What did we learn this weekend?

With the Elite League officially underway, we look at some of the talking points from weekend and what they may tell us about how the next few weeks may unfold.  

That pre-season games don’t necessarily give you an edge.

Nottingham and Sheffield were the big winners this weekend and they had only one pre-season game between them. All teams will have to kinks to iron out and the more games they have under their belt, the more cohesive they will be at the start of the season, in theory. However, two or three games will not provide a quick fix as proven by Cardiff, and Coventry failing to register a victory despite having had the most pre-season action. It will take weeks rather than days for teams to reach their potential. 

Perhaps the Devils were a touch complacent when they went into Sheffield. With rumours of a troubled side that had limited time to practice together, the Devils could have expected a disorganised, rusty Steelers team but instead they found a hard-working determined outfit with a point to prove. 

Coventry will be disappointed to have conceded seven, seeing as their defence had already played four games together but the Panthers would have arrived full of belief having come from behind to edge past the much-fancied Giants. 

That the Giants are human after all

Having beaten the Coventry Blaze without a full roster, and starting so brightly against Nottingham with their impressive mobility and passing, the Giants looked as if they were going to stamp their authority on the league. 

However, Nottingham did a good job of keeping their composure and not panicking. They put together a good forecheck (led by the very impressive Matt Myers) and disrupted the Giants in the neutral zone. This unsettled the Giants and forced a number of mistakes, including a number of avoidable penalties. With time on the puck, Belfast will be devastating when in possession but when pressured they are far from invincible – as illustrated by David Beauregard’s breakaway, shorthanded goal. 

That Nottingham are willing to work hard

The Panthers did not make life easy for themselves by falling two goals early on against Belfast, but showed a tremendous determination to pull themselves back into the game. Although they won the game on penalties, they out-worked the giants for the second half of the game and were deserving of the two points. 

Nottingham have been criticised for signing older players, who are perhaps looking to pick up a decent pay check rather than build on their reputation. This year, David-Alexandre Beauregard was the player most likely to have come into the side with that attitude. At 34 years of age, and with a tremendous reputation in this league from his time with Manchester, he could have commanded a sizeable wage with an eye on his retirement from the game. However, his unexpected appearance on the Nottingham penalty kill shows that he is prepared to put in the hard graft rather than simply being a luxury forward who will score thanks to his natural ability alone. 

That there is more to this season’s fighters than fighting

This year, the Elite League boasts more proven fighters than in recent seasons and there has been a concern among fans that there will be a number of stage ‘pantomime’ fights that are often tedious and can detract from the hockey. However, the early indicators are that this won’t be the case. Sean McMorrow was up to his usual tricks of trying to fight anything that moved, but was unable to find a dancing partner, something that may continue to prove harder than he would have initially thought. 

Players like Mike Hoffman and Justin Sawyer have impressed fans with their playing ability and look like they will be more valuable to their respective teams instead of just being  ‘hired guns’. Alex Penner fought Hoffman from a faceoff but was right to do so because it was for the team and not himself. Nottingham had looked nervous and the early goal completely deflated the large crowd. Although Belfast scored first after the fight, it really brought the crowd back into the game. 

Other fights this weekend included: Jeff Smith v Alex Penner, A J MacLean v Neil Clark, Steve Makway v Rod Sarich and Brad Voth v Clark, but all were responses to in-game incidents rather than purely a desire to establish bragging rights. 

That Sheffield could be dangerous

The Steelers sit atop of the Elite League and have shown no ill-effects of the troubles that have plagued their summer. In fact, it could have made them stronger. Sheffield came out against Cardiff on Saturday with a point to prove and they did just that. Following a hugely disappointing year last season and a difficult off-season the Steelers are like a wounded animal and both Cardiff and Dundee can tell you how dangerous that can be. 

Sheffield have the key components from their league winning side in 2008/9 with players like Jeff Legue, Joey Talbot, Ashley Tait, and Steve Munn. New signings Ben Simon and Rob Globe make them arguably stronger than they were two years ago and so far new coach Simon hasn’t put a foot wrong. There are still sceptics as to off-ice stability, but as long as this team is on the ice they could do some real damage in the league. 

That Dundee could really struggle

It is not fair to judge a team after only one game, but before the season started the main concern for Dundee was that they lacked firepower. Getting shutout in their first game at home is a troubling indication that this is a very real concern, especially as there was little sign of the miserly and bruising defence that they will need to rely on to keep them in games. 

Sean McMorrow did his best to entertain the fans but his desperation to get into a fight and the way that this led to some bad feeling at the end of the game could be a worrying sign. If Dundee continue to get blown out in games then there is a danger that they will adopt the mentality of the London Racers and look to entertain by dragging the game into a fight fest – even if the other team isn’t interested in getting involved in the rough stuff.

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