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We'll meet again
The flag that stood (although admittedly after a lot of gaffer tape) at the back of Block 8 during last weekend’s Playoffs, spoke of one of the most heartbreaking stories of this closing season. Amazed as I was to see how many Braehead Clan fans had made the long journey down to Nottingham I was simply stunned by the amount of Viper fans.
500 at least, being loud, being proud of their team and its achievements this season. Fans wearing hoodies celebrating the win in Belfast with the ‘Viper Eleven’, singing through every part of a Playoffs they were never involved in. They turned up determined to enjoy, what many see, as the Vipers swansong. As a way of saying good bye to a long tradition of top flight hockey in the North East.
Nobody deserved coach of the year more than Danny Stewart. Yes you can argue with what Richardson or Simon have done in their clubs but for sheer scale of work Danny wins by quite a margin. He admits mistakes in his early recruitment but the boys he finally committed to the club past December where simply incredible. They NEVER should of won a game. They should have gone the way of Edinburgh with 16-0 thrashings every week, and whilst away games proved this at times, at home they were tough. With only 11 skaters at points they challenged Dundee for a Playoff space and made the Semi-Finals of the Challenge Cup. They beat the Panthers on their ice twice, once coming back from 4-1 down and Schwarz’s 5th goal (which can be seen here at 7:30 http://www.youtube.com/user/vipershockeyuk#p/u/8/8n3B57hqoOs) is one of the best goals I’ve seen. They gave their fans hope. Week in, week out.
More importantly the manner in which the club conducted itself has to be applauded, continually updating fans, being warm and welcoming to away fans and teams, this is in stark contrast to the communications up in Edinburgh. Away fans (myself included) were even buying tickets for games they had no intention of going to.
500 fans turning up to celebrate, what’s seems to be all the more likely, a dead club. Rumours are rife of a League takeover, a move to EPL and so on, but when all is said and done most fans know that this is probably it for their club.
The Metro Arena will have no ice plant next year, a rink at Gateshead is not materialising anytime soon and they simply cannot operate a profitable club out of Whitley Bay, it just can’t be done, with various sources saying they hardly made money in the heyday of the Metro Arena.
The Elite League is desperate to have high quality hockey in North East and not just because there is a willing fanbase, it’s also a hotbed of great talent. Weaver, Dowd, Longstaff all hail from the region and in the past other greats have found a love for the game by watching the Wasps or whatever Newcastle were calling themselves at the time.
This isn’t just a sad end for the Vipers, but in a large part this officially marks the end of top flight hockey in the North East but there are pockets of hope.
The main source being the planned creation of a 3,000 seater rink in Durham (Belmont). Whilst this has been stop start recently there is a great on the ground campaign with people launching petitions and lobbying local councillors on the issue. I’m biased, being from Durham, but I think there is more hope of a club emerging in Durham than anywhere else. With only cricket to contend with and a fanbase already established Durham hockey could really fly again.
But in short term, unless a miracle emerges, the Vipers seem to be the next victim of the Elite League format. The only way this league is going to last is if people play by the rules, that includes wage caps. Yes you may be able to buy the best talent and get thousands of fans at your own venue, but if there’s no-one to play against, what’s the point? The League need to start getting tough and helping smaller clubs live within their means and help them be competitive. As close as the league was this season the situation in Edinburgh was a joke, as it was in Basingstoke two seasons previous. Sky wont buy games that end 16-0, that’s not entertainment.
Put things seem to be changing, mistakes are being made but, much like Stewarts coaching experience, they seem to be being learned from. There is exciting hockey being in this league and, as long as every club has a chance to succeed, the league will grow. Fans will continue to fight hard and campaign for hockey in the North and top flight hockey will return. It’s just a matter of time.
We’ll meet again...
Dows
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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
