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Post by humbucker on Nov 18, 2018 23:40:06 GMT
Tonight's Results: Sheffield Steeldogs 5 Sutton Sting 4, Blackburn Hawks 4 Solihull Barons 5
Nottingham Lions still missing a number of senior players went up against the Billingham Stars knowing that once again they were going to be under significant pressure and that turned out to be the case. First period saw the Stars comfortably leading the game 0-4 but by the end of the second they had only added 2 further goals to lead 0-6 going into the third. The Lions began to fade somewhat in the final period and after conceding 4 further goals Alan Levers handed over to 16 year old Luca Sheldon in the nets to see out the game. The Lions gave up 3 further goals but managed not to be shut out of the game as 17yr old Jack Crowston scored his second goal of a memorable weekend for him. MOM 16yr old Tom Palmer has had an impressive weekend along with a team with an average age of 20yrs who faced impressive opposition and gave 100% effort throughout both games this weekend. These young players now know the standard required in this conference and that alone should spur them on to greater things as they develop. Although there have been tough times for this team I believe staying in the more demanding Div 1 Moralee Conference was the right decision and was preferable to back tracking to the Div 2 Laidler Conference. In the Laidler Conference I have no doubts that the Lions would have won many games and would be looking to end of season honours but the quality of the opposition would have been no where near the more professional outfits they are facing each week. Realistically the Lions chances of moving up this conference are low but the experience the youngsters gain will more than make up for that and of that I am sure. The Lions have drafted in 37 players to date from the Nottingham Development Programme and this bodes well for those players looking to improve and eventually achieve their goals as ice hockey players. Keeping them in Nottingham will be the problem in years to come.
I did note that the Telford Tigers got a 7-1 win over the Hull Pirates in a cup game tonight and I bet that proved a real shock for the second placed team in the Moralee Conference who had not lost a game up until tonight that is!
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Post by humbucker on Nov 24, 2018 9:58:37 GMT
Weekend Games: Saturday: Solihull Barons v Whitley Warriors, Solway Sharks v Hull Pirates
Sunday Whitley Warriors v Solway Sharks, Billingham Stars v Solihull Barons
Nottingham Lions are hosts to near neighbours.Sutton Sting in their first meeting this season. I believe the last time these two met was a number of seasons ago in a relegation/promotion play off game that The Sting won. The Sting returned to the Moralee Conference this season and to date have made their mark and their intentions clear with four wins under their belt Always been strong and appear to have come back to Div 1 stronger still. All to play for and more ice time for a number of future Lions as we see the introduction of players from the junior section of the Nottingham club.
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Post by humbucker on Nov 24, 2018 23:53:36 GMT
Tonight’s Results Solway Sharks 3 Hull Pirates 2, Solihull Barons 6 Whitley Warriors
Nottingham Lions v Sutton Sting face off at 7.30pm. Noted that Paul Stanley now an ex Lion iced for the Solihull Barons tonight.
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Post by humbucker on Nov 26, 2018 0:06:58 GMT
Tonight’s results Whitley Warriors 4 Solway Sharks 6, Billingham Stars 3 Solihull Barons 4.
