It's getting all exciting isn't it? The Challenge Cup Final is going to be decided this week, and the battles at both ends of the league table are bubbling up with just a matter of four weeks left in the regular campaign. Let's have a look at them both, and ahead to the afore mentioned Cup whose semi-finals will reach a conclusion in the next 48 hours. Time to talk hockey.
We will start with the Challenge Cup, and it's safe to surmise that both Cardiff Devils and Nottingham Panthers are in prime position to make the Final on Sunday 8 March 2015 at Sheffield's Motorpoint Arena after good results for their respective semi-finals last week. Both were on the road, and both came away with a handy advantage going into their home legs this week. Cardiff travelled to the SkyDome to face a resurgent Coventry who had dumped out the much fancied Braehead after an incredible second leg in Glasgow. However, Andrew Lord's men produced a professional performance to come away with a 4-1 road triumph and by all accounts it could have been much more comprehensive despite being out shot 39 to 26 by Chuck Weber's team.
In the other semi-final, Group B winners Sheffield faced their old nemesis Nottingham, and inspired by a solid goaltending performance by Craig Kowalski, Panthers skated away down the M1 with a 3-1 win. Sheffield can pinpoint that all three Panthers goals were down to a lack of communication and defensive frailities but in a game as huge as a semi-final then there is no margin for error. Mathieu Roy's goal has given Steelers some hope but they know they need to be tighter at the back if they are to reach their first final since 2013 when ironically Panthers beat them.
We're (well I am) predicting it's going to be a Devils - Panthers final, both Blaze and Steelers have given themselves too much to overcome the deficits they have in front of them.
Going into the League now, it's building up to an interesting climax with most teams having less than 10 games left to play: the only exception being Hull who have played 40 out of the maximum 52. At the bottom of the table first of all, Dundee look certainties to get the wooden spoon in a season that has yielded just 11 wins for the Tayside outfit but who else will finish out of the last eight is becoming as intriguing as the race for the actual league crown.
Coventry have picked up considerably, and have moved out of ninth into seventh at the time of writing. Edinburgh are ninth at the moment but a four point weekend over Belfast and Hull have given them increased confidence. Hull do have the matches in hand, but whether they can make them count is the big talking point in positions 6-9. Fife are no means safe from the race either, so the race for the coveted eighth and final play-off spot could go down to the final weekend. It is really is too close to call at the moment.
In the top five, Belfast's hopes seem to be slimmer than slim after picking up just one point in their last four games and that was after they had to overturn a 4-1 deficit to force overtime against Sheffield. The acquisition of former NHLer and Nottingham Panther Nathan Robinson looks to have come a bit too late in the title aspirations for Steve Thornton's men. Also with diminishing hopes are Corey Neilson's men: a loss in Braehead on Friday night could quite easily see them become non-runners in the race. They have to win in the Purple Fortress to stay in the hunt otherwise we will be left with...
The top three Cardiff, Sheffield and current table toppers Braehead look to me that they will the ones that fight it out to the finish and Steelers have to face each of these two in their run-in. Braehead's strength is at the moment a combination of having a number of inter-Conference games in their final 8 games but equally they have picked up more regulation time wins than either Sheffield or Cardiff. That latter stat could be a determining factor if the race ends up being decided on it: for Cardiff it will hark back to 2011 when they were pipped for the title on this by a Steelers team coached by Ben Simon. Will dèjà vu return to the Big Blue Tent in 2015?
Anyway that's it for now, I'll be back maybe next week with a Challenge Cup Final preview....provided I remember that is!
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