wouldn’t get one with a goal each for the Bees.
Streatham smiling
To cap a freezing cold night for Bees fans, Player Coach Scott Spearing was ejected on a checking to the head call. Hopefully the showers were at least warm, otherwise it would be the icing on a rancid cake for the hosts.
Another massive crowd in Romford were treated to another close fought game, this time against Basingstoke, with the Raiders finally beaten on home ice at the third attempt. The hosts led 1-0 thanks to a Brandon Ayliffe goal but conceded twice in the last five minutes allowing Ryan Sutton and Aaron Connolly to seal a big win for the Bison.
Media outlet 482 Days opted to do their live tweeting at home watching a stream of the game, as they wanted to make sure the cat they had dumped in next doors wheelie bin didn’t escape while they were out and about. A box of no less than 150 back copies of Powerplay Magazine were placed on top of the bin for the duration of the evening.
The final game of the evening took place in Streatham where the RedHawks ended their weekend in style in front of another healthy crowd with a 5-1 win over rivals Invicta Dynamos.
Adam Carr and Ryan Watt scored two each for the Londoners with Ryan Webb also on target. Invicta’s lone goal came from Jaroslav Cesky in a strangely subdued and straightforward game between two sides who traditionally go at it hammer and tongs.
Results
Wednesday 14 February 2018
Swindon Wildcats 3 Telford Tigers 3 (Cup Semi Final 1st leg)
Thursday 15 February 2018
Invicta Dynamos 3 Swindon Wildcats 7
Saturday 17 February 2018
Swindon Wildcats 6 Streatham IHC 2
Cardiff Fire 3 Invicta Dynamos 3 (Mo’s win in overtime)
Basingstoke Bison 5 Bracknell Bees 2
Peterborough Phantoms 5 MK Thunder 1
Sunday 18 February 2018
Streatham 5 Invicta Dynamos 1
Cardiff Fire 2 Swindon Wildcats 2
London Raiders 1 Basingstoke Bison 2
Bracknell Bees 2 Peterborough Phantoms 6
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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