EIHL – Page 5

Coventry extend losing streak to 6 but add Gerome Giudice

By Ed Kimberley
Conventry, England

It has not been a happy 3 weeks for the Blaze. Following a big 6-2 win against the then league leading Dundee Stars, things looked good for Matty Soderstroms boys ahead of a tough schedule. The Blaze have since been hit by injuries to key members of their blueline which has tired out their defence and caused some critical mistakes leading to other teams scoring. Unfortunately, they have been their own worst enemy and it has been soft goals conceded that have led them to lose games.

For instance in Nottingham, (after the Blaze lost 6-1 the week before), they took a 5-3 loss to the defending champions in their own barn. The result could have been a tied game. A give away by Mike Zacharias led to a Panthers goal and with the first shot of the game a soft shot slipped under his pad. Zacharias stood on his head, and was ultimately MVP for the Blaze on that night including a great pass that led to the Blaze first goal, but had it not been for those two goals, the Blaze could have been level and sent the game into overtime.

The other similar result was against Cardiff on Saturday. The Devils struck twice shorthanded through Ben Davies following a give away by Zacharias almost identical to the giveaway he gave versus the Panthers the week before. Mike Devin was beat on his own blueline by Matt Myers who converted the play. Every goal scored was a special teams goal. A Ryan Ginand hattrick left the game tied had it not been for the Blaze giving up two shorthanded goals. Continue reading “Coventry extend losing streak to 6 but add Gerome Giudice”

Devils look to regroup as Sheffield and Braehead add firepower

By Ed Kimberley
Coventry, England

The Cardiff Devils stalwart player/coach and long term servant of the British league, Gerad Adams, has had a turbulent couple of weeks having been issued an ultimatum by owner Paul Ragan. He then decided to release long term Devil and local boy Phil Hill. It was a move that confused many onlookers and the decision created a lot of backlash from Devils alumni. It has now become clear that the Devils are gearing up to add to their roster and with Adams retiring from a playing role and not having to pay Hill’s wages, they have room to add some talent. As Adams is an import the Devils could look to North America to add a player coming off a pro tryout that has been affected by the veteran system. Also, Hill is going to be earning a lot as a top end British talent and as there is a degree of inflation on the good Brit’s wages, the Devils are legitimately in a position to add a top end import.

Top end imports have been added by one of Cardiff’s conference rivals in the Sheffield Steelers. In one of my pieces last week I examined Nate DiCasmirro who signed for the Steelers. In 4 games with the club so far he has added 1 goal and 3 assists and is being joined by his team mate from last year Rob Sirianni. This is quite the coup for the Steelers and it seems that they are determined to throw financial weight behind the campaign to try and unseat their rivals the Nottingham Panthers, who are sitting comfortably in Challenge Cup Group B having won 100% of their games and are 3rd in the league with only 1 loss in 6 games. Sirianni made an immediate impact for the Steelers. In his debut he bagged a hat trick in a 6-3 win against the Cardiff Devils. Both Sirianni and DiCasmirro were linemates last year in Valpellice and were the two leading points scorers and complement each other as players, DiCasmirro the playmaker and Sirianni the scorer. They combined for 114 points last year. Continue reading “Devils look to regroup as Sheffield and Braehead add firepower”

Derek Campbell And His 47 Game Suspension

By Ed Kimberley
Coventry, England

On Tuesday the Hull Stingrays announced in a short press release that journeyman forward Derek Campbell would be released with immediate effect following receiving a 47 game ban for the following incident:

Now the camera angle isn’t very damning but the suspension is broken down as such:

Fighting off the ice = 15 games
Attempted eye gouge = 12 games
Knee to the head = 10 games
Excessive force to the head resulting in an impact to the ice = 10 games

I criticised Moray Hanson’s decision making as inconsistent but this, he has handled perfectly. It sends a clear message that this behaviour is totally unacceptable; ice hockey after all is portrayed as a family sport in the UK. Hopefully it will calm down the likes of Andrew Conboy in Cardiff who is currently still the league leading penalty minute taker and has been suspended for half the season so far.

This is the second longest ban in recent British hockey memory after Eric Cairns, formerly of the London Racers, received a 2 year ban for attacking a referee in the 04-05 playoffs. In a statement from head of discipline, Moray Hanson condemns Campbells conduct. “This is a very nasty incident and there is no place for any of these actions in our sport.” Campbell has since apologized for his conduct however I would be very surprised if this wasn’t the end of his illustrious EIHL career which has seen him lift back to back championships with the Coventry Blaze and the Sheffield Steelers in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.

