Campbell returns....

Didn't quite see this one coming. After being released by the Steeldogs Derek Campbell has pitched up here in Mancland for a 2nd stint in the Phoenix jersey. I personally thought he was on his way back to Hull in the EIHL, but I guess Coach Hand felt he could use Soupys grit over the Xmas/New Year period to cope with an apparent injury crisis (word has reached me that a number of the side are carrying knocks at the minute).

Sure, some folks seem to have got it into their heads that Coach Hand has lost his marbles with this signing, but he is way more likely to get the best out of Soupy than Good old Donkey Payette has on the wrong side of the hills. Soupy isn't going to blitz you 100+ points a season a la Kristofferson, but he will crash the net, and cause all kinds of problems for most of the league d-men. This could prove to be an inspired pick up.

Beyond that.....


I'm not attending the game tonight. I've got a reasonably serious back problem (scoliosis), and its giving me all kinds of merry hell at the minute. As such I'm taking my time getting better, and won't be at the Dome til Sunday. Which is shit.

Better late than never.....

OK, so I should have written this up last week, but a wee small thing called 'life' got in the way.

Anyways.... That game just played against Milton Keynes Lightning was quite comfortably the bet I have seen in the Ice Dome this season by some margin. Despite missing big Schnabel in the D, the boys took the game to the visitors. Hits were laid, shots taken, and the fans (those who showed up, fucking Manchester derby) were thoroughly entertained.

And what about young Jorge El Hage? 2 games as a starter, 2 wins, and a maiden shut-out. Yes, the D worked their collective bollocks off to protect him, but when the wall of Phoenix was breeched, he stood tall, and looked mighty impressive. I wouldn't go as far as some who seem to think we now have 2 genuine starting quality netminders, but El Hage is certainly well on the road to being one himself in the near future. There was always a worry that if Foney was hurt, then we would need to bring in a 'ringer', but I am firmly of the belief that this would now no longer be required.

So, what else?

Oh yes, the business of returning to the EIHL surfaced on the official forum this past week. Call it an annual airing if you like. My st`b +{^ 7%:br />
FUCK RIGHT OFF!

Or, being rather politer and much more erudite:

Returning to the EIHL, and t8m 5 ryss that beckons from therein is quite possibly the worst thing the club could do at this time. Sure, we could go back and join Hull, Dundee, and Edinburgh in the mire of the bottom 4 by sticking to a reasonable budget and trusting in low cost imports from Europe, but would we enjoy that? I doubt it very much. Or we could go in and dig ourselves another elephantine hole financially by trying to compete with the mid table sides like we did before, which frankly makes as much sense as a chocolate fire-guard.

As it is, we are sustainable in the EPL. Crowds are good, the team is largely successful on the ice, and we are beginning to develop into a 'powerhouse' of the league. Yes, we are a tad expensive compared to some of our rivals, but unlike some we don't have a multi millionaire owner to bankroll things, or play in council owned facilities for no or nominal rent.

Now that pissed me off no end....

First up, yes, we lost, and yes, we deserved to lose. No arguements there from me. The Bison played a solid road game, and were far more clinical in front of the goal. Our D was opened up far too easily, far too often. As such a Bison win was a fair result.

What wasn't fair, however, was what happened in the 57th minute of play...... From my vantage point, Stevie Lyle made the cynical decision to purposefully knock the goal off of its moorings to deny the Phoenix a goal. I saw it. Pretty much everyone around me saw it.....

 Then all hell broke loose in the stands.

 Chants of 'Cheat, Cheat, Cheat' began to ring out, a chorus of boos began the likes of which I have never heard at a hockey game. Quite literally hundreds of people were incensed by his action. On the ice, the Phoenix players looked positively apoplectic when they realised that 1: the goal had been washed out, and 2: Lyle was going to escape unpunished. The game restarted, but the players hearts had clearly been ripped out, and the previous few minutes of ferocious play evaporated.

Come the end of the game, we then all witnessed something pretty much unprecedented. Lyle was booed again, during the Bisons lap of honour. He very quickly realised he was the target and made a quick turn and headed for the exit after a very short lap. Sadly for the other Bison players, this meant that they bore the brunt of the booing. I was part of this chorus, whilst I also clapped the Bison players very slowly and without my usual vigour.

