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!

A few musings...

Sooo, I've been al quiet and shit lately haven't I? Sadly, it isn't because I have nothing to say (as those who see me on match nights can attest to), but just a symptom of my general laziness these days.

I was tempted to post a long diatribe about people starting to panic after a few bad results, but frankly I felt it would most likely fall on deaf ears. Don't mean I wont have a small moan though....

Some folks need to give the guys a break. despite the not so stellar performances of late they most certainly have been trying. Sometimes, despite the bets will in the world, it is impossible for a team to get its collective shit together so to speak, and make things happen. Confidence dips, and it just get harder. Add in some injury problems (Speldas freak infection, Ladzi taking a puck to the face, Ciarans knock, Tonys freak ankle hit, and Wallaces busted wrist), and it is pretty easy to see why the rest of the guys struggled. Bad luck/karma tends to linger until someone says 'enough is enough' and gets on with trying to brrak it. Tom Duggan might have just been doing that for us this past few weeks. That young man has been playing out of his fucking skin.


And don't let Sundays result fool you. We were not as bad as it seemed. Sure, 5-0 down after 2 periods on home ice sounds bad, but it sure as hell wasn't for the lack of trying. Rockman was inspired between the pipes for Slough, and we just couldn't break him, whereas Slough got all the luck they needed in front of Fone. A few of us were in the abr come the end of the 2nd period saying how we didn't look like a team being outplayed by 5 goals. Luckinly we broke the back of the problem in the 3rd period, and if we had been able to have that luck earlier in the game, I don't doubt that it would have been a different game alltogether.

Sure, some are not matching the hype which we the fans gave them pre season (Faith springs to mind), but who does? Faith is coming into his own now he is playing in his natural role as a centre, which might possibly give Tony pause for thought when it comes to the lines upon his return to on ice action.

And don't forget, despite the bad results we are still only 3 game soff the league leaders. a 4 point weekend could see us jump up 2 or 3 places with ease, and back to back 4 pointers.... They say it isn't over til the fat lady sings. Well, at the minute, the fat lady isn't even in the venue, let alone warming up.

See y'all Sunday for my Birthday game (mines a pint of Carlsberg, if anyone cares...)

For F***s sake!

It never sodding rains, but it pours!

First off Spelda picks up a nasty infection in his ankle, which requires surgical intervention, putting him out of action for at least 6 weeks (just a guess). Fine, I can cope with that. Shit happens, and you move on.

Then Harabin (our other import D-man) takes a puck to the face in Guildford last night. Seriously? Are the Hockey Gods mocking us? Have we pissed them off that much? Something tells me we might be a little short of numbers on Sunday, making a tough game about 10 times bloody tougher.

And to top it all off some muppet Bracknell 'fan' (and I use the word 'fan' very loosely), decides to tweet the official Phoenix feed thusly:

@manc_phoenix harabin believe in karma?! Thinks its ok to knee the bracknell imports,well say hello to a puck to the face! KARMA BITCH

Nice, eh? Sometimes I despair. Our sport, nay any sport, has no place for morons like this. I know I can be a bit confrontational at times. Possitively aggressive even, but there is a line and this little piece of distended rectum corssed it. Especially with his repy to another Phoenix fan on Twitter:

hahaaa anymore fan mail? love that uv taken the time to send me your b******t many thanks douche's #loveyouall

Prick.