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We came in to the weekend understandably expecting two very difficult games against two of the top sides in the EPIHL and whilst we couldn’t have predicted the outcome we were certainly pleased at how things turned out.
The game on Saturday really did start with a bang with a goal within the first 30 seconds and that was quickly followed by Grant McPherson going head to head with arguably the best British Hockey player this country has ever produced, and all this in under a minute on the clock. On the fight I thought Grant assessed the encounter quite well when he said “ I don’t think Nick would have been too cross at trading me with Tony Hand in the penalty box” fair point.
The game whilst not a classic in hockey terms was certainly hugely entertaining and in front of our biggest crowd of the year would have sent many newcomers away wondering what they had been missing. We try to get feedback from our guests to the rink and its particularly pleasing when people enjoy themselves, one such fan said of Saturday night that it was the most enjoyable evenings entertainment he had for some time, he added “ we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will most definitely be coming back.” The game ended with a Lightning win and set us up quite nicely mentally to play a Guildford side on an undefeated run of some 12 games on Sunday. We again started well and if you would have wanted one player to score over the weekend it would have been “Qwicky Wicky” and that is exactly what happened. His goal was huge and his celebration would have been over the top to all except the fans that know and love him so much. You could certainly see Joakim was so happy to score. Our game plan was to be positive and not allow such a strong offensive side the opportunity to exploit their attack and the old adage of you can’t attack whilst your defending certainly proved true on Sunday. The team were collectively strong, hugely disciplined and to a man executed our game plan well. As always at the back Barry Holyhead backstopped our defence in his usual unassuming style. It’s at times like this that we really appreciate what a smart hockey coach Nick Poole really is.
When the scores stood at MK 3 Guildford 2 you would have understood if we had eased off a little, as we tensed up under the pressure but surprisingly we remained very composed and limited their team to only 5 shots in the whole third period. On the way home on Sunday Harry and I were like a couple of kids who’d just been to see an exciting film we could hardly contain our pleasure at not only the results but also at the manner they were attained. Sunday was Jo’s last game for us before he returned to Sweden and whilst Harry and I had the opportunity to thank him for what he had done after Sundays game, it was a shame that time didn’t allow us to suitably thank all the fans that helped bring Jo in. So was it worth while bringing Jo in? It is always hard to commit to increasing your costs from an economic perspective, but you would have to say that Jo proved to be a massive success for us. He gave an instant uplift to the guys in the changing room with his larger than life approach and the fact that we knew exactly what we were getting helped the settling process enormously. Would we have won the games without Jo, the answer to that is possibly, but what I have no doubt in feeling that it gave Andre the peace of mind not to try and start playing until he was ready in itself made it a good decision. Before I forgot can I Thank the fans that gave unreservedly to help the team bring joakim Wiklander in to help us out, wherever we finish at the end of the season you should feel proud that your generosity helped us secure at least 6 points but you could argue12 points, the 6 we earned by beating Slough, Manchester and Guildford but as importantly the 6 they didn’t earn as well. On to this week and the Planet Ice Shield, and the whole discussion of the value of these games. Planet Ice sometimes get bad press when they really don’t deserve it and this is no different. We agreed to play these games as at the time it seemed a good idea to play for some silverware between three clubs that seemed equal in many ways. As it happened games got delayed for varying reasons to the point we are now playing them in January and February. Having said all of that one person that will be pleased at the opportunity of icing will be Andre as he gets the chance to get his legs going again before having to play in a full on match. Also when ever have MK v Peterborough games been anything other than full on and I doubt we’ll not be trying to win on Thursday as much as they will. On to up coming fixtures, we are in the process of trying to organise a number of games namely 2 cup semi finals against Manchester (as higher finishers in the cup group we get to choose the second leg at home), we have a midweek games away in the league game against both Sheffield and Basingstoke and a home game in the Planet Ice Shield against Basingstoke. So a busy few weeks for us coming up. On Saturday we have a tricky away game against Swindon, and the last time we were there we had to rely on an overtime winner to take the point’s home with us. Sunday sees us play another of the pre season favourites in Basingstoke. They have finally got all their players back and are starting to play really well so that will be another very tough game for us. With so many strong teams in the league this year it really is difficult to be certain of any result. What is certain however is that the season is still young and whilst we stand top of the league at the moment we are trying not to get too carried away with our current standing. Our objective remains to try and finish in the top 3 in the League, give ourselves a good chance to make Coventry and to win some silverware and to that aim we continue to strive. In the meantime, thanks for supporting us and enjoy the ride, we certainly are and see you on Sunday at 5.30pm Regards Vito |
