Aldridge set to lead Wildcats for 6th year running

The Swindon Wildcats have announced that head coach Ryan Aldridge will be returning to the club for a sixth successive campaign in 2013-14, and will be available to play as in previous seasons. Despite the disappointment of missing the play-off semi-finals for a third season running the club have moved quickly to start making the preperations for next season as early as possible.

Aldridge returns for a sixth season in charge of the Wildcats.

Aldridge returned to his home town club in 2008 after less than two months in charge of the Basingstoke Bison in the Elite League (EIHL); following on and off ice issues with the Hampshire side. He joined Head Coach Pete Russell as a player/coach for the remainder of the season leading the club to 8th place in the league standings.

The 2009-10 season saw Aldridge return to the club as player/coach with the club finishing in 8th place in the league standings for a second successive season. The Wildcats faced the league champions, the Milton Keynes Lightning, in the play-off quarter finals and an 10-8 aggregate score saw them proceed to the semi-finals in Coventry where they faced Guildford, but their path to the final was halted by a 5-2 loss.

The following season, Aldridge was once again back to lead the Wildcats charge in the EPL and a 7th place league finished marked a slight improvement over the previous two seasons, however was no where near where the club wanted to be. For 2011-12 Aldridge showed his clout in the recruiting department as he signed the entire top line of the Bracknell Bees; consisting of Jaroslav Cesky, Nicky Watt and Michal Pinc to the Link Centre. Jonas Höög made a return for a second season, whilst local boy Aaron Nell split his time between the Coventry Blaze and Wildcats. At the back Tom Murdy signed full time from the Blaze and he was joined mid season by Dean Skinns who had been released by the Bison. Despite a strong team on paper the Wildcats could only manage a 7th place finish for a second year running, whilst losing out to the Manchester Phoenix in the play-off quarter finals.

For this past season, it was all change again in the Wildcats squad. Aldridge announced before the season started that he’d prefer to coach from the bench, but would play if required. He eventually iced in 37 games due to injuries within the team and scored 26 points. Returning for a third season was Höög, joined on the top-line by Nell who retired full-time to the EPL squad.

Skinns and Murdy also returned for a second season, however a serious injury to Murdy would see Skinns take the number 1 mantle during the season.

The Wildcats started the season with Matias Perkkiö, Michal Kapicka, Jan Melichar alongside Höög in the import set-up. However a mid-season move for giant defenceman, Tomas Fojtik from the Telford Tigers, saw the departure of Kapicka after only 19 starts.

The Wildcats, had a less successful year than the last, in terms of overall victories however finished in a third successive 7th place in the league standings. In the play-offs they faced the Bison and after an initial 3-3 in the first leg of the play-off quarter finals; were eventually edged out in overtime in the return leg in Basingstoke, losing 2-1 to once again miss out on the finals weekend.

Despite the limited success Aldridge has enjoyed with Swindon it is a smart move by the Berkshire side. Consistency in terms of coaching and players is sometimes key to success on the ice. Having finished in the bottom 5 of the league standings for the past 5 years they will surely be looking to overturn their fortunes next season and despite the debate about what Aldridge has won with the Wildcats, there is not dispute that he is a decent coach in the EPL. Having had a strong squad on paper for the past two seasons and only reaching 7th in the league standings will be a bitter pill to swallow; however lessons will hopefully have been learnt at the Link Centre and next season they will be able to compete consistently on the ice week in and week out.

It will now just be interesting to see who will return and who Aldridge can capture to lead the Wildcats to a better finished than 7th in 2013-14.

 

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 Semi-final Contenders Confirmed

Last weekend saw four quarter final match-ups take place on Saturday and Sunday and after 480 minutes and a few seconds of tense hockey action, the contenders for the EPL semi-finals have been decided.

The Guildford Flames took their 4-1 advantage from Saturday and extended it further for an 11-3 aggregate score against the Peterborough Phantoms.

The Basingstoke Bison secured their place at the finals weekend in Coventry for the first time since they dropped to the EPL with an overtime winner on Sunday against the Swindon Wildcats.

