So we’ve bagged our first goals, first points, and first fights in the Challenge Cup, and our first five things of the EIHL 16/17 season. It’s still too early to form to many definite conclusions, but that shouldn’t stop us speculating!
Image swiped from @Mcr_Storm
1> Firepower firing – Great to see Mosienko get his hattie, Roy bag with a brace, and Nelson get on the scoresheet too. With those three, and Dowdy, already finding the net then our goal-scoring looks to be in fine form already. Loved the effort Mosi showed in scoring the ENG whilst being dragged down at the centre circle. Happy with that bit.
2> Leaky rear-end – Whilst we can accept letting in boatloads against CHL opposition (especially on the PK), it seems our Defence might need more time to settle down. We won’t get very far if we let in 4-5 goals every game as we did this week-end. It’ll be interesting to see the highlights of their second goal however, as that one at least looked truly bizarre.
3> Mind on other matters – Would it be fair to suggest that the Steelers were focusing more on the forthcoming CHL game than the two games where results didn’t really matter against the Storm? Was it our sluggish start last night, or their high fore-check that set the early tone? Was it their relentlessness, or our reduced efforts that let them back in at 4:2? Did we need a couple of goals against in both situations to give us a kick up the whatsits and get us playing with intensity? Thommo set the tone by playing Brad and leaving out six players on Saturday. I wonder if it was a case of having their minds elsewhere, rather than the Storm being that much stronger than last year – we swept them last year remember.
4> Fighting majors – Well despite the EIHL chairman saying there was going to be less fighting this year as enforcers were becoming rarer, there are still some that will answer the bell. I worried that the Steelers had gone for speed rather than toughness this year, but Desi and Fitzy keep everyone’s head up when the start laying down the bombs. Neilson was looking for that fight, and Fitzy obliged, and then Erdhardt started putting his weight about and Desi called him out for it. We needed to lay down some markers, and hopefully they can focus more on the skating next time.
5> Surprises – I’m imagining that the bookies made a few bob this week-end, as some of the less favoured teams came to the fore. The Cups games saw Fife beat both Braehead and Belfast, and Coventry beat the Panthers (and the Devils in a friendly), which hopefully will be a sign that we’re going to have another topsy-turvy league where anyone can beat anyone this season, whilst the Steelers slowly accumulate more points than the rest!
I’ll leave you with one last thought, other than padding out the fixture list can someone explain the almost pointless pre-qualifying group stages of the Challenge Cup? We will spend two months knocking out just the bottom two, and then five games to decide the champions – only in the EIHL!
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