From The Editor's Chair: Edition 50

Welcome back to another visit to the views that come "From The Editor's Chair"; the personal views of Mark. It's a landmark edition too as this is the 50th edition of the article. Granted that the article has not been out as often as it was at the start, but I thought it would be a good idea to pen something for you. As ever the views below are not of Sheffield Steelers Ice Hockey Club, it's staff and players: purely me being me.

Some of you might agree with what I am about to go on about, some won't. However, the latter doesn't concern me as I'm just speaking from my viewpoint. So here we go...

This edition will focus on the Steelers season so far, and I am going to separate it into four distinct parts for each competition. That is: the Elite League, the Continental Cup, the Challenge Cup and the Play-Offs. 

Elite League

After Cardiff had won the Elite League last season for the first time ever, and also their first domestic league title in 20 years: we had to step up and bounce back. Looking at the roster which was assembled I had quiet confidence that this was a roster that could actually be in contention for the main prize and possibly win it. It all looked bloody good on paper, but then again most things do don't they? To me, I thought the pre-season was too long in eight games in the space of four weeks. Not many NHL teams have that kind of pre-season preparation.

But what has not really helped our cause is that until recently was the horrendous inter-conference form. Up to December we had picked up just one win from the likes of playing Cardiff, Belfast and Nottingham. The fact we had garnered some many points from the cross-conference games, it was basically pinning our season up. Then after the home loss to Fife, we kinda woke up and started to put a run together with four shutouts in a row either side of Christmas. Top and bottom of it is that the league overall has been patchy/inconsistent at times and that's why we are 16 points behind the Devils going into the games against Belfast and Fife this weekend just concluded.

Conclusion: You can assume that this is why we won't be celebrating the return of the Monteith Bowl for a second successive season. If we had some form similar to that outside of our conference and also not dropped points in games we should have won, away losses at Coventry and Milton Keynes spring immediately to mind, we would be up there. It's terribly infuriating to say the least.

Continental Cup

By winning the play-offs last season, it was us who took the spot in the Continental Cup as opposed to the Belfast Giants. We entered the competition at the third round stage, which was basically the semi-final groups. The boys travelled to Rungsted, and it didn't start off too well as we were taken apart by Belarusians Yunost Minsk. But the team re-grouped and despite having a few wobbles in game two, saw off the hosts after a penalty shoot out. A winners take all game would decide the team who would make the Super Final alongside Minsk, and Steelers produced a polished performance in dig in deep and see off a physical Kurbads Riga team to progress.

The Club made a bid for the Super Final but it was in vain as Minsk were selected by the IIHF to hold it. It started off unfortunately in a familiar pattern as they were beaten comprehensively in game one. Yet in a rematch of the first game in Rungsted, Steelers pushed their hosts to the limit and took a late goal to give Minsk the points when Steelers clearly deserved something out of it. The team finished on a high though, shutting out Italians Ritten 2-0 to ensure it was their opponents who would end up bottom of the pile.

Conclusion: A decent adventure for the team who with a bit more luck, could have replicated the Panthers win in the same competition last season. To make the Super Final is no disgrace whatsoever.

Challenge Cup

The last time that the Steelers won this much maligned competition was in the final year of the ISL before it became the Elite League. Since then they have come close a few times to adding to it but always fell short. This season was no exception to the rule.

As always Steelers made it through the group stages with an impeccable record; 6 wins out of 6: seeing off the Panthers, Clan and Storm. Up next were Omar Pacha and his Dundee Stars, and Steelers continued their winning streak over the former Hull and Manchester head coach by seeing off the Taysiders 13-3 on aggregate. Standing in the way of a Final appearance were the current holders Cardiff, and it all looked rosy when Steelers took the first leg convincingly 6-2. But leg two, saw a monumental collapse...the wait continues!

Conclusion: Once more in my eyes, Steelers did the hard work but failed to finish the job off. A four goal margin should have been more than adequate to make any Final for any club but Steelers choked it. Granted their record in IAW is not great but I half expected them to at least give the Devils a much closer game there. Perhaps I'm asking too much from the team I've supported for the best part of 26 seasons. 

Play-Offs

Last season saw us win the play-offs in the most dramatic of conclusions. The excitement of it all led to me getting a nosebleed for my troubles. I looked like Zack Fitzgerald had rained endless punches on my sweet and innocent face. Levi Nelson just laughed his head off at me when I explained to him post-game that he was to blame. Well, he was.

This season sees the play-off quarter final structure change. Winning your conference means nothing when it comes to the seeding now as it's now a simple format: 1v8, 2v7, 3v6 and 4v5. As the standings lie, we would get the Fife Flyers if the season ended today. I can honestly see a number of changes in these final standings to happen by the final games of the season on 25th March. I also fully expect us to finish in 5th or 6th. Bold prediction indeed. Unless the Bears make a massive push and everyone else messes up, we should avoid them in the final eight. Semi-Finals are the same as last season's format, higher seed plays the lowest ranked seed left in and the two others in the other semi-final. Nothing new there.