The Manchester Phoenix overturned a one goal deficit on Saturday to beat the Bracknell Bees 7-2 on Sunday to secure their place for the fourth year running.

The Slough Jets come back from 4-2 down on Saturday to force the game into overtime but Milton Keynes’ overtime strike fired them into the final 4.

Here is a game-by-game summary of the quarter finals.

Guildford Flames [11] v [3] Peterborough Phantoms
The Double-double champions went into the quarter final the favourites to progress to Coventry. Having secured the EPL Cup and league titles in the weeks preceding the fixture the team was full of confidence, whilst the Phantoms would be hoping for an upset as in 2011. On Saturday the Flames travelled to Peterborough for the first game and after a feisty affair took a comfortable 4-1 advantage into their home leg on Sunday; with a brace of goals from Curtis Huppe and individual efforts from Rick Plant and Paul Dixon.

On Sunday there was a vibrant atmosphere at the Spectrum, with the Kids go free offer packing the rafters to capacity. Despite early chances the first goal did not come until the 13th minute. Damien King seeing the better of Dean Holland’s wrap around attempt; however the rebound fell straight back to Holland who fired the puck from an acute angle past the post. The Phantoms struck back quickly as Maris Ziedins found the net to equal the scores; however the Flames advantage was re-stored before the end of the period with Nathan Rempel finding the net to make it 2-1.

A pair of goals from Curtis Huppe and Branislav Kvetan in the second period stretched the Flames lead to three going into the final period.

The Phantoms job of a comeback was made even harder early in the third period when Ben Campbell found the net. With the game entering the final 10 minutes Jez Lundin comfortably put the Flames five goals in front with a blueline strike. Minutes later and James Ferrara was able to grab a consolation goal for the Phantoms only for Huppe to add his second of the evening with just over a minute remaining in the game. A game very much subdued than the previous night was brought to life in the dying seconds as Scott Greenfield and Greg Pick dropped the gloves to round up the final period.

A 7-2 victory on the night secured a 11-3 aggregate win for the champions who will be keeping their fingers crossed they can secure the grand slam they were so close to winning last season.

Basingstoke Bison [5] v [4] Swindon Wildcats (after overtime)
The Bison went into the quarter final short benched through injuries and with two of their junior players on international duty in Estonia; but they were hoping for some luck. Having never reached the finals weekend in their three previous seasons, the pressure was on player/coach Doug Sheppard who led the Slough Jets to the Play-off crown in 2011-12.

A very tight opening game at the Link Centre saw both teams’ level terms after 60 minutes. The Bison opened the scoring through Joe Greener but the Wildcats responded in the second period with Aaron Nell grabbing the first of his hat-trick. By the mid-way point of the game ex-Wildcat Jaroslav Cesky’s pair extended the Bison’s lead to two. But Nell added a second before the period was over. A final strike in the final 5 minutes earned Nell a well-earned hat-trick and set up an epic battle in Sunday’s game back at the Basingstoke Arena.

There was not much two split the two sides as the opening period got underway, but Joe Rand put the Bison ahead at 14:51. It took some time but the Wildcats were able to respond and Sam Bullas brought the game level once again at 22:23. Neither side could find the go ahead go with both netminders on top form and with the game drawing to an end it was clear that overtime or penalties would have to settle this tie.

With the Wildcats penalised for too many men just before the final buzzer the extra period was 4-on-3 in favour of the Bison. Taking full advantage straight away Cesky wound up a slap shot from the point only to be denied by the post. However the puck bounced across the crease to a waiting Greener who fired home to seal the victory for the Bison and secure their place in Coventry.

Manchester Phoenix [10] v [6] Bracknell Bees
With both teams enjoying a strong end to the regular season it was always going to be hard to pick a winner from this quarter final. With a comeback win against the Sheffield Steeldogs in the final game of the season the Bees secured 6th place and had made the play-off quarter finals for the first time since 2009-10.

On Saturday the Phoenix made their way to the Hive for the first leg; however it was not to go their way and the homeside took the opening victory 4-3 with goals from Shaun Thompson x2, Scott Spearing, and Grant Rounding. It was, as they would say, a proper play-off encounter and a very close game right to the final buzzer.

