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Steelers or Latvia for Mustukovs?
Ladies and gentlemen I woke up on this Wednesday morning and switched on my computer to get a big disappointment. I take a look at the Elite League website to find that Steelers goalie Ervins Mustukovs will not be playing tonight in Hull and will miss Saturday’s clash with the Nottingham Panthers.
Mustukovs is off to join up with Team Latvia to play in the Euro Challenge Tour in Oslo. For Mustokovs this is a huge honour as he has never played for the senior national team. For the Steelers this couldn't have come at a worse time. We are in the middle of a league title chase and have just gained the upper hand with four wins in five days last week. Mustukovs himself has played very well this season and deserves his call up but I just can't help but feel a little let down by his decision to leave at such a crucial time. Geoff Woolhouse will play in the absence of the Moose and for him this is a great opportunity to show what he can do. Especially against Nottingham where Woolhouse has played most of his pro career. The problem is that this is not the NHL where your back up goalie is still a world class goalie who can play 30 games a year if needed. In this league the gulf between starting goalie and backup is a lot bigger. Not to mention that Woolhouse has not really played this year at all. He has just 62 minutes of playing time under his belt so to ask him to just step in and play two must win games is a tall order. I guess the problem is that every game is a must win game at this stage.
I know it’s a selfish way to look at it but I am disappointed by Mustukovs’ decision. Why? Well as Steelers fans we have been here before. I take you back to the 2007-2008 season. The year the Sheffield Steelers won the Playoffs. It was the Challenge cup final and we were playing against the arch enemy Nottingham Panthers. Number 1 goalie Jody Lehman refused to play as his wife was due to go into labour any day. Now Lehman's situation then like Mustukovs now is one with which you can sympathise but the fact is he didn't play. We got slammed 6-3 in the first leg at home and could not turn things around in the second. So Jody Lehman put himself before the club and it cost us a championship. Perhaps more importantly it gave Nottingham a much easier championship win. Oh by the way if I remember correctly his wife didn't go into labour that day either.
I guess it’s all in the hands of the hockey gods but let me put it this way. If we should drop four points over these next two games and go on to lose the league title by four points or less I will not be a happy Steelers fan. Not to mention the fact that Mustukovs could go to Oslo and not even play. He could spend his time there just sat on the bench.
Best of luck tonight boys bring home two points.
Jim Broughton
0-3 |
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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