Still a blank season to date for the Lions as Sutton Sting took the game 0-11. Period scores: 0-2/0-4/0-5. The two young netminders came under constant pressure from the opposition with Luca Sheldon in as number one tonight. He spent nearly 46 minutes between the pipes conceding 8 goals before handing over to Massimo Agoostini to gain some experience and to see out the game. It was unfortunate, or even Sod’s law, that none of the two senior netminders were available as Miles Finney is out of the country and Alan Levers pulled out through illness. One of the more worrying aspects in a number of games is the lack of shots on the opposition’s. net and that situation has to improve massively or this could easily prove to be the norm and that would prove a disaster for all concerned with this team. It is down to the senior players to take on greater responsibility and lead from the front and encourage the young guys. The goals scored in the two games prior to this weekend were scored by one of the most junior players in the team and youngsters such as him and others need more support from the older guys who must not allow their heads to drop. More games to come and hopefully the fight that the Lions are known for rears it’s head once again and the guys start pressurising some of the teams they meet. The annoying thing is that the team does work hard and there is an intensity there and hopefully the goals come and the odd positive result along with the extra effort
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Post by humbucker on Dec 1, 2018 9:47:44 GMT
Weekend Games in Moralee Div 1 Saturday: Telford Tigers v Billingham Stars
Sunday: Solihull Barons v Sutton Sting, Blackburn Hawks v Solway Sharks
The Nottingham Lions travel to Hillheads once again for the last time this season to face Whitley Warriors hoping to play as tight a game as on their last visit to the north east. Recent results have shown that the pressure on the Lions has been one way traffic with few shots on the opposition's net and that situation, the team knows, has to be reversed. Interestingly this week I was informed by a reliable source that certain players have been recruit targets, certainly two names were mentioned. The absolute bottom line is that any potential seen by other teams in the Nottingham team's roster attracts attention leading to actual approaches to the team or the players concerned. It would be true to say that if you take a look around the leagues/conferences that the Nottingham Lions are well represented with many players having moved via the Nottingham player conveyor to having long careers with many teams around the country. Retention of players will always prove to be the Lions Achilles heel that has to be accommodated. Oh to be a coach in a team that will change week to week due to the Nottingham Junior schedule requiring players and the sometimes lack of availability of senior players due to other commitments. Having to constantly change systems due to not being able to have a solid named squad each weekend just has to be a nightmare for any coach. The luxury of a game sheet that is constant over a season just cannot happen here and maybe some of the results reflect this situation?
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Post by humbucker on Dec 1, 2018 21:28:12 GMT
Tonight's Result: Telford Tigers 8 Billingham Stars 2
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Post by humbucker on Dec 3, 2018 0:50:06 GMT
Tonight's Results: Solihull Barons 3 Sutton Sting 2 (OT Win), Blackburn Hawks 3 Solway Sharks 9
The Lions, with it all to do, set off to meet the Whitley Warriors and lost out to the north easterners 11-2. Worked hard but the depth and experience within the Warriors team won out in the end. No game sheet available on line so no further details of goal scorers etc until I have access.
A strong Nottingham Lions connection as the netminders for the Telford Tigers are Sam Gospel who has now joined, on loan, last year's Lions No 1 Tom Hovell.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 3, 2018 12:49:34 GMT
Managed to obtain details of the Warriors v Lions game. I noted that the squad consisted of a substantial block of players from the junior ranks with quite a number of senior players unavailable. Fortunately the Nottingham u18s game was cancelled and that opened up the opportunity for a number of them to be included in the team. As mentioned in the post last night the depth of experience within the teams the Lions meet has it's effect as the team are up against opposition with well established lines. It was noted that both of the Lions import players were also unavailable for the Warriors game. Although missing so many seniors the team did manage to reduce the shots on goal and actually increased their tally of shots on the opposition's net, so some positives. The first period appeared to find the Lions caught fairly cold as the Warriors took the period 5-0. The second period saw the Nottingham Lions score but lost out 3-1. The third went the way of the second with a 3-1 scoreline and a 11-2 loss. Goal Scorers: Ruskin Hughes 1+0,Jack Crowston 1+0, Thomas Palmer 0+2, Hamish Hall 0+1, Cameron Pywell 0+1. One major loss was Kieran Raynor having been dispatched from the game and possibly will be missing for a couple of future games following the penalties handed to him on the night. The game saw the netminder duties shared between Miles Finney (27mins) and Massimo Agostini (33mins). MOM Jamie Hovell.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 5, 2018 22:34:29 GMT
An interesting article/blog by Anthony Lowe in the Pro Hockey News looking across the NIHL Moralee Conference at the age statistics of each team. Here is the breakdown of the Lions player age stats.