On Sunday the Phoenix were back in their own barn and hoping to give the home fans something to cheer about. Unlike the previous night the Phoenix took a first period lead which they would not give up for the remainder of the game. With the Bees hitting penalty trouble early in the encounter goals from Flaten and Psurny gave the Phoenix the aggregate lead at 5-4.

The homeside started the second period as the first ended and extended their lead further when James Archer set up Robert Schnabel for the game winning goal in the 26th minute. With the game at 4-on-4 following an altercation between Spearing and Pozivil, Andy McKinney made it 4-0 on the night just before the mid-way point.

Going into the third and final period the Phoenix held a 3-0 aggregate lead over the Bees. However hopes of a sparks of a comeback were made when Oliver Bronniman found the net at 42:01. But a second goal by Schnabel killed of any hopes of a Bees comeback. Lukas Smital did grab the Bees a consolation goal on the powerplay, but their inability to keep out the penalty box lead to their downfall as Boothroyd made it 6-2 with less than 10 minutes to play. With the game drawing to an end the Phoenix were able to grab a final marker at 57:04 with McKinney grabbing his second of the game.

Milton Keynes Lightning [5] v [4] Slough Jets (after overtime)
Neither team could be seen as the favourites going into the weekend, but the Lightning took the advantage in Slough on Saturday. The Jets opened the scoring through Ciaran Long but ex-Jet Blaz Emersic was on hand to grab an equaliser for the Lightning before the end of the opening period.

The Lightning seemed to be firing on all cylinders for the second period and peppered Greg Rockman with 21 shots in the Jets goal however only a single marker found the net as Kamil Tvrdek scored on the powerplay giving the visitors a one goal lead heading into the third period.

The Jets seemed to overturn their own performance and dominated for much of the final period, but it was the Lightning to get on the board first as Chris Wiggins netted their third at 50:11. Just over a minute later and Nicky Chinn scored on the powerplay to extend the Lightning’s lead to three with less than 8 minutes remaining. But the Jets kept up the pressure and Dan Davies kept the deficit to just two scoring at 54:14.

On Sunday and back in MK the Lightning only had to hold the two goal lead and bag a couple of early goals to extend their advantage but it was Slough that were calling the shots. The Jets took an early lead in the opening two minutes to make it 4-3 on aggregate score. Before the period was up, Blaz Emersic was called for checking from behind and ejected from the game.

It was the Jets that were having the better of the chances and they levelled the game at 28:47 with Long grabbing his second of the weekend with a powerplay strike. Both teams were able to hold on for the final 30 minutes and neither could grab a go ahead goal, forcing the tie into overtime. With the 5 minute overtime period underway it was Captain Adam Carr that was able to fire the Lightning into the semi-finals with a well-placed strike past Rockman.

On Saturday the semi-finals kick off at the Skydome Arena in Coventry. The first game will see the double champions Guildford take on the MK Lightning at 3pm before the Bison and Phoenix go toe-to-toe at 7pm.

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.

Watkins returns to lead Tigers in 2013-14

The TRS Telford Tigers have confirmed that player/coach Tom Watkins will be returning to the club for a fourth year to head the club’s EPL campaign for the 2013-14 season.

Player/Coach Tom Watkins has agreed to return to the Telford Tigers for 2013-14.

The announcement comes despite recent rumours linking Watkins with the coaching job at his former EIHL employers, Coventry Blaze, to replace the Sweden bound Paul Thompson.

Watkins re-joined the newly formed Supporters Trust owned Tigers team as player/coach, following the end of 10 year relationship with the Coventry Blaze in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

The Telford Tigers were formed and iced in their first full season in 1985-86 and were granted permission to join the first division of the British Hockey League. In 1987-88 the Tigers won the Southern Division by two points, before beating the Northern conference champions, Cleveland Bombers to take the overall title. Despite their success, the Tigers eventually folded in the summer of 1990 after the team was put into liquidation.

