Blaze had plenty of pressure and opportunity but the defence still dissolved from time to time against an organised Manchester side.
Who'd have thought with less than a minute on the clock, Manchester nearly scoring on the empty net and Blaze still not looking that convincing at 4-6 down that the result would swing around like that?
]]> Magic, drama and pure theatre, neatly packaged in two minutes of drama to cap what had been a decent game to watch.Pity those poor souls who left early thinking the cause was a lost one.
Now there is purpose to Blaze. Now Blaze know there is a way to win - no matter how much time is left. That will make all the difference for the season run in.
Manchester were the starters. The real test starts tonight. Nottingham, Belfast and Sheffield all in eight days, not forgetting a potential banana skin in Hull.
If Blaze win all three of the games against the big three, I predict there will be silverware in Coventry this season. If they lose them all, we may as well look to September. But last night's score shows that nothing is over until it is over.
]]>It's easy for a netminder to lurch from being hero to zero. Often they seem the stand out player, easily spotted for the saves they make. Often they are blamed for goals where the lapse is further up the ice.
Forwards and defencemen all have a part to play in team defence, the goalie cannot do everything.
]]> And Perras hasn't had the best service in front of him this season. He has pulled some big saves out of the air and he can't be held to fault when the Blaze have failed to score at the other end.But he definitely is going through a bad spell at the moment, conceding soft goals at a point in the season where Coventry need to put the shutters up and make a statement about their ability to retain their league title.
While the netminder isn't the sole arbiter of defensive success, he does set the tone for the year.
In Coventry's early days they struggled to sign top goal-tenders. Henrik Sjodin had a stellar start in the first year at the Skydome but faded horribly after Christmas, with Barry Hollyhead taking on the bulk of the netminding duties.
College graduate Ian Burt had some good games but didn't stand tall often enough, and provided one of the few occasions when you could hear the post-match team talk through the closed dressing room door as Thommo bawled him out after letting in two goals to give Basingstoke a sniff of winning a game they should have been out of long ago.
The emphasis shifted when Jody Lehman, a senior player and a proven winner, arrived from South Carolina. Lehman had a good tendency to cause heart failure by going walkabout from his net, but turned up for the big games.
During the double winning British National League year he got better and better as the season went on, and he set the tone for the puck-handling style that Blaze generally thrive on.
Martin Klempa was different, a good shot-stopper but not one to leave his net, and after the Grand Slam season, Lehman was gone and Blaze wobbled for a year.
Then Trevor Koenig arrived from Newcastle. Like Lehman, he was capable of the odd mad moment but was there when it mattered.
Where does Perras fit into this pantheon? He's been heading to Sjodin territory of lately but if he bottoms out and can perform as well as Lehman, Blaze should be OK. Lehman probably isn't quite as good as Koenig and Perras can't be expected to be either, but Jody's doing a fine job in Sheffield and they're setting the benchmark this season. Hit that spot, JF, and Blaze will be well pleased.
]]>The ridiculously soft goals at the start of Newcastle game must have given the faithful that sinking feeling. Was it to be one of those capitulations again? Were the Vipers going to score every time they shot the puck at the net?
Thankfully not. Blaze knuckled down to some good old-fashioned domination. Adam Calder looked like he was a man re-born - maybe fatherhood is settling down into less sleepless nights. Calder always gets points and goals, but when he is sidling into the zone, skipping past a few players before shelving a shot - without anyone really noticing - then you know he's on form.
Another who seemed to be thriving was the perennially super Tom Watkins, who still switches between defence and offensive positions at the drop of a hat, but is getting good ice time on a fine, bustling line, and has started shooting a bit more of late - always a bonus for a forward. We have a tendency to admire effort and bustle, and all for good reason, but some quality and some finishing counts for loads.
The new guys looked handy. Blake Forsyth had what coach Thommo later described as 'presence'. He looked assured, calm and as if he could cope with any of the mistakes of overplaying that have become, and still are, regular features this season.
Erik Hjalmarsson has the potential to be very good. He was off game pace and most of his shots ended up in the corners rather than anywhere near the goal, but he had a committed look about him and something reminded me of Pavol Mihalik. Quite why a ginger haired, bearded right shot forward should make me think of our erstwhile Slovak defenceman is anyone's guess, but there was something in his attitude that rang true.
