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Lots to talk about in Pantherland
Lots to talk about since my last blog; another defeat and a win against the enemy, a good haul of league points gained, another Lepine checking incident and the departure of a key player from the ranks.
Panthers’ response to their 4-1 home defeat to Sheffield was to take maximum points from their next five games. The first of those being a 5-2 victory in what could have been a very tricky game in Glasgow. Coming off the back of that Sheffield capitulation Panthers cannot have been relishing a trip to face Bruce Richardson’s Braehead outfit, especially after the Clan had already taken 2 points from them at the NIC in September.
The following four games were a mixed bag of performances but all yielded the perfect result; a win and two points. The 12-2 home demolition of an awful Dundee side was followed up with what, for me, was the most heartening result and performance of the winning streak, a 3-2 hard fought victory in Hull. It was the sort of game Panthers of old may have lost or taken only a point from but the GWG from who else but Jade Galbraith represented a success that owed as much to effort and commitment as it did to Jade’s magical hands. Two more victories against Edinburgh at home (8-2) and Dundee away (7-4) completed a sequence of results that, although not making up for the Sheffield result, went some way to healing the wounds.
It was, therefore, bitterly disappointing to see us come up short against Sheffield in the first of two Challenge Cup games last week; not least because it was on home ice and in front of a very healthy midweek crowd. Revenge was the word being banded about, not least by the Panthers themselves, but sadly it was mediocrity that reigned and allowed a well organised, disciplined Sheffield side keep their hopes of progression in the Challenge Cup alive.
A quick piece of praise here for Steelers head coach Ben Simon. For all that I despise about the way Steelers conduct their off ice business I have nothing but respect and admiration for the way this guy has gone about his on-ice role at the club. Steelers are a well organised unit who play for each other, have a crisp powerplay and are not scared of putting in the effort to win ugly. For a guy who was brought in at the last minute, and with the distracting off-ice goings on, he’d be forgiven for not getting things firing on all cylinders immediately but far from it he has done what, to me, is a cracking job.
Mick Holland referred to the fans reaction to the defeat, and more squarely the questioning of Corey Neilson’s position as head coach, as “hysterical calls for changes to be made”. I take issue with that because I think there is more to it than just one defeat. No doubt a defeat to Sheffield evokes a slightly more impassioned response than, perhaps, a defeat to Newcastle or Braehead (random examples) might have done. However it’s worth noting that many fans you speak to have fairly logical reasons for stating the case for Corey’s position to be considered ‘under threat’ and they are backed up by evidence collated over three and a bit years, not knee jerk reactions to one defeat. Defeats like that are not the sole problem, but they do reveal some wider questions that it is only fair and expected that fans debate.
Many point toward the arrogance Corey displays. I can’t disagree with them on that point. I think, whilst any leader needs a modicum of arrogance, self belief or sheer stubbornness there is a balance to be struck. It is that stubbornness and inability to admit shortcomings that brasses off many of the Panthers faithful. The phrase ‘lack of a plan B’ appears to be the most pertinent one at the moment.
For what it’s worth, whatever my personal views, while he remains coach of the Nottingham Panthers I think it is vital we give Corey our backing where it matters; at the NIC and the other nine rinks in the league. He and the team need that backing, especially at home where the weight of expectation has long been a big burden to shoulder. As the best supported club in the league, both at home and on the road, we have the opportunity to make that count by backing our boys.
For their part Panthers, led by Coach Corey, exacted quick fire revenge in Sheffield, clinically taking advantage of Steelers weak play to record a 5-2 victory and almost certainly leave Sheffield without a berth in the semi finals of the Challenge Cup that Panthers are looking to retain. It was the best possible response the team could make to the understandable annoyance of the fans who had witnessed the lacklustre effort 48 hours earlier in Nottingham. The victory was made even sweeter with the knowledge that it had come without being able to call on the services of the league’s most talented playmaker, Jade Galbraith, who picked up an injury in the earlier game at the NIC.
Panthers returned to EIHL action against Newcastle on Sunday and the game, whilst entertaining enough, saw Panthers ride out easy winners 6-2. The main talking point was, however, another ‘checking to the head’ incident involving Gui Lepine. For my money it was a perfectly executed mid-ice check. Perhaps worthy of a minor penalty for interference as I don’t think the checked player, Latvian Toms Hartmanis, had the puck. Dean Smith saw it differently and called it as 2+10 for checking to the head. In Smith’s defence if he saw it as contact with the head then I think he called the right penalty, even though the rules are daft, as his directive is to err on the side of caution (i.e. first and foremost protect the player being checked). I just hope Lepine is not getting a reputation amongst referees and that Smith simply called what he saw.
