Well after the mixed bag of emotions that was Cardiff home and home; the Steelers face another home and home series this weekend. Our opponents this weekend are those Fife Flyers from Kirkcaldy. We need to bounce back.
Sunday was forgettable, forgettable for all the wrong reasons to be honest. We know as one that it was unacceptable particularly after what had happened in South Wales less than 24 hours before. A team that played probably their best 55 minutes of the season so far, degenerated into embarrassment especially on home ice. It was probably Thommo and Jerry's worst fears coming to the fore and in stark reality.
But Thommo has apparently said we have to "get used to it" as the days of teams running away win an Elite League crown with just 5 or 6 losses on their EIHL campaign are long gone. This is where I feel Thommo shouldn't be apparently saying these things, it smacks to me of negativity. It is not the the NHL or AHL where they play 82 league games before the post-season play-offs and you can expect that quoted amount of losses to happen. The EIHL is just 52 games long, and usually if you finish with 20 losses then you're going to finish in the positions 6th to 8th. Maybe 10 losses in a season is considered reasonable due to the increase in the league's standard with players being attracted to these shores.
I fully expect us to win Saturday and win, convincingly too. Fife seldom travel well to these parts and have suffered some heavy losses. Whilst I don't expect us to hit double figures (even though we have the firepower to do so), we will have more than enough quality to get back on the winning trail. The banner raising will be a nice sideshow before puck drop, but I hope it doesn't prove too much of distraction. Russ Moyer will get a warm reception back for sure too, he was one of the underrated parts of the team that won the league last season.
Sunday will be a whole different kettle of proverbial fish. Fife Ice Arena is an old school hockey barn and can be pretty hostile to play in. No team comes away from there with a win of landslide proportions. We certainly haven't. It will be as tough as it comes, a bit like playing the infamous BBT. Teams can, and do, slip up there if they are not on their game. Just ask Nottingham already this season, and if that is not a warning shot then what is. I would be delighted with a maximum point haul but coming away with a point after overtime or penalty shots would not be a disaster either.
Predictions: Steelers to win 6-1 at home on the Saturday, and 3-2 after overtime on the Sunday.
Thanks
for reading everybody. Remember if you want to be a part of Frozen
Steel you can get into touch with us on Twitter or find us on our
Facebook Page, remembering to like us and leave a comment. We will then
get back in touch:
@FrozenSteelBlog
@FrozenSteelMNL
@hockeybhoy
@DISGU15ED
Don't forget to listen to our weekly podcast Breaking The Ice
It's available on iTunes to listen and download, also on Soundcloud
Or drop us an email to Frozen Steel Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment