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Post by Nottingham Lions on Nov 22, 2008 11:06:05 GMT
So the Lions head to Whitley Bay tomorrow, missing Ben Bliss and Joe Wightman. Also we will be without the Under 18's as they play Telford this weekend.
It's going to make what was a hard job even harder, but we'll have to wait and see. We've played (and beaten) them before with a short bench, but how short ours will be who knows?!
Meanwhile, for those that haven't seen - Blackburn will be bringing a new-look team when we meet for the final time in the League this season next Sunday.
From the Hawks:
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Shaggy
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Post by Shaggy on Nov 23, 2008 20:05:57 GMT
The Lions are away in Whitley tonight - a very VERY hard place to pick up points... but it's looking good so far!
End of 1st: Whitley Warriors 0 - 2 Nottingham Lions Goals by Johnny Bell and Chris Colegate
End of 2nd; Whitley Warriors 0 - 6 Nottingham Lions Goals by Chris Colegate (x2), Craig Poynter and Joe Graham
Penalties are low, with the Lions not taking any, and Whitley only 4 PIMs in the second period.
Get in! ;D ;D ;D
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Shaggy
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Post by Shaggy on Nov 23, 2008 20:50:37 GMT
Oh yes! ;D
End of 3rd: Whitley Warriors 1 - 7 Nottingham Lions Lions goal: Joe Graham (PPG)
Word from the travelling Lionistas is that the Whitley goal never crossed the line (same as a home game against Whitley last season... do I sense a pattern here?)
With the Lions missing one of our top scorers (Joe Wightman) and also Ben Bliss, the tough trip to Whitley was made even tougher. But The Pride Of Nottingham came through... this shows why we won the league last season, and also why any team that takes the Lions lightly is going to get handed their heads.
Well done, lads! ;D
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Nov 23, 2008 23:04:27 GMT
Fantastic result, very impressive! Well played fellas
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Post by Nottingham Lions on Nov 24, 2008 10:38:56 GMT
In addition to Shaggy's post (and it's difficult to text on a phone with horrid buttons, and you're wearing gloves but your hands are still freezing!!) The Lions were missing Ben & Joe, but also the under-18's (Josh Ward and Joe Nicholls). Also Mark Corfield was suffering from a nasty bug so missed the game, and Adam Wood also had to work. Tom Norton iced for the Panthers, but we had Joe Graham making his seasons Lions' debut after finally getting the paperwork sorted. The Lions suprised from pretty much the opening face off - Jonny Bell's goal was a magnificent strike, and from there the Warriors looked to have no answer. We played as a TEAM, and everything seemed to go right for us tonight. Chris Colegate lead by example, and he ended up with a hat-trick. James Neil had a better game, but, IMHO, he's still not playing to his full potential. I am sure that he will gain in confidence and start playing better. Sam & Lacho were marked out of the game really but still both managed to pick up a point. Joe Graham was immense at the back. He has really benefitted from the time spent with the Panthers this season. He kept his cool, didn't make any mistakes and his two goals were well-taken. Warriors called a time-out just after the half-hour and I thought that they would replace Murdy - but they kept their faith with him. Every time we've played against this kid he's been excellent - but I think Jonny put him off his game with that early strike!! As for their "goal" - from where I was sitting I didn't see the puck cross the line. The puck came to a stop on the goal line, and I think the 'goal judge' was a little ambitious when he put the light on. From what I understand, the ref didn't see it, and he asked whoever was sat behind the goal if it had gone in - he said yes. Alan was a little disappointed, but these things go against us. A couple of seasons ago we would have let that affect us and perhaps given up a couple of other goals, but this year we're mentally tougher than before. So all in all a real confidence-booster, and it should set us up nicely for the next month where we play Blackburn, Billingham and Coventry (3 times!). It's still going to be 4 from us, Sheffield, Coventry, Whitley and Billingham, but seeing as Sheffield are only 3 points behind with 4 in hand, they would be my tip for the title.