A word on the opposition. Newcastle were a shadow of themselves. Maybe time is finally catching up with the imperious Ed Courtenay, and the superfluous Rob Wilson. Both have retired several times before, only to find the call of the ice too tempting. Both have been there and done it, and can survive to an extent on muscle memory, but Newcastle looked the tired team, even though it was Blaze who'd played four games in five days during the week before.
Edinburgh I watched from afar. I like webcasts, and there was a homely feel to the Capitals' production, but it would help if the camera was at centre ice - nearly all the goals were at the far end, and it was hard to pick out detail. They looked a hard working bunch.
Two years ago Blaze set the tone for their league title by scoring twice in the dying minutes at Murrayfield, with the goalie pulled, to draw level and eventually win. Sunday's effort wasn't quite as dramatic, but the buttock-clenching minutes while Edinburgh were in front, having been 3-2 down, gradually loosened. Once Weaver equalised and Blake Forsyth put in another, there was only going to be one winner, and that Blaze took 55 minutes to do it seemed incidental.
]]>Wednesday's capitulation to Belfast spurred others into action too. After signing two imports new to this country in the past two years (Scott Kelman and Corey LeClair), Coventry Blaze coach Paul Thompson has sacked them both and signed two more in two days.
Feisty looking forward Erik Hjalmarsson (I hope he doesn't play on a line with Deschatelets, it'll take me ages to write the match report) and defenceman Blake Forsyth have added some zing to the Blaze season.
And there's still plenty to play for.
]]> Despite the dire performances against Belfast, which showed that Blaze simply aren't good enough against the top three teams, Coventry are in with a decent shout for the league.True, it'll require a big effort, and rely to an extent on those pesky Steelers losing the occasional game in regulation time instead of getting the overtime point.
But Blaze have as many regulation wins as Sheffield, have scored as many and conceded as many. If they win their games in hand they'll be four points behind and there's still three games between the sides.
If Blaze defend as they did on Wednesday while failing to take gilt-edged chances at the other end, this is nothing more than slightly optimistic rhetoric. But if the new arrivals can spur Blaze's efforts on that little bit more, and improve things in the all important area in front of goal at either end of the ice, then it's not over yet.
Coventry have a good record against the teams in positions five to ten this season. They have to not only win against Newcastle and Edinburgh, but bottle that form and bring it to the party when they face the arena teams. And not having extra midweek games in the KO Cup will help.
]]>JF Perras has become increasing spectacular in goal and Syvlain Deschatelets has been good too, especially in Sunday's 9-2 win over Newcastle.
But we knew Perras could make saves and Deschatelets could rack up the points.
Lewis got seven goals in the month, as many as Adam Calder (which is a fascinating stat in itself considering Calder doesn't look as hot as he did last season).
]]> Lewis joined Coventry from Belfast where had a reputation as one of those knuckle-dragging big hitters who could smash a few players or cost you a few penalties.He's playing for a team with a coach now and has already exceeded last year's scoring tally. In all games he has 16 for Coventry, third to Deschatelets after Sunday's goal-fest, and Calder.
His hat trick against Hull showed the variety he can offer. OK, he's not the fastest, doesn't have the best shot or the silkiest hands, but he has become a good player to stand in front of the goalie and cause havoc.
Sylvain Cloutier did this to an extent last season but Lewis is the first really solid unit we've had for this role, with the ability to get that loose puck in the net.
The other goals against Hull were good - meeting the puck for an inch perfect pass and creaming it home from the slot.
Lewis can crash and whack with the best of them. When Blaze signed him, coach Paul Thompson remembered two huge hits on Matt Soderstrom last year: "He didn't know if it was breakfast or Christmas."
That kind of approach is important, but can cost penalties in this random tolerance rules environment that we live in.
But what Lewis has that sets him apart from the other heavies is the knack of knowing when not to get involved.
Like an artist who knows when to stop painting, Lewis won't fight if it won't help the team. At 5-1 down Andre Payette was desperate to fire up his Newcastle troops on Sunday.