Post game, Twitter and Facebook were alive with recriminations. I tweeted that Lyle was a #dirtycheatingcunt. Was this an over-reaction? For sure it was. My adrenaline was pumping, and my passion for my club was afire. Do I regret it? Not for a minute. People react to a situation, and these things cannot be undone, and as such we all must stand by our actions, whether they be right or wrong.

I also admonished the officials for allowing such a blatant act of foul play to go unpunished. Which brought me a tweeted admonishment from one of the officials in the form of Kris Wells. He also drew the ire of a few other Phoenix tweeters for daring to stick his head above the parapet. Then the fall out began. Over on the official forum, some posters registered their disgust at how the bulk of the fans reacted. Phrases such as 'darkest hour' and 'let down' have been bandied about. I shall repeat below what I posted on the forum myself:

So, in summary: it was our 'darkest hour' and we 'let ourselves down' by being passionate enough about our club to want to boo and chant 'cheat' at a player who just to all appearances cheated the club out of a potential point in a game which may have significant bearing on the eventual home of the league title? Please. The simple fact that this 1 action riled our normally placid fans shows just how deep that passion runs for many. People pay their money, then once inside the rink, they can react in whatever manner they so choose, as long as no rules are being broken. Last time I looked, there was no rule about booing anyone. If others don't like that, then fine, but please, enough with the melodramatic 'darkest hour' nonsense. Personally, I always hated the 'We don't boo the opposition, we just cheer our team louder' stuff. Booing the opposition is something which has been part of sporting culture for decades. Go to any football or rugby ground and you will hear it. It even happens at cricket. And I'm sure the Bison players who didn't know why there was booing have gotten over it. Lyle knew. See how short his 'lap of honour' was? He couldn't wait to leave the ice. Maybe he should have explained to his team mates why. And so we are clear, I booed. I have no remorse about this, as I felt it was the best way to show my displeasure

And that sums it up for me.

 See you all on Sunday.

Deep breath.....

EDIT: I stand corrected one one point from below. It was just a 10+Game. This error was caused by myself (and others) misreading the gamesheet. The sentiment remains however. Pering had a shit-fit and over-reacted.


Ok, lets get the good stuff out of the way first:

We won. And there was some damn fine attacking hockey going on from our forward lines, sans Coach Hand. The Brits like McKinney, McKenzie, Duggan, etc are producing some of the finest quality hockey I've seen in a long time, and long  may it continue. I can't criticise the performance last night at all. That was a team who know they are good, and want to play as well as they possibly can.

And it was nice to see a decent sized crowd in there last night, especially for a Saturday night game. The ST voucher books appear to be working too, based on the people passing by Mags at the door.

Now the negative stuff.

Pering. What the fuck was he thinking? First up, the call on Ciaran for clipping. Not in a million years. Someone needs to sit down with Pering and show him the difference between a hip-check (which is what it was) and clipping. Pering muffed the call up badly simply by making the call in the first place. Which would have been enough to piss me off royally as it was.

Then his follow up.... Oh dear. Mr Pering must be a sensitive little soul. Big Robb Schnabel has a word (rather angrily I concede) and is assessed a 10+ Game AND a match penalty for Abuse of an Official. What the fuck? Whilst I have no issues with a 10 min misconduct being assessed (as is often the norm), giving a Game and a Match as well is a total over-reaction of the highest magnitude. It was a stupid fucking call in the first place on Long, which clearly incensed Schnabel, and rather than deal with his continued anger after the Phantoms scored as a result of the PP, Pering had a shit-fit and turfed him. To say I uttered a few choice words to myself is an understatement.

It really fucks me off when refs seem to want to be seen as 'tough' on things like misconducts as it often means they over-react to things which a simple 10 minute trip to the box will nip in the bud. Especially given the tone of the game to that point (the only other call was an obvious too many men call against the Phoenix bench), it wasn't as if he had been dealing with narky, pissed off players all evening.

I never though a ref would annoy me more than Suchz did at the play offs in April but I have been proven wrong already. Pering may show promise (which is why he has been brought up from reffing ENIHL games), but is out of his depth currently, making basic errors, and if he is indeed to continue as a ref at our barn (which according to Tambo he is), then he needs to be paired with a more experienced official who came assist him.

