Week 12 ENL Round-up

LONDON, UK – I noted in last week’s column that the league was at a crossroads. Seven days after penning the warning, disaster struck in more than one rink this weekend. The impact of the fallout remains to be seen, however it seems difficult to draw positives from the current state of affairs.

This obviously places me in a difficult position of trying to be objective in my text, whilst at the same time, limit the damage to the credibility of the ENL. The primary motivation of writing this column has been to boost the appeal and coverage of our league along with the teams and players that compete in it.   Sadly there is no way of describing this weekend’s events other than farcical. Of the seven fixtures scheduled this weekend, only three were played, and two of these were heavy one sided affairs between badly matched teams. Cardiff and Chelmsford provided the only real highlight of Saturday as they battled out a closely contested affair in Wales. At 3-3 after the second period the Chieftains took the lead, only for the Devils to hit back and then win the game 5-4 courtesy of a screamer from Steve Fisher. This goal prompted angry scenes which spilled over into the handshakes. Regular readers of the column will be unsurprised to hear that both goalies (Mike Brabon and Andy Moffat) had a go at each other, but it was the Chelmsford stopper who earned a whopping ten plus game plus match from the referee Riddell. Moffat will probably be due a ban of at least three games for that indiscretion, so Chelmsford coach Dean Birrell will have to test Ben Clements between the pipes over the coming weeks. Streatham’s decent run of form came to an abrupt halt on the Isle of Wight as we took a pasting from the Wightlink Raiders. The home side were rampant as they hit nine goals past the Redskins with Louis Lockwood’s consolation goal the only reply. Former Solent defenseman Alex Murray played as a makeshift forward for the Raiders, and his two goals and two assists earned him the man of the match award. Nolan Boike must be wondering what type of league he is playing in, following the Invicta’s 14-0 road win at Peterborough. The Islanders latest capitulation on their home ice was good news for the American as he notched four goals for the Mo’s. Andy Smith refused to let Boike grab all of the headlines as he posted an impressive 2+5.
Bracknell Hornets were left seething as Haringey failed to put out a team for their fixture in Berkshire. It is unclear what has happened to the Greyhounds as they subsequently cancelled Sunday’s fixture against Invicta. It was probably for the best as I would have banked on Boike and company enjoying another large point haul. In all seriousness though, Haringey are in serious trouble. Rumours of financial problems, added to player walkouts, mid season coaching changes and the fact their website was hacked by some Brazilians (no I’m not joking), all adds up to bad news. It remains to be seen how the league deal with the cancelled fixtures. It is well known the league hierarchy don’t hold Haringey in their list of favoured clubs so don’t be surprised to see their expulsion soon. Sunday also saw Streatham and Milton Keynes enjoy a cosy afternoon watching the Eastenders’ Omnibus, as their fixture was cancelled due to a fault with the ice plant at the Thunderdome. The only game that did go ahead on Sunday was in Chelmsford, as the Chieftains took on the Oxford City Stars. In another cracking game involving the Essex side, the Stars came from 4-0 down to tie the game only for Jerry Pavlus to score the winner two minutes from time. Chieftains enforcer BT Williams dropped the gloves and took on Stars skipper Darren Elliott (who is not a fighter) and then Richard Wojciack fought Chieftains starlet Aaron Connolly. A tidy win for the young Chelmsford forward and as their announcer said “Something to tell your friends about at school tomorrow”. A good win for the Chieftains to bounce back from the defeat in Cardiff the previous night, however they are going to need to be more consistent if they want to keep up with their friends from Kent. Not a good weekend for the league and now a busy few days for the EIHA. I am not sure what the best way to deal with the situation is, as all clubs will be affected whatever decision is made. Hopefully Jan Bestic can get the Greyhounds’ house in order and keep Haringey afloat. If he does, then the players need to take a hard look at themselves and the coach needs to scout for replacements. Thanks for reading and stay safe. Carrsy Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com