Having had permission to "go" from his coach, Payette lined up against Lewis, had words, dropped the gloves and... nothing happened. Lewis stood his ground, patiently impassive as Payette wrestled him to the ground. (This was quite involved for a Payette fight, he usually hugs his protagonist from the off. The only punch he's thrown in recent years was at Deschatelets from the bench later in the game.)
Lewis had no need to "go". His team had "been" and wiped the Vipers all over the rink. He didn't react and got an assist on the powerplay while Payette fumed in the box.
So seven goals and a large dose of common sense. I take my hat off to you, sir.
]]>I was beginning to wonder if we'd break the Italian defence down when Jonathan Weaver rasped a powerplay shot in.
Cue celebrations. The referee, positioned behind the net, gave the goal, Blaze were level and the game was on.
Except it wasn't.
]]> As Geoff Foster said on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire's coverage: where's a Russian linesman when you need one?Under pressure from the Bolzano players, the referee changed his mind. No goal, and Blaze couldn't find another way into the Italian net.
That in itself is a problem as there were plenty of opportunities to get the sole goal needed to tie the game.
But these pictures by ">Mark Tredgold allow you to make your own mind up.
Blaze came close and it was a great weekend. But sadly, still no continental cigar. Maybe next year.
]]>I'd been planning on writing regularly about the NHL this season as well as life on the Blaze front. But so far my fancy has yet to be really tickled.
Like most UK fans, I get my NHL fix from the NASN channel, which this year doesn't have the Hockey Night in Canada coverage every Saturday night.
]]> This shouldn't matter. After all, the programme, while nicely done, has the Toronto Maple Leafs on nearly every week, and they're supposed to be a bit rubbish this year, although they are doing better under coach Ron Wilson than we'd thought likely.I used to enjoy watching the Leafs. I ascribed this to a link with hockey tradition, and that former Blaze player Wade Belak was part of their number. Watching someone you've shared a pub quiz on telly is always fine fare, even if Mr Belak played a slightly more limited role for the Leafs than he did for the Blaze. He won more in Coventry, mind.
But Wade's moved on, traded in the summer firesale as the Leafs look to reshape their squad and try and end the 40 year drought for the Stanley Cup.
No matter, I thought, I'll watch some other teams. Except I've grown rather attached to the Leafs, even if they are hopeless, and the cheesy local US network coverage of the Show doesn't quite seem the same. Especially as they never tell you who's on the visiting team.
I thought I might be missing the coverage but when I browse the NHL results I find myself looking out for the Leafs score, barely noticing Belak's Florida Panthers. Like the rest of the world, I appear to be a Leafs fan. But I don't know why.
]]>If you look at the statistics, Blaze's powerplay isn't that bad. But at the start of the season, having Messers Calder, Carlson, Deschatelets, Kelman and Weaver all on the ice at once was supposed to rip the league apart.
Instead it seems to have become stale and predictable, with not enough movement.
That's what Paul Thompson took out of tonight's game in Nottingham. The rest of us went home thinking 'wooah, bonkers'.
]]> There were so many strange goals. I didn't think you'd ever use the word 'lobbed' for a hockey goal, but that neatly describes Matt Soderstrom's opener.The Blaze fans were close by and watching in anguish as JF Perras lost the puck in his feet, and then minutes later as Coventry's defence contrived to get the puck in their own net as they struggled to clear.
By the time Weaver 'scored' from the halfway line, with Parley absent without leave on the boards, the whole world had gone crackers. But it was ruled offside and we were left pondering a 3-3 draw.
Cue much mathematics as to whether Blaze can get through to the semi-finals. They can, but must wait and hope that Cardiff and Basingstoke don't both turn over Nottingham and Hull. That would see Coventry out. There are other permutations but it's best to wait until closer to the time.
]]>But the beating of Belfast has suggested that we have the makings of a real Blaze team here. Team defence, shutting down the opposition's scoring prospects, getting good goals and making quick plays - that's what it is all about.
Some of the early runners and riders have to test their own mettle now. Blaze just have to keep on winning.
]]> There's not a particularly satisfactory air around British ice hockey at the moment. Hull have managed to lose yet another player, Rick Kozak this time. You have to wonder if Hull are mad, bad or unlucky with their recruitment. Are they unlucky to end up with so many players who quit? Are they signing the wrong sorts? Or do the players get to Hull and lose motivation? And if so why?The questions down in Basingstoke are simpler. Where's the money gone? After two spells of fans putting their hands in their pockets there seem to be all kinds of financial shortages, the coach has quit after a terrible spell of form, and there are rumours of other players heading out of the door too.