And I'm going to stop now before this just becomes a 4 letter word rant. Fuck, Fuckity Fuck, Fuck!

7 reasons to be happy.

Well, that was a wee bit better wasn't it?

For the first time this season we had a comfortable home victory, crushing the visiting Bracknell Bees 7-1. About fucking time too! The forward lines finally started to look like they knew what they were capable of, and Foney was massive at the back. I for one was more than happy with how the team as a whole performed. The 2nd and 3rd lines especially are looking formidable. Yes, I said 3rd line. Nice to ram the whole 'Tony Hand only plays 2 line hocky' bollocks back down the throat of some folks isn't it? We have 3 lines of qualituy up front, and a 'don't fuck with us' attitude now.

And Richie Bentham got himself a 'Gordie Howe' hat-trick (that is a goal, an assist, and a fight). We don't see them very often, so it was a rare treat to be sure.

Indeed, the whole weekend was a treat, as the team scored 14 goals over the course of the 2 games played, adding another 4 points to the tally, and cementing our place at the top of the table. Losing to the Phantoms mid-week was a bit of a shitter, but I certainly don't expect to win every game from now until April, and Peterborough isn't the nicest place to drag the team to mid week.

Another major plus at the moment is the situation that the Steeldogs find themselves in. After last seasons undoubted high for them, this season ahs seen 'normal' service resumed, with the Dogs languishing in 9th place in the league, and reduced to trying to goon it up to win games. I guess Payettes 'magic touch' when it comes to coaching has deserted him. Mind you, losing probably the best netminder and forward in the league hasn't helped, and it couldn't happen to a nicer team. Their visit on Sunday should be an absolute fucking cracker. I'm guessing we will see the usual cheap-shot bullshit from Payettes thugs, however, I am more than confident in the abilities of our boys to take it to them and give as good as they get. And having seen the videos from last weekends Dogs/MKL game, it looks like that is exactly what we will get. Certainly not a game for 'purists', but a bit of 'old time hockey' instead.

Bring it on!

My heart can't take much more of this..... and its only mid-October!

So, the Phoenix took the points on Sunday from the visiting Milton Keynes Lightning, but as is fast becoming the norm, we did it the hard way. In fact, we probably did it the hardest way of all, requiring not just overtime, but penalty shots too!

To say many of the faithful were shitting a brick would probably count as a factual statement during those five or so minutes it took to enact the shootout. The game beforehand wasn't exactly a relaxing experience either....

The game started, and was played in much the same manner as previous meetings with the Lightning. That is to say it was fast, furious, balls to the wall hockey time! The Phoenix took the early advantage when young Andy McKinney placed the puck past Mettam, after barely 5 minutes of play. Within 4 minutes however, things took an ill turn as Ciaran Long was assessed as match penalty for checking to the head after a solid hit on Dan Harris left the Lightning player prone on the ice. The vast majority of fans felt that the ref called the injury, not the hit as he did not call the penalty immediately, but only after it was appernet Harris was hurt. Ciaran to his credit immediatley checked on Harris as soon as he realised he had hurt him, but this was not enough to placate one of the Lightnings resident goons, a very pissed off Grant McPherson, who rapidly found himself on the end of a solid beat down from Phoenix goalscorer McKinney, who landed some beautiful punches before scoring the takedown with ease. McPherson had a repuataion for being one of the leagues togher guys, but on this showing he looked, well, piss poor really. Both men were assessed a 2+2 for roughing (picking up a fighting major is harder than picking up a virgin on a Saturday night in Manchester in the EPIHL these days), with an additional 10 minute instigator call on McPhear-ful.

The net result was a 5 minute power play for the Lightning, which they failed to capitalise on. Period end, and the score was 1-0 to the Phoenix.

The dreaded 2nd period slump surfaced once more after the break and midway through the period the Lightning tied the game up with a well worked move which culminated in a goal for Leigh Jamieson (who is somehow on the GB roster for the Olympic qualifiers. How a player like him makes the squad but Tom Duggan doesn't is beyond me). Speaking of Jamieson, he was skating on a fine line all evening, often goin into check near the board with his lead elbow at head height. Why he wasn't called on this I don't know, but it looked beyond dangerous to me. The period ended all square, and set up what was usre to be an eventful 3rd period of play.

