Here’s our fourth week’s Frozen Steel blog fan view on four
or five hot topic items. It’s time to get on your soapboxes people!
Contributors this week are: Mark Duell, Robert Newbolt, Alan
Claringbold, Richard Renshaw and Bethan.
An easy one to start
with – what was this week's main talking point in the EIHL?
Robert - In light of Tyson Marsh’s appeal and the Hotham and
Myers reviews it is a big biggest mystery to me is how Desbiens got away with
that elbow to the head in Coventry (check it out at 2.41 on the video).
Admittedly in real time it doesn’t looks bad but in slo-mo he actually leaves
his feet to just miss his head.
Mark - Probably our failure to win in the Sky Dome. Yeah
sure Big Brian had a good game, with a 48 save shutout but come on - that was a
team we should have beaten. After two steps forward, we took a massive step
backwards.
Richard - From what I've seen, it’s the no end of
conversation about Lawrence’s release from us and going back to the Panthers.
All the grief the Panthers fans gave us over his signing, now they have him
back it’s a different story!
Bethan - Tyson Marsh's 5-match ban & appeal - to me it's
clearly worthy of a ban, I think the point he'll make in his appeal is that the
Panther player was down low to take his shot, but Marsh clearly brings his arm
up high to hit him, which there is no need for. Personally I don't like Marsh,
for me he ends up on the wrong side of the line dividing being a tough player
and playing dirty too.
Alan – The goaltending clinics on the Saturday night. Three
goalies with shutouts after 60 minutes is a rare event. Especially with two in
the same game!
Always lots to talk
about there. The next topic is about the leaving of our latest family member.
Were you sad to see Lawrence go?
Mark - Yes and No. He certainly did more for us than he did
for the Blaze but just not enough to stay for the rest of the season. Hence the
half split answer. I knew he would not last once Fretter was fully back, but
thanks for the memories Chris: especially that game winner in the NIC.
Robert - I think a goal a game in his first 4 matches and
only scoring once in his remaining games says it all. Lawrence was not, for the
majority, a crowd pleaser and at present this is a major factor for the owner.
This impacted on someone’s decision to release him. His laid back style gave
the impression that he wasn’t trying whether he was or not. The only major plus
for him was at face offs and I don’t think that is reason to keep him as a
spare import.
Bethan - Ask me a couple of weeks ago and I definitely would
have been – I was really impressed with him when he first came here, seemed to
have the right balance of being tough & hard hitting, without being a goon,
and scoring his own goals as well as setting other guys up. But in the last few
weeks I can't say I noticed him a great deal, and Desi seems to be a far better
replacement.
Richard - I'm not sad to see Lauro go to be fair, I thought
he would have brought a lot more to the ice than he did. But I’m more concerned
he is now back to the Panthers. Who knows what info was taken with him from the
dressing room. Could have been Lawrence causing an issue? Since his release Pinc
seems to have upped his game too?
Alan - Gutted. Thought he had turned a corner with
performances in Nottingham and Coventry. A lot more defensively responsible, great
on face-offs, and has outperformed a couple of other Steelers. Think the loss
will bite us on the bum at some point.
Will be interesting
to see if Lawrence back in yucky yellow will come back and bite us. Now after
winning one and losing one of our last two away games, which is the more
typical Steelers performance, the loss to the Blaze, or the win away at the NIC?
Mark – The loss to Coventry away. Sums our season up
perfectly, and how inconsistent we have been. We just seem to lose games that
we should be winning. That's underpinning the whole season and something we
can't snap out of at the moment.
Robert - The most typical performance has to be in
Coventry, after all we failed in 5 attempts to convert a powerplay goal.
Despite what has been said in various media outlets we did not look incisive
enough and I don’t believe Stewart had to stand on his head. Nottingham was, I
believe, a fluke but then again ‘anyone can beat anyone on a given
night’<sigh>.
Richard - More typical to have a win away at the NIC than the
loss away at Blaze, all over hyped at the nic as usual. Seem to step it up and
go all out when it's against the Panthers.
Bethan - I think what was typical is the fact we
did both - this season we seem to swing back and forth a lot. To be fair I
think Wiikman usually has much more of an impact for Nottingham than Stewart
for Coventry - Marek had a very similar save % for both games facing double the
amount of shots in Nottingham, whereas Stewart faced off 48 shots for his
shutout, with Wiikman only having to deal with 29..
Alan - Both were proper Steeler type performances.
The effort and control of the game was there. Only difference was Brian Stewart
was a possessed goalie on Saturday. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, was ever
getting past him.