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Post by quoththeraven on Nov 24, 2008 12:33:05 GMT
The puck came to a stop on the goal line, and I think the 'goal judge' was a little ambitious when he put the light on. From what I understand, the ref didn't see it, and he asked whoever was sat behind the goal if it had gone in - he said yes. Alan was a little disappointed, but these things go against us. A couple of seasons ago we would have let that affect us and perhaps given up a couple of other goals, but this year we're mentally tougher than before. Ambitious? Lol next you'll be telling us that in close games the cafe lights go off so that the away team has to attack at the death in near darkness. A fantastic result and glad to see that the team performance was highlighted for praise. We know how good these players can be individually and it seems like they really stepped it up after last week's game, for which I'm glad. More of the same for next week please . My only disappointment is that I couldn't be there in person to see the look on the Whitley fans' faces, but the result is satisfaction enough. So we've got Lester coming to town next week have we? Could be the new Bobby Haig for Blackburn - not in terms of size, but in terms of character and that he's a lightning rod for the crowd. Not seen him since 2005, when Invicta fans heckled him about cookies for 120 minutes and called him a donkey, at least until someone at Ice Sheffield went up on the balcony and popped the Eeyore balloon. Oh yeah, and just a couple of weeks before that, Alex Karsay's screaming goal right on 39.59 that got our Lester so wound up he ended up arguing with some puckbunnies and trying to throw a bin. It's been a long time and I've missed you
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Post by Nottingham Lions on Nov 28, 2008 21:56:42 GMT
Nottingham Lions are going to be offering Nottingham Panthers Season Ticket holders a discount when we face the Blackburn Hawks on Sunday.
Holders of a Season Ticket for any block will get a £1 discount of ticket prices this Sunday - simply show your Season Ticket when you purchase your ticket.
Game faces off at 19:30 and normal prices are £5 Adult, £4 NUS/OAP and £3 Under 16.
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Shaggy
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Post by Shaggy on Nov 30, 2008 23:37:02 GMT
Final Score;-
Nottingham Lions 6 - 2 Blackburn Hawks
Bottom-of-the-league Blackburn held out against the Lions for quite a while in this game... going 1-0 ahead in the first before Sam Bullas equalised... and the game later on seemed stalled at 2-2. But in the final period, Robert Lachowicz got the third and eventual game-winning goal, triggering a virtual collapse from the Hawks. Chris Colegate quickly got the fourth (his second of the game) before MoM Lacho made it 5-2. I have no idea who got the last Lions goal! ;D
Two valuable points for the Lions against a team who might be at the bottom of the league right now, but are bound to take points off some of the contenders. Just as long as it's everyone else but the Lions!
And next Sunday it's the ENL Coventry Blaze, new boys to our rink. Hopefully they won't enjoy it...
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lukef
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Post by lukef on Dec 1, 2008 12:28:41 GMT
A lot of good things yesterday- some nice goals in the third period, and as the game went on the powerplay looked more dangerous. Also James Neil looked a threat when he was skating at defenders and taking them on which he did a couple of times, and it seemed to cause them problems.
Only complaint would be that we're not clearing the zone properly sometimes, which did lead to their first goal and sometimes puts us under pressure which could have been averted. Obviously we don't want to be icing the puck all the time, but sometimes the puck just needs to be got rid of.
Thought the Hawks looked more organised than they have done this season, and they will start winning some games against the better sides, so more than happy that we've played them four times already.
