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Never a quiet moment here
Summer just wouldn’t be summer if there wasn’t something going in the hockey world, and for Steelers fans like me it’s seldom known to be quiet. We have had some up and down summers past and present, you could quite easily build a roller coaster of it….and to be honest this one has been no exception really!
It all started on a high with the capturing of the League title when we beat Braehead 7-2 at the Motorpoint, and chants of “Sign him up!” in the direction of Paul Ragan. The man we were referring was then player-coach Ben Simon, the American who had made such a positive shift in fan perception and had delivered the Holy Grail. Yet behind the scenes, something was brewing and brewing. Simon then quit shortly after the play-offs were concluded, have failed to reach terms with Ragan over a new deal. Fans distraught, and Ragan had really become a case of Public Enemy Number One.
Bringing back Ryan Finnerty as player-coach to replace Simon was seen as a papering over of the cracks in some people’s eyes as Ragan kept barking on about the reduced amount to spend based on the salary cap. This is something that will never happen properly unless it is policed correctly, every hockey fan knows that from Nottingham to Dundee for that matter. Ragan then annoyed fans for a second time with his pricing ideals, this time for the “Festival of Hockey” day. The natives were getting really restless and poor old Finner was stuck in the middle of it, trying to build a squad for the new season ahead.
The war of the words between Simon and Ragan continued, an apparent dislike between the two was becoming all too evident. Something had to give soon, and it was a case in point where Ragan was trying to manfully juggle too many balls or should that be pucks? Then came the news that Rinkcorp (the operating company for Cardiff and Sheffield) went bust which caused more and more uncertainty. Fans thought that it was going to be no EIHL hockey this season, unless something happened good.
Yet it did, enter Tony Smith – the Manor lad done good and owner of Rhino Sports. Smith bought a 50 per cent share in the side which slowly changed into 51 and full control. Fans were happy again, and so far Smith is making the right sound which is what we wanted all along. OK he is still learning as a club owner but he is doing it his way and that means taking baby steps instead of giant ones. Finner has so far built a side up that looks good on paper, the re-signing of Jeff Legue was nothing short of huge, and I am sure it will be as competitive as he is when it takes to the ice seriously.
Tony also wants to build some kind of bridges with the ‘Dogs across at Ice Sheffield as he told the fans forum, which can only be good for hockey in the City. However this is proving to be a bit of an apparent stumbling block as I recall they have declared an alleged link with another Elite side. The fact that they have allowed their highly-rated netminder Ben Bowns to join Hull on a two way deal this season adds credence that the Stingrays are the ones they mean. Don’t they like the big brother across the car park or something, is it an alleged ego issue of the ‘Dogs senior management structure (not Coach Andre I mean)? One can only possibly speculate. Bowns will be a Steeler sometime I sense, when common sense prevails that is and if Tuesday’s announcement rings true in time.
The black clouds seem to have blown away for the time being, and it seems like everyone is happy once again in Steelerland. Paul Ragan’s time, albeit short, is finished with and now it’s all about Tony Smith. A local man who is prepared to listen and act accordingly, he’s doing fine as we speak. I must admit the biggest pat on the back goes to Finner though as he’s had to work through this uncertain summer, if ever a man deserves some success then he’s that man.
Follow me also on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/hockeybhoy
See you soon,
Mark
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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
