Ice Hockey: Challenge Cup finally comes to life

-
Ice hockey’s Challenge Cup finally kicks into life this weekend as qualifying places are on the line.

Pic: Steve Gunn
A competition hamstrung by a clunky structure will now deliver some definitive findings as places in the knockout stages start to fill.

Group A could even deliver a thrilling, possibly intriguing final weekend.

Four teams are chasing three qualifying spots - and therein lies one of the  structural problems.

It’s even worse in Groups B and C where two of the three teams qualify, while the ones left behind stage a one-off game to claim the last of the eight quarter-final places.

While they need one win to get to the stage of the competition that really matters, so do Fife Flyers.

Two wins could give them top seeding and the pick of their quarter-final opponents, but, just for balance, two losses will pretty much end their interest.

Flyers probably have more to play for than all of the teams in Groups B and C combined.

The good news is they head to Braehead tonight to take on Glasgow Clan in front of what looks like being a full house, underlining the strong interest in games featuring these two teams rather than the competition itself.

There’s a great rivalry between the two, and it’s fantastic to see the games attracting such big attendances.

Clan won the opening match-up in Kirkcaldy in front of more than 2500 fans, and have gone to post some impressive road wins in league games Cardiff, Nottingham and Sheffield, but they sit bottom of the table with two points from four starts, and know they have little margin for error if their interest in the Challenge Cup is to be extended.

They will welcome the absence of Danick Gauthier from Fife Flyers’ line-up - a one-game ban for slew footing has removed the Kirkcaldy side of their powerhouse forward who has started the season in such impressive style.

But, these games have a habit of throwing up unexpected results and high drama. Saturday night at the shopping centre rink may be no different.

Flyers would certainly welcome a win in the west to remove the pressure from their home game against Dundee Stars on Sunday.

Omar Pacha’s side are tricky opponents - they’re the sort of team too many clubs under-estimate, and, if they do, they get stung.

Flyers will have Gauthier back for Sunday’s game, and  the match will be the first to face-off at the earlier 5:30pm time. It will be interesting to see how that impacts on the attendance.

The Fifers made little impact on the Challenge Cup last season - they need to hit the quarter-finals, at the very least, this time round.


Silverware is the goal, and this competition -for all its flaws - is one which needs to be on their radar.

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