Netminders

Dalibor Sedlar (Steeldogs)
Greg Blais (Stingrays)

Defence
Chris Frank (Steelers)
Matt Stephenson (Steelers)
Shane Lovdahl (Stingrays)
Corey Neilson (Panthers)
Dmitri Rodin (Stingrays)
Ondrej Pozivil (Phoenix)

Forwards
Simon Ferguson (Steelers)
Steven Goertzen (Steelers)
Jereme Tendler (Stingrays)
Dominic Osman (Stingrays)
David Beauregard (Panthers)
Lubomir Korhon (Steeldogs)
Joachim Flaten (Phoenix)
Micahl Psurny (Phoenix)

It could’ve been so much different had Luke Fulghum scored from Mike McLean’s excellent set up on the first shift of the game. Fulghum had space and time but yet still managed to shoot it at the small frame of Stephen Murphy. Instead, Belfast would score two in quick succession from George Awada and Ryan Crane. Which to be fair was only a just scoreline as the Blaze again continued to show poor passing and an excellent ability to turn the puck over in silly situations.

It was nearly safe to come out for Blaze fans but alas, that man Awada would pop up again twice to complete his hat-trick. How does he always do it? And more importantly, why can the Blaze players not see it? For one of his goals, Matty Soderstrom left Awada to go chasing the puck behind the net where Jonathan Weaver already was; the puck squirmed out to Awada and it was an easy shot. His final goal he was allowed to waltz in behind Fulghum and slot in without a care in the world.

There was some small hope when Matic Kralj scored two goals for the Blaze, the second of which came on the powerplay. The powerplay which had looked pretty decent but was back to it’s old anaemic self from last season. The players are trying to rush it, taking shots that aren’t there which either force the puck out of zone or cause a turnover. Conversely, look at Belfast’s PP which controlled puck possession and applied huge amounts of pressure for two minutes at a time. Far more effective.

That may be attributed to the PP lines being tinkered with again. Fulghum and Owen Fussey were now split and the two point men were Weaver and David Phillips. That didn’t work so well. The Weaver-Fulghum-Fussey combination at the blue line/top of the circles seemed much more effective. The same could be said for the forward lines. At the end of the Dundee game we saw a line of Fulghum-McLean-Guthrie wreak havoc, but I barely saw them together yesterday. The players aren’t going to get a working relationship and an understanding going if they are continually switched around.

Belfast would score again to make it 5-2 and then play the final period in training mode, seriously outclassing the Blaze. In fact, 5-2 makes it sound a lot closer than it actually was. Blaze realistically were never in the game. The Skydome fans are not happy and justifiably so. I’m not sure I agree with booing a team off the ice but it happened three times last night. The reception Paul Thompson got in Crosby’s after the game was apparently frosty at best leading to the after-match chat being curtailed.

Where is the problem? Is there even a problem? Should the Blaze fans now be happy with accepting they are a mid-table side with a mid-table budget. For me, I like to see them win but if they lose, but lose with energy and passion then I’m happy. I’ve not seen that once this season barring the Cardiff friendly. I’m not saying that they don’t care, professional sportsmen always care, they wouldn’t have got this far in their careers if they didn’t. But there’s no spark or gusto about this side right now. You can bet your life Michael Tasker or Sylvain Cloutier wouldn’t have let a Blaze team get humiliated like that without a bit of a fight. I still don’t think the arrival of Dustin Wood will solve it.

There are now indications from the management that there will be more changes. It’s tough to say who or where because it’s tough to know exactly where the problem lies. I think the defence still needs something else and the forwards need some more secondary scoring and some consistency on lines. Playing the centres in the middle would help too – winning face offs and controlling the puck goes a long way. I can imagine that Thompson will be very busy this week and will certainly earn his coin one way or another.

