EPL Play-off Semi-final Scores

The first game of the day featured the EPL League and Cup (Double) Champions the Guildford Flames, who took on the Milton Keynes Lightning. Always thrilling encounters, today was no different as the Flames came from behind in the third to take victory in dramatic fashion.

Despite taking an early powerplay, the Flames could not capitalise and it was the Lightning who found themselves in front when Captain Adam Carr fired past Mark Lee to give the Lightning a one goal lead in the first period. However the Flames were able to re-group and took advantage of the additional man as Nathan Rempel fired them back into contention with the equalising goal just over a minute later. Neither team could find the net for the remainder of the period as the scores remained level after 20 minutes.

A sole marker in the middle stanza saw the Lightning take the lead once again in the game with Michael Farn’s 27th minute strike. A tense final period was in store and when David Longstaff levelled the scores in the opening two minutes of the final session the Flames were once again back into contention.

Despite their chances neither team could find the go ahead goal, but with just under three minutes remaining in the period, Rempel was able to break the deadlock and put the Flames ahead with his second of the evening. Even after pulling netminder Stephen Wall for the extra skater the Lightning were unable to level the game and so the Flames secured their place in Sunday’s final; to keep up their hopes of securing the EPL Grand-slam.

In the second match of the evening, it was a first for the Basingstoke Bison who were visiting the Skydome Arena for the first time since dropping to the EPL in 2009. Despite being short benched the Herd were fired up for the occasion and player/coach Doug Sheppard was leading his men in search of the club’s first silverware in 13 years. Having lead the Slough Jets to victory over the Manchester Phoenix a year ago he was well placed to deal with the pressure the play-off finals weekend can sometimes throw at teams. Tony Hand was looking to end the season on a high after failing to match up to both the Bison and Flames during the regular season.

Despite their early chances, including a powerplay opportunity, the first goal swung in favour of the Phoenix as James Neil’s shot beat Stevie Lyle to make it 1-0 to Manchester. Just over three minutes later and the Herd were back in the game as Greg Owen levelled the scores. With the Phoenix killing off another powerplay chance in the final stages of the period, it was to no avail as Sheppard fired the Bison into the lead before the close of the period.

With the second period underway, netminder Stephen Fone was a rock at the back for Phoenix, stopping a huge chance for Joe Greener to extend the lead further. Moments later and the Phoenix were back into the game, with Hand finding the net. With both teams running into penalty trouble neither were able to find the upper hand in the middle phase of play. Fone once again kept the Phoenix in the game with a big stop on a one-on-one break against Joe Miller before Lyle repeated the action at the other end of the rink against Michal Psurny. With the period drawing to a close the Phoenix were able to find the go ahead goal with Flaten’s powerplay strike beating Lyle.

With momentum swinging in favour of the Phoenix, it appeared that the Bison had got an early equaliser in the second period only for Jaroslav Cesky’s shot to be wiped off and no goal given. In a sign of frustration Cesky slashed his stick across the glass at the goal judge and earned himself a misconduct penalty. Moments later and the equalising goal did come when Greg Chambers found the bet in the 43rd minute; leaving it all to play for.

It appeared it was a session of tic-tac-toe on the score board. Just over a minute after Chambers levelled the scores Psurny grabbed his second of the game to put the Phoenix back in front. A further minute on and the scores were once again level with over 10 minutes remaining. A period of 5-on-3 was gifted to the Bison but they couldn’t take advantage to take the lead once more. With the game drawing to a conclusion overtime was needed to find a difference between the two evenly matched sides.

With the extra five minutes unable to find a winner, the dreaded penalty shots were called upon. First up were the Phoenix and Psurny who bagged his hat-trick marker to put the Phoenix ahead.

Next up was Cesky for the Bison, who made no mistake in making up for his earlier disallowed goal, firing past Fone to level the scores. Captain Luke Boothroyd was next but his effort just missed. Joe Rand put the Bison ahead with his well taken penalty and it was all down to Miller to win it for the Bison; but his shot missed extending the tension further.

McKenzie stepped up for the Phoenix and his shot got the better of Lyle as he levelled the scores at two a-piece. James Archer was next up for the Phoenix who fired them straight into the play-off final with a well worked penalty shot. Sheppard was next for the Bison but his missed shot ensured the Phoenix would make the final for a second year in a row.