The Stingrays will no doubt be hurt losing a player of Campbells calibre as they try to improve their league record from its lowly 1-5 with the aim to no doubt make the playoffs. Campbell has his critics and some question his ability as well as his temper. However you cannot deny facts, he has been brought in by 5 different franchises in the EIHL and has been lured to the EPIHL (UK 2nd tier) by the Sheffield Steeldogs (as well as playing for the Manchester Phoenix again who dropped a league). He has iced in 346 EIHL games and has a .97 PPG average. Having seen him play and develop over the years, he is a ferocious player along the boards and one of the best to play EIHL hockey in this respect; his numbers don’t lie. For a tough guy expected to rack up a lot of PIMS he can play the game. I wrote an article for MarchHockey about tough guys in the EIHL and concluded they need to have more tools in the box than just being able to fight and before this incident Campbell was the poster boy for my opinion and even though his actions were deplorable, his legend will live on.

Early Runners: An EIHL summary

By Ed Kimberley
Coventry, England

But first, a small digression.

Most people in the world of hockey are hotly anticipating the beginning of a new NHL season and so they should; it’s looking to be an exciting year. Stories already are circulating around the newly announced hybrid icing to try and minimize injuries on icing plays, the helmet removal rule pre fight and the restructuring of the divisions.

Talent-wise, we saw an interesting offseason and it will be interesting to see which of the many rookies will be named the Calder Trophy winner. My 10 cents are that it is likely to go to, Russian forward Valeri Nichushkin. Nobody pre-draft was denying Nichushkin’s talent; comparisons were being made to Malkin and Ovechkin, BIG comparisons. Seeing him skate in pre-season, his composure on the puck is sublime. or a big guy (6ft3 – 200lbs) the comparison to Ovechkin and they way they both use speed to drive the net is proving accurate. I might be wrong, but a top 5 talent fell to 10 when the Stars picked him up because teams seemed un-easy to take a gamble on if he would (or even could) leave a KHL contract.

The deal that was struck with Jim Nill was that if Nichushkin was to not make the Stars roster/or besent down; he would be loaned back to Russia. This is another reason I think Nichushkin will step take the Calder accolade. He has everything to lose. He has made it quite clear the NHL is where he wants to be, and he’s got to prove it. The lure of the KHL has been tempting for many a Russian never to return and for the likes of MacKinnon, Jones and even Finnish centre Barkov who can mature their game close to home in the junior leagues, they can afford to play the NHL waiting game.

Back to the EIHL … Continue reading “Early Runners: An EIHL summary”

EIHL Round up: First Steps for the Dundee Stars, Coventry Blaze, Fight Night in Nottingham

By Ed Kimberley
Coventry, England

We have had 2 weeks of games now in the EIHL and although teams are still finding their feet, one in particular has stood out, the Dundee Stars.

Usually one finds the Stars propping up the league but this year is another story altogether. In their first 4 games they have chalked up 4 wins. This itself is no mean feat but considering Dundee have half the budget of those they have beaten, (Sheffield, Coventry, Braehead and last years “grand slam” winners the Nottingham Panthers) necks are snapping to look at them as they skate by.

They are a team that stifles others really well and have a strong defensive core. Although they focus on protecting underrated netminder Dan Bakala, Dundee has defenceman Roy Rawlyk. In 4 games played, Rawlyk is tied for top points scorer on the team with 5 and has been extremely impressive at both ends of the ice. Bakala. also in 4 has posted a 1.75 with a .959 save percentage. Impressive for a goalie in only his 2nd year pro. Their offensive strength comes from counter attacking plays, often fed by a Rawlyk first pass. Incidentally Rawlyk won the Gardiner Conference player of the week last weekend. The Stars will almost certainly not finish the league without a loss or two, but they are certainly looking to upset Gardiner Conference favourites Braehead Clan and make a case for their first appearance in Nottingham at the playoff finals weekend. Continue reading “EIHL Round up: First Steps for the Dundee Stars, Coventry Blaze, Fight Night in Nottingham”

Protect The Net: Cardiff Devils and Dan LaCosta

By Ed Kimberley
Coventry, England

When Cardiff signed 3rd round pick and former Columbus Blue Jacket Dan LaCosta, the EIHL world spat out whatever it was that they had in their mouths at the time in either: joy, disbelief, excitement or worry that he will be a bit good.