A new organisation was formed, Telford Tigers Ice Hockey Club (1990) and returned to the ice for the 1990-91 season. However the troubles were far from over and after ending up runners up in the 1994-95 season, the club was issued with an order to fold owing £30,000 in unpaid VAT. Once again the team was reformed and returned for the 1995-96 season.

In December 1996, the Tigers once again ran into money troubles however were saved by Ken Crickmore, who listed the club on the OFEX Stock market.

The Tigers remained competitive, however unsuccessful in the following seasons, but the troubles were far from over as the Telford Tigers Ice Hockey Plc went bankrupt and ending up being wound up by the High Court in Spring 1999; still owing monies to both the coach and players.

This resulted in a period of time with no Tigers team in Telford, however the Telford Wildfoxes being established in 2001 playing in the amateur English National League. In 2003 the Tigers named once again returned to Telford as the Wildfoxes evolved and joined the English Premier League.

The Tigers struggled to find their previous competitive form, shown in their different guises and ended up at the wrong end of the standings for a number of seasons. In 2008-09 the Tigers announced a major new sponsorship deal with Eurologix, however after just a few weeks the Cannock based company pulled out of the agreement leaving a huge dent in the Tigers’ finances for the season ahead.

Once again financial difficulties hit the club hard in 2009-10 and after missing the registration deadline for the EPL were unable to ice for the season. A return to the EPL was hoped for the following season following a change in management of the organisation. A Supporters Club (Tiger Tracks) was established to take over ownership of the team. In April 2010 it was confirmed that the team’s application for the EPL had been approved and they would return for the 2010-11 season.

And so started the current chapter in the Telford Tigers’ troubled history.

A five year plan had been set by the Trust to see first and foremost stability for the team and secondly competitive hockey return to the Shropshire side. The first appointment for the new owners was that of former Tigers defenceman, Watkins in the role of player/coach. Watkins had just earned his fourth EIHL League Championship with the Coventry Blaze having joined them in 2000-01. After 10 seasons with the midlands side it was time for Watkins to turn his attention to a new challenge and that was to see the Tigers become a competitive franchise once again.

Despite some promising results in the initial season the Tigers finished a respectable 9th place in the standings, beating the Bracknell Bees by just one point at the bottom of the table. In the second season, 2011-12, the Tigers finished at the bottom of the league standings, 19 points off the final play-off position.

At the end of the current season, once again the Tigers have finished bottom of the league standings with 13 victories and 28 points; however this time were 21 points off the play-off positions. However the Tigers have shown glimpses of their potential that has been three years in the making, ending the regular season with a four point weekend and victories over the Bracknell Bees and Manchester Phoenix.

It is excellent news for the Tigers that Watkins has agreed a return for the 2013-14 season as he looks to build on the foundations he has set over the previous three seasons. Watkins approach to coaching the Tigers has been to nurture and develop local talent, adding in a mixture of experienced Brits and skilful imports; all on a very tight and small budget, compared to some of their league rivals.

It appears that, despite the tough results earlier in the season, his mixture is finally starting to set and gel together as the Tigers look to the new season and mounting a probable charge on the top 8 in the league. Of course there will be personnel changes during the summer, not every team can do a Guildford and keep the same roster bar two changes, for consecutive seasons. However the changes will need to take the team in the right direction and give them that extra step needed to challenge week in and week out for the play-off positions.

The highlight for the team and Watkins, of the current season, will surely be the 8-2 thrashing they handed the third placed Phoenix earlier in March, a performance and team that showed they can still compete with the teams at the top end of the standings.

Now we just have the summer of anticipation as we wait to see who stays, who goes and who joins the Tigers for next year’s challenge.

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.

Guildford Flames secure the Double Double!

Last night the Guildford Flames became the only franchise in the English Premier League, to ever secure back-to-back double championship honours; with the league title and EPL Cup. Having secured their second consecutive EPL League title a few days earlier, everything was set for a tense encounter between the Flames and Slough Jets in the second leg of the Cup Final. Holding a two goal margin over their rivals, the Flames were hotly tipped to retain the Cup for another year; and with the Spectrum full with 2012 Slough and Guildford fans a 5-3 score on the night sealed the deal for the men from Surrey.