Conclusion: Can we make it back-to-back play off wins? Head would like us to of course, my heart thinks otherwise. Our inconsistency could easily trip us up in the quarter-finals. We need to get back into the form which served us so damn well at the end of December and for the main part in January too. Do that, we won't be neutral fans in Nottingham on April 7-8. Just don't give me a double overtime game again or longer, I don't think I could take it. Once is more than enough haha!

Mark

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From The Editor's Chair: Edition 49

Hello everyone! It's the second edition this week of the column known as "From The Editor's Chair." In other words, Mark's personal soapbox. Sit back, grab a brew and biscuits, and digest Mark's opinions for your perusal. As this is purely a personal column, remember the disclaimer: it does not reflect any thoughts of the Sheffield Steelers - it's purely independent.

So what's is going through Mark's mind in this column? Well we're at the halfway point of the season, yeah it doesn't seem two minutes since we were playing Soderjtaile SK in the first of the eight pre-season friendlies. Which is one point I would like address now. I honestly thought eight was too many, maybe five at most but eight? Granted it gives a new look squad plenty of time to get used to each other and hopefully gel, but it was too many in my eyes. Hopefully the congested pre-season schedule will be better come 2018-19.

Now onto the team analysis, and I'm going to do them by position. Starting with the netminders, obviously...

Ervins Mustukovs is still the first choice netminder at the Club, and provides an experienced head as the last line of defence. What I've seen a lot this season on social media, is a lot of people having a pop at our number one goalie. To see "fans" of our own club calling Moose names like "Mustucrap" is not on. Opposing fans naturally make note that he gives up a lot of rebounds, what goalie doesn't, but Moose to me is one of the best goalies in the league. When he's on it, he's unbeatable. His deputy Brad Day is always dependable when called upon despite the lack of ice time. Of the British back-ups, he's probably one of the best there is.

Now onto the blue line. Two players for me stand out, and I am sure that they are the same two names that everyone else has on their respective lips. Those being Mark Matheson and Zack Fitzgerald! Mad Dog has been an inspirational pick-up, an experienced defenceman who seldom has a bad game and contributes at both ends of the ice. Zack is of course Zack, the marketing dream and dependable every night. As for the rest, Davey Phillips has been steady as has Scott Aarssen since his arrival.

Miika Franssila is developing into a good pick up whilst Ben O'Connor still frightens the life out of me when he's caught out of play but he can be a match winner on his day. Joonas Ronnberg, whilst he wasn't the uncompromising shutdown defenceman we were told, did a reasonable job for us under difficult circumstances in the end. He will be remembered for twice helping us out when we needed an extra defensive body, and that's worth its weight in gold.

Forwards now and I'll do these by line combinations, some of which aren't the exact ones. First trio to discuss are Colton Fretter, John Armstrong, Mathieu Roy. Fretter first, an experienced guy who plays with an edge which I like. He's been the victim of players taking liberties with him and that all came to a head with Goulakos, there's only so far you can push his buttons. That aside, he's a quality asset who chips in with goals and assists. I believe he will finish his playing career here. Armstrong, a player who has size and ability but sometimes goes missing in those big games. Some therefore call him a flat-track bully because of that. He was well on par to break his first season points tally but is now sidelined with "jersey finger", I'd just like a bit more consistency from him. Then there's "The King", again he's had an injury hit campaign but when he's fit and in the zone there's nobody better to get you those greasy goals. A modern day hero.

Line two, the Nelson-Valdix-Dowd one. This line has definitely been the shining one all season of the four we've rolled. Dowdy and Levi, the Bash Brothers, who hit and score whilst giving defenders the run-around. Probably the best wingers we have at the Club, and complemented so well by the silk and finesse of Valdix; who makes playing hockey look an art form at times. Third line, Wallace-Jämtin-Marquardt. Wallace, up to recently, has been many fans' disappointment. Signed with an impressive resume, he's not put the points up which we were expecting but surely this might change in the New Year. Jämtin has been steady in his work, certainly has a good work rate, a reasonable third liner. As for Marquardt, he had a slower start than others due to injury but I like him because he puts himself about, using his size. For a big guy, he certainly has a bit of skill about him too - definitely an unsung member of the team up front and I think he's a much better player with us than we saw him last year in Coventry.

