Ice Hockey: Stage set for a pulsating opening night

-
The warm-up is concluded. Now it’s time for the real show.

Fife Flyers begin their 2019-20 EIHL season this weekend,  stepping into a Challenge Cup section that is already shaping up to be a cracker.

Glasgow Clan have coughed four points - and 13 goals - to Dundee Stars after a rollicking opening weekend went  askew for rookie coach, Zac Fitzgerald.

He now brings his side to Kirkcaldy in need of a road win to get his team up and running in the knockout group.

It could be interesting. Very interesting.

The round robin stage may just be starting, but Fitzy won't want to  go 0 and 3 straight off the bat - but he steps into a rink which, when fired up, can be the most intimidating place to enter.

Fitzy the enforcer was always  in the thick of the action.

Fitzy the coach will find himself in a very different position, and it will be fascinating to see how he handles the up close and in your face atmosphere as he stands on the bench.

For Flyers, this is game one of a new season.

The team has enjoyed a good build-up, and this week saw the arrival of their Aussie Four with Danick Gauthier, the Crowder brothers Paul and Tim, and new defenceman Dylan Quaile all in town by Thursday.

That should give them time to shake off their jet leg and step into the white hot heat of a Clan derby.

There will be little respite either as Sunday takes Flyers to Tayside to take on a Stars side that will be buzzing on the back of two great victories over Glasgow.

Nothing will be decided over the course of the weekend, but early wins can set a team up for a tilt at the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup, and begin the momentum that is crucial to every campaign.

First impressions on Todd Dutiaume’s 2019-20 roster have certainly been positive.

Chase Schaber has returned fit and healthy -he’s a player reborn after injury and concussion wrecked his 2018-19 campaign, and led to a summer of rehab after surgery.

He’s skating freely and looking very much like the Chase of old which is exactly what Flyers need. He’s a huge part of this team.

The defence looks sharper, bigger and, possibly most important, quicker.

The club only retained two of last season’s eight blueliners, and the changes seem to have worked.

Jonas Emmerdahl and Michal Gutwald have added size, while Sam Jones has been a stand-out in pre-season - giving fans hope of a unit that is able to make that quick transition to unleash the potential in the forward lines.

Paul Crowder’s return, fully fit after his concussion-ending season, gives Fife a key points scorer, and Gauthier is the man who drives the team; a wrecking ball, a physical force and a powerhouse forward whose goals can blow games wide open.

They’re all key pieces of Flyers’ jigsaw.

The full picture will be revealed this weekend.

It promises to be a fascinating weekend - and season.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bruce Springsteen, Sunderland: It's raining ...

-
Image
Where this gig rates on Springsteen’s tour is entirely subjective, but it will go down as one of the wettest, if not THE wettest ... A summer’s night in Sunderland saw the heavens open and the poncho sellers make a quick buck as they huddled in bus stops on the road leading to the rather mis-named Stadium Of Light which was shrouded in low cloud. It made Manchester 2016 feel like nothing more than a light shower, so all credit fo Springsteen and the E Street Band - and their tech team - for turning in a superb 28-song, near  three hour show in the most challenging of conditions. Any time you thought the rain had eased, you only had to look to the lights to see it swirling round the stage and the stadium. Instruments were soaked, and the close ups on the giant screens showed just how wet things really were up there. While the band donned jackets and scarves, Springsteen strolled out dressed as if it was just another day; waistcoat, tie and shirt, took one look at the rainfall and op...
Read more

Bruce Springsteen, Wembley (Part One): A perfect set, an utterly magical gig

-
Image
The list of superlatives to describe a Springsteen gig has been used up. We need to invent new words. If Cardiff was a mesmerising UK tour opener, then the first night in London, which marks his departure from these shores, surpassed it in every possible way. A flawless set delivered with such energy and intensity he didn’t actually pause to formally say hello to the crowd. The Boss had business to attend to - a jaw-dropping, highlight reel show of 31 songs over three and a quarter hours. It’s incredible to think this came on the cusp of the 50th anniversary of his first ever UK gigs - modest affairs at the Hammersmith Odeon which entered Springsteen folklore as he bristled against the hype surrounding the release of Born To Run, and famously tore down a poster from the front of the venue declaring “finally London is ready for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band." London was more than ready for this first of two Wembley gigs. Standing on the pitch, I’d forgotten just how vast ...
Read more

From Asbury Park to Boucher Park ...

-
Image
  A near ten-hour flight separates Asbury Park, NJ, and Boucher Park, Belfast, but the difference between them is much, much wider. On one hand you have the mesmerising imagery of boardwalks, carnivals and the Stone Pony, on the other, a park that is basically grass and gravel, next to a generic industrial estate and retail park that could be Anywhere, UK. Belfast’s Boucher Park is as far removed from rock ‘n’ roll as you can imagine - only the moving canvas of Springsteen t-shirts gave away the fact something extraordinary was happening close to the tile warehouses and garden furniture outlets. The stop–start early queue which snaked to the gates led to a wristband which led to the front of the stage with tantalising snippets from the end of the soundcheck carrying over the fencing. I’ve never had the urge to do ‘the pit’ or rollcall - turns out you didn’t really need to do either in Belfast as the wristband got me to within half a dozen rows at the front.I suspect I could have go...
Read more