Want to discuss any hockey related issues? Heard some interesting news? Watched a great game? Heard an interesting rumor or quote? Talk about it here! CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Good to hear about Telford - in a way anyway. They have been terrible for ages and I thought they might just vanish one season! Then again if these new owners are throwing money around and still get no results, they might still!
One thing though, I can't stand Manchester being in this league. I mean, the league is fine, its good to have a decent league where the British players can get time and play (although the better ones should still go abroad and stop taking too much money here!) but now all you get is the Manchester fans expecting to win every game and win the league every time its boring and frustrating.
I love how Batdad seems to dispise you for some reason Archi? haha! But what about Jagr, Kronwall, Thomas, Kovalev, Chelios, Stuart to name a few of them plus the NHL is boring
What exactly do Jag, KRonwall et al have to do with British hockey? Oh absolutely nothing.....
And who said the NHL was my favorite league Gareth...we talk alot about it here because they are the top level players in the world in that league, whether you like it or not.
British Hockey leagues are so far off the map, that the Canadian Hockey League teams would be better in many instances. Sure it is the hockey you have to watch....and I am glad you have it to watch. But man...I have seen it on internet in the past, and it is slow and boring.
CHL hockey--is what I enjoy the most. Fast, hard working, crashing, tons of skill.....PLUS the mistakes and the gaffes that lead to excitement. The goals are not all bang whack and bounce in the net like 95 of 100 are in the show.
That being said....the reason it is so what you call boring in the NHL....every single player is so far and above the players of the past....that even the Tom Sestito types have more skill and ability in their pinky fingers than anyone in the BRitish Leagues.
That skill and speed is what makes the game fun to watch in the show. If yo were able to be over here and go see it live, and sit in the front row of CHL or NHL games....you would see such a monster monster difference.
I make fun of BRitish hockey and archi....because it is just that....fun.
batdad wrote:I make fun of BRitish hockey and archi....because it is just that....fun.
And that's the way I take it!
The EIHL is apparently comparable to the ECHL or thereabouts. We have a lot of ECHL and AHL players in the league. Granted, they're not top line ECHL or AHL quality, but they're still decent players. Where things start to drop is when you start to look at the weaker teams' 3rd and 4th liners. Typically they're just the best British players they can get their hands on. But this isn't saying all that much because the all of the decent Brits are playing for the top teams, such as Nottingham, Sheffield and Belfast.
batdad wrote:Sure it is the hockey you have to watch....and I am glad you have it to watch. But man...I have seen it on internet in the past, and it is slow and boring.
CHL hockey--is what I enjoy the most. Fast, hard working, crashing, tons of skill.....PLUS the mistakes and the gaffes that lead to excitement. The goals are not all bang whack and bounce in the net like 95 of 100 are in the show.
I'm curious to know when you last saw British hockey online. I think things have gotten better in the past few years. The tempo is a little slower, but I think that's in part due to the larger rinks we have over here. Next month I'm going to some Swiss NLA games so it'll be interesting to see how that compares (seeing how they also play on larger rinks).
In an ideal world, I'd love to see top quality hockey week in week out. But ultimately, the only teams near to me are from the EPL (Guildford's arena is less than a 5 minute drive from my house). The level of hockey can sometimes be somewhat poor with the lower teams, but it's still exciting and I enjoy it. And there are plenty of skilful players in the league. At the very least, each team has a number of imports (who by their nature have plenty of skill) - and with at least 50% of the teams they have plenty of skilful British players too. Not AHL/AHL/ECHL-level players, but decent enough.
Here's a recent game I went to between the top two teams in the EPL - Guildford v Manchester (and yes, Manchester's road jersey is atrocious) (click here for HD version):
Garethw87 wrote:One thing though, I can't stand Manchester being in this league. I mean, the league is fine, its good to have a decent league where the British players can get time and play (although the better ones should still go abroad and stop taking too much money here!) but now all you get is the Manchester fans expecting to win every game and win the league every time its boring and frustrating.
I love Manchester being in the league! It's not as big a gap between Manchester and the rest of the league as you may think. Any team can beat Manchester. Even lowly Telford and Bracknell beat Manchester in recent weeks. It's by no means a one horse race. Perhaps a four house race; but that's not bad seeing as there are only 10 teams in the league.
Incidentally, had Guildford not been going through a really tough injury crisis right now, we'd be top of the league and ahead of Manchester by a point or two. Unfortunately we had a dreadful weekend because the team was so tired from such long shifts. Yesterday night we were rolling with about 2 D lines and about 2.5 - 3 forward lines. We were 3-1 up against Basingstoke but as our defence tired, we let in two quick goals late in the third and then lost in OT.