The Phoenix stepped it ip for the 3rd, and were duly rewarded for their efforts when Andy McKinney scored a peach of a goal to give the Phoenix the 2-1 lead. Sadly, the Lightning tied the score once more with barely 5 minutes remaining, and both sides spurrned opportunities to win it, as the tension rose in the stands.

Overtime was a blur as both side played as fast and hard as possible, but the dreaded penatly shots were required. Fuuuuuuuck! The only shot scored was the first one with Michal Psurny slotting home, as Steve Fone blanked the Lightning trio to secure the 2 points. Needless to say I was very fucking relieved.

Seriously, if this is to be the pattern for the season, then I really do think I'm going to have some kind of episode. The tension was so much that a few naughty words slipped out of my mouth (quietly though, and nothing too rude. The odd 'oh shit' here and there). Thank fuck for the relaxing effect of beer. Without a post match brew, I don't think my wife could have coped with me.

I have to say as well, the comedy moment of the night came when another goon from down south, Chris Biggins, sorry Wigggins gobbed off to big Rob Schnabel, then promptly shit himself when he realised Schnabel was more than willing to have a 'dance' with him. Indeed, the smell of fear was palpable, even from my vantage point some 30-odd metres away.

And, finally, it appears that with the NHL lockout in full swing, our lil' old club has been 'adopted' by the fans of the Phoenix Coyotes. So, to any of them reading this, thank you and enjoy!

See y'all on Sunday!

Flames doused!

I would never expect the Phoenix to take a 4 point weekend from the Guildford Flames. As the 2 sides most would expect to be battling it out for the title, splitting the points over a weekend of back to back games would most likely be the norm.

Not this time.

Not contnent with travelling down to Guildford on Saturday and beating them in their own barn, the Phoenix only went and fucking did it again the following night in front of the Faithful at the Ice Dome.

OK, as is fast becoming the norm we didn't exactly do it the easy way, requiring a winner in OT after the Flames tied the scores with barely a minute left on the clock, but fuck me sideways it was exciting to watch. Sure, we are not the free flowing side of yore, but the shot count is steadily rising, and the team are showing some real balls out there on the ice. There were some handbags early on after form Phoenix player Curtis Huppe decided to get a little too cheeky behind the Phoenix goal, and it did look for a while that Guildford constant use of elbows and holding was going to cause the officials to lose control of the game entirely. Seriously, it has been many, many moons since I saw so much blatant cheating from a side coming to the Ice Dome. In fact, the last time I did, it was the Flames old netminder, with his kicking the nets of the moorings and diva-esque reactions.

It seems to me that the standard of officiating is going backwards this season. I'm sure a lot of this is down to the EIHAs efforts to bring younger refs and linos up from th ENIHL and junior ranks, but they should always be paired with an experienced set of officials too. Some of the officiating we have seen thus far has been so shit it almost beggars belief. You know that the standard is poor when you bitch and moan about it even when your own team have won the game.

Anyways, onwards and upwards! Dissapointed we lost to the Beavers, sorry Bison, last night but we have the Lightning at the DOme tonight who certainly don't seem to be the side they have been in previous seasons, so it should be an interesting one to say the least.

See you at the Dome (or the pub... your call).

Grand Larceny.

Thats the only way to describe Sundays win.

We stole it, pure and simple. We put together about 5 minutes of truly excellent hockey, which was enough to secure both points. It made for a highly nervous time up in the stands, where I'm sure a few bricks were shitted, and expletives uttered (I know I let a few slip. Imagine it, me, swearing? Who would have ever fucking thought I would use such vile words...Ooops.).

As is usual for us, having not played on the Saturday seemed to leave the team looking a bit out of sorts during the early phases of the game, and truthfully, we didn't look like the team that was going to take the points initially. However, the Phoenix are finding ways to win dirty this year, rather than the expected flowing, free scoring hockey we have become accustomed to. We are now seeing some tough, gritty, no bullshit hockey, which hopefully come play off time will pay dividends.

The only real issues I have with what we see on ice at the minute is the standard of officiating. I know that the EIHA are trying to bring new, young refs and linos up to EPL standard, but sweet jesus, they need better support. the standard of icing calls last weekend (or the lack thereof) was piss poor to be honest. Far too often clear icing calls were waved off, then almost straight away afterwards, a borderline or non existant call was made at the opposite end of the ice.