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The reports of Hull Stingrays demise have been greatly exaggerated! Just one week after Mike & Sue Pack announced that they couldn’t compete in the 2010/11 season due to lack of funds, the Coventry Blaze management team of Andy Buxton, Mike Cowley and Paul Thompson have come to the rescue and taken over the team. I genuinely hope they make it a success and to be fair their history is good. Whatever you think of the Blaze it cannot be denied that they have been a huge success on and off the ice in their short existence.
From a personal point of view I’m delighted that the Rays have been saved, I love going to watch games there and I’m really pleased that I can continue to head over there this season (chip spice has nothing to do with it of course!) Seriously though, it is the sort of rink I like to watch hockey in, hostile with the crowd close to the ice, reminds me of a more modern version of our old place.
While most seem happy with the news there have been a few dissenting voices, siting things such as a conflict of interest and the possibility that Hull would ‘throw’ games against the Blaze! For a start I would expect professional players to have more pride than that and secondly I wouldn’t expect Sylvain Cloutier would allow his team to just roll-over and orchestrate a defeat. As a comparison, could you imagine Bruce Richardson allowing Neil Black owned Braehead to surrender to defeat against Neil Black owned Panthers? No, me neither!
I accept that this isn’t a perfect situation, but unfortunately the standing of ice hockey in Britain means we can’t always get what we want. Money being invested in sports teams has obviously gone down during the recession, so a minority sport such as ours has to scrap for every penny it can. If that means we have to have owners with multiple teams then that’s the way it has to be unfortunately, in our situation beggars can’t be choosers and if it means we can keep a varied and competitive league then it’s a consequence I’m willing to accept.

It’s probably the closest play-off quarter-final series since the format changed in 2007. It really is a tough one to call, who knows who will be playing on the ice above next weekend in the final four. To try and work it out, here is a preview of all four of this weekend’s match ups, starting with…..

Coventry Blaze v Hull Stingrays

The Elite League Champions take on 8th placed Hull for a place in the final four. Straight forward win for the Blaze you would think, but this Hull side are made of sterner stuff than previous seasons. Sylvain Cloutier’s side enjoyed a good end to the season and recently beat the Blaze 3-2 in a league match. They have match winners in Curtis Huppe and Konstantin Kalmikov, and they have improved in defence since the introduction of netminder Martins Raitums. I fancy the Rays to get a good result at home, after that, well who knows?

As for the Blaze, I wonder how much their Championship victory has taken out of them? They are still quality though, in Peter Hirsch they have one of the best netminders in the league and forward Adam Calder will want to go out on a high after taking the coaching position at new team Brahead Clan. This is no forgone conclusion though, on paper the Blaze should win, but I fancy that there could be a shock.

TCW prediction: Hull to reach final four

Belfast Giants v Newcastle Vipers

On paper this is perhaps the easiest tie to call, the Vipers have had a shocking second half of the season, finishing in seventh after being top of the pile earlier in the season. However they do have the players that can win them the tie if the Giants are off their game. Matic Kralj is as good as any forward in the league, in Michel Robinson they have a netminder capable of winning matches by himself and Jerramie Domish is a rock in their defence. But, injuries have crippled them throughout the season, British stalwart David Longstaff the latest victim of their injury curse. Add in that the Vipers have been less than impressive since moving to Whitley Bay and it could be a long, miserable weekend for the Vipers.

The Giants should win comfortably, they have quality right through their roster from Stephen Murphy in goal, Michael Jacobsen in defence, Colin Shields and Jeff Szwez in attack. The Giants steamrolled the Vipers 6-1 last Saturday and I can’t see this weekend being any different, I fully expect the Giants to make it to Nottingham.

TCW prediction: Belfast to reach the final four

Nottingham Panthers v Edinburgh Capitals

I hate having to predict this one. Both heart and head say Panthers all the way, but there’s always that little bit of a nagging doubt hanging around like the smelly, unpopular kid at school who was always picked last for the football team! Panthers have had some serious injury problems in the final week of the regular season, which saw them ice against the Vipers without seven players from the regular squad. All are expected to be back for the 1st leg, but how fit/match sharp will they be? The Panthers will rely on their forwards to fire them into the final four and it is in this area that they can over power the Caps. If the Panthers can come away from Murrayfield with at least a draw, I can’t see the Caps being able to pull it back in the 2nd leg.

Edinburgh have enjoyed their best Elite league season and have an abundance of talent throughout their roster. As proved when they destroyed the Panthers 5-1 earlier in the season, they have the fire power to hurt us and in Corey Rudkowsky have one of the best netminders in the league. Many are predicting an upset in this one and they could be right. I am still going to go with a Panthers win overall.

TCW prediction: Nottingham to reach the  final four

Cardiff Devils v Sheffield Steelers

This is the toughest one of all to call, so much so that I can’t actually stick my neck out and say which of them will make it. The outcome will depend on who wins the personal battles such as Mike Sgroi v Brad Voth, Stevie Lyle v Andrew Verner and Ryan Finnerty v Jason Hewitt (OK, that one is easy to call!) The netminders have a huge part to play in this tie, both are prone to stinkers and both can win a game, however Lyle has had a stronger finish to the regular season, posting two shut-outs. Voth will have to stamp his authority on the game in Cardiff, he can be awesome at the blue tent and has the ability to run a game on his own, but as we all know he can be prone to the ‘red mist’. The arrival of Sgroi has also seen the Steelers improve as there players have someone to back them up at the first sign of trouble. I expect this to be a fascinating contest, rather like a game of chess, but I just can’t pick a winner. Perhaps it will go down to the dreaded penalty shots?