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Post by quoththeraven on Dec 1, 2008 12:38:06 GMT
Two valuable points for the Lions against a team who might be at the bottom of the league right now, but are bound to take points off some of the contenders. Just as long as it's everyone else but the Lions! And next Sunday it's the ENL Coventry Blaze, new boys to our rink. Hopefully they won't enjoy it... Echo that sentiment. Also, not all of Coventry's team are new boys to our rink. One of their goalies is Mark Hartley, a former Nottingham junior, and am I right in thinking Chris Wilcox is a former Nottingham player? This game showed the Lions at their best - we converted a PP and we scored shorthanded as well. For a team that gets a lot of PP chances we need to start scoring the goals. We conceded a couple on silly turnovers but that happens every week, so I'm not going to dwell on it. What was much better this week was the clinical finishing and the fact that whenever we went forward we looked like scoring. Fantastic stuff. I think the difference between this season and last season is that last year's system was structured around safety first and team play, which wins matches but isn't the most exciting, whereas this year's system favours individual creativity but also involves more risk-taking, which is also good but I'm always concerned about the downside. Correct me on this if I'm wrong though. Also, well done to the Hawks fans - they didn't have much to sing about but they kept on going anyway - a real credit to their club. There are a couple of negative points to be commented on, though. Firstly, instead of writing comments in the programme about "people moaning about how we play", can I at least have my sentiments attributed to me, especially because in the past this "moaning" has been called upon by the authors to be used in the direction of another team and in their own defence, only then it was called "witty ranting". Secondly, I saw the headline on the Daily Mail's front page on Saturday screaming about "Police State Britain", which at first I ignored, but then it struck me. Maybe Britain is not a police state, but there was definitely one in effect at last night's game. There must have been, otherwise I would not have been ejected from the game for something I did not do. Allow me to fill you in. Blackburn player goes to the penalty box and smacks his stick on the bench. Our block gives him a bit of teasing, at which point the Hawks player in question then started gesturing at me, inviting me down to the box, so I just wave back at him, with the rest of the block watching intently. All of a sudden, Evans is off the ice and talking to the scorer, and the duty manager comes running round. I then get asked to leave the game because the player has complained to the referee that I have thrown something into the box (note: the only thing I throw at hockey games is a tantrum), this has been confirmed by the scorer and the referee has asked the duty manager to throw me out. This despite me not knowing what was thrown, the duty manager not knowing what was thrown, and at least 20 witnesses who will confirm I did not throw anything. In the break, it emerges that someone from the Lions penalty box was throwing ice to the Hawks box, some of which landed on the scorer's table. I happened to loud, nearby and wearing a replica jersey, and when I reacted to his gestures by waving he must have assumed I was throwing the ice, a process of logic that I still can't get my head around. Presumably this player gets a lot of delay of game penalties where he sees someone in the crowd wearing a Blackburn jersey and in passing to them flips the puck over the glass. My honest opinion is that it was a convenient excuse to get rid of someone making noise. I know a lot of these players aren't used to angry loudmouths but that does not mean they can make up lies to get me ejected from a game. It's a shame we're not going to Blackburn again this season because I'd love to get a bit of banter going with their excellent fans, at the expense of their players. Bring on the Blaze!
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Post by Nottingham Lions on Dec 1, 2008 12:50:48 GMT
A lot of good things yesterday- some nice goals in the third period, and as the game went on the powerplay looked more dangerous. Also James Neil looked a threat when he was skating at defenders and taking them on which he did a couple of times, and it seemed to cause them problems. People seem to forget that James has effectively been sitting on the bench for the past 3 seasons! He's not used to getting this much ice time! Also the last home game he played he really shouldn't have been as he was ill. James is getting more and more into top form, and if this continues, and he continues to be allowed to ice for the Lions as well as the Panthers then it won't be long before he hits top form. Only complaint would be that we're not clearing the zone properly sometimes, which did lead to their first goal and sometimes puts us under pressure which could have been averted. Obviously we don't want to be icing the puck all the time, but sometimes the puck just needs to be got rid of. Yeah, that does seem to be causing us some problems recently. Don't quite know if it's a lack of confidence in the D pairings, or just simply that the D aren't sure the forwards will be in position. Still, I would think that it's something that will be worked on. Things should have been better yesterday - Joe Graham was supposed to have iced but he was ill, and he did make a big difference in the Whitley game. Thought the Hawks looked more organised than they have done this season, and they will start winning some games against the better sides, so more than happy that we've played them four times already. Definately. Getting Abel and Millie in was a masterstroke for Blackburn. If anyone can turn their season around, they can. I don't think they'll be a playoff team, but even if they can overtake Newcastle and finish in the playoff to avoid relegation would be an achievement. As I said in my programme notes, ENL North 1 would be a poorer League without Blackburn. However, they still seem a little ill disciplined to me - and some of the stick work was downright dangerous - Bentham's hooking Lachowicz round the throat was one example!
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Post by Nottingham Lions on Dec 1, 2008 12:55:39 GMT
I have no idea who got the last Lions goal! ;D That was young Josh Ward.