Looking further
afield maybe, what or who has been your biggest disappointment so far?
Robert - Paul Thompson. There was all this talk of a “new
culture”, “youth teams” and when he was appointed I thought “this is something
new”, different to the usual type of coach, and he has experience of Europe.
The excitement showed at first but then it tailed off rapidly, I also thought
he will have a plan B, unlike predecessors, but I am still waiting.
Mark - A certain British defenceman. I was expecting him to
carry his GB form into the new season but he's not exactly done amazing this
season so far. He's getting caught out of position far too often for my liking,
and it's leaving either his defensive partner or the goalie or both to bail him
out; that's a bit concerning.
Richard - Biggest disappointment so far this
season is O’Connor. Keep the fancy stuff for practice, and pass the puck to the
team in orange. Too many giveaways and nothing like he was when we signed him.
Bethan - Possibly unfair, and his arrival may not have had
so much of an impact on our sudden downturn in form, but for me it's Pinc this
season. He was heralded as a big international star, playing for Czech and
Kazakh teams, but I never really feel confident in him. It might just be that
he plays a very different style to the big North American style goalies I'm
used to, but I still can't wait to get Plante back!
Alan - For me it isn't even a player.
It's the injuries to key players at unfortunate times. Loss of Tyler has
derailed us at the back. Losing Fretter as well has hurt us. Injuries have
played their part in terms of powerplay performance as well. Now losing Phillips
is a key loss as he always give 110%.
Ben being singled out
twice was a surprise, but upon reflection he hasn’t been the impact player he
was last year, so I wonder if that’s down to him or Thommo, or a bit of both. Finally,
and on a lighter subject, after a shocking Eddy lap by Jace Coyle, for which he
should maybe have had his man of the match rescinded, what’s the best lap you
can remember?
Robert - The ‘Eddy’ that sticks out was Mosienko with his
row boat/paddling show, at Ice Sheffield I think. There have been other good
ones, seem to remember Dowdy’s last one was good all trying to go one better.
Mark -
Mosienko's
canoe paddle, that was just typical from the most entertaining player on the
roster. I just wonder what he has planned for his next one. It'll be a good one
that's for sure.
Bethan
- Think
it was pretty early on last season, and I believe the start of the more 'showy'
Eddy's, but I loved Bambi Baldwin's riding the stick. There have been some very
good ones to choose from though!
Richard
- Jace
probably never expected m.o.m, and should be made to re-do his lap of honour on
Sunday with laces tight haha. Still for me Mosienko and his canoe has to be the
best so far, although there has been a few good other ones too!
Alan - It
was quite the let down! Didn't even tap the glass at people etc. It was what it
was though. Best ones by far for me have been the ones Mosienko has done. He
knows how to entertain. The moonwalk was a thing of beauty.
Brief Bios of those panellists
you’ve just been listening to in the series so far :
Alan is @frozensteelmnl for match
night updates and @AwkwardGinge for everything else. Has been watching Hockey
for many years, and given half a chance will regale you with tales of the
London Knights. Catch him on the Breaking the Ice podcast too.
Mark is one of the main men behind
the Frozen Steel blog, being the Editor and Podcast pundit, and has watched the
club since its inception. Find him at @hockeybhoy
Robert is chief architect of steelers-stats.co.uk, the go-to guy for Steelers history from days gone by,
and the man behind one of the big White House spotlights! Robert is
@steelersstats.
Eric is a season ticket
holder and can be found shouting encouragement to our players and scorn at the
zebras alongside three generations of his family in block 115. Views can be
found @greenbunch257
Richard is the big man with the
big drum who until recently was to be found leading both the Rock the Block
choir and his family in 218. Now looking for a new block to call home for his views,
he invites you to come and join him, he can be directed to @CaVaLiEr666
Tony has been watching the
Steelers on and off since Tony Hand arrived, and has been a regular for the
last eight years or so. Enjoys contributing to the blog with his weekly five
things and can be found @DISGU15ED
Bethan represents the younger end
of the fan base, after being dragged along to her first Steelers game in 2007
and has loved the team ever since. Follow her on Twitter at @bethan_4
Thanks for reading everybody. Do you want to be a part of this? If so, get in touch with us on either of the following Twitter addresses or leave a message on our Facebook page. Don't forget to like us on there and leave us your comments:
@FrozenSteelBlog
@FrozenSteelMNL
@hockeybhoy
Or send us your emails to frozen.steel.91@gmail.com
It's that easy!
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