Cesky joins Bison and Fojtik heads north to Tigers

A number of weeks ago a rumour was doing the rounds that the Bison were set to sign Jarolsav Cesky from the Telford Tigers. The questions at the time were who would make way from their import list to accommodate Cesky on the roster; with the presumption that they would not be capable of funding a 5^th import. Well the most likely candidate at the time was Joe Rand. Rand stepped up to the Bison and EPL from the Wightlink Raiders and ENL 1. Questions were asked at the time of his announcement of whether he would fit in and be of good enough quality for the EPL. Well he has shown himself capable having put up 10 points from 12 games; with 4 goals and 6 assists.

Many could not fathom why the Bison would need to sign a player such as Cesky with the amount of firepower and top draw forwards that had joined Coach Sheppard over the summer. With the likes of top Brits Greg Owen, Joe Miller and Joe Greener joining ex-Bison  Greg Chambers, Rand and Sheppard himself on the forward lines the Bison should not be short of scoring ability. However it has not worked out that way after 13 games played.

They have currently only scored 37 goals compared to the 22 conceded (+15 difference), but in stark contrasts to Guildford’s 65 GF, Bracknell’s 50 GF and Manchester’s 47 GF.  The lowest goals against figure is in no small part due to having arguably the best British netminder in the EPL; in the form of Stevie Lyle. So what isn’t going right for the Bison and why aren’t they getting the goals. The only people that know this will be Coach Sheppard and the players themselves; however Sheppard has obviously felt changes are needed to light up the score boards for the Bison.

The shock twist in this saga came earlier this week when Coach Sheppard announced that his import defenceman, the 6ft 5” Czech giant Tomas Fojtik, had been released by the club.

The following day, and much to everyone’s surprise, Cesky had been announced as leaving the Tigers to become a Bison player for the remainder of the 2012-13 season. What was even more shocking was Tiger’s player-coach Tom Watkins announcing that Fojtik would make his way north to join the Shropshire side. So seemingly a straight swap of players between the two clubs. Well not quite!

Cesky joins a team currently in 2^nd place in the league standings from one that is currently in last place; however coming off their first 4 point weekend of the season. Cesky himself the hero of the hour, with his hat-trick giving the Tigers victory over the MK Lightning on Sunday.

Fojtik leaves a team that has seemingly been the best defensively this season. As mentioned above that has a lot to do with the Bison having the best netminder in the league. Lyle has faced 363 shots (second highest of all netminders) however only conceded 19 goals. This gives a goals against average as 1.7 goals a game and a save percentage of 94.77 (correct as of 24.10.12).

So you could say that what the Bison will miss from Fojtik in defence will be levelled out by what Cesky will bring on offense. Well that isn’t always the case. It will take Cesky time to settle into the Bison’s system of play and to find that ability to click with his line-mates; therefore the goals may not come flowing immediately.

So who is to replace Fojtik? It would appear that “Mr Basingstoke” Tony Redmond will switch from offense to defence. Redmond is a two-way player and can play either position confidently and to a high standard; just the type of player you need on your team for situations like this. Chambers may also find time on the defence. He proved in 2011-12 whilst at Guildford that he can play in defensive positions to a high standard; however it would not make sense to take your highest point scorer away from where he would be best utilised.

So it is more likely that it’ll just be Redmond dropping back to join an all British defence; the only team in the EPL to do so.

So what will the Tigers now do without their out and out scorer? It surprised many when Cesky was announced as signing for Telford. Having seemingly left Swindon for Europe he made a u-turn decision to remain in Britain and the EPL. Cesky gave the Tigers that out and out scoring ability that they had lacked in recent seasons and he proved with his hat-trick against the Lightning that he was doing his job perfectly. Although Fojtik will boost the defence at Telford it is now hard to see where the goals at the other end of the ice will come from.

However an interesting observation could come from ex-Tiger Josh Bruce asking to be released from his contract with the Slough Jets.

Bruce left Telford during the off season to join the Jets for 2012-13. In the Jets’ press release it made mention to Bruce remaining (living) up north and travelling south at weekends; which he has found hard and therefore has asked for the release.

So could Bruce be set to re-join the Tigers and give them the required depth on the forward lines they will now lack? Bruce isn’t a high scorer by any means and only managed 41 points from 15 goals and 26 assists last season. This year he currently has 6 points from 11 games; so isn’t going to directly replace Cesky if he does re-join the Tigers but will put points on the board for them none the less.

It is an interesting move by the Bison to sacrifice a little in defence to have a bit more up front on offense. Only time will tell whether it was a correct move by Sheppard to make.

Opening weekend brings double delight!

So the opening weekend of the 2012-13 season is done and dusted; and what a relief it is! With their opening day opposition once again the Telford Tigers, the opening game of the 2011-12 season may have been lingering in the back of the mind of Coach Dixon as they took to the ice on Saturday evening. But the shocking 4-1 loss from one year previous was not repeated to the delight of the fans.

With a wobble from the home-side in the opening encounter it was the visitors to take the lead in the 2nd minute as James Preece netted for the Tigers. However the Flames were quick on the attack and within a minute were back level as Curtis Huppe netted from Ben Campbell and Jozef Kohut.