Lepine had a little more action before serving his penalties as Scott Langdon answered the call and stood up for his team-mate. It was Langdon’s second brawl of the evening after earlier hugging Alex Penner into boredom in a nothing fight that could well have been called as roughing rather than fighting. This time the tussle was more entertaining as Lepine clinically despatched his fellow Canadian with ease, landing 4 or 5 peaches before Langdon hit the ice.
For a guy who was originally going to be plying his trade elsewhere in the EIHL I, for one, am glad we have Guillame on our roster. Does his job well on the blueline and so far has won every fight with relative ease. The way he simply does his job and plays the game the way I think it should be played is a joy to watch. Long may it continue for a guy who I can see becoming even more of a fans favourite.
Monday saw another item for discussion, the news that Dustin Sproat would be leaving the Panthers. It remains to be seen if he will go immediately or remain on the roster for selection until his contractual two week notice period is complete. It is reported that Sproat is missing the close involvement with his hockey foundation ‘HP4K’ (Hockey Players For Kids), has the opportunity to stake a claim for a berth on an AHL roster and may have the chance of studying at Harvard University. It’s understandable that he wants to pursue these avenues but from a selfish perspective this is a real blow to Panthers, losing a real workhorse from the roster. There is some mitigation in that Rob Bellamy looks like the kind of guy who can exert similar energy over a game and may pick up the slack nicely.
Panthers are reportedly intending to run with twelve imports, something I have long been an advocate of given our resources, and Corey Neilson has a list of possible replacements for Sproat. In the long run this may turn out to be no bad thing with Corey now able to make tweaks to his side to hopefully find that Plan B, devise a way to see off our title rivals and stake a claim for that elusive EIHL league championship. One thing is for sure, if he can do that all the concerns over his leadership will disappear very quickly and he, and the rest of the roster, will be afforded legendary status in Nottingham.
And finally….
Final words go to Alex Penner. That’s the guy who some well informed fans of our rivals think is a waste of an import slot and a one dimensional goon, capable of little else other than circus antics and the odd toe to toe scrap.
Let me just be categorically clear in what I think of that view, just so there is no confusion…. It is absolute garbage of the very highest degree, complete and utter tosh and simply not true. Is that clear enough?
It was bang on cue that Penner last night produced, what was for me, a man of the match performance against Newcastle. Two assists were the tip of the iceberg in terms of his contribution as he harried the Vipers defencemen, laid hits and generally made a nuisance of himself. He has a deft touch at times and makes a lot of passes that, had they been made by Jade, would be lauded as being from the hands of a genius. Penner is much much more than a goon. He may not have covered himself in glory with his stick throwing antics against Sheffield (although his outburst in the penalty box before that was great viewing even if not the most sensible action to have taken at the time!) but it appears to me that he relishes the opportunities like last night where he can show that he loves the game and can play as well as fight.
Keep it up Alex. The opposition fans (especially those opposition fans) slagging you off tells me one thing; you are doing your job as far as being an enforcer goes. My own judgement on your hockey ability tells me the rest; you can play.
After tomorrow night’s home clash with Hull the long road trip north of the border beckons this weekend with a visit to Braehead (my first ever visit to what looks like a great rink) followed by a short trip across the M8 to Murrayfield to take on the Caps. Six points from those games would be superb!
A full preview of the Scottish weekend will be up later in the week, in the meantime you can keep up with my occasional hockey musings by following me on www.twitter/elliott_stanley.
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-3 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-5 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
1-4 |
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| 12th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-4 |
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| 11th March 2006 19:00 | ||
2-4 |
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| 11th March 2006 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|
5-8 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
4-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
5-2 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
3-7 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
1-1 |
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| 19th March 2006 19:00 | ||
| Club | GP | W | L | OL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|
- Adam Walker
- Alex Birch
- Andy Pierce
- Chris Gent
- Christopher Beal
- Craig Simpson
- Dave Simms
- Elliott Stanley
- Gareth Chalmers
- James Broughton
- James Gordon
- Katy Madgwick
- Luke Catterson
- Mark Briggs
- Mark Duell
- Mat Young
- Patrick Smyth
- Promotion
- Russ Morrell
- Seanna Murdock
- Stephen Dowson
- Stewart Roberts
- Tom Forster
- Vicki Smart
- William Lyon