EPL All-star Teams 2012-13

The Ice Hockey Journalist UK organisation have selected their EPL All-star teams for 2012-13 season. The All-star teams feature a number of top players from around the league with Swindon and Guildford the most prepresented in the 1st All-Star team. Coach of the year goes to the double-double winning Paul Dixon of the Guildford Flames.

Team 1

Stevie Lyle – Basingstoke Bison

Luke Boothroyd – Manchester Phoenix

Branislav Kvetan – Guildford Flames

Jonas HÖÖG – Swind Wildcats

Aaron Nell – Swindon Wildcats

David Longstraff – Guildford Flames

 

Team 2

Stephen Wall – MK Lightning (photo by Blueline Photography)

Mindy Kieras – Slough Jets

Ben Morgan – Sheffield Steeldogs

Michal – Psurny – Manchester Phoenix

Lukas Smital – Bracknell Bees

Curtis Huppe – Guildford Flames

 

All images, except Stephan Wall, have been supplied by David Steadman Photography.

EPL 2012-13 season draws to a close.

The English Premier League (EPL) 2012-13 regular season campaign came to a close on Sunday, following the final games for eight of the teams. With the league title already decided by Guildford, there was not much to play for, except the final play-off positions for two of teams. The Bracknell Bees and Swindon Wildcats were separated by just two points going into their final matches.

The final weekend was split over three days, with the final instalment of the War of the Roses, between the Manchester Phoenix and Sheffield Steeldogs kicking off proceedings on Friday night.
The Phoenix got the better start of the team sides, as Tom Duggan hit twice in the opening period and followed up with his hat-trick strike early in the second. With Bari McKenzie adding a fourth the Phoenix took command of the game after 40 minutes.

Just 48 seconds into the final period and Edgar Bebris pulled one back for the Steeldogs. Joachim Flaten restored the four goal lead minutes later only for Andrew Hirst to pull another back in the 45th minute. Duggan added a fourth to his tally just 30 seconds later as the Phoenix looked to kill off the Steeldogs, but the Dogs had other ideas and came steam rolling back barking aloud. Hirst got his second of the game. Despite losing Ben Morgan to a match penalty for slashing the Steeldogs did not give up their attempts for a comeback and two shorthanded goals with just 63 seconds remaining set up a nail biting finish. Bebris add his hat-trick marker to level the scores and send the game into overtime.

Composure was restored during the extra period and Duggan fired the Phoenix to a dramatic victory, with his fifth of the night.

On Saturday only six teams were in action for their final weekend. The Bracknell Bees made the trip north to face the surprisingly in form Telford Tigers, as they looked to push Swindon for that 6th spot.

However as with many teams in recent months, the Tigers were too strong an opposition on home ice and sent the Bees packing on the wrong side of a 5-2 score-line.

The second team battling for that 6th spot in the league was Swindon Wildcats, who welcomed the League and Cup champions to the Link Centre for their final home game of the season. With Guildford resting a number of their key players for the final weekend, it looked like it could be a walk over for the Cats, however 29 saves by back-up netminder and ex-Wildcat himself; James Hadfield, helped secure a 5-3 win for the Flames, which would result in a final day battle between the Bees and Wildcats for 6th place.

The only other match-up for the night was the Milton Keynes Lightning and Slough Jets. Always a close encounter between the two sides, it proved so again as the Jets bounced back for their mid-week defeat in the cup to win 3-1.

To Sunday and the final day of the regular season for eight teams; with the Lightning and Peterborough Phantoms earning a night off ahead of next weekend’s play-off quarter finals.

The Manchester Phoenix hosted the team of the moment, the Telford Tigers, looking to secure their final four point weekend of the season. Once again the Phoenix raced to an early lead and by the third period were 4-1 up on their Shropshire rivals. However a three goal haul in 39 seconds pulled the Tigers back level with just minutes to spare. The Phoenix nightmare continued as they lost the lead in the 58th minute and the Tigers held on to end their season with a four point weekend.

The Basingstoke Bison hosted the Swindon Wildcats for their final home fixture, with both teams looking to end the season on a high, however it was the homeside that were celebrating after 60minutes. A hat-trick from Player/Coach Doug Sheppard and an EPL first goal for youngster Cameron Wynn, the Bison raced to a 6-3 victory, cementing the Wildcats to 7th place in the league standings.

The Bracknell Bees welcomed the Sheffield Steeldogs to the Hive knowing that a win could see them snatch 6th place in the standings. The Dogs pushed the Bees all the way, but eventually the homeside took the win they needed to jump above the Wildcats.