Nottingham Lions – Average Age 22.46
The league’s bottom side Nottingham are also the youngest, despite having the 2nd most players aged 31 and over. This is because the Lions have used by far the most players this season icing 35 through their 17 games. The next closest is Whitley who have used 30. Nottingham’s points split is much more in favour of the younger players with 59 of their 70 points still on the roster (Paul Stanley now counting against Solihull) coming from players aged 25 and under. age # of players points % of points
36+ 1 2 2.86% 31-35 5 1 1.43% 26-30 3 8 11.43% 21-25 10 27 38.57% 16-20 16 32 45.71%
Our youngsters are not doing that badly according to these figures in the points scoring. The blog is worth a view as there is a real shot at two particular clubs Hull and Telford who appear to be copping some flak for playing some part in the demise of the EPL. The financing problems of the EPL became a major mover towards it's end and clubs needing to continue playing by having to apply to the NIHL. It would appear that the standard of play from a number of teams is below par, according to a Telford Tiger player, and the big money teams would prefer,perhaps, a resurrection of the EPL. The problem is the chase for dominance and a diminishing money supply in a new league might end up in a rerun of the present situation eventually. The NIHL Division 1 was to become a development vehicle for up and coming players but when you go through stats of many of the teams they equate to a retirement home for ex Elite players and a lot of old time EPL players with a resting place and with development either an afterthought leading to little change or no thought at all as the big boys are still flashing the cash and rubbishing the opposition as they struggle to compete. Worth a read.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 7, 2018 17:45:00 GMT
Games this weekend; Saturday: Hull Pirates v Whitley warriors, Telford Tigers v Blackburn Hawks, Solway Sharks v Solihull Barons
Sunday: Whitley Warriors v Hull Pirates, Sheffield Steeldogs v Solway Sharks, Billingham Stars v Telford Tigers.
The Nottingham Lions head north west as they travel to meet Blackburn Hawks with a 5.30pm face off. As with all of the Lions games this season an improvement in performance is all that, realistically, the team will be looking to achieve. Last Sunday the team although massively thin on the ground regarding senior players and with both imports not icing the team did reduce the shots against and put more pressure on the Whitley Warriors net. As the season develops the hope is that the young guys will begin to up their game as they realise what is required from them to compete at Div 1 level.
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Post by kievthegreat on Dec 7, 2018 20:39:10 GMT
Hey Humbucker, given that the Lions while fighting valiantly are massively outgunned, and reading the latest news that MK Thunder in the south need £10k to make it through the year, is yet another big reshuffle of the lower divisions on the cards? Are the Bigger boys like Telford in the North going to join with Bracknell, Basingstoke, Swindon in the south and try and get enough teams for a new league that would basically be a rehash of the EPL?
It always seemed to me that the new structure post EPL didn't really resolve anything as you took a relative equal division in the EPL (even if it is one with very poor financial discipline and too few teams), and mashed it in with NIHL teams resulting in massive disparities. Are the wheels coming off this year, or is it further down the line? Or s everything still in flux?
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iginla
Chick Zamick
Posts: 13,422
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Post by iginla on Dec 7, 2018 20:48:04 GMT
Do Lions players get paid anything ?
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Shaggy
Forum Moderator
Am I a cynical idealist or an idealistic cynic?
