 With the start of the 2011-12 season only days away and their fiercely partisan supporters eager to see the first puck dropped, Nick Poole, player coach of Milton Keynes Lightning, gives his views on the frustrations of last season and hopes for the coming campaign – Lightning’s 10th in the English Premier League.
With four play-off titles and three league titles in only nine years since their formation, MK Lightning – the town’s most successful professional sports team – are no strangers to success. But stocking up the trophy cabinet was put on hold in the 2010 season as injuries and a sudden loss of form saw the former English Premier League champions finish fifth in the table. “Our season was patchy, if I’m honest”, said Poole. “We struggled to get into a rhythm and this translated into inconsistent results. At times we played some very good hockey, but at others we were guilty of some very immature play. It was frustrating – we made some costly mistakes over and over again. But thankfully – and credit to all of the guys – we found our form towards the end of the season to finish off well”.
Some of those ‘frustrating’ games included a struggle to break down Telford Tigers followed closely by defeat to Sheffield Steeldogs, and the failure to get the better of Slough Jets all season. But there were some epic victories to cheer the fans when Lightning showed they could compete with the very best, including beating Guildford 0-5 in the Surrey team’s own barn, beating eventual league champions Manchester 6-3 and beating Tony Hand’s team convincingly in the EPL play-offs in April – following back-to-back victories against Basingstoke which took Poole’s side to Coventry. “There were several great performances last season”, said Nick. “The play-off quarter finals against Basingstoke and semi final victory over Manchester stand out – we stuck to the gameplan and the guys played their hearts out”.
Lightning’s final league position was approximately where Poole had predicted they would finish, but he admitted he had hoped for better. “At the start of the season we do a team-by-team strength analysis, and placed ourselves fourth or fifth at the end – so in that respect we were on par. But we always want to over-achieve and we didn’t do that until the end of the season. We always aim to win trophies, but last year we failed. However one of our goals was to qualify for Coventry so in that respect we succeeded”.
Swedish forward Monir Kalgoum was injured in the new year, prompting the signing of Blaz Emersic from Slough – a move which thrilled MKL supporters who were all too aware of the Slovenian’s prowess in front of goal. But when the team’s form faltered, there were suggestions from supporters that the introduction of a fifth import had unsettled the team’s lines. “We knew Monir was going to be out for several weeks and at that point we were still in with a shout at a top 2 or 3 finish in the league”, explains Poole. “We need to be ambitious but without breaking the bank, and our fans deserve to see ambition. Blaz arrived and we immediately went on a seven game winning streak, so that validated signing him. We’re not a team that hires and fires players, so we took on the financial burden of carrying five imports.” The Lightning player-coach has always refused to attribute success or blame to any one particular player and his view remains the same in this case: “When a team loses games, people want to look for excuses – but the bottom line is we weren’t playing consistently. Our team plays in a particular way and that’s regardless of who’s in the line-up.”
It wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by many of the other teams’ fans at the Coventry finals in April that Lightning supporters made a sizeable corner of the rink their own, not only donning fancy dress in numbers but decorating their allocated area as a ‘wild west’ saloon. “It’s such a great weekend there and we know how much it means to our supporters”, acknowledged Nick. “The support we get is fantastic – we can certainly hear the noise at every game, and there’s nothing better than the release of tension from our fans in a tight game when we score! We all love playing in front of our supporters both home and away and it’s fantastic that so many of them make the effort to travel, so often”.
Despite their inconsistent form, Lightning cruised into the Coventry finals where they stunned new league champions Manchester by eliminating them in the first semi-final, and pushed eventual winners Guildford all the way in a hard-fought final. So what was the Lightning coach’s own view of the play-offs? “We knew we wouldn’t get into the top three in the league so to be honest, that’s what we were playing for in the last six or seven weeks of the season – it became all about gearing up for Coventry. It was a great weekend and it’s just a shame we came up a bit short”.
Whilst football seems as far away as ever from using video replays to decide goals, the technology was introduced for the Lightning v Guildford final at Coventry – and not without some controversy when Lightning scored first and play was stopped to judge whether Andre Smulter’s goal was valid. Was such a prestigious event the right arena to trial the facility? “Anything that can help referees make better, more informed calls is great but there has to be a consultation period to work the kinks out....I don’t believe that the EPL’s showcase weekend is the time and place to trial the technology”.
Poole disputes the suggestions from some supporters that the stoppage hindered Lightning’s momentum at that point in the game: “If it did interrupt our momentum, then we got it back during the long delay when referee Cloutman got injured and we were able to tinker with our lines and re-group. I felt that from then until the penalty shot late in the third period that we were by far the better team”.
Looking forward to the 2011-12 season, Lightning have signed promising young defenceman Tom Norton from the Elite league’s Nottingham Panthers, brought in Slovak forward and former NHL draft pick Juraj Gracik from HC Topolcany, and announced that Leigh Jamieson will move from defence to join the team’s attacking lineup. What prompted the decision to move ‘Jaimo’? “I’ve long toyed with the idea and we’ve used him up front successfully on several occasions. Over the summer I felt we needed to freshen up the team – moving Jaimo up front immediately changes the dynamics of our team, giving us more firepower and strength there. The key to the move was the emergence of Ross Green as a key player, and signing Tom – another quality defender. I want us to have the best defence in the league, and with the Jaimo move and signing Juraj, I believe we’ll also have a formidable offence too”.
Playing with Lightning will be Juraj Gracik’s first foray into British ice hockey – so how did the move come about? “There’s no real ‘scientific’ process!”, said Poole. “I had a clear idea of the player I wanted – a big, strong forward who’d be difficult to play against, with a heavy shot who could score goals. I’ve never wanted to bring in one player who the team would revolve around as that would undermine our greatest strength – that we’re a tightly-knit team and play for each other. I know Juraj will be a great fit for us. I’m really pleased with the squad and more importantly with the feeling amongst the roster we have. I can sense the excitement amongst the players and a belief that we’ll be competing at the top end of the table this year”.
And who does Lightning’s coach consider the main threats will be in the league, given the very competitive transfer market over the summer just ended? “Guildford have the biggest budget so will always set a benchmark”, commented Poole. “Manchester and Slough have also got very strong looking teams, and ourselves and Basingstoke will also be very competitive. Swindon have upped their import roster with some big signings, and I like what Andre (Payette) is trying to do in Sheffield – he’s got a fantastic talent pool to pick from there and they’re going to be a very difficult team to play. Bracknell and Peterborough have both brought in several new faces, so it’ll be interesting to see how they gel. And Telford have some great young talent in Luke Brittle and the young lads they’ve signed from Nottingham”.
Rumours circulated briefly this summer that Lightning – founder members of the Elite League – would contest the 2011 season at that higher level, but Poole insists that the team will only play within their means financially. So what would it take for them to play at the very top level? “An extra 500 fans, four more team houses and about another £150k in sponsorship money!”
At 38 years old, Poole has previously hinted that he has an eye on when to concentrate on coaching – but he was the first signing confirmed for the Lightning this summer, announcing his intention to lead from the front as player-coach. With Tony Hand and Steve Moria still playing at 43 and 50 respectively, how much longer does he want to continue playing? “I have to be realistic”, he said. “I’ll only continue to play for as long as I feel that I can be of help on the ice.”
Lightning supporters will hope that time is a long way off. |
