NEWCASTLE,U.K-Newcastle Vipers strengthened their roster last week when former Belfast Giants Player-Coach Ed Courtney signed for them until the end of the 2008-09 season. Vipers have had a mixed start to the season with great performances and results like the home win against Belfast Giants and the 8-0 whitewash of Basingstoke Bison, however defeats at Hull Stingrays and Edinburgh Capitals clearly show that this team can blow hot and cold and the fans never really know what to expect from the Tyneside outfit. It is hoped Courtney will add strength and depth to the Vipers main two lines allowing players such as Andre Payette to revert to a third line enforcer role that he has been performing adequately so far this campaign.
Vipers have relied heavily on David Longstaff and Derek Campbell offensively this season, and with Campbell currently struggling to overcome injury the addition of Courtney will allow the Vipers to get back to playing three line hockey. Tyler Willis is likely to drop down to the third line after failing to impress since his move across the pond registering only nine points in the opening 16 games of the campaign which isn’t a great return for a player the club had been chasing for the past three closed seasons. Vipers would then be able to ice a tough and experienced third line with either Dean Holland or Ben Campbell lining up alongside Willis and Payette.
Once Derek Campbell returns to action Coach Wilson has a wealth of talent to mould into his two top lines. Wilson has Longstaff, D Campbell, Griffith, Ivan, Courtney and Rankin to call upon and with the grittiness of Rankin and Griffith alongside the skill of Captain Longstaff and new signing Ed Courtney Vipers should in theory be able to treat their fans to some great hockey in the coming months whilst achieving a creditable league position ahead of the Play Offs.
Coach Wilson will be far from happy after only picking up five points from five games against the bottom three sides in the Elite League during the last nine days. If Vipers had managed to collect 8-10 points from these games they would now be looking towards the top of the table and a possible surge up the standings however a five point haul leaves Wilson looking over his shoulder to see how comfortable their Play off berth is. The home victory over the Bison showed that Vipers have more than enough in their locker to be able to overcome the basement sides but a double defeat to the Edinburgh Capitals in a four day period illustrated why Wilson had to strengthen his side by signing Courtney for the remainder of the season. Contact the author at Chris.mckenzie@prohockeynews.com
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