Posts: 10,995
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Post by Shaggy on Dec 7, 2018 22:42:44 GMT
Hey Humbucker, given that the Lions while fighting valiantly are massively outgunned, and reading the latest news that MK Thunder in the south need £10k to make it through the year, is yet another big reshuffle of the lower divisions on the cards? Are the Bigger boys like Telford in the North going to join with Bracknell, Basingstoke, Swindon in the south and try and get enough teams for a new league that would basically be a rehash of the EPL? It always seemed to me that the new structure post EPL didn't really resolve anything as you took a relative equal division in the EPL (even if it is one with very poor financial discipline and too few teams), and mashed it in with NIHL teams resulting in massive disparities. Are the wheels coming off this year, or is it further down the line? Or s everything still in flux? If anyone tells you that they have any kind of definite answer for any of those questions, I'd call them a bare-faced liar. British ice hockey is a total mess from top to bottom, and all the PR, spin and - quite frankly - bovine excrement that comes out of the various clubs and alphabet-soup organisations can't hide that fact. Do Lions players get paid anything ? I'm only an off-ice volunteer helper with the Lions (and I'd be surprised if anyone actually part of the Lions answered that question) but to the best of my knowledge... no.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 7, 2018 23:19:18 GMT
Hi iginla the very short and honest answer is no. The Lions are the last link in the development project of the Nottingham Junior Ice Hockey Club. The players pay to play and cover the transport, and equipment costs themselves. The Lions have a main sponsor in Solutions for Accounting and CRM and this helps out with some running costs including the strip, but the costs of funding a team to the level of teams such as the Telford's, Hull's, and Sheffield's has proved unachievable, unfortunately. When you look at the Moralee Div 1 Conference none of the teams have an Elite team playing out of the same building and to some extent the Lions do suffer as they might be considered an unattractive proposition for sponsors and many hockey fans. When talking to the team coach'e and managers they are always grateful for the interest shown by companies such as Solutions but they are very welcome exception and, of course, a group of loyal Lions followers. Attracting the more senior players such as those guys who have been around a long time is virtually impossible particularly as teams with deeper pockets are willing to pay them for the few seasons they might have left. In Nottingham we have a group of players who have been with the club for a number of years including guys such as Luke Thomas, Ben Wood, Alan Levers, and others. Last season Marc Levers returned to the Lions, although he was offered a deal at another club, and it players such as him and the other seniors that are needed to support the juniors coming through. The problem the Lions have is that the senior players are a diminishing breed so more and more younger guys are being drafted in which increases the load placed on the older guys and indeed some of the newer younger ones as well. The Head Coach and the coaching and management team are all volunteers who put in masses of hours to keep the team operating. There is no support from the Panthers organisation but obviously the interest, if any, increases as a potential prospect appears through the junior system but is usually recruited and moved on to another team eg Swindon, Telford, or Peterborough. As a team the Lions are one of the only club's to meet what the EIHA required of the NIHL Div 1 that of being a development vehicle for up and coming players but what has happened is that a number of clubs have just recruited ex Elite and EPL players many of whom have vast experience but nearing the end of their careers and that means the youngsters, if played, have less ice time. The Lions youngsters have plenty of ice time but lack the experience of the settled what might be termed 'old timer' lines they face each week. The kids will learn but they will naturally take some beatings during that process. The Lions also are up against all of the teams in the conference who have recruited and have settled lines and spares a luxury not available to the Lions as the u18s and u20s have first call on their players therefore the shape of the team changes week to week.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 7, 2018 23:35:46 GMT
Kievthegreat
I would recommend that you read a Pro Hockey News article NIHL North: The League by Numbers – Breaking Down the Statistics. Posted on December 5, 2018 by Anthony Lowe. (In Hockey Uk archives)
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Post by kievthegreat on Dec 8, 2018 10:14:16 GMT
British Ice Hockey makes Theresa May look competent!
I do feel for Lions, they are playing up, giving youngsters a go. And you have teams that spend not inconsiderable sums poaching any decent player complaining about not getting competitive games from the teams they weaken.
