NEWCASTLE, UK – Newcastle Vipers go into the last weekend of the 2009/10 campaign knowing that if results go against Coach Wilson’s side the Vipers could end up finishing bottom of the Elite League. Newcastle began the season in tremendous form and there was even a little talk of the Tyneside team being able to challenge for the title however the side has been performing well under par during the last few months which has seen the Vipers plummet down the standings.
Newcastle have struggled to adapt to the smaller ice surface at Whitley Bay after the club made the mid season move from the Arena in Newcastle to Hillheads. Vipers have never truly come to the terms with the tight compact rink and visiting teams have been able to take advantage of Newcastle’s awkwardness with their home arena.
This coming weekend see the Vipers take on the Belfast Giants on Saturday evening (20th March) before Nottingham travel to the north east to take on Newcastle the following night (21st March). Taking anything from those 2 games will present a great challenge to Coach Wilson’s side as both Belfast and Nottingham are still fighting it out for the Elite League Championship.
However in all likelihood it will be Paul Thompson’s Coventry Blaze who lift the league title so the Giants and Panthers could well be battling it out for the runners up spot, which would give the 2nd placed side a play off encounter against either the Newcastle Vipers or the Hull Stingrays. A 3rd place finish would mean a much tougher clash on paper as the organisation who take that spot will be facing off against either the Sheffield Steelers or Edinburgh Capitals who have both been in solid form during the last month or so.
If Hull were able to overtake the Vipers this weekend, Newcastle would in all likelihood take on the Coventry Blaze in the first stage of the Play Offs which would be an extremely difficult game for Coach Wilson and his team to come out on top in. Therefore it is crucial that the Hillheads based side pick up a win against either the Giants or Panthers this weekend which would guarantee a 7th place finish and an easier task in the quarter finals of the Play Offs.
Earlier this campaign it would have been just about unthinkable that Newcastle would go into the last round of match’s battling to avoid the wooden spoon however that is the position that the Vipers somehow find themselves in. North east hockey fans will be hoping that Newcastle can hit top form just as the post season begins and then their side might just have a chance of recapturing the Play Off Title that last came to Tyneside in 2006.
Contact the author Chris.Mackenzie@Prohockeynews.com
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