Rink round-up

Monday, 28th November 2005

The suspending of playing operations by London Racers and the departure from Sheffield of Paul Heavey this past week has resulted in a flurry of player transfers in the Elite League. Despite the departure of Coach Heavey, Sheffield seem to be the recipient of the most newcomers this week, with ex-Cardiff Devils coach Dave Whistle set to take up the top job with the Steelers this week. Also arriving at Sheffield are ex-Racers Dennis Maxwell, Paul Robinson and ex-Phoenix blue-liner Mark Thomas, whilst departing from Sheffield is forward Dan Ceman. Newcastle Vipers have picked up Jeremy Cornish, and Cardiff Devils have signed Nathan Rempel and Tom Foord, the latter on a trial basis. The loss from competition of the Racers has meant that all points scored against them this season have been deducted from the league table, and as a result the Giants are still on top spot, but with a diminished lead over second place Nottingham.

The past week's action got underway on Wednesday with Newcastle Vipers taking on Edinburgh Capitals in a game which saw the Tyneside debuts of ex-Dundee Star Cory Morgan and ex-London Racer Jeremy Cornish, the latter replacing the departed Mel Angelstad as resident enforcer. Four goals in the first eleven minutes settled the game, with Edinburgh replacing netminder Martin Kucera after he'd conceded the four goals from only six shots. Going in for Kucera was Ryan Ford, who conceded a further five goals over the course of the rest of the game. Forcing Kucera's hand were Jeremy Cornish in the fourth minute, David Longstaff in the sixth, and Jan Krajicek in the ninth and eleventh. The change of netminder seemed to settle the Caps nerves, and increased pressure from Edinburgh saw them find their way onto the scoreboard in the eighteenth minute through Neil Stevenson-Moore, ending the period 4-1 down. The Vipers took their foot off the gas a little in the second period, netting through Andre Payette and Matt Beveridge to make it 6-1 The Vipers, sitting pretty, changed netminders late in the second period, giving Trevor Koenig a rest whilst Mark Lee took over. Early in the third period Dino Bauba brought one back for Edinburgh but this only spurred on the Vipers more, with Paul Ferone finding the net a minute later and Simon Leach putting the biscuit in the basket a minute after that. Cory Morgan rounded off the scoring in the fifty third minute, the game ending a resounding 9-2 to Newcastle.

Friday night saw old rivalries stirred with Nottingham Panthers playing host to Sheffield Steelers, and Andrew Luciuk opening the scoring for the visitors on the powerplay early in the first period. Jeff Sebastian equalised in the ninth minute, and Dan Tessier put the home team ahead towards the end of the period. A tense second period saw only one goal, the second for former Phoenix blueliner Sebastian, and in the third period Blaz Emersic extended the lead to 4-1. A penalty shot from Stefan Sjogren was converted in the final minute to give a resounding 5-1 win to the Panthers. The end of the game was marked with an ovation for Dan Tessier, icing in his final game for the Panthers before his transfer to HC Lausanne in Switzerland.

Saturday's action saw Basingstoke Bison at home to current table toppers Belfast Giants in a game that saw Bison player-coach Mark Bernard having to ice between the pipes due to the departure of Jayme Platt two weeks back. The Giants took advantage of the unsettled Bison line-up, with Ed Courtenay opening the scoring for the Giants in the third minute.Colin Shields extended the lead in the sixth minute, capitalising on a pass from Marc Levers to post a short-handed marker. Todd Kelman made it 0-3 before tempers started to flare, Brad Cruickshank and Shawn Skiehar both receiving two minute fighting penalties. Ed Courtenay and Colin Shields both doubled their tallies to make it 0-5 in the second period before Rob Stewart and Jim Shepherd clashed, with Steve O'Brien receiving a game misconduct penalty for third man in. Basingstoke opened their account through Greg Chambers late in the second but the damage was already done, the period ending 1-5. Ex-Phoenix captain George Awada and Leigh Jamieson rounded off the scoring in the third period, the game ending 1-7 to the visiting Giants.

Newcastle Vipers were at home on Saturday to the visiting Cardiff Devils, with new Viper Jeremy Cornish going up against former team-mates Nathan Rempel and Tom Foord. Brad Voth opened the scoring for the Devils in the first period, but that was it for Cardiff's scoring for the night. Cory Morgan tied the game in the thirteenth minute, and the scoreline remained deadlocked until after the halfway mark when Matus Petricko found the net to give Newcastle the lead. Cory Morgan made it 3-1 by the second interval and then netted his hat-trick in the third to take the game 4-1.

Edinburgh Capitals notched up a surprise win when they hosted Coventry Blaze on Saturday, despite Blaze opening up a two goal lead in the first period through Andreas Moborg and Neal Martin. Tony Hand posted a solo effort to open the scoring for Edinburgh in the tenth minute only for Dan Welch to make it 1-3 a minute later. Jeff Marshall made it 2-3 before the first interval. The second period was tight, with one goal coming from Hand to bring the scores level going into the third period, where markers from Neil Stevenson-Moore and Mike Kiesman put the scoreline at 5-3 and giving the Caps a much needed two points.

Sunday evening saw a repeat of the fixture, with Edinburgh hosting Coventry for the second consecutive night, and this time it was Edinburgh who opened the scoring. After a scoreless first period it was Martin Cingel who found the net in the twenty second minute to give the Caps the lead, a lead they held for seven minutes until Barrie Moore tied things up on the powerplay. A minute later Edinburgh had restored the lead through Dino Bauba, and increased pressure from the Blaze was held off until the fifty fifth minute when Neal Martin found an equaliser. Overtime wasn't enough to separate the teams, the match ending 2-2 and the teams taking a point each.

Cardiff Devils were shut out by Curtis Cruickshank in the Nottingham net when the Panthers visited the Welsh National Ice Rink on Sunday. Dan Tessier opened the scoring for the visitors at the end of the first period and a scoreless second gave way to a tense third, where Tessier's second of the night bowed the heads of the Devils and Shaun Sutter's marker finished the game, the scoreline sitting at 0-3. Devils player-coach Ed Patterson was disheatened with his team's performance, saying "It was an utter disgrace, I have some guys working so hard and some guys not and hockey's a team game. We're missing our two best players due to injury and they'll be out for a while, and we have to keep a tight system and we have guys taking dumb penalties. The undisciplined stuff in the third period was ridiculous, taking penalties when we're on the powerplay. It's pro hockey, not minor hockey, guys have to adjust to the officiating. I'm just disappointed."

Sheffield Steelers were at home to Belfast Giants on Sunday in a tense game that ended 2-2 after overtime. No further details are available at present.

by Richard Allan

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