It's time to get back on the soapboxes again with your opinions. On the panel this week are your editors Mark and Tony, Mr Nathan Penguin, Mr Vuvuzela himself Andy Roberts and Scotland's number one Steeler: Nicki Blueitt.
Let's see what they have had to say...
1. Five words on Saturday?
Just not enough in end
Frustrating first period then improved
Another first period to forget
Still not over 1st period
Horrendous first. Came back well!
2. Five words on Sunday?
We're great at beating Gardiners
It's all about the shutout
Finally got the shut out!
Finally Moose gets shut out
Crack open the champers Moose
3. How good is it to see Moose get his first shutout of the season?
Nathan: Goose Egg Achievement Unlocked! Or so it would read were it an xbox
game. The Goose Egg of course being the big fat zero next to the words
Edinburgh Capitals. And low and behold good old Moosey Poo's gets
another one on Tuesday against the Nottingham Bears in the Pointless
Cup. Well done that man.
Nicki: Honestly every fan has been heartbroken the amount of times Moose has
just missed the shutout, so the was more talked about than the 2
points! Then he gets another shutout v the Panthers of all teams! Just
like buses with the shutouts.....
Andy: It was great to see Moose finally get the elusive shut out in Edinburgh.
Not sure who was happier Moose, the players or the Mrs. Just like buses
there are none for ages then two turn up at once! Some fans love him,
some hate him. He has kept us in so many games when we should have been
dead and buried. If we did goalie highlight reel saves for season he
should have at least two in the top 10! That shut out was so profound
that it caused the Mrs to join the Twitter revolution...welcome!
Mark: Made up for the guy, really made up for him. He's been closing in one and it was only a matter of time before it happened. Hopefully those "fans" who claim that he's useless are now eating a very large portion of humble pie. Moose will probably serve it personally if you ask him, or I will do on his behalf.
Tony: Can't beat an away shutout. Glad we didn't go a whole season without him
getting one, but I'd rather he saved that for the semi-final and we had
given Brad a chance on Sunday.
4. Now we have an extra import, who would you drop and why? (posed originally before Björklund's departure)
Nicki: News Broke aboutBbjörklund leaving the middle of the Panthers game which
was a shock? Not sure anyone saw that coming. I think its good to
carry a import. Panthers do it every season and its great for rotation
and give someone a rest who
may be carrying a knock?
Andy: Well this question is now kind of irrelevant now the curse of Andy
buying a jersey has struck. We have a 100% record this season in our
house (oops -Mosienko and Björklund). I have already had Giants mates
saying they will club together to buy me a Roy shirt next season! I
don't do well selecting player shirts (King, Duco and now Björklund.
Only ones to last the season were Spencer and Goertzen). If Steelers do
acquire another player I would go down the most injured player sits and
rotate it round for the run in and playoffs. This just keeps the players
fresh.
Mark: Before Björklund left last night, and by the way best wishes Christoffer, this was a bit of poser for Mr Thompson. Now it's made it easier I suppose. I would have taken probably Franzon out of the line for me even though he goes under the radar like Darrell Hay did. However, Jace Coyle hasn't been the same player since he came back. If Thommo picks someone up, then great but if not we have to deal with what we have. And I am sure we'll be OK too. Extra import would have been awesome, and it helps recovery time for those who are banged up. Hey ho however...
Tony: Depends on who is carrying a knock, or the opposition. If everyone was
fit then drop Ratchuk back to defence and leave Franzon suited and
booted.
Nathan: Coyle, Franzon, Björklund take your pick. Or maybe just off load the
latter. TBF to the lad I quite liked him but the EIHL clearly does not
suit his style. Coyle on the other hand is way out of his depth but it's
not as if we can drop a D man now is it?
5. Do you prefer v-neck collars like home and away or a drawstring like the Challenge Cup jersey?
Andy: If I am honest I am generally not a big fan of the printed shirts (my
Bauer HV71 shirt is an exception). I much prefer my stitched CH shirts
of the past. They were a pain to wait for, as they seem to take an age
to produce, but well worth it when they arrived. I am a fan of the laced
shirts generally but for some reason our Challenge Cup shirts they don't
seem to fit and look like an after thought. One thing I would like to
see from the Challenge Cup shirts is the team logo over the blue part of
the shirt appear on the orange shirts next year.
Mark: Anyone who knows me and probably knows me damn well too, know how much I like my drawstring jerseys. It's like hockey heritage to me and you can't put a price on this. I've got a fair few in my collection whether it CH, Rhino, Reebok Premiers and you feel the passion of the game where you wear it. I wish all jerseys were drawstring.
Tony: Hah - that's an odd one. I quite like the Minnesota Wild take on things - bit of a different take on the theme.
Nathan: Drawstring all the way. The alternate jerseys worn in the NHL are superb
proper looking jerseys. The Challenge Cup shirt was the one I was most
looking forward to seeing at the start of the season and despite
considering the competition to be more pointless than a cat flap in an elephant house I was actually considering buying one. That is until I
saw one for the 1st time. Horrible.
Nicki: The neck collars are always a talking point, I prefer the normal V neck .
My problem with the blue away jersery is the orange bit. Thought that
would have been better black. Think we have gone way OTT with the orange
this year. Hopefully
next year the black shorts are back for a start!
6. Controversial to finish with, why are people so unhappy with the Ice Sheffield matches?
Mark: It just doesn't feel like an atmosphere at Ice Sheffield when you're watching a Steelers game. It's more than of a library than the main arena. It's good for semi-professionals like the Dogs or Sutton Sting, but not a Steelers game. Queuing to be served is a bind, they don't need to have enough staff and the security can be just as officious as those lemons in the House Of Steel. Positives: beer when you get it, tastes like a pint and the food is better and cheaper!
Tony: I like Ice Sheffield because you feel so close to the action, but the
atmosphere is often poor, and you don't get to chat with your normal
hockey block mates! Also they are often mid-week games which is tricky
for me.
Nathan: No atmosphere (seems like a theme developing here - Mark (Editor)). And with the club's insistence in playing the same old
tripe over the terrible PA system that gets churned out at Arena games
it won't change anytime soon. Steelers fans seem to have been programmed
to clap along half arsed to bloody Sh*te Caroline and Hi Ho Sodding
Silver Lining for so long they don't know any different so can't create
their/our own atmosphere. Quite sad really and that's why I think it
puts a lot of people off.
Nicki: Ice Sheffield, what is the issue? I honestly think
that people begrudge spending the same money on a ticket for a rink with
not much to offer. The PA system is so bad you cant hear a thing. The
bar is so slow you miss a period getting a
drink!!! I just think because the players and PT doesn’t like playing
there that its now just rubbed off on the crowd and its a worry as the
away team doesn’t feel intimidated like skating out at the arena. We really need our fan base to start making some noise instead of moaning its quiet all the time but that’s for another time...
Andy (and here comes a rant): Ice
Sheffield where do you start...A big factor is they are not on the
season ticket. When you buy a season ticket for most events it covers
all home league games. It is an extra cost that many don't want to fork
out for for a variety of reasons. Speakers/announcement system is
horrendous unless you sit on half way line along with the awful netted
view all the way around the rink. The Arena for the motocross at the
weekend was probably smoother than the ice at Ice Sheffield and dont get
me started on the state of the nets. The other week the puck could
slide under the bottom of the rear metal part of the net they were that
warped! A 1500 seater rink should be rocking just like the Dundee Ice
Arena is when ever I visit. Ice Sheffield is quieter than a morgue and
makes a dead night at the arena sound spiritedly. I have only touched the
tip of the iceberg here I could rant all day about Ice Sheffield!
The
only huge plus for Ice Sheffield is the food is infinitely better than
the inedible 'food' they serve at the Arena and it is sensibly priced
also. The only down side is they never seem to have enough staff serving
so for a full house the queues are horrendous.
And that's this week's soapbox. Want to join in? Details underneath...
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