A brace of penalties quickly came for the home-side as they found themselves on the wrong side of Thompson’s arm. First  Andrew Sharp was sent to the sin-bin for high-sticking at 4:38. Then Neil Liddard was called for the same penalty at 11:01. This did not limit the prowess however of the Flames attack and at 13:38 Ricky Plant put them in front; assisted by Stuart Potts and Sharp.

Coach Dixon was called for a roughing minor at 14:19 and shortly after Branislav Kvetan joined him in the box for another roughing minor penalty at 14:48. This gave the Tigers there best chance to strike back with a equaliser whilst holding the 5-on-3 advantage. But the defence held firm and were able to see out the remainder of the period to hold the one goal advantage at the first break.

Exactly 7 minutes into the second period, Captain David Longstaff found the net to extend the lead further; assisted by Jez Lundin and Nathan Rempel. Just over a minute later Huppe got his second of the evening assisted by Kohut to stretch the lead to 3. Five minutes from the break, the Flames put the game out of reach of their northern rivals when Longstaff added a second to his tally with assists going to Rempel and Hemmings. With Sharp returning to the box at 39:21 the Flames had to kill off yet another Tigers powerplay, but ended the period with a commanding 5-1 lead.

Rempel battles for the puck in the corner.

With the Flames holding a 4 goal lead to open the third and final period, their attack did not let up and Rempel scored in the 46th minute assisted by Longstaff and Liddard. The Tigers showed that never give up spirit that runs deep through the core values of their team and Jarolsav Cesky added a second marker for the Tigers; but it was too little too late for the Shropshire team when Huppe got his hat-trick goal with less than 10 minutes on the clock.  Hemmings added a final strike in the closing stages of the game assisted by Scott Greenfield and under 18 prospect Ben Edwards.

Huppe scores his third of the game.

With the Tigers a much improved team this season, some expected a challenge like the previous year, however the Flames displayed a controlled and tactical game plan to stretch the opposition out with the depth of skill and ability. The 8-2 result is a fair reflection of the game for which the Flames dominated for the majority.

On Sunday the Flames headed north west across Surrey and into Berkshire to visit the “Hive”; for the first season encounter between the close rivals. Unlike the previous evening the Flames came out the gates running and took an early lead courtesy of hat-trick hero Huppe, with the single assist to Kohut.

Marcel Petran was called for the first penalty of the match for holding, giving the Flames a powerplay opportunity, which is always a dangerous prospect for any team to face. Longstaff made the most of the man advantage to score his first goal of the evening at 10:32. Just over a minute later Matt Foord and Shaun Thompson combined to set up defenceman Sam Oakford as the Bees reduced the deficit by 1 whilst short-handed. Ex-Flame Lukas Smital grab the equaliser at 13:22 assisted by Petran to bring the teams level at the first period break.

Smital grabbed the equalising goal.

Just before the mid-way point of the game Dixon put his side back in front with a well timed strike, assisted by Longstaff and Rempel. In the 33rd minute the Flames were back in front with a pair, thanks to Longstaff’s second goal of the game, to give the visitors an advantage they would not give up for the remainder. With the Flames holding a 4-2 lead going into the second break the Bees were wondering what their game plan should be for the remaining 20 minutes.

But it took just 40 seconds after the re-start for the Flames to find the net once more. Kvetan’s strike extending the lead to 3 with a whole period still to play. With the Bees unable to find a way past the wall that was LEE; Lundin took exception to Jan Bendik shooting the puck at the Flames netminder after the whistle and the two dropped gloves to settle their differences.

Lundin and Bendik come to blows

With just 5 minutes remaining Rempel grabbed the Flames’ final goal of the game but the Bees were not done and Thompson scored a powerplay strike in the final 2 minutes. But it was not enough to overhaul the remaining 3 goal deficit and the Flames secured their second victory of the weekend 6-3.

The opening weekend has shown a lot of positives for the defending league champions. The adjusted lines seem to be working well, with Huppe and Kohut combining effectively. Longstaff, Rempel and Hemmings also seem content on the second line which will be encouraging to Dixon as the weeks pass by. Sharp seems to have upped his game vastly over the summer break and is now a welcomed sight on the third line. It was also pleasing to see under 18s prospect Ben Edwards receiving a decent amount of ice time on Saturday against the Tigers.

The defence also looks to be improved with Jez giving some decent performances despite coming off the back of major surgery at the end of last season. Kvetan is showing the same skill and potential as last season and it will be great to see what he can do over the whole year.

Next weekend the Flames have just one game on Sunday against the MK Lightning. Not taking anything away from the Tigers or Bees (i’m sure they’ll do well during the year) this is the first test for the champions. The Lightning are a new look team after the summer changes and pack more punch than has been seen in recent seasons. It’ll also be interesting to see how last term top scorer copes in his new environment. However the Lightning are coming off the back of a double victory against Peterborough and may be out to prove their worth. Any which way it’ll be a close and physical game so make sure you’re at the Spectrum on Sunday at 18:00!!