Seem to be missing the point that without teams like the Lions they don't have a decent sized league in which to play.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 8, 2018 16:14:30 GMT
kievthegreat you have just about summed up the situation very well, in my estimation. You had an EPL that was a busted flush that was totally self inflicted some through greed, rank bad accounting, and poor if not an incompetent management structure. I use the term management very loosely in this context, So we had a bunch of teams with no league in which to play and some without the proverbial pot to p*ss in regarding finance. They were then offered the chance to continue by joining the NIHL Div 1 with no requirement to enter at Div 2 and seek promotion to Div 1. They grabbed the straw entered the Moralee Conference in the north with the southern teams offered the same entrance terms in their respective conference. It was made very obvious to all teams that the conferences were to be the vehicle for development of, in the main, of British players to feed into the Elite League if meeting the standard required. The NIHL 1, in the north, would in effect act as farm teams. Now we have to accept that the teams would require a nucleus of senior players of a standard and with a commitment to aid the process of development for the younger guys and a couple of import players with the same focus. Unfortunately what we have is a repeat of the behaviour so prevalent in the defunct EPL now rearing it's ugly self interested head in the NIHL to the detriment of the main focus of the conference that of development. I feel quite certain that if the clubs wish to play at a higher level, and I personally have no qualms about that, then there is the Elite League awaiting their application. The problem is that with some of these teams their history speaks reams about where they would end up and that would be going broke and applying cap in hand, once again, to any lower league that would allow them entry and the process being repeated, once more. There will certainly need to be a cold and calculated review at some stage but managerially, given past failures, the predictable 'cockerel up' would be the outcome, of that process and of that I feel certain, because at that meeting the big boys will produce the loudest noise with the rest ignored. The NIHL bailed out these teams and they have given the middle digit in response. Enough said for now.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 8, 2018 22:06:25 GMT
Tonight's Results:
Solway Sharks 5 Solihull Barons 3, Hull Pirates 7 Whitley Warriors 2, Telford Tigers 12 Blackburn Hawks 1
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Post by humbucker on Dec 9, 2018 22:42:24 GMT
Tonight's Results: Whitley Warriors 3 Hull Pirates 5 Sheffield Steeldogs 5 Solway Sharks 1 Billingham Stars 1 Telford Tigers 10 Blackburn Hawks 8 Nottingham Lions 3
Once again the Lions hit the road massively depleted including the imports and put up an impressive battle. The Lions managed to again reduce the shots on goal and increased the pressure on the Hawks net. The kids are coming to terms with the constant pressure and learning but knowing this season is going to be hard work. The captaincy tonight was taken over by Joe Gretton who did an excellent job by taking on the role and pulling the guys together. Period Scores:2-1/3-2/3-0. Scorers: Jack Crowston 2+0, Joe Gretton 1+0,Ruskin Hughes 0+2,Hamish Hall 0+1, Callum Medcalf 0+1,Bailley Challans 0+1. Yougster Jack Crowston is definitely making his mark as his goal tally is on the rise and that has to be a real positive for the Lions and their priority of blooding the young guys at the Div 1 level. As always keeping them becomes a real issue but we have seen a number of promising youngsters recruited with all sorts of promises and then finding themselves riding the pine when they should have stayed with their home club strengthening their skills and then making the move. Hopefully we will be able to keep some of this group of promising young hockey players. The goal keeping was shared between Miles Finney 36mins and Luca Sheldon 14 mins.In Massimo Agostini and Luca Sheldon we have two young net minders gaining valuable experience in the conference aided by Miles Finney and Alan Levers.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 10, 2018 20:52:22 GMT
The finances of a couple of the clubs in the Southern Div 1 Britton Conference are possibly in a rather delicate state with both Milton Keynes Thunder and Invicta Dynamos having to appeal for funds to keep them afloat. One does have to wonder how many clubs are in a similar predicament?
