The British Hockey Thread 2016-17

[marksbros6]

Needle eh?

Was lots of that in the Bison/Telford game. Telford win by 3-2.

Was sat with the Steeldogs fans for that one, everyone wanting MK 'to beat that lot tomorrow lol

[Calv]

To be honest, the second game between Steelers & Giants turned out to be rather boring. Giants struggled to get anything going and Steelers sat back. First game was much better.

Hopefully the final will be better.

Rumours galore flying around about the league next season and teams leaving etc.

[marksbros6]

Yeah, seen a fair bit about that on THF Calv.

Not helped when teams hype a 'big announcement' straight after a losing Semi-final in my opinion!

[archibalduk]

It seemed Guildford had turned a corner with their playoff group performances but it sounds like they were back to their poor defensive ways yesterday. That's at least the second time this season where Dixon has left it until a few seconds before the end to pull the goalie and call a time out where we are more than one goal down. I don't know if it's one of Hepburn's crazy demands, but it is very poor decision making.

I fear today's final of Sheffield v Cardiff will be a very cautious one. It's always better when the likes of Coventry are in the final as they just go for it rather than sit back. But we've got the hangover/wooden spoon game first today...

[marksbros6]

Hi-Ho...MK LIGHTNING!!!

Crushed Telford in the final...

Guildford were all over us for 2 periods mate. Don't listen to the forum-dwellers, I thought we were going out at 2-2, we didn't look dangerous till the third period of the semi.

Aside from the win: best bit had to be the MKL and Flames fans singing 'We're going up' in unison, in reply to Telford chanting that 'they're the champions' apparently...

[Calv]

Sheffield eventually beat Cardiff in the second period of OT, after 94 minutes of hockey. Unfortunately we had to leave after about 75 minutes to get the last train back to Manchester

[MWE]

Well done Steelers

I literally forgot all about the game until the third period too busy doing the gardening

[Calv]

Doesn't look like the PIHL is getting off the ground : http://www.swindonwildcats.com/news/124 ... PZGgxnTVnF

This is going to be a very interesting summer, there could potentially be a huge gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2 which I don't think will be good for British players. This could have a huge effect on the current NIHL teams as well

[marksbros6]

Uuuuuuuuuurrrr...

Headache-inducing when I start thinking about next-year's database...

[Calv]

Hull released a similar statement, but there might be an alternative (EIHL), more known by the end of April (EIHL board meeting is 27th April)

[archibalduk]

It's pretty crazy with the potential gap that would open up with the EPL missing. I don't really know if it's great for the NIHL either. It'll be interesting to hear what the Scottish teams are going to do too.

[Calv]

Lots of twists to come no doubt! I think Riz needs to incorporate the 'crazy British hockey summer' into EHM, every few years teams go bust and the leagues get swapped around

[Primis]

Lots of twists to come no doubt! I think Riz needs to incorporate the 'crazy British hockey summer' into EHM, every few years teams go bust and the leagues get swapped around

This used to describe North American "AA" minor pro hockey too. I remember when the ECHL, UHL/IHL 2.0, and Central Hockey League were all going (along with the AAHL and FHL having just started at "low A" alongside the SPHL at "high A" as well). The Silly Seasons were insane.

I don't think it'd be much fun to play through though. Imagine running a team that keeps changing leagues (and thus rules, etc) beyond your control.

[Alessandro]

Lots of twists to come no doubt! I think Riz needs to incorporate the 'crazy British hockey summer' into EHM, every few years teams go bust and the leagues get swapped around

This used to describe North American "AA" minor pro hockey too. I remember when the ECHL, UHL/IHL 2.0, and Central Hockey League were all going (along with the AAHL and FHL having just started at "low A" alongside the SPHL at "high A" as well). The Silly Seasons were insane.

I don't think it'd be much fun to play through though. Imagine running a team that keeps changing leagues (and thus rules, etc) beyond your control.

I instead think that it would be awesome. At least it would be incredibly cool if we'd have "moving" affiliations.
BTW i think that in the end it's just the NHL to be that stable. Maybe also Sweden and Finland to a point, in the top leagues. Other leagues are more or less of a roller coaster

[Calv]

The EIHL appears relatively stable now, the second tier not so much.

EIHL playoffs next year are 14-15th April.

[Calv]

Team GB win their first game in the World Championships in Belfast, beating Croatia 4-2. Bit of a wobble in the second, but GB looked stronger overall. Estonia up next tomorrow evening.

[Calv]

Team GB win their first game in the World Championships in Belfast, beating Croatia 4-2. Bit of a wobble in the second, but GB looked stronger overall. Estonia up next tomorrow evening.

All games can be viewed online, unless they're being broadcast in your country: http://wmib2017.iihf.com/en/live-stream/

[marksbros6]

Second game won v Estonia 5-1 (I think)

Estonian netminder was former MK Thunder import Villem-Henrik Koitmaa.

Murphy in net for GB, first competitive GB game in years!

[MWE]

He got player of the game too

[marksbros6]

Interesting to see how the netminders are used.

You must watch more Elite than most of us MWE: How do Bowns and Murph measure up in comparison to one another?

[archibalduk]

The EPL/NIHL situation is getting messier by the day. The Tigers' release doesn't give any suggestion that they'll apply for the NIHL - so I wonder where that leaves them... And now there is Oxford who seem very unhappy with the possibility of the EPL teams joining the NIHL.

[MWE]

Do you think Hull will be allowed to join the EIHL?

[MWE]

Interesting to see how the netminders are used.

You must watch more Elite than most of us MWE: How do Bowns and Murph measure up in comparison to one another?

Both are very good keepers Bowns has had the better season for me this year

[archibalduk]

Do you think Hull will be allowed to join the EIHL?

I very much doubt it. They left the league because they couldn't afford it. I can't imagine they're any more wealthy now than they were when they left.

[Calv]

Do you think Hull will be allowed to join the EIHL?

I very much doubt it. They left the league because they couldn't afford it. I can't imagine they're any more wealthy now than they were when they left.

Different owners now, however. Although there are question marks over their rink, I seem to recall it is in need of being replaced but the plans were to build a new rink with only 1,000 seats. EIHL board meeting on Thursday, it will be very interesting to see what happens. I've been putting off starting the 17-18 thread because there's no indication of what any of the league setups will be yet

Bowns is the better keeper for me, Murphy is weak on the gloveside and tends to give out a few more rebounds than Bowns but he also tends to thrive in the 'scrambly' situations a bit (probably because of his rebound control!). Bowns is capable of the occasional wobble however and Murphy has benefitted from being in a tandem with Whistle. Whistle looks good, but needs to overcome his injury problems. If he can, then GB will have a solid top-3 netminders until Murphy retires and a solid tandem for a number of years.