So, I’ve been lazy this past week or so, not doing an update last week after the game, and not being at the game this weekend just gone (although I was feeling very rough and pukey so tis probably a good thing I stayed at home).
Anyways, we seem to have broken our losing run with the nail biting penalty shots win over the Bees in our own barn. Watching the shots from down by the plexi was interesting, especially lip-reading the players (Coach Hand was the best, with a simple ‘For fucks sake!’), and seeing the Bracknell nettie moan about Hand touching the puck before the whistle went… well, given that he saved the shot, if the ref had made Hand re-take the shot and he then scored, I guess we would have had one very red faced nettie on the ice.
And being ill, as per usual I missed an absolute blinder apparently against MK, with fights and everything. Bugger. That will teach me to be ill during the season!
So, what else? Well, the Tigers new owner is sure splashing the cash, with 3 new players joining the Shropshire side. 2 former Phoenix players, in the shape of Adam Walker and Timo Kuuluvainen, and veteran Brit James Pease have added far more depth to the roster down there, which should aid them in their quest for a play-off berth this season. Personally, a part of me can not help but worry when a new owner comes in to a club and starts flashing the cash. I’ve seen this happen far too many times in British ice hockey, although for the sake of the long suffering Tigers fans I hope that this time it is different. For starters, this new owner actually has some real wealth and does not appear to be over inflating it to impress the fans. And according to people involved with the Tigers supporters trust, he genuinely has an actual business plan (a real rarity in British hockey circles). Lets hope it works out for them in the long term. We don’t want another ‘Swindon IceLords’…
So, on to todays game. Facing the Steelpups once more in the IceDome. I’m confident of a Phoenix win, but I know we will have to face up to the usual Payette bullshit on the ice. Maybe another slap from Schnabel will keep him quiet, eh?
See you at the Dome (or the pub… The Malt Shovels. Cheap beer! Whoo Hoo!).