The British Hockey Thread 2016-17

[Calv]

The swedish invasion continues

He never really took the final step to become a trusted SHL keeper though, especially the part where he could cramp up during any game because of not drinking enough beforehand

That seems like a relatively basic thing to get wrong...!

Cool masks though, I'm intrigued to see how he gets on this season. The swedes that have come over recently have been well-liked by the fans, ex-Troja player Markus Nilsson seemed to impress in his first 2 games last weekend with the Steelers.

Steelers seem to have started their pre-season well and they play HV71 in the CHL on Thursday. I'm expecting a big win for HV71 as Steelers have only had 1 and a half weeks of training and 2 games against Aalborg. I think they'll have a chance against Salzburg though, particularly at home when they've had more games under their belt.

Cardiff also started their pre-season last weekend against Medvescak Zagreb, and they play Banska Bystrica this weekend. Nottingham, Braehead and Belfast also have pre-season games this weekend however Storm don't start their pre-season for another two weeks

[Calv]

Patrick Bordeleau signs for Cardiff, apparently becoming the highest paid player in the league.

[MWE]

Not exactly put up great numbers has he.

[Calv]

Disappointing the number of one dimensional players in the EIHL.

[MWE]

I suppose he will bring a bit of entertainment for the fans get a few bums on seats maybe.

[Calv]

The Coventry Blaze - Cardiff Devils game is streaming live for free on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nto99zBjkxE Currently in the first period (faceoff was 4 pm UK time), and Richardson just scored the first goal for Cardiff to make it 1-0.

I went for a walk to what will be the new Manchester Rink this afternoon, pretty short walk (less than 15 minutes) for me from my flat. Currently it is a rather shabby looking empty warehouse with one end missing...! Looks like it'll take a bit of fixing up before it becomes a rink. I haven't been following any of the THF thread (I got bored), so I'm not sure what the latest update is but there has been no visible work on site and I note that it hasn't been granted planning permission yet (at least not on the online portal). With a 12 week estimated build time it certainly looks like it won't be open until late November at the earliest. The longer spent at Blackpool, the more worried I am that the Phoenix will not survive. There is a meeting on Wednesday with an update from Neil Morris, but I'll probably be going to the Storm game as I'd rather watch a game than stick around for a few minutes of the meeting.

[nino33]

The Coventry Blaze - Cardiff Devils game is streaming live for free on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nto99zBjkxE Currently in the first period (faceoff was 4 pm UK time), and Richardson just scored the first goal for Cardiff to make it 1-0.

Thanks for sharing Calv! I'm watching now

[Calv]

Rutherford scored a 'Michigan' in a preseason game against Braehead this weekend: https://youtu.be/5ZXeGSvl--8?t=7m33s (although he had a lot of time and space and the netminder, Zajkowski, appeared to react very late).

First game of the season for me tonight, pre-season game between Storm & Blaze

[Calv]

First impressions of the Storm were reasonably good, but some areas of concern. Although it was only an exhibition game, it was worrying going from 6-4 up with 2 minutes left to 6-6 after Coventry scored 2 late goals (one was a 6-on-4 PPG, the other was 6-on-5 with the netminder pulled for both).

The biggest worry was netminding, it took a while for Clemente to realise he had a blocker - he was beaten easily above it 3 times in the first 25 or so minutes. His stats suggested he was not an improvement over Kalemba who did not play well last season. The defence did not look too solid, but as usual with an Omar Pacha team there looks to be plenty of skill up front. A couple of the bigger name players, Heatley & Johnson, did not particularly impress so hopefully there's plenty more to come from them. The final player arrived today, so they should be at full strength this weekend.

[MWE]

They are playing Steelers Saturday and Sunday one is an exhibition game the other is in the challenge cup.

[Calv]

I'm making the game tonight can't make tomorrow's, unfortunately

[MWE]

I'm making the game tonight can't make tomorrow's, unfortunately

I cant make tomorrows either moving house next week so I need to be prepared for that.

[marksbros6]

Prices are up at MKL this season so missing out the game tonight and only starting back 'proper' once the league starts.

Will keep an eye on twitter tonight though. We're doing without our 2 Polish internationals who are away at Olympic Quals, they won't be back till the start of the season.

[rmt_1982]

Brian McGrattan rolls into Nottingham

[MWE]

Brian McGrattan rolls into Nottingham

Literally

[Calv]

Saw Patrick Bordeleau play his debut last night for Cardiff in Manchester, looks like he'll play the aggressive forecheck role well but won't do much with the puck. It's funny to think that he's been earning $1 million a year for the last 3 years and he must be on less than 10% of that this year (although I've heard he's the highest paid player in the league). Apparently he's been driving a Ferrari around Cardiff....

Great victory for Storm over Cardiff last night, was a tense game to watch as the Devils had a lot of pressure but couldn't convert

[rmt_1982]

Saw Patrick Bordeleau play his debut last night for Cardiff in Manchester, looks like he'll play the aggressive forecheck role well but won't do much with the puck. It's funny to think that he's been earning $1 million a year for the last 3 years and he must be on less than 10% of that this year (although I've heard he's the highest paid player in the league). Apparently he's been driving a Ferrari around Cardiff....

Great victory for Storm over Cardiff last night, was a tense game to watch as the Devils had a lot of pressure but couldn't convert

Looking forward to Bordeleau coming up against McGrattan in the future.

[archibalduk]

I'm off to the Flames vs Tigers tomorrow. Both teams are suffering from injury problems so it could be anybody's game if the players get tired towards the third. I really can't understand why the Flames insist on having such a small roster - having even just two injuries causes real problems. On top of that, we lost many of our star players over the summer and haven't replaced them with anything near the same level of quality players.

[Calv]

Guildford are a weird one this season, they haven't replaced the likes of Towe and Esders and injuries are always going to happen during the season so not having cover is silly. It looks, from the outside, that they're waiting for someone to become available. Perhaps they're waiting to see if Ben Davies makes it in the ECHL or not, or maybe someone else...

[archibalduk]

Here's something strange: Ullberg (the Guildford goalie) isn't wearing socks. Just bare legs behind his pads!

[archibalduk]

Ouch! There's a nasty photo from the Streatham game on Twitter of the referee in a bad way after a puck to the face. Sounds like he should be OK though.

[Calv]

I saw that, it's pretty gruesome...! Hope he's okay.

I see Flames are down to 12 skaters after losing Kristoffersson to a high sticking penalty

[archibalduk]

Yeah he went after 1 min 40 secs into the first period... Satek returned to the ice so at least it'll be downgraded.

Flames looking tired but Telford aren't on top form either. We conceded 3 quick goals in the second period. It's 1-4 after two periods.

Ullberg is a bit nuts. He seemed intent on fighting Matty Davies and goading the Tigers fans. IMO his loss of focus led to us conceding the first goal.

[archibalduk]

Ended 2-6. The lack of depth really hurt us.We can't play two line hockey and expect to win...

[Calv]

Went to the Storm game this evening, they beat Coventry 3-1 I the Challenge cup. The team looks much more solid at the back this season. The Gardiner conference looks tight this year, Braehead have started poorly, and I think the Storm and Dundee could challenge for the conference title this year (although it's still early days!)