With Nathan Rempel called for an early charging penalty in the 2nd minute, the Jets got their first opportunity of the game, however it was the Flames that were the more dominant side during their penalty kill period. A clearing puck from the Flames’ zone sent David Longstaff on a breakaway, only to be brought down by Mindy Kieras after crossing the blueline. To everyone’s amazement however referee Dave Cloutman saw no issue with the challenge and no penalty was called.
It was the homeside who were first on the board at 09:40. David Savage carried the puck into the zone and shot at Greg Rockman. With the Slough netminder unable to control the puck a scramble ensued in front of net and Savage was able to poke home the puck to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.

The Jets were back in the game a few minutes later as Frantisek Bakrlik made a great move to beat Mark Lee for an unassisted strike to level the game at 1-1 at 12:19. The Flames continued their dominant style of play and just before the period buzzer the they were back in front as David Longstaff found the net from a tight angle at 17:45; giving the homeside a 2-1 lead going into the second period.

The Jets came out in attacking style in the middle stanza and were creating numerous opportunities, however to no avail. A mid-ice steal saw Longstaff skate into the Jets zone down the right side. Milos Melicherik rushed into the zone from the left and was unmarked at the back door as a cross ice pass from the Captain was coolly flicked past Rockman giving the Flames a 3-1 lead for the only marker of the period.

With a huge mountain to climb the Jets came out once again on the attack, however an early period tripping penalty for Darius Pliskauskas put them on the back foot; but the Flames could not capitalise on the advantage.
With the clock ticking down, all seemed lost for the Jets, but with two goals in three minutes they were right back in the game.

A fine strike by Kieras found the gap in Lee’s defences and the game edged closer at 3-2. Just under three minutes later and Dan Scott pulled the visitors level with 6 minutes to play. Just past the 5 minute mark, Jets coach Slava Koulikov called a timeout to formulate their strategy for the final minutes of the game.

With the game entering the final minute of play, Rockman raced to the bench for the extra skater, only for Milos to steal the puck in the Flames zone as he reached the bench. Firing the puck down ice it slid into the open net with ting of the back bar. With 40 seconds left to play and the Jets winning the centre ice face off, they proceeded into the zone and again Rockman raced to the bench. Again the puck was stole on the Flames’ blueline by Curtis Huppe. Rushing up ice towards the empty net, he fired the puck from his stick as he took a tumble to the ice. With the two empty net goals the game was sealed up and with seconds remaining no chance of a Jets come back. The game on the night ended 5-3 giving the Flames a 9-5 aggregate score across both legs of the final.

Summary

This wasn’t really a stand out game. An epic tale that demonstrates the true skill and talent in the EPL. However it was a tight encounter and both teams seemed up for it on the night. However the physiological advantage the Flames held over the Jets with a two goal margin did start to show through and desperation seemed to be strife amongst the Jets contingent. The Flames did show a good forecheck throughout the game and any attack was broken down well, except for a small lapse in concentration during the middle of the final period which saw the Jets grab two quick goals to equalise the game. However any hope of a dramatic comeback didn’t seem forthcoming and the hesitant nature of the decision to pull Rockman is probably want counted towards the two empty net goals.

A word on our opponents

Firstly, the Jets come in and played the usual style hockey they usually demonstrate. They did seem a bit thin at the back and in some ways did surely missed the presence of Adam Greener at the back. Rockman, as shown a few times this season, had a shocker of a game and would surely like the first two goals back which seemed to float straight through his five-hole. Big questions will need to be asked by the coach during the summer as to whether Rockman is brought back for another season at the Hangar.

Wales. Well Wales was his usual chirpy self. The player you either love, or love to hate. However the biggest agitator on the night seemed to be Ciaran Long. The numerous digs at Brani, Milos, and Holland had me wondering whether a beating was due at some point in the game. It didn’t come however and he lived to fight another day, Sunday perhaps.

