Five Things from the week ending 15 November

Thank you to Tony for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Tony on Twitter @DISGU15ED

Yet another eventful week and another five new things I learnt this week.

1>     Sweargate – (I think I may need a lie down after this, but I’m about to support Simmsey for the second week running!) My wish for this week is for certain other fans to worry more about their own club, rather than excited Anti-Simmsey petitioning of the league about some hypothetical upset caused to children who probably already know that hockey players swear. It was a silly tweet from an official account, but no need to crucify the man (this time).

2>     Goalie Crisis – Seeing as both second string netminders got a shutout this weekend when they were brought in mid-game, then the obvious solution to the current hoodoo is to start one netminder and then swap him out at the first break in play. Shutouts galore. Simples!

3>     Miika Wiikman – An easy choice for league MVP so far, as his stats of 1.95 GAA and 0.931 SVS% are both league leading. The GAA is 33% (over 0.5 goals a game) better than anyone else. If he keeps this up during their upcoming away run then the Panthers will get a proper Grand Slam this season.

4>     Thommo’s patience – A team who practiced their defence all week shouldn’t then let in 12 goals in two games. Surely Thommo’s running out of patience and wondering which scapegoat gets run out of town first. Too early for Tony to sack the coach, but the D-coach might find himself playing again very soon at the very least. 

5>     Mosienko – He isn’t the messiah, he’s just a very naughty boy. 3-5 games on the naughty step even after considering Tony’s influence on DOPS decisions IMO.

One final thought and one I’m very happy about, as Premier Sports have just announced two great programmes for hockey fans. Firstly a long awaited weekly EIHL highlights show starting this Thursday, and secondly the return of the ‘Road to the Winter Classic’. Get those Sky+ boxes on series link ASAP.

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Big Match Preview - Nottingham (Home)

So after the trip to Scotland on Saturday, we come home on the Sunday to face those pesky puddycats from down the M1. Yes the Panthers are in town and all attentions will be focused on keeping that unbeaten Arena record intact. They can be beaten, we know that, but we also know that any lapse in concentration is likely to be punished with ruthless efficiency.

The big question is, can we beat them?

Categorically we can, they are beatable as much as any team are and that includes ourselves in that equation. We have to play them with the same intensity like we did for the first 35 minutes on Hallowe'en night in the NIC; just like Real Madrid of hockey in Thommo terminology. If we play like we did for the other 25 minutes though, the unbeaten Arena record is going to fall. A solid 60 minute hockey game is needed.

I think we also owe Panthers a decent hammering too, it seems ages since we had that 9-4 win which was a night that none of us will ever forget in a hurry: I still have that game on DVD lurking somewhere. That was a night we clicked and really brought an "A" game to the fore. We need to repeat that. But it won't be at all easy. As we have found out to our cost recently, any team can beat the other on any given night. 

We need to be ready from the get go and make it uncomfortable for them. This means no switching off in defence, leaving open rushes and firing plenty of rubber at Miika Wiikman. Special teams will be particularly vital too. Our powerplay, which is slowly improving, needs to click and when on the penalty kill: we need to be immaculate. Panthers have probably the finished article on the PP, and players such as David Ling and David Clarke will be crucial to shut down on this. Passing lanes for them need to be closed and force them out onto the periphery where they can do less damage. 

I am sure Thommo will have addressed all this in the week with the lads.

So what am I predicting as a score? Sure I would love nothing more than a caning that sends the puddycats down the M1 with their tails firmly between their legs but realistically it ain't gonna happen. We will edge a close run encounter 3-2 in regulation, and that'll do me perfectly. What's your take on it?

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Big Match Preview - Braehead (Away)

After another "bump in the road" caused by ourselves, and our slow start again in Edinburgh this time out - we go back to Scotland again this Saturday night. This time; lying in wait are Ryan Finnerty and his Braehead Clan. A packed house inside the shopping centre promises to be an intimidating place where defeat will leave us making more and more ground up on those above.

So what do we have to do to win there?

We need to play Braehead at their own game and defend much more stronger than we have done in the last few weeks. Ryan probably has the best roster he has ever recruited in his three years on the West Coast of Scotland, and despite their stuttering start: many believe that they will still be the team to beat when the end of season honours are given out.

You look at this roster and you can see there is quality throughout. From back to front, Clan have players that can win games for them. We already know how tough they will be to overcome as the overtime win testified. We have to bring a game that will silence the home support and be enough to take the points back down the road. But taking into account, our recent slip ups - Clan will scent blood and we all know that Ryan likes to put one over on us.

This is another baptism of fire for Marek Pinc, and one that will show us more about him. The defence in front of him needs to be solid and not porous as it has been in recent games. If we can do this, and the offence clicks as good as it has. We need to get back to basics and find "ugly" ways of winning hockey games - just like we did so well at the start of the season. Good teams always find these ways and if we are as good as it looks on paper then it's about we started to do this.

What better place to bounce back than in Braehead, a place where we have some decent success in the past. It certainly is not beyond us.

So what do I think the scoreline and result will be? Heart obviously says we will win but my head says not. I see Braehead overcoming us but not after a titanic battle which involves overtime. Clan to take this 4-3 after overtime and I expect Stefan Meyer to have a goal against us, another old boy.

A win for us would be fantastic though, wouldn't it?

    

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5 things from the week ending 8 November.

Thank you to Tony for his contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you can contact Tony on Twitter @DISGU15ED

Another week of hockey action with more than enough content and happenings to take five things away from. Here's a quick burst of the top five things I learnt this week:

1>  Edinburgh sit back and have the skills to hit you on the break - No shit I hear you cry, but it must be news to someone because why else would our defence keep giving up so many breakaways to them? Stop pinching forward and forcing the play and pick them off when the opportunities arise. Get them told Thommo.

2>  We can score for fun when we want to - Three from Roy, Two from Dowdy, and singles from Nelson, Leggy, Laury and Mosi this weekend show we've got the firepower in the top six, if only our D can keep their end of the bargain.

3> And whilst I'm moaning - WTF happens when we're on the PP? I checked the stats and we're  still bottom of the league on the PP with 10 goals from 81 attempts, and that's before you consider we've also given up 5 shorties. Remember what I said about D pinching and giving up breakaways. FFS it would be better to please to stay 5 on 5!

4> Murrayfield ice rink - From our first visit to the old barn on Sunday, I'd say you should wear lots of layers, the view is great because there's no plexi or nets down the side, and you're very close to the action. On the downside it's in a pretty depressing state of repair, but don't suppose the 600 home fans care about that after their win, nor will Finner who was in attendance and grinning a lot!

5> Fife Ice Arena - first visit there too as we took in Fife v Caps, and it wasn't as bad as Clantastic makes out! The natives were friendly and we had a great time in the auld barn as Fife demolished Chubak and the Caps D. (We didn't partake in the pre-game battered pizzas though). Cheers Section E and give me a shout if you make it down to Sheffield soon 😀

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