The final match of the weekend was a repeat of the mid-week Cup Final clash between the Flames and Slough Jets. The Flames were 5-0 in the head-to-head standings against the Jets for the season; as the visitors looked to make it 5-1 and deal out some revenge from losing the cup. As the previous night the Flames were resting some of their regular top line players ahead of next week’s play-off quarter finals, as did the Jets with Dan Milton taking the place of Greg Rockman in the Jets net. Mark Lee started the encounter for the opening period but was replaced by James Hadfield for the remainder of the game.

The Flames opened the scoring with Neil Liddard’s strike finding the net in the opening minutes. However the Jets struck back with two goals of their own, firstly Pavel Gomeniuk levelled the scores 22 seconds after Liddiard’s strike. Then Daniel Rose put the visitors ahead in the 15th minute. Branislav Kvetan got the only marker of the second period on the powerplay following Mindy Kieras being called for slashing; which saw the two sides enter the final period on level terms.

Frantisek Bakrlik put the Jets ahead once more in the 47th minute, but two quick responses from Dean Holland and Nathan Rempel saw the homeside take the lead with just under 10 minutes remaining. The goals kept coming however and Michael Wales pulled the Jets level once more in the 53rd minute, before Gomeniuk bagged his second of the night to put the Jets ahead, seeing the game end 5-4 in favour of the visitors.

So after 54 games, it comes down to one final weekend for the play-off quarter finals, before the final four teams head to Coventry. Who will be there, well make sure you come back and see who makes it and who doesn’t.

Week 9 Round up

Wednesday 7 November

Milton Keynes Lightning (3) vs (2) Slough Jets

 

Saturday 10 November

Swindon Wildcats (4) vs (2) Telford Tigers

Slough Jets (2) vs (0) Milton Keynes Lightning

Basingstoke Bison (3) vs (1) Guildford Flames

Sheffield Steeldogs (6) vs (3) Bracknell Bees

Manchester Phoenix (7) vs (5) Peterborough Phantoms

 

Sunday 11 November

Guildford Flames (3) vs (2) Basingstoke Bison

Bracknell Bees (4) vs (5) Slough Jets

Telford Tigers (4) vs (1) Manchester Phoenix

Sheffield Steeldogs (2) vs (3) Milton Keynes Lightning (ST)

Peterborough Phantoms (4) vs (3) Swindon Wildcats OT

Weekend Round Up – Week 7

Saturday 27 October

Swindon Wildcats 2 – 4 Basingstoke Bison

Guildford Flames 5 – 2 Peterborough Phantoms

Bracknell Bees 4 – 5 Telford Tigers (OT)

Slough Jets 5 – 7 Manchester Phoenix

MK Lightning 1 – 0 Sheffield Steeldogs

 

Sunday 21 October

Sheffield Steeldogs 3 – 7 Guildford Flames

Basingstoke Bison 4 – 3 Swindon Wildcats (OT)

Telford Tigers 3 – 0 MK Lightning

Manchester Phoenix 7 – 1 Bracknell Bees

Peterborough Phantoms 3 – 0 Slough Jets

 

EPL League Standings

1. Manchester Phoneix

2. Basingstoke Bison

3. Guildford Flames

4. Slough Jets

5. Bracknell Bees

6. MK Lightning

7. Swindon Wildcats

8. Sheffield Steeldogs

9. Peterborough Phantoms

10. Telford Tigers

Building the Champs! – David Longstaff

On bank holiday Monday, the Flames announced their second signing for the 2012/13 season in the form of GB international and Flames’ captain; David Longstaff.

Longstaff joined the Flames for September 2010 after 7 consecutive seasons with the Newcastle Vipers in both the British National League (BNL) and Elite League (EIHL) where he tallied 305 points over a 291 game span. David started his professional career with the Whitley Warriors in 1989 before splitting the 1995/96 season between the Newcastle Warriors and Sheffield Steelers. He joined the Steelers full-time and enjoyed 5 consecutive seasons between 1996/97 and 2000/01.

David then spent the next two seasons in Europe,  firstly with Djurgardenin the Swedish Elite League, before heading to Switzerland to join Sierre for the 2002/03 season. Icing in only 7 games David returned to Britain where he split the remainder of the season between the Manchester Storm and Newcastle Vipers; where he remained until 2009/10.

Longstaff in action against the Peterborough Phantoms in the play-off quarter finals.