What's the future for the league? Are seven clubs going to continue to ply their trade while Hull, Edinburgh and Basingstoke struggle to compete? Does the league need to drop its level so they can play a full part - or is it down to the way clubs are run as to how they do on the ice?
Lots of questions, none of them new, and none with a ready answer.
Meanwhile, let's toast Manchester, who having had a slow start in their latest guise are making a good fist of it in the Elite League. Saturday's game will be the big test. Manchester are the last team that Blaze have faced for the first time this season, and while Nottingham have had a wobble, Belfast have finally lost a home game, the Phoenix keep on rising.
]]>That was the year Hull were supposed to challenge. A week or so after 12-1 and 9-1 drubbings at the hands of the Blaze (if memory serves) their phalanx of big names were out of the door, and shortly after that the club was on its knees financially.
Then came salvation, then came the Packs, then came a spell in the English Premier League, then came a new name, and then came Rick Strachan.
]]> Like many hockey fans I've endured Strachan's negative tactics at a number of clubs for years, while silently applauding Hull's apparent ability to cut their cloth and keep on the financial straight and narrow.So what if players get jaded by October, and the good ones all leave? The house is in order and Hull can make up the numbers.
Except tonight, it wasn't like that. Hull weren't that defensive. They barely iced the puck. And they got three goals without looking all that threatening.
Is there a change in the offing? Rumour has it that Strachan doesn't take training sessions any more, they are run by Troy Neumeier. And if anyone spoke during their time out, it was Neumeier. Strachan didn't really seem to move.
The only suggestion that it was still a Strachan side was that the powerplay was dire. One goal did go in on the PP, after Greg Wood seemed to clear the puck down the ice, get pushed over, and get called for it. The puck went to the net, bounced off Russ Cowley and finally was put in the goal.
I like my certainties. Hull should be dull. But I'm pleased to see an open and reasonably entertaining match and I'm delighted for Danny Stewart getting a hat trick after a fairly lean start to the season.
Even more encouraging than the Blaze performance was the form of the staff in the cafe in the corner by Block 15. They've been trying different formations for weeks and seemed to have it cracked tonight. A hot chocolate served in record time, along with an apology for the time it took!
The on ice entertainment has been good fun too, but I hope they speed things up. By the time musical chairs has run its course the third period is getting later and later. Sooner or later the breaks will take longer than the game itself. And who needs to watch children running around the ice when you've got air guitar going on in the corner.
No home game for two weeks now, I'm going to miss it. But I'm sure I'll find something to write about anyway.
]]>Pasi Raitanen is very personable and he's been round the block a bit. If he can add a fraction of a difference to JF Perras and Steve Fone, then he'll have done his job.
I can't think of another UK club that has had a netminding coach working with the senior goalies.
It's something the league should consider encouraging more widely, instead of focusing their efforts on 101 ways to run a disciplinary system.
]]> Scott Kelman got a bit cross at the end of the game against Belfast, and somehow wound up with a three game ban. There doesn't seem to be any recourse to appeal for that, nor is it entirely clear if the league have limited to themselves to that sanction.Meanwhile Belfast's Steve Thornton thwacks someone round the head with a stick and gets four games. It beggars belief, or it would do if anyone had the energy to surprised by such antics.
Hopefully Blaze won't go into their shell too much at this disruption. They have resources aplenty to cover for Kelman, and any perceived injustice might stir them into action - something which might help avoid complacency in games against Edinburgh and Hull.
It will also force the powerplay lines to be shaken up. No one was obviously at fault for their becoming lacklustre but something needs to be changed.
There's nothing like a bit of a siege mentality to get you going. That's hardly innovation, but if the new tricks don't work, try the new ones!
It's worse when the goal is scored by a player - Steve Thornton - who should have been serving a nine game ban.
Quite what happens in Elite League towers is anyone's guess. They've had a commendably hard and consistent line against severe foul play, but didn't back it up with a clear process for dealing with it.