Now to finish off, we'll look at the rest. Shudra and Kirk to me have been seriously under-used especially Cole whom PT thinks is a defenceman...he's not! Give him spells as a fourth line centre and you'll see how talented he is. GB play him there so why do we have to be different? Kirk is a talent waiting to seriously explode, I wouldn't hesitate playing higher if I could as the kid has serious ability. Jono, still Captain Fantastic and dependable as ever - you cannot say a bad word about the skipper. Jonas Westerling has had a few knocks, but I think we're still waiting to see the best out of him. Brady Ramsay was, and this is remember is my thought, harshly treated. When the chips were down and we needed a spark, he looked to give it. And as for Andre Deveaux, when he played he was good but he proved to be a bit of a loose cannon with his temperament - you can't afford to carry an import like that in your roster. 

Eric Neiley, we shall look forward to seeing you in action.

So there ends my thoughts so far on the roster, and it's not too controversial, so what's your verdict on them?

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From The Editor's Chair - Edition 48

Welcome everyone to a long awaited edition of the column penned by myself, your Editor-In-Chief. It's been a while since I did an article so I'm actually going to spoil you with two columns this week. The second one will be a roster analysis, so what will this particular piece encompass then?

Well, it's a look back over the last few games in Steelerland. Granted, I've only been to one game out of the five but I've been keeping tabs on the team's fortunes whilst away in Northern Ireland. 

The first game in the spell came on the Saturday before Christmas when the Clan came to the House Of Steel. It wasn't an easy game, and we had to work for the points against an opponent who were missing a few bodies. But we did what we wanted to after suffering an unwanted reverse in our last home league game to Fife. Steelers scored three but it could have been more comprehensive if it wasn't for Ryan Nie in the away net. Good to get back to winning ways in the EIHL; because the natives were really getting nervous. A confidence boost ahead of the Panthers games.

I'm going to talk about the Panthers games in just one paragraph; call it a condensed summary if you want. Boxing Day was about as sweet as you can imagine, a third successive shutout for the Moose and a case of Steelers taking their chances and stepping up when they needed it the most. A lot have said to me that it was a complete home 60 minute performance; something that we haven't seen much of all season. Special teams were ultimately the difference, with three of the four being powerplay strikes. Could we build on it the following evening? The answer was YES! Steelers dominated the Panthers in their own building, and had limited them to just six shots in the first two periods. That's dominance isn't it? A five goal rout and another shutout for Moose; about time we did something like to them. Panthers backsides firmly handed to them! Merry Christmas indeed.

Then we finish this summary with a back to back series against the Storm. The game in the Arena was a niggly one with it really sparking off in the final stages. Another shutout for Moose, his fourth in a row, and a 3-0 win for the record books. Dowdy back on the scoresheet with a double, but Storm did themselves no favours with some of their antics. Skating off like petulant school children before the Man Of The Match awards. Then before the New Year's Day game, Finner is quoted to call us "drama queens" which is probably good home PR but seriously after his team's behaviour in Sheffield: it's a bit of a joke! Yet you thought it would light the touchpaper for a potentially penalty strewn game. Yet what we got was a goal fest with the teams trading goals and the lead numerous times. Superb hockey entertainment. Steelers made it over the finishing line with their fifth win in as many games (thanks to a shootout) which has seen their season take a much needed upturn.

So the Steelers now head in two more huge games against a team that have had their number this season both home and away; the Belfast Giants. With a new face in the ranks, Steelers will be at full strength as regards bodies to ice. It's looking a lot rosier than it was, but there's still a lot of hard work to do if some people are to be fully convinced we've turned the corner. A good point haul from the games in the "O" can only help the club's cause. Let's see what happens next.

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The Week In Steelerland So Far

Welcome to a special article compiled after Tuesday and today's events. Remember these opinions are not that of Sheffield Steelers IHC, they are purely my observations and as a hockey fan since 1980 plus a Steeler since 1991.

Disclaimer above out of the way, read on...

So we have decided on our Challenge Cup quarter final opponents in the new choose-your-opponent quarter final format. We've gone for the common sense option in my eyes by picking the Dundee Stars. This is a smart decision by the Steelers as either of the remaining seven all had varying degrees of risk involved. Granted no team has a divine right to win every game they play, despite people thinking differently, this choice represents the best chance of the Steelers at least making the final four in this much maligned competition.

We have of course to be solid in both games, we can't afford to face a second leg deficit regardless if that is played at home or away. It has similarities with last season's quarter-final match up when we faced Edinburgh over two legs. If the first leg is in Tayside, keep it tight or come away with a lead then finish the job on home ice here. Recipe for success that. A tasty semi-final against either Fife or Cardiff, both which will be difficult, to follow.

Also Steelers have announced that forward Andre Deveaux has been released with immediate effect. To some, it's a shock and a disgraceful decision but to me, I lean to it not being so. When he actually played hockey, he was a decent player with some good skills but unfortunately I personally believe that it all boiled down to a lack of self-discipline. Two incidents in the space of less than seven days in my eyes prove it. 