Panthers dominated the first, out-shooting the hosts 18-8 and hitting the bar twice, however Tommy Sandahl in the Rays net was in excellent form. It was Hull who took the lead late in the first as Kalmikov got the last touch to beat KSP. The second continued in a similar vein to the first, Panthers were still outshooting the Rays, but the hosts defence were restricting the Panthers to long shots. The equaliser finally came on the powerplay, David Clarke converting from the blue line. Clarke was on hand again as Panthers took the lead on a 5 on 3 powerplay towards the end of the period, and the visitors went into the final break with a 2-1 lead.

With only 11 skaters we expected the tiring Stingrays to capitulate in the 3rd, but it didn’t happen. Showing a great battling spirit they managed to equalise on their own 5 on 3 chance, Player/Coach Sylvain Cloutier scoring the goal. At this point, past Panthers teams would have capitulated. Not this one! The go ahead goal was a prime example of why every team needs a Bruce Richardson, not giving up on an iced puck, Bruce got to the puck first and pulled it back for Kevin Bergin to open his account for the season. The sheer determination and will to win of Bruce never ceases to amaze me. His infectious desire is quite obviously rubbing off on his team mates. As the clock ticked down, the Rays lifted Sandahl for the extra attacker, but while Clarke missed a glorious chance for his hat-trick, Sean McAslan made no mistake to seal a 4-2 win and 2 more Challenge Cup points.

This wasn’t the best game or best performance, but it was a win and that’s all that really matters. With another 100% weekend, Panthers are playing .875 hockey, I’ll take that for the rest of the season.

First of all, Manchester Phoenix announced that they were dropping to the EPL as they couldn’t afford to compete in the EIHL any longer. Once their drop to the EPL had been confirmed the Phoenix announced several signings for the upcoming season, including netminder Steven Fone from Coventry and Joe Graham from the Panthers. Personally I’m sad to see Graham go, but I’m sure he’ll benefit from the increased ice time.

The Steelers added to their squad with the much heralded return of Captain Average Jonathan Phillips! It has also been rumoured that Basingstoke netminder Kevin Reiter will be joining the Steelers for the coming season after it was revealed that Dave Matsos has been in negotiations with him.

The Hull Stingrays continue to build impressively for the new campaign as Curtis Huppe joins as player/assistant coach. There have also been rumours that the Rays next signing will be none other than pantomime donkey Andre Payette. Could be a very interesting time in East Yorkshire!

Coventry Blaze have also been adding to their squad with the worst kept secret in hockey, announcing the signing of Greg Chambers from Basingstoke, which Dave Simms inadvertadly revealed at the EIHL All-Star game!

Belfast have been very busy over the past week,  firstly announcing the re-signings of Brits Colin Shields and David Phillips and then announcing the signing of former San Jose Sharks draft pick Tom Walsh from HIFK Helsinki in the Finnish Elite league. Not content with that, the Giants then announced the signing of the utterly frightening Sean McMorrow! With over 200 AHL games and a single outing for Buffalo Sabres, he is no slouch, but it is obvious that McMorrow is here to play a role as 527 PIMs for St Hyacinth of the LNAH in season 2007/08 testify. make no mistake, this is going to be one serious hard man. The Giants are on the search for a new netminder though after Cardiff Devils announced that Stevie Lyle is to return to his former club on a three year contract.

Finally on to the rumours. Firstly it is rumoured that GB international Greg Owen is returning to the UK after a season playing in the land of cheese eating surrender monkeys (France!). There are different rumours regarding his destination, I have heard he is off to the Blaze, but other reports suggest he is in talks with Blaze, Panthers and the Devils.

Matt Myers is another who has several rumours about his whereabouts for the current season. Some reports suggest he will return to Nottingham, another report (OK, it was from the Sheffield Star so is more than likely completely untrue. I wouldn’t trust the date printed in that rag!) suggests he could be moving to the ECHL while another rumour suggests that he has signed for Coventry.

Staying with the Panthers, I’ve heard that the next signing announcement will be the return of British defenceman Danny Meyers. On the netminding front I’ve also heard that Panthers are looking at three netminders, one of which is former Blaze keeper Trevor Koenig. As ever these are just rumours I’ve heard and read and with all rumours are to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Makes the off season fun though doesn’t it!