]]> Belfast certainly had some wheels and came at Blaze hard. They had a lot of very good players, so many that George Awada was on the third line while a natural finisher like Evan Cheverie had take on a more all-round role than he demonstrated when he played for Coventry four years ago.Paul Deniset and Colin Shields caused all kinds of problems, and Blaze held firm. Two scrum-like goals for Belfast out of the three that they scored wasn't bad at all. The energy levels were higher and I thought the third line of Leigh Jamieson, Russ Cowley and Danny Stewart had an excellent game.
Had the Blaze powerplay not gone AWOL it could have been a different story. The game shows us that thrilling hockey will be with us all season - and that Blaze aren't guaranteed to be top of the pile.
]]>That game against Nottingham will linger long in the memory. Hell, it was almost two weeks ago and I can still remember it - not bad for my goldfish brain.
Then just to prove the skate can be worn on the other foot, Blaze had a first period implosion in Cardiff before scoring five times to get back in the game.
Crucially, they claimed the win in both matches. Hopefully that will stand them in good stead for the next big test against Belfast.
]]> Giants, on paper, and in fact in the league table, look pretty handy. Steve Thornton is one of the best players of recent years - we didn't see much of him last year as he was injured so much in Basingstoke.He might not even make the side - or the bench - if his suspension is upheld. But he has oodles of talent around him. Giants players are swarming all over the scoring tables.
October is the month when you can see how teams are bedding down. Some - like Hull and Manchester already - lose players who get offers back in North America. Some take a while to get their team properly together. Some run out of early season inspiration and wilt.
Giants have had famous dips in recent years under old favourite Ed Courtenay. It will interesting to see how they cope with a rocky patch, and if Blaze can trigger it.
]]>Blaze had to play against Voth last weekend while his appeal was heard, but the review panel upheld the offence and stuck with the tariff for misdemeanours agreed by the coaches.
There are still questions about the process, why Sheffield could protest through the Elite League website, whether Voth did anything, why they don't just publish the tariff so we know what they're on about, but justice has been meted out.
And Hull are down to their last four goons for Coventry's trip tomorrow.
]]> I have to declare an interest: I hate watching Hull. They have a great little rink, good fans, an amazing boom and bust history, but whichever brand of hockey they're trying to play, they end up with a very basic common denominator each year.That's coach Rick Strachan, who has gone for size over Eastern European finesse this year but no doubt will stick to the same old boring tactics. Hull serve up slightly better fare for their home fans but I can wait for them to visit Coventry.
Normally Hull start the year well and then peter out after a few weeks. Players leave, offered better wages or better hockey elsewhere. Hull do stick to a budget but don't get good value from it - they pay roughly the same to all their imports so some get more than they're worth while others are left unhappy at their lot.
This season they are yet to win a game. It will be a battle of the wounded wasp - will Hull have the sting, hoping to notch their first victory, or will Blaze click again after last weekend's woes?
Then on Sunday it's the Panthers in Coventry. Nottingham usually start the year looking good on paper and peter out when the puck is dropped. This year they have had a good start and with British goal machine David Clarke spraying them in on the powerplay, Blaze will have to avoid indiscipline, while watching out for Rumun Ndur. Hell hath no fury like an ex-Blaze player scorned, and no doubt he will make his impact like most returning former Coventry players do, keen to prove to coach Thompson that he was wrong to let them go.
]]>Telford, bless 'em, gave it their all and it was a pleasantly bustling game.
Blaze weren't at top speed and definitely weren't in full cry. But it was quite funny to note they scored three goals, whereas James Pease got two against the side at the weekend.
]]> He thought it was funny too, watching with fellow MK Lightning and former Blaze netminder Barry Hollyhead. Apart from his previous year in MK, Peasey went eight years or so without scoring a goal - then two came along at once, albeit in a challenge game.His replacements on the Blaze blue line have been shuffled. Leigh Jamieson has become a forward again and we are using five defencemen. During the summer six was the number to give us depth, now we need to get players in the game more.
One person this affects is Greg Wood, who has been shunted down the pecking order. He's a good bustling player and with Joe Henry always showing signs of improvement, it suggests there is still strength in depth in the Coventry line-up.
Quite how the new lines will work out, only time will tell. In the meantime a few thousand quid would have been raised to keep the Tigers going - and that's a good thing.
]]>