First of all, his reaction to Thommo in Denmark when he appeared to argue with him after his clash with Kurbads Riga's Janis Sprukts. Yeah sure Andre got an unwarranted gouge to the eye from the Latvian which was not punished enough, but to remonstrate with your coach isn't the way to endear yourself particularly when you're still virtually a newcomer to the ranks. Thompson then benched him for the rest of the game as a warning, maybe hinting at saying "Cool your jets Andre. I won't tolerate this type of behaviour" but unfortunately his MK ejection I believe was the last straw and as soon as the weekend was done with then he's out of the door and Steelers are looking for a replacement. Unless it now opens the door for the unlucky Brady Ramsay to cement down a permanent slot in the team with Jonas Westerling probably moving up to centre the third line.

We move on now, like Steelers hockey always does, and reinvent the wheel again. 

Today, Wednesday, DoPS (the new incarnation) decided after reviewing the Deveaux in MK incidents that the recently released forward would be banned for six games. Three incidents are referred and it's hard to argue against them. The problem we face from this is that because Andre is no longer a player of ours; the suspension then becomes a team one where we have to sit one import for each of the six matches. This, coupled with the fact we have a few injury problems again, is in my eyes going to make or break the season for us. If we can get through this spell without too much damage and stay in touch with those above then we will have done well. The realist in me thinks it will damage the title hopes and we will be playing a spot of catch-up. All because of one man who couldn't keep his emotions in check. Sad but totally true.

Those are my thoughts, how about you?

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That's Enough Now

Hello everyone.

Firstly, let me begin by thanking you all for your continued support of the blog, the MNL account and more recently the Junior account. The support and praise, and naturally any criticisms and advise, are greatly appreciated as we look to continue both developing and improving as a whole. We have a couple of potential new features and ideas in the works, which are taking some time to finalise and arrange, but if they become a reality we hope you enjoy them. With that said, I should get into the main purpose of this article. One final word of warning, it will probably be a long one and feature a few strong words, so grab a cuppa and strap yourselves in. So, it's been a while since I've written an article for the blog. I was initially going to wait a bit longer in order to do a little mid-season review and look at the team and the players and their performances up to that point in time. Both positive and negative of course. However, recent events over various platforms of social media have brought me out of hiding a little sooner than planned.

Now, by all accounts, this whole situation began in part thanks to a poll that was made on our Junior account. I have stated previously that such a poll should never have taken place on any account that carries the Frozen Steel name. It did not reflect who we are as a collective group of fans and did nothing but show us in a bad light. We have since apologised for the incident and have dealt with it internally.

Off the back of that however, it has caused what can more or less be described as a bit of a social media shitstorm when it comes to having an opinion. Through all the back and forth between fans and club, to me what has been missed is the real issue. The issue, in my opinion, is how some people are portraying/wording/delivering their opinion.

Don't get me wrong, everybody is entitled to an opinion. As David Simms himself once said to me a few years ago, "opinions are like arseholes - we've all got one", which let's be honest, is the truth. We all make a judgement on something and thus form an opinion. That's how life works. The issue is how you express that opinion. Take the events of this past week as a perfect example.

The club has, by most accounts, just enjoyed a successful weekend in Denmark in the Continental Cup and therefore progresses to the Super Final as a result. A terrific achievement for the club and also reflects the continued growth both on and off the ice under Tony Smith's ownership. What we encountered a few days later was something that focused on nothing but the negative. We should have collectively been celebrating the success in Denmark and looking ahead to the weekends upcoming games against Milton Keynes and Coventry Blaze, but we didn't do that, did we?

Instead, we ended up with fans voicing their opinions on a negative minded poll and discussing the polls results, but we then also had one of the players (who incidentally featured by name in the poll) state his opinion on the whole situation. Like I said just above, we are all entitled to our opinions. Whether that is as a paying customer/fan, or a club official, or even one of the players.

For me, Ben O'Connor had every right to state his opinion, both in defence of himself and also in defence of the team he plays for and how he thought it was silly to be focusing on a negative after such a good weekend for the club. He was absolutely right to do so. He was right to call out the Junior account for making the poll. He was right to call out some of the fans for focusing on a negative after such a good weekend. He was absolutely right to reply back at some fans that were addressing him in an aggressive manner over social media. That was the main issue recently, the manner and/or tone in which people expressed their opinions.

The people that cross the line are those that use aggressive language and punctuation. What also is an issue is the whole use of social media and how some people think that because Ben is a professional sportsman, it is unprofessional of him to reply back to fans of the team he plays for in the way he did. Yes, I'm well aware that part of that statement makes me a hypocrite as I am using a form of social media myself for this very article and also when I do my Twitter updates on the MNL account, but just hear me out here.