Other than that, I was deeply impressed with last nights road win against Guildord, who seem to be having an absolute mare of a start to the season.

And over the next few weeks you all will be seeing a lot more of my handsome visage down at the ice Dome. After the recent photo session for the volunteer staff, my picture will be popping up in the program, and possibly even on the screens! After that no one will be able to say they don't know who I am..... stage one of my plan for world domination begins....oops! Shouldn't have said that out loud. Forget you ever read it......

Tis an improvement...

So, our first 4 point weekend of the season. I highly doubt it will stop some folks from complaining about this years team, but based on the 'what are your expectations' thread on the official forum, not winning the league, cup, and playoffs will somehow be a 'failure'.

Please.

Just because we have had a successful couple of seasons, it does not follow that we should expect to win everything. Shit, we are not Guildford! Hehehehehehehehehe


Anyways, Sundays game was pretty exciting. We got a fight (big ups to James Archer. He might have lost, but he showed some balls), some goals, a bit of controversy (more on this in a moment), and most importantly a win!

So, controversy... Well, first up was the 'goal that wasn't'. Almost everyone thought that the Phoenix had scored in the 2nd period, except for the goal judge and Ref. There are even claims the there is photographic evidence to corroborate this fact, but until I see it.... Then there was Ciarans mid ice hit which drew a 2+10. Please. It was a perfectly good mid ice hit. The on;ly reason Tottman gave the penalty was thanks to the Swindon player not having his helmet secured which caused it to fly up into the air and land a good few feet away. Poorly applied equipment should never, EVER influence a call.

Thyen Swindon had a goal washed out for man in the crease. The controversy was that they tried to dispute it... when the man wasn't so much 'in the crease' as 'straddling the netminder and trying to hump his leg like a horny dog'. Thankfully Tottman got this one right.

And on the subject of Joy Tottman, I hope the muppet who shouted 'get back in the kitchen' at her is proud of themselves. I might curse up a blue streak on here, but there are some things people should just keep to themselves. Moronic pronouncements like that certainly fall into that category. We don't live in the 1950s, or Stepford indeed, and there is no place for such mysoginistic attitudes at the rink.

And thats it for now. And hardly any profanity. Fuck Yes!

Ah, fuck.... blew that one....Fuck!

So, a lil ol' recap...

Bloody Stevie Lyle! That miserable looking Welsh git. If it wasn't for him, we most certainly would have taken the points against the Bison a couple of Sundays back.

Seriously. We outplayed them to that much of an extent we should have had double figures on the fucking scoreboard. But noooooooo, Stevie pissing Lyle had to be in the crease. AAAARRRGHHHHH!!!!

And to make matters even worse, he was fucking smiling in the bar afterwards. He never smiles! Or I'd never seen him smile anyways. Git!

Moving on, Thankfully I didn't travel to MK for the road game, but hopefully thats our annual away day  humping over and done with early doors. And even worse than that, I couldn't make the Telford game due to family commitments. But we took the points, so thats good. Playing .500 hockey is acceptable for now, but I really am waiting for this team to start clicking, as we look like we have another 250+ point 1st line, and the 2nd looks good for 100+ as well. I know some folks are getting impatient, but I'd much rather start slowly, and build up a head of steam than get off to a flyer, then burn out at the business end of the season.

And thats it. Rather brief I know, but I just don't have anything else to add at the minute.

Roll on Sunday!

Me, as Fan Liason...

So, I was reading through all the fall out from my little into thread for the new season over of the official forums, and it got me thinking:

Am I that much of an awkward choice for the role? I mean, sure I swear a wee bit on here...OK, I swear a lot, but its only words for fucks sake (and yes, that one was purely fucking gratuitous), and I don't force anyone to read my often barely comprehensible musings. And I seem to be not visible enough. Not sure what to do about that one. I know some nice 'head shots' are being done on Sunday, so I am going to assume that said head shot will appear in the program, and probably on the monitors, very soon indeed. I'm sure that will scare a few folks. But beyond that? I'm over 6 and a half feet tall, I have a big beard, and my fucking name is on my jersey. If people can not work out who I am..... I'm not sure what else I can do in that respect. Bright red hair maybe? Or a mohawk?