One thing I will say is that whether you like the style of game he plays, Wales was very gracious in defeat and showed a higher level of maturity than what we are sometimes witness to, to stay on the ice with the team whilst the Flames collected their Cup showed the kind of sportsmanlike behaviour that is sometimes amiss. The fans also did the Jets proud and kept up the noise throughout the game and unlike their fellow fans from Basingstoke, despite how late the evening was, stayed to see the presentations and celebrations.

3 Stars of the Game

So Savage was awarded the man-of-the match award, however at About the Ice we prefer to do things a little more American style and pick the 3 stars of the game.

Well of course he was going to feature; David Savage. Savage has once again upped his game this season and will surely have EIHL bosses a calling. Not only great defensively, with the numerous poke checks to break down any attack, he was also showing good movement going forward and on quite a few occasions danced through their defence and into their zone.

Milos – The team just seem to play at another level when Milos is on the ice. The move with Longstaff for the third goal was just sublime and shows why he should be back in a more permanent basis next season. I don’t think I saw him lose a single face-off throughout the game and this is what is needed from your only natural centre on the team.

Any number of players could have been picked for the third star but I am going for Holland. He never gave up throughout and really made his presence on every shift known. Throwing big hits and taking a few himself, he is a work horse and will keep going until it is time to retreat to the bench.

Guildford Flames crowned the 2012-13 EPL League Champions

The Guildford Flames were crowned the 2012-13 English Premier League (EPL) League Champions on Saturday, despite a 2-1 overtime loss to the Sheffield Steeldogs, to secure their second successive title. The back-to-back capture of the EPL league crown is the first in the club’s history, thanks to the sole point secured in Sheffield.

In a tight encounter, the goal deadlock was not broken until the middle period, when in the 28th minute Steve Duncombe fired the homeside into the lead. However the advantage was wiped out as Player/Coach Paul Dixon equalled the scores shortly before the end of the period to set up a tense third period.

With neither team able to find a break through the game was dead locked at 1-apiece and the game was forced into overtime. However it did not take long for the Steeldogs to find the winner through Lee Haywood. The victory was also in no small part thanks to their closest rivals, the Basingstoke Bison, falling on the wrong side of a 3-2 score at home against the Milton Keynes Lightning.

Like the Nottingham Panthers in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the Flames secured the title with league games remaining and a comfortable margin over their closest rivals in the league standings.

The following evening the Flames celebrated their success with a homecoming 5-4 shoot-out victory against the Swindon Wildcats; coming from two goals behind to force overtime and the shoot-out.
We will do a full summary of the Flames’ league success following the completion of the final league fixtures this coming weekend, to see how they overcame an early season scare to catch and pull clear of the Basingstoke Bison.

Paul Dixon holds the League Trophy aloft for a second year in a row.

Jets crash land in burst of FLAMES

With the action returning to the Spectrum on Sunday, the Flames were looking to extend their 6 game win streak when the Slough Jets visited Surrey. The Flames had extended their unbeaten run to six the previous evening with a 3-2 win in Milton Keynes against a hard fighting Lightning side. The Basingstoke Bison loosing 3-0 at home to the Sheffield Steeldogs, the Flames could also more importantly stretch their lead to 8 points in the league battle, which they did in fine form with a 4-3 thrashing of the Jets.

The Flames were without Ben Campbell and Stuart Potts through injury; whilst Jozef Kohut took to the bench to allow Nathan Rempel to ice. Also dressed were Chris Cooke and Scott Greenfield however neither saw ice time during the game. The Jets were without player/coach Slava Koulikov and Adam Greener as their injury woes continue.

With Matt Thompson dropping the game for the opening face-off the game was underway and the Flames immediately looked to try and take the game to the Jets. However neither team could find a footing in the opening minutes, but the Flames were gifted an early chance when Mindy Keiras was called for elbowing at 03:49; however they could not capitalise on the powerplay. Shortly afterwards it was the visitors opportunity on the powerplay with David Savage called for interference at 06:15; however the penalty killing unit was up to the task and the game remained level.

Despite the chances coming for the homeside on the rush, it looked like goals would be hard to come by in the game and it wasn’t until the 13th minute that the first marker was made. A good move in front of net saw the puck drop back to player/coach Paul Dixon who fired top shelf past Greg Rockman for the lead.