Social media is a wonderful thing. It is a terrific platform for people to use every day in all sorts of ways. That said, in Ben O'Connor’s case, something needs to be made clear. When he (or any player or member of staff for that matter) is out there on that ice, or in the gym training with the rest of the team, he is a professional sportsman. Away from that environment, he is a human being. There is a clear and definitive difference. Unfortunately, social media is a very grey area. When is he a sportsman on social media? When is he a human being on social media? The answer to that is very much divided and there is no real definitive answer.

Now that whole "Pollgate" situation got seemingly put to bed towards the latter part of last week and we had the two games at the weekend to focus on. Unfortunately, as a result of the harrowing defeat in Milton Keynes, along with it came a lot more criticism and once again some of it was phrased/worded/stated inappropriately, which has led us to today and this evenings press release through the Sheffield Star.

We once again find ourselves in a situation where a club official was essentially calling out the club’s fans over their opinions and once again (judging by current social media reaction to said press release) what seems to be getting lost in the article is the actual point that is trying to be made. The point that is trying to be made is how those that are using strong language or an aggressive tone towards playing and club officials are the ones crossing the line.

I get what Paul Thompson is saying in principal. There is no way players or club staff should be directly tagged in tweets or Facebook posts etc. where they are getting slammed by people in an overly aggressive manner. The same goes for league officials for what it is worth. For example, say I post a tweet saying that I think "Player A is a sack of shit and should be released asap" and go on to say that "I have seen more effort from a baby trying to have a poo" and then go and then compound that further by tagging said player in that very post. That would be, and is, completely uncalled for.

The right way to post something, in my opinion, would be as follows: "Player A didn't have the best of nights tonight. You can see he wasn't happy with things out there. We all have those off nights though. We know what they are capable of. More than confident it will just be one of those things. Go get them next game, you got this!" and that looks a heck of a lot better. If that player is also tagged in that post, they'll see that and be more inclined to think "yeah, that was an off night, but yeah I do have a lot more to give, thanks for the morale boost" and that sort of attitude effects professional sportsmen in a much better way than telling them they are shit at the job they are paid to do, for a team that they care about, in a sport that they have grown up having a lifelong passion for.

If you want proof of a positive attitude from fans having a more beneficial effect on the players on the ice, look at last year’s Playoff Final. As fans we let everything out during those overtime periods. You could see it physically and emotionally lifting the players and spurring them on. Take a look at Denmark as another example. 3-0 down against Rungsted when it all looked doom and gloom. Then we get a break and convert and pull it back to 3-1. Right after that the travelling fans were superb. Cheering non-stop, and I mean non-stop. We made that building in Rungsted ours and we made sure the boys on the ice could hear us. Within a few minutes it was 3-3. By the end of the weekend we have won two games and got progression to the Super Final. How do the team repay the travelling fans? By coming into the fan zone just down the road and coming in and saying thank you and socialising with the fans and celebrating with them.

You can even take Saturdays loss in Milton Keynes as another example. 4-0 down and by most accounts playing poorly. Then, we get a glimmer of hope by making it 4-1. It lifted the fans a bit and it gave the boys a little boost. Then all of a sudden, it's 4-2 as the club’s long-time captain gets a shorthanded goal. Suddenly, the fans are loud, the home support is quiet. The bench is lifted. We go at them again for a couple more shifts and after one of those shifts, Jonas Westerling skates past the travelling fans and starts lifting his arms up at the fans while shouting "come on, come on, come on!"

Now, why does he do that? Simple. As an experienced player, he knows that support and particularly that volume of support in both numbers and voice seriously lifts a bench up. Sadly, on that occasion MK went on to go and run away with the game again, but there was a professional doing something very simple to try and get a much more beneficial result. Sometimes in life the tiniest things make the biggest difference, whether it is positive or negative, and that should be remembered. Then I look at this evening's article in The Star and all I can think of is this. Is that article in The Star really necessary?

For me, it's not. Sure, I understand exactly where Paul Thompson is coming from in his comments, but does he need to be speaking in an article about such comments made on social media? As I said, I don't think so. Likewise, does Bob Westerdale really need to do such an article for the paper and release it? Again, for me, no. Don't get me wrong, Bob Westerdale is a seriously good asset to our club and has been for a serious number of years now, but I just don't see how that article benefits anybody in the bigger picture. All that social media business took place a number of days ago now, so why are we bringing it up again? All it has seemingly achieved, judging by social media reaction, is yet again more of a divide between the fan base and the club. It all just seems completely unnecessary to me, but that's just my opinion.