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Shaggy
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Post by Shaggy on Dec 1, 2008 13:22:51 GMT
However, they still seem a little ill disciplined to me - and some of the stick work was downright dangerous - Bentham's hooking Lachowicz round the throat was one example! No kidding... and it also led to one of the more bizarre refereeing decisions that I've seen in quite a while. Here's Lacho skating in on goal, and Bentham is literally pulling him back with the blade of his stick around Lacho's throat! Quite understandably, Lacho was using his hand to try to get the stick from off his throat (and not having much success) - so not only does Bentham get a 2min hooking penalty, but Lacho gets a 2min penalty for Holding The Stick! Two minutes for trying to hold his airway open, more like... talk about your ridiculous calls. I have no idea who got the last Lions goal! ;D That was young Josh Ward. Ah, yes... thanks. And for Panthers fans - the name of Josh Ward is one that you might care to make a note of. Several of us were saying over the past couple of seasons that names such as Robert Lachowicz, Sam Bullas, Joe Graham etc might grace the back of Panthers jerseys soon... and so it has happened. Well, trust me on this - Josh Ward looks like he's going to be up to the same standard. Definitely one to watch.
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lukef
Jade Galbraith
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Post by lukef on Dec 1, 2008 15:16:18 GMT
And for Panthers fans - the name of Josh Ward is one that you might care to make a note of. Several of us were saying over the past couple of seasons that names such as Robert Lachowicz, Sam Bullas, Joe Graham etc might grace the back of Panthers jerseys soon... and so it has happened. Well, trust me on this - Josh Ward looks like he's going to be up to the same standard. Definitely one to watch. Agreed- Josh has been excellent this year considering it's his first season of senior hockey. I think he benefits from the style of play which we've got this year, and Martyn has to take credit for that. Forgot to add how well I thought we did considering that Joe Wightman wasn't playing. Occasionally we've looked a but 'uncertain' going forward when he's not played, but last night, as has already been said, we seemed to looke dangerous everytime we went forward. And probably something that'd been overlooked was how well everyone battled last night. With the new relegation system all games are going to really count as the season progresses, something that's not happened before (usually a handful of teams weren't bothered come January and the play-offs were out of reach)- but this year everyone is going to have to fight for every point weather you're at the top of bottom, so there are no easy games anymore! Sometimes you're going to have a real scrap on your hands to beat the lower placed teams, and I thought we did that well before stepping it up in the final third.
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Post by quoththeraven on Dec 2, 2008 12:21:29 GMT
Josh Ward looked impressive when training with the Lions last year, even though he was too young to play for them, so it's good to see him living up to the potential he showed then. IIRC he was also in an Evening Post photo with Bullas, Lacho, Graham, Norton etc at a special camp for the Panthers' top prospects last season. While I don't think he's ready for the big time (or even the Elite League) yet, with careful development he certainly could be a very good player in the future. I have always been a fan of the Nottingham development philosophy (since I've seen it in action), so I hope this continues on.
It's remarkable to think of Bullas and Lachowicz as key players in the Lions team when I believe it's only really their third with the team, and their first as full-time seniors. One of the main reasons we won on Sunday was the excellent partnership between Colegate and Lachowicz, that is, the talismanic captain and one of the future stars.
As for James Neil, well I won't go on about him too much but as Katie pointed out, he sat on a seniors bench for three years, by which I mean for the Panthers, not a bench in a park where a couple of pensioners can sit and throw seeds to pigeons. It seems that Neil has almost got all the rust out of his system and is almost back to the level of his play he should always be at. Let's hope this continues too.
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Pucky
Pat Casey
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Post by Pucky on Dec 2, 2008 13:23:25 GMT
Interesting things happening with our friends t'blackburnawks...
I didn't see anything happen, but I stand the wrong side of the rink, but I heard from a reliable source that there was an incident on their bench on Sunday.
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Post by quoththeraven on Dec 3, 2008 12:24:38 GMT
That's a shame, as Ollie's "own goal" in Blackburn last season was the stuff of legend. Also, from what I've seen of him (albeit limited these past two seasons to three and a half games), he struck me as being a chippy player on the ice who got stuck in, though I may be mistaken. While this type of player is not always in the starting lineup, every team needs a couple on their roster. Also, from what has been put on other forums, his dad left the club in acrimonious circumstances, which may have left Lomax Jr in an awkward position. On the bright side for Blackburn, that is another connection to a previous regime gone, so Messrs Abel and Millie can properly start to form "their" squad.