With the clock counting down the period the Flames were trying to hold possession however with just over a minute left to play the Jets found themselves back in the encounter. A blasting shot by Darius Pliskauskas rebounded to Michael Wales who hacked the puck past Mark Lee to bring the scores level to end the period.

With the second period underway it took just 47 seconds for the Jets to get the go-ahead goal. Nathan Rempel with a miss shot, saw the turn over by the Jets and a fine finish by Frantisek Bakrlik; showing his ability and skill to fire the puck past Lee. The Jets were holding the lead and had the majority of possession for much of the second period. A new level of intensity started to show through and became very physical with hard hits being thrown by both sides. The biggest hit coming from Bransilav Kvetan on James Hutchinson in the corner. With the puck fired around the boards both players rushed to gather it, however a hard shoulder barge caught Hutchy by surprise.

Hutchinson takes exception to the hit from Kvetan.

With the game reaching the mid-way point the Flames were camped in the Jets zone looking for that equallising goal and it came in good fashion in the 12th minute. A quick draw from the face off saw the puck drop to Curtis Huppe in space. With a hard wrister shot the puck whistled past Rockman to level the score and in the process registering his 46th of the season.

As with the first, the clock counted down to the end of the period without much drama, however a slash by Dan Davies to Kvetan in the corner (it happened right in front of me and was clear to see) lead to a retaliation slash from the Slovak tank as he skated away. Living up to his reputation and name as “Big Useless Agitator” Wales took disapproval to the action leading to both benches clearing after the buzzer. Flames enforcer Andrew Sharp was now facing down Wales, and despite his offers to teach Wales a lesson or two in manners, he wasn’t polite enough to accept and Sharpy was left feeling hard done by.

The period break did nothing to dampen the tempers. A trip to Dean Holland at centre ice lead to a short break in play as the blood from his damaged nose had to be scraped off the ice. Once again the visitors applied pressure early in the period and poor defence from the Flames saw Jets take the upper hand once again. Dixon out worked by Bakrlik to feed the puck to Pliskauskas at the back door. Unmarked he was able to wind up and fire the puck past Lee to make it 3-2 at 43:31. Tempers were once again flared with Sharp made contact with Rockman whilst attempting to tip in a Huppe pass from the right wing.

 

 

Rempel levels the scores with a close range strike.

The Flames were able to find the equalising goal, coming at 51:43 from Nathan Rempel. Once again the Flames were peppering Rockman with shots looking for that gap. A blasting shot from point range by the “Slovak Tank” Kvetan resulted in a bouncing rebound into the path of Rempel who was crashing the net. A flick of the stick saw the puck end up on the right side of the post and 3-3 showing on the score board.

 

With the Flames well and truly back in the game; just 15 seconds after Rempel’s strike the Flames were once again celebrating with Huppe grabbing his second of the evening. With Milos winning the face-off and quick feed from David Longstaff gave Huppe room to fire home a buzzing slap shot past Rockman to give the homeside the advantage.

With the game entering its final stage and just minutes left to play, the Jets were gifted their best opportunity to get back in the game and spoil the result for the Flames with a 2-0 breakaway. However the heroics and a stretching right leg from Lee saved the day and kept the Flames in front. Despite pulling Rockman to the bench for the final 30 or so seconds, the Jets couldn’t find the net to level the score. The win and two points staying firmly with the homeside and league leaders.

Talking Points

For the majority of the game the Flames looked the better side and even when behind looked comfortable on the play. The Jets took their chances, the few there were and made them count, however by the 45th minute they looked out of steam and didn’t seem to have an answer for the onslaught from the Flames.

The Jets, with the exception of Wales and Bakrlik, played a good road game and could have come away with the honours if it wasn’t for Rempel and Huppe.

Wales – what a donkey. All mouth and no trousers!! When he wasn’t having a dig at numerous players he was holding up play by whingy to the officials. I think by the third Thompson had enough of listening to what he had to say. I was hoping that someone would give him a battering and I think 4/5 players offered him out on numerous occassions, but he is clever and never bites, but his time will soon come.