This isn't the first time in recent memory this has happened either. I remember at some point in the last couple of seasons I took to the podcast and called for the unity between club officials and the fans. Again, it all started because of some members of the fan base being overly aggressive in how they expressed their opinions, and in some cases, making the players and staff aware of them because of directly tagging them in the comments.

Why the heck, further down the line, are we back to making the self same mistakes? Why are we starting to go back and forth at each other again? It's completely unnecessary. This very article shouldn't even be necessary, but here I am repeating myself from previous seasons gone by, because like the rest of you I damn well care about this club and very much its image.

There are people on both sides, fans and club, that could do with bucking their ideas up a bit and for all manner of reasons as well. I'm all for you all having your opinions, but think about how you're going about it. Again, that seems very hypocritical of me, as I've put my foot in my mouth on more than one occasion, but this niggling between club and fans has simply got to stop. It's tiresome and we are all much better than this. Let's just put the negativity of the past week or so behind us and for once just damn well leave it there.

Some of you may be reading this and agreeing with me. Likewise, some of you may be thinking this article is complete tosh. Some of you may both agree and disgaree in part. Some of you many just think I'm a complete prick that's talking above his station. Guess what. You're entitled to think the way you do, and if you want to express that as such, then go ahead and be my guest, but for the love of everything keep it flippin' civil because having opinions expressed in an uncivil manner has been the root cause of all of this.

It benefits all of us if it is kept in a civil manner, both fans and club as a whole. This isn't the first time I have said this, but I damn sure hope it's the last time I say this. We are much better than this, so let's be better than this. Unite. Become one. Be a force to be reckoned with. Be one orange army. We all love this club. So, let's go out there and damn well show it to each other and the rest of the league.

I'll see you on the road.

Alan

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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From The Editor's Chair - Edition 46

After a little bit of hiatus, the view from the Editor's chair returns and with it a few thoughts about the incident which caused so much debate and discussion.

Now the dust has apparently settled, I thought I’d write a special piece which details my opinions on the Fretter-Goulakos incident and all that. As I said, it’s my opinion and I don’t expect anyone to wholly agree with what I’ll say but this is just me being me. Got that?

The whole incident has certainly left an indelible mark on hockey over here. One that may take weeks or even longer to remove. I think it will still be talked about by some and they won’t let it lie especially if a Steelers player in the future throws a hit on an opposing player and the opposing fans are in uproar over it. It’s bound to happen, so let’s be realistic here. Mind you, could it be argued that us Steelers fans will feel equally aggrieved if one of our players is subject to something similar? No team it can be said is immune to it.

So onto the incident itself. Prior to it happening, Goulakos had already served a 2 plus 10 checking from behind penalty in the first period for a hit on Steelers winger Levi Nelson. What was missed then was a clear slash by the afore mentioned defenceman on the winger which could have got him in serious hot water if spotted. Fans spotted it, myself included, but the call on the night for that remained just the 2 plus 10. Early signs of a chippy game. Then after Zack Fitzgerald was ejected on 5 plus game misconduct for high sticking on Brendan Connolly, you just knew it was going to get worse unless referee Michael Hicks got a lid on it. Unfortunately, as we all know now, he failed in that respect and in my humble opinion here: that was a contributory factor to it all.

A minute before the “incident” Goulakos had shown the good side to his game, scoring an absolute howitzer of a strike over the glove of Ervins Mustukovs and into the top shelf. A goal that most NHL goalies would have struggled to keep out, it was a peach. Then it happened, Colton Fretter is sent flying into the boards by the Giants defenceman. A clear penalty, right? No, Mr Hicks plays on and allows it to go unpunished. Fretter picks himself up, and looks around for the call but realises it is not going to come so seeks personal retribution on the man who sent him flying. He travels at such speed that Goulakos never sees him coming, and contrary to some description, he (Fretter) didn’t leave the bench. Fretter’s stick is tossed away as he zooms in on his target, and he arrives on scene to dish personal punishment.

Let me make this clear already, in my opinion you can’t do what he (Fretter) did even if the official offered you no protection on a previous clash. Imagine being out on the town and somebody gets your red mist going under the nose of a policeman and nothing gets done, so you decide to take it out on your preparator – you would not expect the policeman to turn a blind eye to it all would you? You’d be arrested, wouldn’t you? That’s how you can possibly see a similarity with this. Anyway, I digress, as Fretter starts to wade into Goulakos, the defenceman’s skates suddenly rise and to me that is as dangerous as being punched if not more. Skate cuts if they pierce the skin can be life threatening, remember Clint Malarchuk in the NHL all those years. With the body position of both Goulakos and Fretter as they were, it could have seen a stray swish of a blade to pierce Fretter’s shorts and meet unprotected skin. Pierce that and you will see blood, and that could have been damaging if not dealt with immediately.