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Post by humbucker on Dec 14, 2018 20:21:33 GMT
Games this weekend: Saturday: Solihull Barons v Hull Pirates, Solway Sharks v Whitley Warriors, Sutton Sting v Sheffield Steeldogs. Telford Tigers v Nottingham Lions
Sunday: Whitley Warriors v Sutton Sting, Hull Pirates v Solway Sharks, and Nottingham Lions v Telford Tigers
Nottingham Lions have a double header this weekend travelling to meet the Telford Tigers with a 7.00pm face off and the return game will be at the NIC at 7.30pm. The Tigers scored 22 goals last weekend and conceded just 2 goals over the games against Billingham Stars away and Blackburn Hawks at home. Sam Gospel (ex Lions) achieved a 100% and a 96% save rate in these games with Thomas Hovell (ex Lions) achieving a 90% save rate in the 20mins he was in the net against Billingham. Not sure how many of the Nottingham guys are available for these games but whoever puts on the shirt will try to keep the score at a respectable level. The Lions are up against one of the more lethal settled and handsomely funded units in the conference.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 15, 2018 21:56:04 GMT
The Nottingham Lions hit the ice in Telford with two lines and two netminders a twelve man bench strength against the Tigers twenty one man bench. Although struggling numbers wise the Lions actually acquitted themselves very well and managed to keep the score at a respectable level given the shortage of available players. Last weekend the Tigers made short work of the Blackburn Hawks 12-1 and Billingham Stars 1-10 well our guys held the game to a 9-1 scoreline. Now why do I appear to celebrate a loss you might ask, well given the bench strength of the Lions I think they gave their best against one of the strongest team's in the conference. You just cannot ask more of the team in my book to be honest. Period scores: 2-0/5-1/2-0. Scorers: Tyler Poole 1+0, Thomas Palmer 0+1, Ruskin Hughes 0+1. Goalie duties shared: Miles Finney 45.54mins, and Massimo Agostini 14.06 mins.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 15, 2018 22:35:52 GMT
Tonight's Results: Solihull Barons 2 Hull Pirates 8, Solway Sharks 7 Whitley Warriors 2, Sutton Sting 3 Sheffield Steeldogs 10 Telford Tigers 9 Nottingham Lions 1 (Report in previous post)
Note that Elliott Perrin is now ex captain of the Lions as he has moved to the Solihull Barons playing his first game for them in their loss to the Pirates this evening. That at least explains the mystery of his unavailability over the past few weeks.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 17, 2018 10:35:42 GMT
Last night's results: Whitley Warriors 7 Sutton Sting 4 Hull Pirates 6 Solway Sharks 5 Nottingham Lions 0 Telford Tigers 6
The Lions certainly made Tigers work hard for the victory last night and the home team welcomed back a good many of their junior prospects for this game. I note that Jason Silverthorn led the scoring for the Tigers with 3 of the goals and Jack Watkins added 1. Good to see that the Tigers introduced Jed Moreland a 17 yr old who bagged himself a brace of goals assisted by Scott McKenzie, a seasoned player with an excellent goal scoring record. It always helps to have the guys around to aid the youngsters but when you do not have a payroll you are not in a position to attract the experience of the level of players such as Scott, but in Nottingham we do have committed senior players who know the game and carry out this support role unpaid and a totally volunteer coaching and management team. Dedication to a cause without inducements is a rare commodity and has to be applauded. The Lions over a tough weekend achieved more than was expected of them and Joe Gretton as stand in captain whilst Luke Thomas is away has done an excellent job particularly with the massively short bench against the Tigers on Saturday. Miles Finney ended with a 92.68 save rate in this game. Period Scores: 2-0/3-0/1-0.
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Post by humbucker on Dec 21, 2018 16:53:37 GMT
Friday: Sheffield Steeldogs v Hull Pirates (Top team v Third place)
Saturday: Solway Sharks v Telford Tigers, Blackburn Hawks v Billingham Stars,
The Nottingham Lions take the short trip up the M1 to take on the unbeaten, unless they lose tonight, Sheffield Steeldogs. A formidable task given the fire power available to the 'Dogs' as many teams can testify given a 14 game winning streak to date.
Sunday:Hull Pirates v Blackburn Hawks, Billingham Stars v Whitley warriors, Telford Tigers v Sheffield Steeldogs (Second place v Top team)
It will be a de ja vu feeling within the Nottingham camp as the Lions head, once more, up the M1 to Sheffield as they meet Sutton Sting. The Steeldogs and Sting play out of Ice Sheffield.
Sad news as the death of Paul Smith was announced at the age of 57, dying of cancer. Many of us old time hockey fans/supporters remember the Smith family a real dynasty in their time. Paul was a key player and captain of the 'Big Blue Machine' that was the Durham Wasps. The family owned the infamous Durham Rink, the home of the also infamous, outdated game clock. It was amazing how slow or fast that old clock moved when the Wasps were within touching distance of a home win. A goal down and the clock appeared to slow down. The Ice was awful and the facilities were of a similar quality. The seating was stacked coffins left over from WW2 as the rink was due to be a store/mortuary but never used. Good old days.
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