LaCosta with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

In two consecutive games the star goalie was ran by two different teams, from two different countries, playing in two different leagues, leaving him with a concussion that will see him sit out 2-3 weeks. I don’t condone running of goalies at all. I find it a deplorable tactic that is an acknowledgement, intentional or not, that the goalie is causing you trouble and you need to try and throw him off his game. This might be quite important psychologically for LaCosta who said that he was strongly considering retiring before the season and being able to study for a Masters Degree led him to sign in Cardiff. I played a bit of hockey and I remember a Latvian goalie I played with got run in an incident that broke his helmet. He was fine but I never saw him ice again. He said “I have a wife and kids, I don’t need this shit.”

LaCosta is clearly thinking about his future. He sat a year out after a failed try-out in Austria and went from being on the cusp of playing in the NHL to going to the CIS to play and study. Now no doubt Dan has poise, you don’t keep an NHL shutout without having a calm head on your shoulders but at this point he might be worried and especially for a goalie who according to one scouting report that “lacks rebound control” this might not be good. Continue reading “Protect The Net: Cardiff Devils and Dan LaCosta”

Fighting in the Elite Ice Hockey League: Part Two

By Ed Kimberley
Coventry, England

What does this mean for the EIHL fighting mix? Teams need tough guys but they need to be able to do something more than be an out and out fighter. Just as an example I will use the Coventry Blaze from 04/05 then 05/06. In 04/05 they won everything, and had a lot of fights with Payette, Wade Belak etc. year after they employed Graham Belak who like his brother was a big fighter with a lot of AHL experience that never quite made the NHL and Dave Kaczowka. Both had NHL contracts at some point in their career. Kaczowka was quickly cut and although Belak carried on, he injured his back and didn’t look as imposing as his brother despite this fight with one of the toughest ever players Mel Angelstad:

Jeff Hutchins (now coach of the Dundee Stars) made his EIHL debut for the Blaze that year and had 16 scraps. Now looking at it from my point of view, Graham Belak who played D despite chalking up most of his career as a Forward was an experiment that didn’t work. Although he could clear the crease, it was clear he didn’t have the defensive talents of his brother. Kaczwoka couldn’t do much else but fight and even then the only win he chalked up in the EIHL was vs Shawn Maltby of Sheffield, not known for his pugilistic talents. He lasted all of 3 regular season games and both Kaczowka and Belak would have commanded quite a wage bill. Although Kaczowka was replaced by pacey winger Dan Welch it seemed too many cooks spoilt the broth. Did the Blaze need to spend that much on Belak? Later the Blaze would sign Jason Robinson who split that year between London and Sheffield, if they hadn’t had signed Kaczowka, hypothetically got the cheaper Robinson for Belak they could have had enough money to sign another scorer who could’ve made a difference while Hutchins and Robinson carried the fighting load.

Players that come to the EIHL can generally get a new lease of life as a player, enforcer or not. Brian McMillin comes to the Blaze this year following a career where he was pigeonholed to be a checking 3rdliner. Last season he led the Allen Americans to the playoff championship, and won playoff MVP with 12 goals in 19 games. This year the Blaze want him to carry offensive responsibility. Also Hull Stingrays star forward Jereme Tendler came into the league after a 30pts in 60games season with the Corpus Christie Ice Rayz and he scored the most goals in the EIHL last year (43). In regards to tough guys there is no better case in point is Brad Voth, who was one of the most talked about players in his time with the Cardiff Devils. Every other team wanted to sign him year after year but he stuck with Cardiff. He came to the UK in 05/06 for his skills with gloves off and despite this racked up 220pts in 322 games. Not bad for a guy signed as an out and out fighter. A conclusion for me is that if a team in the EIHL are singing a tough guy, he needs to be able to do something else other that fight. Continue reading “Fighting in the Elite Ice Hockey League: Part Two”

Fighting In The Elite Ice Hockey League Part One

By Ed Kimberley
Coventry, England

I was having a nice chat with Ashley about fighting in hockey the other day and I thought it would be good to explore the role of enforcers and tough guys in the EIHL. I love fighting in hockey and although it is something not everyone condones and with recent legislation in the NHL about protecting players from concussions and other injuries related to fights it’s a bit of a hot topic.

Fighting in the UK is something that is widely anticipated and there is a lot of discussion when tough-guys/enforcers are signed. Some of what is said is positive. For example Kevin Harvey who signed for the Coventry Blaze earlier in the summer is coming off the back of a season where he posted a pro-career points high with 31pts in 53 games for the Elmira Jackals in the ECHL while racking up 191pims and 10 fighting majors including this slugfest vs Mathieu Gagnon:

Some of the talk is negative. Tim Spencer who recently signed for the Sheffield Steelers, has only amassed 35 points in his pro career. His signing is aimed at taking away some of the pugilistic load off star defenseman, and returnee Drew Fata. The Steelers fell short of silverware last year that ultimately cost their coach Ryan Finnerty his job. Finnerty built a team that epitomises a notion that is popular in UK hockey as a roster with “team toughness ” and boasted fighters like Fata, Chris Frank, Simon Ferguson, Shawn Limpright and Tylor Michel.