Anyway, after the melee had been brought under control, eventually, Fretter was given a 5 plus game misconduct for checking from behind for his part in the incident and Goulakos was assessed a match penalty for “kicking” but there didn’t seem to be any kicking motion. Dangerous play maybe with the skates in the air. I was convinced there would be more to come from it, and sure enough there was. The so-called Department of Player Safety ruled that Fretter’s part to be upgraded to a single game ban and for Goulakos a three-match suspension due to multiple incidents which had gone on in the game. Cue media meltdown with fans, current EIHL players and former players going mental. I was really surprised that the one game ban was issued, it deserved far much more. Cries of “Steelers run the league and DoPS” were all too often on social media from fans from other clubs which is, and has never been, true. Cardiff Devils GM Todd Kelman had hinted a year ago at a Devils fan forum, that DoPS was just one person (former league referee Simon Kirkham) but nobody knew if this was correct as the league was still not transparent enough to admit it.

The majority of the Steelers fan base were amazed at the decision, and had to field so much vitriol and at times, it felt like, pure hatred from the fans from around the country. Makes you wonder what kind of kick these people get from this, and certainly defies the logic of a hockey family sticking together. Steelers were public enemy even though the club had nothing to do with it, it was just a Molotov cocktail of Hicks, Fretter, Goulakos and DoPS as far as I was, and still am, concerned. Obviously with this outcry, the league had to act because the good name of the league was being besmirched through plenty of mudslinging. Thankfully, they did in 24 hours and organised an independent review which involved former NHL linesman Lyle Seltz. The outcome was greeted with relief but still contentious all the same, Fretter’s ban was upgraded to six games but Goulakos downgraded to two.

Whilst personally I welcomed the increase of Fretter’s ban, I can only feel that Goulakos can count himself a bit lucky with the downgrade of his suspension. For the independent opinion saying that Goulakos might have been concussed when he raised his skates, that’s something I ain’t buying. Sorry but I am not. There are rumoured reports that he was laughing and joking about at all with a team-mate post game, and if that’s right: you certainly don’t do that if you’re suffering from concussion type symptoms. Yet it is what it is now, and I hope that this whole sorry tale is now done and dusted bar some people on social media who seem hell bent on not letting it lie down quietly. The cynic in me just feels like that the blue touch paper has been lit now, and we could be witnesses to more controversy when the Steelers and Giants play each other next. There’s definitely a bit of bad blood going on, which makes for an interesting rivalry, but hopefully common sense will prevail. We can only wish and dream, can we?

Yours in hockey,

Mark

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From The Editor's Chair - Edition 45

Welcome to the seat that is known as the Editor's Chair where I decide to give you my humble opinions which I can't waffle on too much on the Soapbox nor the Podcast.

I'm going to talk again this week, like I have done before, on this nice little subjects:

• D.O.P.S
  
• Refereeing
  
  

D.O.P.S or should that be Dopes based on some of their decisions made since they first arrived on the scene here. Unlike the NHL, people know who is behind it but for some strange phenomenon: we don't in the UK. Talk about a lack of transparency. One minute we're told it's decisions made by people overseas, next minute Todd Kelman telling Cardiff fans that it's just one person over here. Make your god damn freaking minds up and tell us the right description and who is behind it. All I want, and I am sure other fans too, is a bit of common sense and that word again: transparency! It's not hard is it?

As for the decision making, some of it has been absolutely laughable shall we say it? Let me look at one particular incident just last weekend, in Milton Keynes. Yes, you've seen the clip on some social media outlet involving Paul Crowder. How the heck did that, on the night, get called for a minor two minute for slashing. More like two minutes for attempted decapitation on ice. Sorry Cardiff fans, there's intent and there's malice. But then again, have you seen who the man with the armbands was? A certain person who missed two incidents in Cardiff last season when we went there and the Devils scored both times. The subsequent review, and if MK hadn't put it in I would have been clearly astonished, saw Crowder suspended for three games. Yes, just three games. It deserves more, and once more we are wondering how the fudge D.O.P.S are making such ludicrous decisions. It just has me baffled.

Now on part two of my mini-rant, referees. Yes I appreciate that the officials can't call everything and without them we wouldn't have a sport to watch but so when so many things are being missed on a nightly basis then you have to start questioning are some of the people officiating up to the job in hand. Granted I wouldn't like doing the job, I never liked refereeing a football match particularly when one of the sides is a bunch of your mates, but when decision making goes wrong then it goes wrong in a big way.

We're told the sport is investing in the referee programme but we're still stuck with the three stripey team and not four. People might say that we don't have the numbers to cover it with four, we would do if we could get young aspiring stripes to be fast-tracked like they do in football. If a referee is decent enough in football, he goes on this fast-track programme and is nurtured to be a top level official. I've seen this happen. So why can't hockey do something similar?