During the summer (2010) many fans were wondering what ability Longstaff had left and what he would bring to the team. The announcement that Longstaff would be joining the Flames for 2010/11, along with Matt Towe and Ben Campbell, all dropping from the EIHL; sparked the rumours that Flames would not long be making the big step up to the Elite. 3 seasons on and no such announcement has been made yet. It was however refreshing to see players from the Elite league dropping to the Premier; for no better reason that to gain more ice time and to develop and improve (Towe/Campbell). For Longstaff however I think it was more a case of playing competitive hockey for a team capable of winning titles.

Luckily fans were treated to a excellent display from their veteran captain, as he scored 69 points from 22 goals in 54 outings; helping the team secure the play-off title in his maiden season with the Surrey side.

With the Flames looking to give Manchester a serious challenge for the league title in 2011/12, it made sense that Dixon would re-sign David for a second season in Surrey. Like with Huppe; David has played on a team that has won and challenged for titles throughout his career and his experience would be key to developing the team that step further.

Although some were hesitant about David’s return; he proved his worth come April and season end.  He ended the season as second highest points scorer on the team and top Brit scorer; with a total tally of 80 points from 20 goals and 60 assists – leading the team charts with assists throughout the season.

In my opinion David’s experience, leadership and play ability were a vital part of the success the Flames bestowed in 2011/12; leading the team once more to glory after bagging the league title and cup victory.

Some may question once again why Dixon has re-signed his veteran Captain for a third term in Surrey.  Comments such as “he’s not as fast as Ben Campbell” etc have been floating about and without full justification in my view. What David lacks in speed he gains in other areas of his play. He is first and foremost a team player, not looking for self-glory and the leadership qualities he brings to the team are second to none! He has down the team proud wearing the “C” on his jersey for two seasons and I would wholly expect Dixon to make it three years running come September.

David has experience of being in both a championship winning team and one that struggles in the bottom end of the table and this shows through in his playing ability. Even if the team is loosing and their backs are against the wall (so to speak) he still steps out on the ice looking to motivate the troops and attack any deficit they hold. He is also fantastic at providing guidance and setting an example for younger players on the team and these are the qualities that surely influenced Dixon’s decision to make the “new guy” his captain in 2010.

In addition to leadership skills he also brings size and presence to his game and his ability and handling on the puck when under pressure is excellent. Many a time has he done well at holding up the play until he has support or until his line-mates are in a better position of scoring.  Although not every pass will find its intended target he does have a great ability of setting up plays and scoring opportunities and his 60 assists proves just that.

Despite his age and veteran status David is, in my honest opinion, one of the best Brit forwards in the EPL. Of course there is younger and fresher talent coming through the ranks, such as Ben Campbell; however a top of the league team still requires solid point scoring veteran forwards to add experience and diversity in the roster and he still has a few seasons left in him yet.

We would like to welcome David back to the Flames for 2012/13.

Building the Champs! – Curtis Huppe

This is the first of our Building the Champs! articles which will look at the signings ahead of the 2012/13 season. So after the news that Matt Towe would not be returning to the Flames for a third season the club announced the good news that Canadian forward Curtis Huppe would be returning for a second campaign; as the team looks to defend their league and cup success of 2011/12.

Spending the majority of his early career in the Western Hockey League from 1995; Curtis made the leap to pro hockey in 2000/01 with the Greenville Growl and Greensborough Generals in the East Coast Hockey League. In four consecutive seasons he iced in 278 games; scoring a total of 203 points from 94 goals.

Making the jump across the pond, Curtis iced for the Belfast Giants in the 2004/05 season, where he scored 54 points from 48 games. He spend a further two seasons in Belfast before switching to their midland rivals, the Coventry Blaze in 07/08 assisting in their league and knock-out cup success. The following year Curtis returned to the United States playing for Corpus Christi IceRayzin Texas. He returned to the UK in 2009/10 icing for the Hull Stingrays.

Huppe returns for a second season.

The Flames signed Curtis as a direct replacement for Lukas Smital, following his controversial departure from the club, off the back of the success of lifting the league title in his first season in the EPL; with the Manchester Phoenix (2010/11).

Dixon knew he was signing a proven and enigmatic goal scorer to the team, as he looked to build a squad that could go one better than their play-off success in 2010/11, signing the third highest point scorer for that season. Curtis made the move south to Surrey off the back of his highest points haul of his career with a 110 point campaign from 59 goals and 51 assists; as part of the magic trio of Tony Hand and Marcus Kristoffersson that graced the EPL for champions Phoenix.