And add in the fact that certain people just seem to have a problem with me being involved at all. The same people had a problem with me being involved in the supporters club, but when I stepped aside... they were nowhere to be seen. Personally, I don't give 2 shits if a section of the fan base doesn't really like me. More folks do than don't so I guess I'm pretty popular. And being liked isn't a pre requisite for being a public face of an audience. Shit, Dave Simms is probably the most hated man in British hockey, and he is the face of pretty much the entire sport!

Anyways, I just wanted to get that of my (phlegmy) chest. Now I'm off to neck some cough meds to try and shift this annoying chest rattle before tomorrows game.

See Y'all at the rink!

OK, here is yet another 'warning'

If you are reading this blog, then you will have clicked through a warning page from Blooger/Google, notifying you that there may be contnent that is classified ad 'adult' within. You will have also noted the bright red warning which sits atop each page, composed by myself, which further warns specifically about the type of language which can be found within.

I would like to think that most internet users would understand that these are there for a reason. They are not 'general' warnings which serve no purpose. They are there for a reason. This blog can, and often does, contain language which is classified as 'adult'. For the purposes of this posting, I'm not going to repeat these words, as I assume that you can guess most of them.

I write emotionally. I use the words which best sum up my emotions when composing a missive on here, and on occasion this is somewhat 'industrial' in nature. For this I make no apologies.

Thank you for your time.

And so it begins.....

Indeed. Sunday saw the mighty Phoenix take to the ice at the Ice Dome (well, they wouldn't take to the pitch would they?) and face the Sheffield Steelpups, sorry Steeldogs in the 2nd leg of the annual War of the Roses trophy series.

And guess what? The Pups only went and bloody won the thing! Well, they won on aggregate as the fairly sizeable crowd on hand saw a true rarity: Both netminders gained shut outs leading to a 0-0 draw. Which isn't to say the game was boring.

Far from it, in fact.

As per usual, Coach Payettes Pups took a few 'liberties' during the game. And, also as per usual, the officials were simply shite. There. I said it. Even with 4 of them on the fucking ice, they still missed some of the most blatant cheating seen in the borough of Trafford since the last time Christiano Ronaldo took to the pitch at Old Trafford! Seriously, there was a distinct lack of any attempts to apply any degree of control to the play. If this is what we can expect this season, then there will be a lot of pisse doff players and fans in the Dome over the coming months.

 New import Pozivil took a bit of a battering from ex-Phoenix player Derek Campbell during the 1st period. Campbells reaction was way out of proportion, and I highly doubt he would have tried the same shit with, oh say Schnabel unless he wanted to be eating his post match meal through a straw. Speaking of Big Rob, Payette seemed to be trying to draw a scrap out of him all game, continually having cheeky digs.... before speeding towards the bench as fast as his shall we say 'increased' frame would allow. Big Rob was wise to this, however and treated Payettes dihgs with the lack of response they deserved.

And Poor old Tom Duggan. The lad almost had his head ripped off by one of the Pups, who reached over his helmet and appeared to pull it backwards over himself. Which unsurprisingly neither of the Refs saw. Not only was this blatant cheating, it was also fucking dangerous. Idiots.

Beyond that, the Phoenix looked exactly like you would expect from a team who had only had a couple of training sessions and 1 game before hand. I personally am not worried about the season base don this showing. Once the rink rust is properly blown off, this bunch of players are going to rack up the points for fun. All 4 imports showed signs that they will be weel worth the wages, and the Brit lads, new and old, looked as smooth as we have come to expect. And for tjhose who were not there, this is a seriously fucking huge squad of players. For once, Ben Wood does not look like he has strayed in from a episode of Land of The Giants. Schnabel in particular is HUGE.

And the highlight of the night was watching the Pups players celebrate. Seriously, you would have thought they had won the fucking playoffs, such was the jubilation on display. Calm down, dears. Its only the War of the Roses Cup (which we own. We have the receipt and everything!).

See y'all on Sunday!

Its the final countdown.....

