And so we hit the christmas period, a time for quiet reflection and to surround ourselves with the ones we love...apparently.
For me, Christmas means hockey, and plenty of it. This started with a trip to everyone's favourite versatile arena, and my usual descent upon the Hull Ice Arena to see the Steelers record a 4-3 win over the Stingrays, having beaten them 5-2 the previous night.
We know all this - but what did we learn at the weekend?
1. God bless the Hull announcer.
Danny Boyce, Matthew Roy, Jeff Legoo. I'd pay good money to hear him announce the Russian Olympic roster.
2. Winning ugly is a good thing.
Every performance doesn't have to set the world on fire. All that matters is the points, and that's another 4 in the bag. Credit to Hull for giving it a go, but especially on Sunday, you felt we had another few gears to go through.
3. Clever hockey players.
While Braehead continue to raise eyebrows, both figuratively and with some interesting body checks, and Cardiff are accused of gooning it up, we seem to be playing pretty clever. Hitting at the right time, not going out looking for fights (apart from Cullen Eddy, who is in need of a punchbag). Picking your spots is part of being a good hockey player, and on recent performances you have to say we have plenty of that.
4. Christmas number one
2 points clear with two games in hand over Braehead. 6 points ahead of Belfast and Cardiff. We go into the festivities as the outright leaders in the EIHL. While any of the top 5 could still win it, it's ours to lose. Keep the train rolling, and the 4 year itch will be scratched.
5. I am genuinely looking forward to this next weekend
Panthers "in disarray" ((c) The Cage), Steelers on a roll. It's almost written that this is the weekend the Panthers come good and derail us, but I'm actually looking forward to two decent games of hockey. I doubt we'll see anything like the bench clearance (look out on Saturday for a feature on this on Premier) but so far this year, one dodgy game in the NIC aside, we've had some decent games against the old enemy, and I hope this continues. While the wins would be good, and I'll be disappointed if we don't get them, I always hope to be entertained at the hockey and I have a feeling these two games will certainly be that.
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