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Post by nottsbear on Dec 6, 2008 12:15:28 GMT
I'm thinking of attending my first Lions game of the season, can someone post the face off time. Thanks
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Shaggy
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Post by Shaggy on Dec 6, 2008 13:02:15 GMT
I'm thinking of attending my first Lions game of the season, can someone post the face off time. Thanks Scheduled face-off time is 7:15pm (can be delayed a bit if the preceding junior game overruns)
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Post by carolle on Dec 8, 2008 0:17:39 GMT
Lions won 3-2.
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Post by Nottingham Lions on Dec 8, 2008 10:08:00 GMT
What a strange game that was.
The Under-16's game before the Lions over-ran due to an injury to one of the Whitley Bay players.
Lions Rob Lachowicz opened the scoring with about 5 mins on the clock, and Blaze called a time out at around 11.30. (Apologies, all times from a rather sketchy memory and I don't have the game sheet).
Then with just over 3 mins to go in the first the ref is called to the bench as a lock on the penalty bench is broken and both teams shift to the Arena pad. However due to the Carl Froch fight on Saturday night the Arena is far from ready - there's no goal lights, nothing on the timekeepers bench and no scoreboard. The game is run from stopwatches on the bench.
Blaze equalise in the 2nd, but then a Lions penalty to Joe Graham sees Rob Lachowicz and Chris Colegate score SHG on the same penalty. Blaze pull one back later in the game, and they finish the game with more chances but Rich Griffiths keeps them out, and despite pulling Steven Fone the Blaze can't snatch the equaliser.
Man of the Matches went to Lions' Ben Wood and to Blaze Ledgard.
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Post by quoththeraven on Dec 8, 2008 12:11:18 GMT
Man of the Matches went to Lions' Ben Wood and to Blaze Ledgard. An interesting turn of phrase While it was nice to see a whole game for once, unfortunately the match wasn't anywhere near as exciting as it could have been. As ever the Lions' organisation collapsed at vital moments to concede sloppy goals, but this happens every week. Other than that the Backup looked in good form. What was impressive though was the way we took the game to Coventry on the PK, scoring two goals on the same shorthanded stint. Colegate and Lachowicz are becoming a formidable partnership. Once Joe Wightman is fit again if he joins those two then most teams in the league will have a hard time stopping them. Fair play to both teams, as each wanted to play a physical game, and also fair play to the officials, who for the main part let a lot go that others might have called. Understatement of the night had to be from Tracey, who while we were still in the Olympic rink, told me I was a bit loud. To those who were wondering about that rink, no, I did not throw ice or sweets and break everything, though I may have been wearing the same colour jersey as the person who did. Hopefully we can get the same result in the Chavdome next weekend.
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Post by Nottingham Lions on Dec 14, 2008 20:28:51 GMT
Lions get a shut-out away in Coventry!
End of 1st:- Coventry ENL Blaze 0 - 2 Nottingham Lions Chris Colegate (SHG) Sam Bullas (PPG)
End of 2nd:- Coventry ENL Blaze 0 - 2 Nottingham Lions
End of 3rd:- Coventry ENL Blaze 0 - 4 Nottingham Lions Chris Colegate (PPG) Sam Bullas (PPG)
Well done lads! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Nottingham Lions on Dec 14, 2008 21:32:08 GMT
I made a boo-boo, Colegate's 2nd goal was even-handed, not a PP.
Now I've got the game-sheet, Alan Levers was in goal and faced 35 shots for his shut-out.
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Post by quoththeraven on Dec 15, 2008 12:12:27 GMT
A fantastic result, made extra special because Blackburn held Sheffield to a 1-1 draw. The Scims still have many games in hand on us but their dropped point against a team they should have beaten puts the pressure on them. That in turn ramps up the pressure on the Lions for next weekend's game, when we host the Bomb Squad for the second time. I can't wait.
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