So is the funding actually there? Makes you wonder. The sooner we have a four person officiating team week in, week out the lesser chances things will be missed and coaches won't be going mental when things go wrong like they did on Sunday at the Arena. Also, there should be a referee's assessor in the crowd monitoring the official's performance and if they are below par then he/she should be made accountable for it. If we had enough officials, drop those underperformers down to NIHL for a game or two before giving them another EIHL match.

But then that's me being me. Some of you will think yeah, Mark's bang on the money here and some will think: erm nah! And with this that's me signing out for another week, hopefully I will be a bit more happier next time but don't count those chickens too much. OK?

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From The Editor's Chair - Edition 44

It's been a while since I wrote my usual column, so with the season two weeks old then I thought I would return with some of my musings. Some you might agree with, some you might not but that's the beauty of having differing opinions. With that, let's see what is on mind this week.

Looking at the results so far I'm very pleased indeed with the start we have made. Two wins out of two in the much maligned Challenge Cup, and five points out of six in the EIHL. If you said to me that we would have this before the season started then I might have laughed a bit in your collective faces but it's not too bad. And it could have been better if it wasn't for that "freak" strike by Justin Faryna of Cardiff last Saturday. We're playing with confidence and the goals are being shared around which is a sign already that we have a very good team here this season. If one line doesn't chip in, others are stepping up to the plate as well which should please Thommo and Jerry no end.

Speaking of Jerry, I had the chance to meet his son Klas at the Cardiff home game. Like his father, Klas is a very knowledgeable hockey person so it was interesting to share some hockey perspectives with him. I think I kind of surprised him when I told him of my trips to watch HV71; he couldn't understand why at first that someone would go out on a whim to watch SHL hockey. When I explained why, a huge smile appeared. Thanks for the drinks also in the period break, I appreciated it. Big props to Paul for the introductions too.

I'm liking this seasons roster, it has a very good balance to it. Whilst we have had to cope with the injuries to Fitzy and Matt Marquardt; we seem to have found a resolve within the ranks to battle on when we are seemingly up against. Most people would have been worried when the Panthers took a 3-0 lead inside 10 minutes in the first regular season home game, I was, but the team didn't panic and just got their collective heads back on and staged a comeback. For Levi Nelson to score another game winning goal in a 6-5 felt surreal. At least this time Levi you didn't cause me to have a major nosebleed like you did after "that" goal in the Play-Off Final, I looked like Fitzy had rained a number of blows on me after that. But we had a laugh and a joke about it.

I'm also back on the hockey forum, and it never seem to surprise me that some people think players should be gassed and sat because they ain't doing what we expect them to be doing. It might be that those said players have been asked to do what their normal role is; a bit different so hold onto your hats. Not every single new arrival is going to set the world alight immediately, sometimes it takes a few games to settle into new environments, new systems etc. Everyone will chip in their own way so give them time instead of saying: "Player X should be dropped, he's not been too consistent" - you have to give them patience. That said, we must try something that keeps Finnish winger Juha Koivisto here. You can tell with his hockey IQ that he's played 300 plus games in the top division of Finnish hockey which is a higher standard than our own. Will be interesting how the lines fall when Marquardt returns..

I also like the new home jersey, which has split a few people's opinions. The blue on the shoulders sets it off well, and makes the sponsors stand out which is good for commercial exposure. The white road jersey, I ain't overly fussed with but the blue Challenge Cup jersey is decent especially with the retro logo in the middle. I quite liked this logo when we had back in t' day, and it is good to see it re-appear. Maybe one day we will go full circle and see it back on the home jersey too. Can't see us going completely full circle and reverting back to the original Steelers hockey colours with the teal involved; as orange is seemingly our identity which causes mirth around the rest of the league as they refer to us as traffic cones. I just laugh at those people. So what if it does, it's unique just like Braehead are with their purple and nobody has a dig at them for it. Jealousy gets you nowhere in life..

All things said I'm excited hockey-wise. I'll still be doing my trips to other rinks, Cardiff's already been done as me and the Big Man (shout out to you there Lee) went there for their CHL game against HC Davos which was an entertaining game to watch as a neutral. Kirsty, my favourite little Cardiff Devil, maintained I must have been a good luck charm to ensure Devils that night. I couldn't stop laughing when she said that. I can watch SHL and some NHL on a new channel on the telly box and what else do I need to get my fix? I got everything covered methinks. The season is going to be ultra-competitive as I think a lot of teams have again upgraded on their respective rosters from last seasons; Steelers definitely have. 

I'll be back next week with more thoughts, don't know what I'll be talking about but I'm sure I'll find some subject matter. 

M

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