However, despite being blighted by injury which would see him ice in just 39 games, he still managed 31 goals (second only to Nathan Rempel) and 26 assists for a 57 points haul.

I am delighted by this announcement to the 2012/13 roster. A lot of chat and speculation remained after the end of the season a few weeks ago as to whose services we would retain for the following season; especially after the inspired performances Joe Kohut delivered after his return to the team to cover Curtis’ injury in the New Year. But Curtis is a proven goal scorer in the EPL and has the experience of being part of a title winning team in both the EIHL and EPL which will no doubt become handy as the Flames look to retain their hard fought titles of last season.

The injury no doubt over-shadowed what Curtis was able to deliver and had he remained fully fit up to April we must definitely might have been looking at another high points total.

Another season at the Spectrum will allow him to challenge once more for league honours (and more) if he is played with the right line-mates. The history between Curtis and Rempel was evident earlier in the season as the two played intuitively together becoming one of the league duo’s, opposing netminders feared.

Curtis has a powerful slap shot which 90% of the time finds the back of the net. It was refreshing to see Curtis powering down the wing and winding up a canon shot as he entered the offensive zone; compared to what we had become accustomed to with Smital.

He also brings size and speed to the table and isn’t afraid to hit or take the body when needed. He is not necessarily a player that would openly drop the gloves but if he hits he makes sure the other player realises they were hit (if that makes sense).

All we need now is for Dixon to announce that he has also re-signed Rempel and we can breathe a sigh of relief.

Welcome back Curtis and good luck for 2012/13!

Matt Towe Departs for Belfast

It was announced last week that Matt Towe had taken the decision to leave the Guildford Flames after two seasons with the Surrey side in the EPL. Shortly after the announcement it was confirmed by Elite League Champions, the Belfast Giants, that they had secured the signature of Matt for the 2012/13 season; adding to their already impressive British line-up.

Whilst disappointing to the Flames’ faithful, it is not as big a shock as some have stated and was wholly expected to happen at some stage in the near future. Matt has been very vocal himself with regards to his desire to re-join the EIHL for a second time in his career.

Before joining the Flames in 2010/11, Matt spent three seasons with the Cardiff Devils; scoring 53 points from 172 starts as a third line forward. Since joining the Flames Matt has established himself as one of the best British centres in the EPL and one of the key players in the Flames’ success for the past two seasons.

Matt ends his time at the Flames with 109 starts in which he scored 139 points from 37 goals and 102 assists which equates to 1.27 points per game. Despite being blighted by injury during 2011/12 he was still able to score 12 goals and 34 assists in 42 games; whilst scoring two goals during the Flames’ play-off campaign.

In the 2010-11 season, Matt amassed 21 goals and 64 assists for 85 points in 58 games, finishing as the second highest British born scorer in the EPL behind Manchester’s Tony Hand.

In Matt we have lost a very capable point-per-game British centre-forward. Matt has been apart of a successful team for the past two seasons, winning the play-off title in his first year before being part of the double winning team this past season.

Matt is a high tempo player and plays each shift with intensity and speed which can trouble opposing defence and goalies. Whilst not the highest scoring forward he had the traits of being in the right place at the right time and was very creative on the puck resulting in plenty of scoring opportunities for himself and his line-mates. Regularly playing with the likes of David Longstaff and Nathan Rempel have done nothing but help develop Matt’s game further.

A question remains as to who will replace Matt as the first line centre forward. Whilst Milos is more than capable of that role he is looking to reduce his ice time; playing when/where necessary throughout the season, but not for a full 54 game campaign.

Many believed that his possible replacement could be Greg Owen who was rumoured to be dropping to the EPL from the Coventry Blaze; however his announcement at Basingstoke has shelved that rumour. Another capable Brit forward, Aaron Nell, has also re-signed for his club and remains at Swindon.

One thing is for certain however and that is that the replacement will need to be of high calibre to ensure the development of the team remains high as the league will no doubt become stronger and more competitive once again.

Final Thoughts – whilst disappointing that Matt has decided to move on; it does however give Dixon the chance to shake up the order and bring some fresh talent into a league winning team. Matt has been a valued member of the Flames organisation for the past two seasons and Belfast have gained a very top quality Brit. Hopefully his presence back on the EIHL stage will open the door for a return to the GB squad.

Good Luck Matt for 2012/13 from all at the Flames!