This Week In UK – 19th November
Action in the league was back on everyone’s minds as players returned to line ups following the international action last weekend. But there were still no lack of talking points.
Braehead Clan Shaking Things Up – The Clan had been hotly tipped to challenge for top honours this season but a shaky start to season sees the Glasgow outfit in seventh in the table. Last weekend the Clan brought in Canadian/ Italian D man Davide Nicolette but Jordan Krestanovich has also chosen to release Ryan Campbell and Bobby Chaumont and could also be about to shed British forward Ryan Watt. Chaumont was promptly picked up by the Fife Flyers and scored his debut. As for the Clan they picked up a very useful 2 points against the Coventry Blaze.
Challenge Cup Dampening the Rivalries – With the EIHL introducing a new conference structure that means geographical rivals with the exception of Hull now play each other 8 times in the league. Added to that the addition of a quarter final stage to the Challenge cup has meant there is an increase in the probability of their being a dead rubber. One such dead rubber was Friday’s meeting of the biggest rivals in British ice hockey. Nottingham hosted the Steelers with nothing on the line but pride. Despite the rivalry however both coaches opted to start back up netminders however the fans still turned out in force and were treated to a classic. So perhaps the jury is still out.
From the Twittersphere – Twitter is often full of rumour, suggestion, lies and truths. Its content is always a contradiction. A tweet from Dundee Stars head coach Jeff Hutchins this week suggested that it was wrong that there are now over 100 NHL players playing in Europe and taking jobs. Yet this is a coach whose side is in a league that upped its import quota before the NHL locked out.
Referee Shortage? – In an unusual step the EIHA that organises the referees for the various games in the EPL and NIHL only sent two officials to the Slough for the Jets match against the Guildford Flames. Two officials are sometimes seen at games in the lower reaches of the third tier National League but it has rarely been seen in the Premier League let alone for a match between 2 of the top 4 in the league. It is a worrying event for a league that attempts to be professional and comes after no officials were booked for a midweek matchup at Basingstoke earlier in the season. If this is because of a lack of officials how did the EIHA manage to send 3 officials Premier League matches during the Elite League’s challenge cup phase for which the top flight were using 4 officials. In short it is an embarrassing reflection of the EIHA at a time when it needs to be looking its most professional with the GB team heading to the next stage of Olympic qualification.
RESULTS
Elite League
Tuesday 13th November
Fife Flyers 4 Hull Stingrays 3
Saturday 17th November
Dundee Stars 1 Cardiff Devils 9
Hull Stingrays 2 Belfast Giants 3
Fife Flyers 4 Edinburgh Capitals 1
Braehead Clan 5 Coventry Blaze 2
Sunday 18th November
Cardiff Devils 4 Belfast Giants 3 AOT
Sheffield Steelers 4 Fife Flyers 2
Coventry Blaze 5 Nottingham Panthers 2
Edinburgh Capitals 1 Hull Stingrays 3
Challenge Cup
Friday 16th November
Nottingham Panthers 3 Sheffield Steelers 2
English Premier League
Saturday 17th November
Milton Keynes Lightning  1 Manchester Phoenix 4
Slough Jets  3 Guildford Flames 5
Sheffield Steeldogs 2 Telford Tigers 1
Bracknell Bees 1 Basingstoke Bison 3
Swindon Wildcats 3 Peterborough Phantoms 4 (APS)
Sunday 18th November
Manchester Phoenix 5 Swindon Wildcats 4 AOT
Guildford Flames 6 Slough Jets 3
Telford Tigers 1 Milton Keynes Lightning 3
Peterborough Phantoms 4 Bracknell Bees 5
Basingstoke Bison 5 Sheffield Steeldogs 3