For a few seasons now teams have tried to err away from having an out and out fighter and focus on team toughness however this seems to be a redundant exercise as even with team toughness clubs have to sign someone to carry the load. Looking briefly at the champions rosters most have a guy signed to carry the weight: Continue reading “Fighting In The Elite Ice Hockey League Part One”

Oh Captain My Captain: Coventry Blaze and the case for Captaincy

By Ed Kimberley
Coventry, England

Coventry Blaze Captain Mike Egener will not return to the blaze due to illness.

Losing a player you thought you had signed weeks before the start of the season is always a nightmare for a coach and for the Blaze; losing their intended captain for the 2013-2014 campaign is going to provide a large headache.

Mike is suffering from Guillain–Barré syndrome. The syndrome affects the nervous system and can cause progressive paralysis. By all accounts Gullian-Barre syndrome is a nasty little affliction and I would like to wish Mike a speedy recovery while his family remain in my thoughts.

Without a doubt the loss of Egener is a big one, literally considering his 6ft4 215lbs frame. Eg was surprisingly mobile for a big guy and threw board shuddering hits night in night out, easily cleared his crease and could be relied upon to make a solid first pass. He was a guy who was an integral part of the locker room and his professionalism and tireless work ethic led to him being given the C in his second year. While also racked up 6 fighting majors including this doozie against Panthers tough-guy Kelsey Wilson he became somewhat of a fan favourite:

So what does this mean for the Blaze? Continue reading “Oh Captain My Captain: Coventry Blaze and the case for Captaincy”

Fan Voice: Craig Summerton and the Coventry Blaze

Craig Summerton is a die-hard Coventry Blaze fan who also runs his own blog dedicated to hockey of the United Kingdom. It might be new but his post gives an in-depth look at Team Great Britain and the Blaze in general. He gives me a look at the Blaze, how they will cope with the loss of Captain Shea Guthrie, and how they continue to Bleed Blue.

March Hockey: Where are you located and how did you first get into hockey?

Craig Summertown (middle) with Blaze players Adam Calder and Joel Poirier (Twitter: @block15blaze)

Craig Summerton: Born and bred in Coventry, living and working in London. Coventry Blaze season ticket holder so every game is an away game for me. On recommendation from a friend I attended one of the first Blaze games at the Skydome and I’ve been hooked ever since.

MH: What makes you a passionate fan of the Coventry Blaze and the EIHL in general?

CS: I used to be a Coventry City season ticket holder but after attending a few ice hockey games my passion quite quickly shifted to the Blaze. After my first season of ice hockey, the Coventry City season ticket wasn’t renewed (sorry for my part in the state that club are in today!) and I found myself travelling around the country following the Blaze most weekends. I enjoy being part of a fairly small community of UK hockey fans, I’ve met life long friends of all ages through ice hockey. One of the big attractions of the sport for me is how it breaks down age barriers. I’m 29, one of my best friends who I met through hockey is 82. It really makes no difference. I like the fact that fans of all teams, can make friends and come together after a game without fear of trouble. Can you imagine bringing ten sets of football supporters into one venue for a whole weekend like we do in the UK for the playoff weekend? Mixed with alcohol, it would be chaos. It’s a shame more ‘closed minded’ football fans won’t give ice hockey a chance in the UK.

The EIHL has taken a lot of criticism over the years (deservedly so in the most part) but I certainly wouldn’t want to go back to the old British National League days in which Coventry used to compete or indeed for my club to move to the current EPL. Don’t get me wrong, the EPL has its merits & some of my best hockey memories come from the days when Blaze competed in the BNL. However, I feel that the EIHL as a ‘product’ is a major step up in quality over the old BNL and current EPL and that’s where I want my team to compete. The level of import being recruited to play in the EIHL seems to be improving each and every year. Many clubs have done a good job forging links with local Universities in order to offer high calibre pros the opportunity to study and play. Younger guys from across the pond seem to be using the league as a stepping stone to get into the higher paying Euro leagues and British players appear to be reaching levels beyond what we have seen in the past. The ever-widening gap between the rich and poor in the league is a worry but the introduction of the conference system (with the prospect of tweaks in future years!) has to be considered a success. Continue reading “Fan Voice: Craig Summerton and the Coventry Blaze”