A belated weekend review.... and other stuff.

Yes, I've been away from my PC for a few days, so here is the belated review of the weekend (well, Sunday anyways):

Quite a good game really. Some sloppy play from both teams, but also some excellent play. Highlight was actually a Hull goal... Kalmikovs absolute bullet from the blue-line was a grade-
A highlight reel goal if I ever saw one.

Nice to see the Lounge filling up more. Seriously, If you ain't tried it, come on down either during the pre game warm up, or in the period breaks. The beer costs the same as at the kiosk, they do warm Vimto (Mmmmm), and it has heating, which being honest will be bloody vital come December/January.

Also, I has a wonderfull chat with Matt and Becky (and my trusty sidekick/drinking buddy/all round mate Russel) from FMM on the tram on the way down to the rink, pontificating as usual on the state of the game (I was, that is, not them). And no sooner do I profess my admiration for Scott Neil, and state how secure the Caps are... then they only go and bloody announce that they are having to effectively 're-budget' to guarantee survival. D'oh! Guess I jinxed them.

And the Bison have their 3rd owner in a little over 2 seasons, with Planet Ice stepping in to replace Tomas Enerston after the clubs latest finacial crisis. Rough times ahead for all, methinks.

And a big thnaks for all the feedback on the last posting.

The Sarah Walmsley Experience: It's going to be bloody.... funny.

The future of the game.......

Given the black clouds forming above Basingstoke this past week, there has been much debate as to what is the best way forward for the sport in the UK.

Some folks feel that all teams should drop to the level of the EPL (4 imports only), and anyone who can't survive this/stomach it...tough.

Others think there should be no change, and that everything is rosy... it isnt.

I personally advocate a 3rd way. Its called compromise (a dirty word in British hockey circles).

Here's my plan:

British Premier League:

8 Imports. Wage cap of £250k.
Teams:
Sheffield Steelers (N)
Nottingham Panthers (S)
Newcastle Vipers(N)
Hull Stingrays(N)
Manchester Phoenix(N)
Coventry Blaze(S)
Cardiff Devils(S)
Belfast Giants(N)
Edinburgh Capitals(N)
Beasingstoke Bison(S)
Guildford Flames(S)
Bracknell Bees(S)
Milton Keyenes Lightning(S)
Peterborough Phantoms(S)
Fife Flyers(N)
Dundee Stars(N)

These teams would be broken into 2 conferences: 'North' and 'South' (indicated above by an 'N' or an 'S')
You would play everyone in your own conference twice home and away, and the other conference once home and away (eg Manchester would play Sheffield 4 times, Nottingham 2 times), for a 24 game regular season. Play offs would be the top 4 from each conference, with the final 4 playing at the play off weekend.

Below this would be and English Premier League (consisting of the remaining current EPL sides, plus 3 or 4 of the larger ENL sides) playing with 3 imports. Below that would be The ENL (an d a Scottish league) playing with no imports.

Yes, this would piss off some fans ('I don't like conferences', 'Why is my team not in the BPL/EPL/ENL', 'Too many imports', 'Not Enough Imports'), but frankly, any league set up you can create is going to anger/upset someone. Thats just how it is, sadly.

Thoughts?

Thoughts on Thursday

So, Thursday night saw the first visist of Sky TV to the Dome this season....... and also the smallest crowd so far.

Certainly there were a couple of factors as to why the crowd was smaller than usual: 1, it was a mid week game and 2, the oposition. Not being rude to the Caps, but for those folks who will pick and choose games would put Edinburgh towards the bottom (if not at the bottom) of their list of games.

Which is a pity as it was a hell of a game. 4-0 up by the first period break, with a hat-trick for Beau to boot. A spirited fightback from the Caps, who frankly had nothing to play for but pride, and some good clean hockey throughout (PIMS were very low for both teams).

And I like the new stage area. Speaking to NM before face off, this is to be a permanent feature at the rink now, with a number of other events planned.

Now for my only real complaint of the evening.... The useless bloody rink staff. The figure skaters were late leaving the building, as apparently no one from the rinks staff was willing to have them leave the ice when their session was supposed to have finished, meaning that we were still outside some 15mins after the supposed doors time. And I guarantee you, if we over-ran and the figure skaters had to wait, they would kick up an almighty fuss.

Other bits:

The wheels seem to be coming off in Bisonland, with the club being skint already, despite a cash injection a little over a month ago. This sad situation really illustrates just how tough things are for our sport in the current economic climate. Makes me thankful that things all seem ship-shape for us (ther eyou go, I've fucking jinxed us good and proper now).

And keep your eyes peeled.

The Sarah Walmsley Experience is coming.

Soon.

Bison battered and beaten.

Another good weekend at the dome, with the Bison being dispatched 5-2.

Pretty good game overall, but we lacked the vital spark present in the past few weeks (probably due to Jacobsen leaving and not playing on Sat night).

Nice fight in the first between Cloots and Pasty boy. Needless to say Cloots took the win easily, pretty much stripping Pasty of all his upper body gear. Indeed, Pasty b oy went pretty damn quiet after that. Not sure why he wasn't penalised for illegal equipment mind. He very clearly had no fight strap on his jersey...

Anywho, on to the pub review:

The VIP Lounge, Altrincham Ice Dome. (Season Ticket holders only I'm afraid).

And very pleseant it is. Not a huge selection of beers etc, but it does give you a nice view of the Phoenix bench during the warm up. And the lovely ladies behind the bar already know what Russel and myself order... which is nice. Also, you get some exclusive ST holder only treatment, such as Richard Allans exclusive, live, 'Ones to Watch', along with his score predictions.

And thats it for now. I have a rotten cold and need to rest.

Its been a quiet week...

No reports from last weekend, as I didn't go to the game.

Tony has brought a new guy in, and we should get a look at him on Sunday, dosen't seem to be a 'like for like' replacement based on his stats, but you never know.

As usual, there will be a 'pub crawl' report on Sunday night, this week focusing on the 'VIP Lounge' in the rink itself!

And finally (cos I have a cold and can't be arsed at the mo), looks like Jacobsen got some measure of karmic payback, with the CHL players going on strike.....hahahahahha, serves him right. Twat.