Bakrlik – showed glimpses as to why he has played EIHL level in the past and is one of those players that if he was consistently that good could most likely be a very successful player at a high level and also EPL. However it seems he has a short attention span and the glimpses of brillance are diluted by masses of stupidity. Especially after the dirty high elbow hit on Kvetan that was attempting to catch the puck out the air. A jumping check with both skates off the ice should not be allowed and I am surprised he didn’t get called on that.

The Flames, despite being slugish for parts of the game, and struggling to mount an offensive challenge out of their own zone for more than one of the Jets penalty kill sesssions were the better side. Chances were coming fast and often and apart from spells when Huppe when missing, every player was up for it; especially Holland. You have to congratulate that man for coming straight back out after having his nose mate with the ice in the most unfortunate way.

My three star players were;

Rempel – seemed to cover a lot of ice last night and was really trying to get a goal. The elation was clear to see after he scored when he just kept skating into the boards. Also the big centre ice hit on Bakrlik was a pleasure to see.

Kvetan – once again had a solid performance and despite none of his rockets finding their way to the net he was causing trouble for the Jets and Rockman especially.

Savage – it was a hard one to choose between David and Lee. Apart from the leg stop on the 2-0 break away late in the 3rd he had a very average game. Savage was where he needed to be on the ice and like Brani was causing all sorts of trouble with his slap shots and the resulting rebounds.

Kapicka Released by Wildcats

The Swindon Wildcats have announced that import forward Michal Kapicka has been released by the club with immediate effect.

The Czech native joined the Wildcats for the start of the 2012-13 season and has appeared in 19 contests; in which he has registered 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points.

Kapicka started his career in 1999-00 in the Czech Under 18 league icing for the Bili Tygri Liberec U18 as well as HC Litvinov U18. In 2000-01 Kapicka continued with the Bili Tygri Liberec U18 side as well as joining the U20 team in 17 games. This was followed by four consecutive seasons with the U20 side as well as icing for the HC Jablonec in Czech 3 in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Kapicka joined HC Jablonec in the Czech 3 division full-time in 2006-07 and iced in 11 games; registering 13 points. During that season he also spent time in the Slovakian 2 league with HK Nove Zamky for just one game.

During the 2007-08 season Kapicka was well traveled having split his time amongst 4 teams; with HC Jablonec in the Czech 3, HK Nitra in Slovakian division, Ferencváros TC in Hungary and HK Nove Zamky in the Slovakian 2 division. The following three seasons saw Kapicka spend his time in his native Czech, as well as Germany. In 2011-12 Kapicka spent the season with Mullhouse in the France 2 division. He registered over a point a game, finishing the season with 36pts from 26 starts.

The announcement may come as a shock to some fans and not to others. In recent weeks the Wildcats looked to strengthen their roster with the signing of import defenceman Tomas Fojtik from the Telford Tigers. Fojtik started the season with the Basingstoke Bison however was released in favour of Tigers forward Jaroslav Cesky. In what seemed a straight swap between the two clubs was far from being so simple. Fojtik spent just a sole weekend in Telford before heading back south to join Ryan Aldridge’s men.

At the time of his signing there was no news regarding the imports in Swindon with the option of 5 players. However following their 5-2 defeat to the Milton Keynes Lightning Aldridge took the decision to release Kapicka as he looks to bring balance to the team; especially following the return to fitness of Matias Perkkio.

This leaves Jonas Hoog, Jan Melichar, Perkkio and Fojtik as the remaining import players on the Wildcats roster. Kapicka will now most likely look for other options to continue playing this season, with a number of EPL clubs looking to make changes to the teams and also short of their import quota; most notably Sheffield and Telford. Following the departure of Cesky to Bison and Fojtik to Swindon, Tom Watkins has not yet found a suitable replacement for the Tigers; however it would be no surprise if Kapicka is seriously being looked at. Kapicka is a very capable forward at this level and his 22 points from 19 games shows his ability to score and collect points. He is good on the puck and has the ability going forward.

We’ll keep you updated as soon as any news of Kapicka’s whereabouts is released.