More Pandas than Panthers - Five things I learnt w/e 13 Nov

So it’s another four point weekend for the Steelers, and another unbeaten run begins with two very different games and two very different opponents. The first lot were more Pandas than Panthers, whilst the Stars shone on Sunday - but neither were a match for the rampant Steelers. Here’s a couple of learnings I took away from the week-end.

1. It’s only fun beating people when they fight back – So I blame the Panthers for me not enjoying Saturday as much as I should have. It felt like beating the short-benched Capitals teams of years back where you actually start to feel sorry for the opposing fans rather than celebrating your own goals. Looks like there’s quite a gap between the coach and the team there - and also some kind of fire drill siren that can only be heard in blocks 101 and 201.
2. Panthers squad – On the basis of that game I don’t think there’s a single player that I’d like to see in Orange, and that can’t be right for a title rival. I honestly can’t think of a like-for-like swap that I’d be prepared to do, and unless they do things differently down the M1, the blame for the recruitment of the players sits with the Head Coach.
3. Continental Cup – I had hoped that the Panthers might do the EIHL proud against Odense, Angers and HC Donbass this coming week-end, but after only beating the Blaze by one goal at home in the pointless cup, and losing their last six league games, I’m now glad that Premier Sports aren’t showing the games. Saves me wasting any more time on them.
4. Dundee players showed they care – I don’t know how that team are at the foot of the table, as at home and against us they are playing with tons of passion and commitment. They stuck to their game plan, hit us on the break, and kept going all night. Top work Marc, and here’s hoping Corey and his team tuned into their webcast and took some lessons on-board. 
5. Penalty shots – Can we begin to believe in our Penalty Shot chances again? Schultz is two from two, Armstrong will learn not to repeat the Forsberg every time, Valdix poached his, and Moose stopped all four he’s faced in the last two weeks. Dare we believe?

One final thought to leave you with is to wish Alex Dampier all the best with his recent disclosed fight against Leukaemia. He’s a Steelers (and Panthers) legend after helping us in the early years gain promotion, our first championship, and our first grand slam. If there’s a bucket going around to remind him about how much we still care then there’ll be plenty wanting to chuck something in. We’re thinking of you at this time Alex.

Cheers,

Tony.

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