Yes, there is just a week to go til the new season begins with our annual 'friendly' fixtures against the Steeldogs. I say 'Friendly', but after last seasons play off semi final, I'm expecting this game to be anything but. I know a number of our returning players were somewhat less than impressed with the antics of the Steeldogs squad during the game, so the chance to , ahem, say hello will surely be taken. Payettes thugs won't find it as easy to push our guys around this season, either.

And the (almost) final make up of the squad looks good. The final imports all appear to have the hallmark of THs careful signing policy, and will hopefully do us a very good job indeed.

And the TH question? Will he play, wont he play? Fucked if I know to be honest, but my gut feeling is that he probably will.

Anyways, onto other stuff....

Predictions for the season: League champions to be either us, or Guildford. I honestly can not see past the two of us again. The battle for 3rd thru 5th should be a close fought run between B-Stoke, Sluff, and MK with my gut feeling being that the Bison will (finally) come good this season. I'd reckon the 3rd place team could be up to 10 points adrift of the top 2 though. Behend them, the scrap for the remaining play off spots should be between Swindon, Potty, and the Puppies. Despite the sucess of last season, Payettes thug squad are going to find it much harder this season without talismanic nettie Bowns to keep them in games, but I still see them qualifying for the quarter finals. And once again poor old Bracknell and Telford will miss out, although don't be surprised if it comes down to the wire for the 8th and final play off spot.

And thats your lot (for now).

See you at the rink!

Fan Liason...

Ok, I'm sure most of you know that I am currently the 'Fan Liason' officer for the club. Over on the forum I've asked a simple question:

What should I be doing as Fan Liason?

To expand: I want to know what you folks think that I should be doing as your Fan Liason. It's easy for me to come up with ideas for things I think I should be doing, but these may not be the same as you think i should be doing.

So let me know. This feedback is important to me!

Its cold, its wet, it must be hockey seas... no, wait its still summer!

Despite all apperances to the contrary outside your windows, it is still summertime, and therefore off season. And as I'm laid up at home today after tweaking my back pretty badly, I thought I'd commit a few more thoughts to the digital domain...

So, the squad building is continuing nicely. Joachim Flaten was confirmed, and looks to be a solid signing. Based on his stats, and the level at which he has played, I'm going to stick my neck out and say he will be the next 'Kristofferson'. I fully expect at least 40 goals, and the best part of 100 points from him. Liam Chong looks like another good young British pick up and should log decent ice time on the 3rd line. And Tom Duggan is returning after a brilliant season at the Dome last time out. Big things are expected of this young man.

Sure, the D looks a little lightweight right now, with just James Neil and Ben Wood announced, but I fully expect Coach Hand to announce 2 import D man before long (hopefully one of Harabin or Spelda, who knows, amybe even both), and hopefully we shall see Captain Fantastic Luke Boothroyd return for another season.

Beyond that...

Things are just ticking over. The shirt launch is on the 29th, so I would expect one signing to be announced, and likely revealed at this event, alnogside our jerseys for the forthcoming season. Jersey prediction: I expect to see the 'Serva Fidem' logo used more prominently.

Over in the shadow zone known as the EIHL, the leagues conference based re-alignment has caused some consternation/ despite being a fairly even geographical split, the Southern Conference appears to be the stronger of the 2 (And keeps the Steelers and Panthers together, maintaining their 'need' tpo play each other 8 times a season). Given the relative strengths of the teams in each conference, it is likley that the Southern will dominate the playoffs. Interestingly enough, when regional conferences were suggested in the past, the EIHL board was uninterested, nay dismissive of the concept, saying it was financially unviable. I wonder what made them change their minds? (Hint: travel will have played a large part in it)

And thats your lot for now!

A brief round up..

So, we are now into June, and I'm begining to crave my hockey fix badly. Streams of games from the AIHL don't quite cut the mustard (although they do keep the worst of the pangs at bay for a while).

Dammit, hockey is like a drug! I need more!

Anyways, the off season is progressing nicely. Coach Hand has made a very good start to the recruitment for next season, with a solid looking mix of old (Long, Wood, Neil, Fone, Archer), New (McKinney, McKenzie), and new-ish (Nurse). Runors abound about who our imports will be, with Joachim Flater of Norway being the name most bandied about, mostly due to this interview he did with his local paper stating that he was coming here for next season: Flater to Phoenix

Stats suggest he could be another points scorer in the Kristofferson mold (not put up huge numbers in Norway, but the level of play is significantly higher, and with incresed ice time his production should go up), so if/when the club confirm it this could be a good start.

Other than that its been quite quiet.

And next season will see the Phoenix joined in the mix of minority sports for the Manchester area by the returning Manchester Giants basketball side. Unlike current local side the Manchester Magic, the Giants will be plying their trade in the fully professional BBL. Could this make it harder for the Phoenix to attract casual fans to the IceDome? Quite possibly, as the Giants will likely be cheaper to watch and get better support from the M.E.N. (as do the Magic). Personally though, I see the chance for some cross-promotional activities (Buy a tickey for the Giants, get a Phoenix ticket for half price and vice-versa), rather that outright competition, but only time will tell on that part.

So, until next time....

Post season round-up

Well, that was some playoffs, eh? From cruising to what looked like an assured victory against the Steeldogs, to penalty shots in the space of 30 minutes... and the pants shitting terror that only penalty shots can induce.

Never before have I seen the Phoenix faithful so nervous. The tension was almost literally palpable. The language being whispered and shouted from the stands was, er shall we say less than family friendly thanks to the appropriately named ref for the game, Roman Suchz (not sure on the exact spelling there). Add in the fact that for whatever reason most of the 'neutrals' seemed to be against us for whatever reasons, and it was truly the most amazing, frightening, and exilarating time I have ever been a part of in a hockey rink. The sheer noise when the winning penalty shot crossed the line will live with me forever. If you were not there, try to remember the noise and relief when the buzzer went at the end of the Swindon game that wrapped up the title in 2011, then magnifiy that by about twofold. 500 people have never made so much noise ever, I swear.

Sadly, the sheer passion of the semi final, and the physical toll it took on the boys, thanks to Payettes bullshit goon tactics (which allegedly included players on the Steeldogs bench squirting water on the visors of any Phoenix player who strayed too close) and the aforementioned shite officiating mean't that for the 3rd year on the trot we failed to be crowned play off champions. But still, what a weekend.

And off the ice....

Lots of booze, lots of laughs, and lots of great memories. From Pete 'Willy Wonka' Roden and his band of Ompah-Loompahs, through the LMFAO tribute fans, to the beer bottles sported by myself and my brilliant friends, the Phoenix fans brought the fun to the play-offs. Shit, not only did we have more fans there than anyone else (despite Guildford boats that they were bringing more than we were), to owning the Old Windmill pub, the 2011-2012 playoffs were owned by the Phoenix fans.

And even in defeat on the Sunday, we still kept the support and party going. From a  group of 50 or so of us saluting the players on the long, lonely walk from the locker room to the coach after the final, to rocking the Old Windmill till closing time (with a surprise visit from long time Belfast fan Oxo, who bought a round of shots for some 20 people, most of whom he didn't even know), we showed that its not just about winning, its about just being. We are the Faithful. And we enjoy it.

And we cant forget some other highlights:

Brenda and Carla not getting off the train in Coventry, leaving Sophie stranded.
Buzz Bee in his highly inapproprite drag
'Beergate' (McPherson is a star)
and the wonderfull 'Watt is an anagram' chant (work it out, people...).

Shit, roll on next year.

Improving....

So, tonights win in Slough makes it 5 on the bounce for the Phoenix.


Which is bloody good news. For one thing, it means that the players are growing in confidence, something I believe was a major factor in our results during Oct/Nov/most of Dec. And it also sets us up nicely for a tilt at the play-offs, coming into form during the second half of the season. And given that we are on track to take 400+ Manc fans to Coventry again this April, that can only be a good thing.

As usual, the EIHA have been on the ball. After shifting around 450 tickets for last years play-offs, we have been initially allocated 322 tickets. 130 less than we sold last season, and will probably sell this year, too. Makes you wonder just how these guys manage to administrate the sport in any manner even approaching acceptable, if they can't sort out sensible seating allocations for their 'big weekend out'.

Anyways, I digress (as usual). The boys are hitting some form, I've finally ordered a jersey for this season (thank fuck for Xmas money), and my play off tix and hotel are booked. Good times!

And i'm going to Telford tomorrow. Sweeeeet!