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Three wins in three for Panthers
You can’t argue with three wins from three and that’s exactly what Panthers have collected over the past week. Yes, games they should be expected to win more often than not but also games that need dedication and graft to keep adding to the points tally and stay in touch with that top spot.
Last Tuesday’s shutout victory against Hull was, I felt, a little harsh on the visitors who missed a couple of gilt edged opportunities to at least trouble the scorers. The major talking point, however, was not the score or the shutout for Kowalski but rather yet another “checking to the head” call against Panthers new fans favourite, Guillaume Lepine.
At the time I said it was clean, I was absolutely certain it was, and having seen it again I haven’t changed my view at all. Silverthorn had the puck on his stick and was cleanly checked, mid ice. What worries and annoys me is that referees are not calling the incidents based on what actually happens but rather based on the aftermath and, more worrying still, the player involved.
I can just about forgive Mike Hicks his poor call on the night, heat of the moment, and took advice off a linesman. It’s perhaps even fair to say he was working the rules in a way that protects players. I’m not saying that’s right but if that’s what he did, i.e. he had positive intent, then I can just about take it on the chin (unlike Silverthorn who got hit square in the shoulder, nowhere near the chin or indeed the head).
What I can’t make head nor tail of is the absolute mess the EIHL made of the subsequent ‘disciplinary process’. A process that is not documented, that, as far as we are aware, has no opportunity for a hearing where both sides present and share their evidence (where is that super slo-mo video from the Globke incident?) and a fair and balanced jusgement reached.
Oh no, that would be far too professional. Lepine’s match penalty was, after the game, upgraded to what the league called a ‘mandatory four match ban’. Now maybe my grasp of English is worse than I thought however my understanding of the word mandatory is that it means something that is not to be reversed, that stands regardless and is indeed fixed, compulsory and binding (there are more synonyms, I just picked my favourite three).
Imagine, then, my amazement when 24 hours later the ban was rescinded and a new one game ban for ‘excessive roughness’ handed down. The reasoning for this was the fact that Silverthorn “was not in possession of the puck” according to Andy French. Having watched the footage several times, including taking multiple stills, I cannot see how they have reached this conclusion. Milliseconds before Lepine lands the hit the puck is on Silverthorn’s blade. There is no wording in the rules about ‘control’ of the puck; the word used is ‘possession’ so any claim that the guy didn’t have it under control is irrelevant. A complete hash made by the EIHL, doing absolutely nothing to improve my view of their ability to correctly and professionally govern the league.
And so, after calming down from Lepine-gate episode three it was off to Scotland for a two game road trip and a much anticipated visit to the league’s new boys Braehead. What a great facility it is up there. An intimate arena with loads of leg room, great views of the ice and good facilities. It is a little bit of a strange location / setting, essentially buried deep inside a shopping centre, however this means accessibility is not a problem, plenty of parking spaces and plenty of buses to and from Glasgow, taking about 15 minutes each way.
The game itself was one in which Panthers owed much to what was apparently a good goal being washed out by Michael Hicks (not to worry, he owed us anyway after instigating the aforementioned Lepine gate episode three) but moreover a complete loss of the head by Clan netminder JF Perras. I’m not sure that the first incident didn’t actually lead to the second. With the second period being completed after the second interval (following Bellamy’s massive hit on Richardson which shattered the plexi) the ‘no goal’ came just before the netminders swapped ends and with the score favouring the Clan 2-1. On arriving at the end where the incident took place Perras appeared to have a go at the goal judge, banging the glass and gesticulating angrily. Strange, because the goal judge put his light on, he thought the goal was good; it was Hicks that said no goal.
After that Perras lost the plot and was all over the shop, probably not helped by the incessant baiting by the partisan Panthers following only yards behind him. Whether Panthers turned up the pressure deliberately after that, whether the no goal and the previous hit on Bruce swung momentum, I don’t know, but Panthers took the game by the scruff of the neck and crashed in five goals, split by a Brendan Cook effort, for a final 6-3 scoreline.
It was a good game, one which again showed Panthers to have a fighting spirit to call upon, helped in no small part by a British contingent that is as good, if not better, than every other team in the league. Matthew Myers in particular was a huge signing for us and is proving his worth every game. Personally I wouldn’t have gone for Zion as MoM, Bellamy and Ryan were both superb; the latter is, for my money, our most consistent performer by far this season.
I’ll certainly look to get back to Braehead for another game in the future, even if it did not involve Panthers; great rink, great local fans and superb to see a new team in the league.
And so the short trip across the M8 to Edinburgh and to a venue that is everything Braehead isn’t. The decrepit old Murrayfield rink is always like stepping into a time warp and, although perhaps very rough round the edges to say the least, it is a fascinating place to watch hockey. It’s the type of place that, if full, could be rocking and it’s disappointing that the people of Edinburgh haven’t taken to their local hockey team in greater numbers. I guess a rink like that, especially with its perennially freezing temperature, is not an easy sell.
The game itself appeared an easy ride for Panthers until a third period collapse saw them conspire to almost throw away two points. 5-1 up after 40 minutes the game should have been closed out without the tension that ensued amongst the large Nottingham contingent who probably outnumbered those cheering on the home side.
Panthers were clinical and hungry for the first two periods, fore-checking well, forcing turnovers and finishing their chances. In the third they seemingly fell apart. Tiredness a factor maybe? I’m not so sure, given the depth of our roster, that tiredness comes into it; although this was Edinburgh’s only game of the weekend so they were always going to be fresher come the final period.
I still feel we are shipping too many goals and are, still, employing a game-plan that is too gung-ho. Last night it very nearly came unstuck which, after being four goals clear, would have been a disaster. We’re picking off the leagues bottom half but I feel our season will hinge on our ability to win the close encounters against our title rivals. In those games it will be absolutely vital to find and employ a Plan B. We will not always be afforded the space, the time, the opportunities to score 5 or more goals a game but sadly I feel we will always offer the opposition the opportunity to score 3 or more whether they be top ranking sides or lower half whipping boys. I really hope I’m wrong.
And so onwards and hopefully upwards with a home game against the Devils on Saturday, my last game before I take a self imposed hockey break to get married and jet off to sunnier climbs. It’s not going to be easy; I am a terrible armchair fan and always have been. When I ‘return to action’ so to speak it will be to see the big game against Sheffield on 27th December. I have a feeling that it may be one of 10-12 games between now and March that will hold the key to our title chances.
As I’ve been saying all along, if we can get to Northern Ireland for the double header in January in touch with that top spot we can drive on from there. The games against Coventry, Sheffield and Belfast hold the key. We have as good a chance this season as we have ever had of putting the curse to bed, but we must become leaner in the goals against column. We have to play smart, even if it isn’t the most attractive flowing hockey at times; we have to learn how to remain disciplined at the back. If we don’t we will come unstuck in key games and those games will cost us the glory we all crave.
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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
