Big Match Preview - Manchester Double Header

Welcome to the first Big Match Preview of the 2016-17 season. After three Champions Hockey League games, regular season action is back on the menu.

Our opponent this weekend are the team from the other side of the Pennines:

Saturday night sees us in the Altrincham Ice Dome for an exhibition game against the Storm, but Sunday is when it really starts when the same said opponent comes to the House Of Steel in the first of eight qualifying games in the Challenge Cup. Even though Saturday is all about fine-tuning things, and coming away without any unwanted injuries - we're going to preview both games because we're that nice to you. So without further ado..

Saturday: 3 September 2016 - Manchester (Away)

Sunday: 4 September 2016 - Manchester (Home)

As mentioned above, Saturday is the final tune-up game for both sides before the season kicks in the following day. Manchester have undergone a radical recruitment splurge in the close season in all ends of the ice. Zane Kalemba has been replaced by Mike Clemente between the pipes, three new faces on the blue line and only one returnee up top. However, one thing remains constant: our good friend Mr Pacha is still player-coach so will we expect a few meltdowns?

Paul Thompson has already said that Brad Day will get the start in between the pipes on Saturday night and that's a smart move even if some might debate it isn't. Brad has won in Altrincham with us before and knows the building pretty well - no pressure on you however Brad. It gives him valuable ice time for sure, and the fans (and we expect quite a few will be making the trip over the Pennines) chance to see him in action again. Plus it gives the Moose a bit of a rest, he (Moose) should be back Sunday though.

Thommo has also said that both Cole (Shudra) and Liam (Kirk) will also feature during the Saturday game. Another smart move too. Gives both lads some good earned ice-time and a chance to show their undoubted abilities in a competitive game. I'm sure both of them will be chomping at the bit to impress Paul and the supporters. A good opportunity to see a couple of guys who are going to help represent Steelers in the future.

Manchester as said at the start, have revamped their team. Only Czech forward Patrik Valcak remains from the forwards last season. Sisca has gone to Fife, Scarsella to Dundee and Salazar back home to the States. Former NHLer Dany Heatley's brother Mark has been signed, and his DEL2 experience will be useful and Mario Valery-Trabucco (born in the hockey heartland that is Venezuela but a Canadian national) is sure to provide some offensive punch. Eric Neilson will be a more than useful power forward whilst Taylor Dickin (acquired from Edinburgh) and Darian Dziuryznski are capable of contributing well. 

In defence, we need to watch out for Italian internationalist Trevor Johnson. Although 34 now, Johnson has had a stellar career in the Italian leagues, playing 340 odd games and racking up 310 points. Most of these were helpers so we can assume Pacha will have big plans for him; especially if the Storm have a powerplay situation. Paul Swindlehurst and Paul Phillips return too and these are big plusses too for Pacha especially with the other two defenders being rookies.

So what can we expect? Both games will be feisty and typical "War of the Roses" encounters. Steelers might have held their upper hand last season, but this could change this season: particularly in the confines of Altrincham.

Players to Watch: Trevor Johnson (Manchester), Jesse Schultz (Sheffield)

Score Predictions: Steelers to win 4-2 on Saturday, 6-2 on Sunday

    

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Predictions for new season ahead

Thank you to Tony for this contribution to FSB. All credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Tony on Twitter at @DISGU15ED

Tony has come up with a challenge, one that we think will test us all. Do you think you know the Elite League as good as you reckon you do? How about predicting the standings of this season's EIHL at the end of the season. Who will get their hands on the Monteith Bowl? Who will miss out on the end of season final eight?

This is what Tony thinks:

League Champions : Braehead Clan - don't think they'll end up with the best win % but the statistically weaker conference fixtures will give them enough points. They might get a point or two in the CHL too if a few breaks go their way.

Runners-Up : Belfast - much as I don't think that Forney will score as well as he did last year, their new coaching regime and their refusal to accept another mid-table season will prove enough to top the Erhardt.
 
Third : Cardiff - if they were to stay in the BBT all season then I'd put them closer to the title, but can't help but think that the new surroundings will hurt them as it will remove their massive home advantage.

Fourth : Sheffield - I hope this is being pessimistic but we need another huge season from our first line to repeat in the league, and I'm not sure our net minder will last the season. This might be a consolidation year for Thommo, and a step towards greater things in the future.

Fifth : Coventry - I saw what happened in the second half of last year, and heard the hype, but was there really such a revolution? Narrow wins in the play-offs were great but the reported gulf in finances from the Arena teams will make repeating those tricks hard if the going gets tough.

Sixth : Edinburgh - with Emmo at the helm and a new wave of optimism running through Murrayfield then they should have enough to get good points from their conference games, especially as the Erhardt teams beat each other up all year long.

Seventh : Nottingham - and they should consider themselves lucky I put them that high.

Eight : Dundee - think MLF will do enough to make the play-offs, and will have the beating of Manchester and Fife to help rack up the points, but the rebuild doesn't convince me that they will compete just yet.

Missing out on the play-offs : Manchester and Fife - Much as I love the way the Storm are going about their fan engagement they will struggle with consistency in their first year, and will finish bottom unless their Goalie is an unexpected stud. Fife seem to be content with mediocrity and with no new coaching ideas I don't see why they will improve on last year, whilst others will.



Cups and Play-offs will be a lottery as per previous years, but I think the Erhardt teams will share the prizes, here's hoping that the Steelers get the Cup at the Motorpoint and the Panthers make the playoffs and win at the NIC - only joking, I'll give the playoffs to the Giants.

I'll be giving my predictions in the next few days, let us know yours too.

Mark

Thanks for reading guys. If you want to get involved please contact us on twitter or find us on Facebook and like us and leave a comment:-

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@TomWalkeden

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