Mark Duell gives us his view of the season.
SO another season comes to an end, and with it – the most happiest of endings. For me, it had ended back on the 1st of April when we crushed the Blaze in the quarter final match up second leg. Thanks to two, shall we say inconsiderate human beings, whom I work with – I was forced to sell my tickets for the end of season showpiece and be stuck in the office. I didn’t, and still hadn’t seen any of the Final until that piece on Steelers TV a few days ago.
Gripes aside, it’s been a typical Steelers season, with plenty of good moments infused with plenty of low points. Would we want it any other way? I don’t think we are used to having it simple and easy – it’s just not the normal path. But as a supporter of this club from day one, I’d like to think that I’m pretty much used to this by now. If I am not, then I must be watching the wrong sport altogether.
When we appointed Doug, part of me had concerns and part of me thought it was a good decision. Here we had it, a guy so meticulous in his preparation – a real hockey nerd and someone who knows what it is like to win the Elite League but the doubt seed was that he tended to not do things the simple way and players had to adjust as such. When it was announced he was at a NHL coaching camp, my heart sighed. I was like thinking er, why – there’s no need.
But the recruitment done by Doug looked good enough to tear the Elite League apart, other teams fans saying that we looked the team to beat and would win it convincingly. But his systems were not providing the entertainment that this team on paper had plenty of. Inconsistency was underpinning why the team was not delivering, and people were wondering what Doug had done to make it so bad. Yeah sure we had had injuries but the team was just not playing to its full potential. It was only a matter of time before the axe would fall we thought. It had become duller than ditchwater and that was really filtering its way through the fan base.
And so it did, the 5-3 home loss against the Panthers proved to be the final straw for the man from Milwaukee and within 48 hours of that – he had departed the scene. Stevie G, Captain Fantastic, took temporary charge but it was only a matter of time before the world’s worst kept hockey secret was revealed – G coming home. But in those 6 weeks we saw a massive change, players expressing their real talents and hockey becoming entertaining and fun again. People’s imaginations were being opened to what the team could really do without the restrictions that Doug had placed on them.
As we finished the season second in the table, but as third seed, thoughts to turned to these play-offs. We got Coventry, the team that had ended the dream at the same stage just 12 months previously. A similar scoreline in the first leg, a 3-2 road win but the second leg saw the lads turn in a professional performance to ease in 9-3 overall. Our purple cousins had demolished a Panthers side (which was far removed from last season’s treble winners) and it set up a cracking semi.
So it proved as no quarter was given, 72 penalty minutes alone in the first period. Well you just knew it would be when you’ve got Ryan (Finner) in the opposing bench, as he likes his team’s playing with a bit of an edge to it. Twice Clan led, but galvanised by the new found spirit under G, the lads levelled both times. It took a special goal from Rob Dowd to clinch it and break the Clan’s hearts to see us through to the Final for the first time the Jody Lehman jumping into the plexi final against them down the road.
An equally tight final against the league champions Belfast now stood between the lads capping an amazing turnaround in fortunes or a third trophy this season (does that constitute a Grand Slam lol) to Northern Ireland and Todd Kelman’s office. Scoreless after 20 minutes, the game really opened up after that. Twice the Giants levelled but twice we levelled through Hilly and Dowdy. Since a third period produced no further scoring, we went to overtime. Cometh the man, cometh Drew Fata with a perfect wrister over Murphy’s glove after some sublime play by Captain Fantastic. It was perfect redemption for the popular number 49 after being caught out on Belfast’s second and almost helping them score a third if wasn’t for Frankie Doyle.
So after two seasons of nothing that ultimately sent Finner out of the door, and a third that had more ups and downs than the Pepsi Max Big One in Blackpool – we had pure elation at the end. G has signed for a further two years, which shows to me that the Club know they have the right man in this time. Doyle, Baldwin, Kohn, Thomas and Dowdy are back next year and so again is my season ticket in 215. Max Lacroix goes with our very best wishes to Rouen, but who knows what he might have achieved if he hadn’t missed half the season with injury. We now await signing news to come through as and when, and look forward to September when we go again.
The future is still bright, it’s still orange and that’s why we are Steelers.
Ciao for now,
Mark
(Find me on Twitter at @hockeybhoy)
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