I cannot recall exactly when I saw it last. I will look at the video of those pretty purple unis in the next day or so. LOL. yeah==on par with ECHL and the like is where i was thinking. And the ECHL is hideous to me. But of course living where I do I am spoiled--with the WHL, NHL and AHL all around me. FOr that matter...there is some darn good Beer League Tier 1 hockey around here, and the kids in Bantam and Midget (Major Midget) and the BCHL are exciting to watch as well. Hockey is everywhere. Not one day I cannot find at least 1, and 2 games to go to if I want from September through to at least April (althought the Giants suck so bad right now...they often have not made playoffs---but this year, with Prince George and Kamloops sucking even worse than the Giants...they will and more hockey on the table.)
I love to go to Kelowna, Portland, Tri City and now even Everett, Seattle and Spokane games here. Those visiting teams are exciting to watch.
Btw it looks like Slough are self-destructing. They're losing players at an alarming rate (including their team captain) and rumour has it their player/coach has today resigned. It'll be interesting to see whether they're able to replace the players because 1) they've lost a lot of quality players and 2) apparently they're in financial difficulties.
There have been rumours that the Jets would drop down to the NIHL. They have very small crowds attend the game (I've seen bigger attendances at regular season NIHL-1 games than even playoff games at Slough). The reason they've survived this long is because they have a rich owner who has been willing to absorb the losses. Allegedly the owner is now looking to cut costs in order to reduce the financial burden on him. This is pure speculation however. I just hope Slough bounce back because hockey in the UK has been enjoying some decent stability for a few years now.
archibalduk wrote:Yeah you're pretty darn lucky. Do you get to go to many games? I imagine you must have little time what with Batboy and Batgirl.
I get to a couple here and there. Batboy is almost 18...so he is really on his own much of the time. Scary but he has his driving license. Batgirl I try and do as much as I can with and that limits me sometimes. But I usually get to a Giants game 1-2 times per month, and a BCHL or Major Midget game once every couple of weeks. I know alot of the people in the rinks as they are parents and coaches from when Batboy was still playing.
Interestingly and totally off topic...he has gone back to baseball after 4 years, and wil llikely play in the top league for his age group here. His hand eye is ridiculous.
batdad wrote:What exactly do Jag, KRonwall et al have to do with British hockey? Oh absolutely nothing.....
And who said the NHL was my favorite league Gareth...we talk alot about it here because they are the top level players in the world in that league, whether you like it or not.
British Hockey leagues are so far off the map, that the Canadian Hockey League teams would be better in many instances. Sure it is the hockey you have to watch....and I am glad you have it to watch. But man...I have seen it on internet in the past, and it is slow and boring.
CHL hockey--is what I enjoy the most. Fast, hard working, crashing, tons of skill.....PLUS the mistakes and the gaffes that lead to excitement. The goals are not all bang whack and bounce in the net like 95 of 100 are in the show.
That being said....the reason it is so what you call boring in the NHL....every single player is so far and above the players of the past....that even the Tom Sestito types have more skill and ability in their pinky fingers than anyone in the BRitish Leagues.
That skill and speed is what makes the game fun to watch in the show. If yo were able to be over here and go see it live, and sit in the front row of CHL or NHL games....you would see such a monster monster difference.
I make fun of BRitish hockey and archi....because it is just that....fun.
Please don't think my last post was intended as rude or something like it... it wasn't! Just adding to the discussions!
I only mentioned Jagr and co. because yeah the NHL is the best league, there can be no argument but even in the best league, the older guys can still dominate it.
But everything you say about British hockey - I personally agree 100% with you. I can't do British hockey anymore. I've been to KHL games live and the difference is just Yet when I go to see Manchester Phoenix, I have to pay more then to see Lev Prague or Dinamo Riga.. call it economics or whatever you want it's plain wrong
Garethw87 wrote:One thing though, I can't stand Manchester being in this league. I mean, the league is fine, its good to have a decent league where the British players can get time and play (although the better ones should still go abroad and stop taking too much money here!) but now all you get is the Manchester fans expecting to win every game and win the league every time its boring and frustrating.
I love Manchester being in the league! It's not as big a gap between Manchester and the rest of the league as you may think. Any team can beat Manchester. Even lowly Telford and Bracknell beat Manchester in recent weeks. It's by no means a one horse race. Perhaps a four house race; but that's not bad seeing as there are only 10 teams in the league.
Incidentally, had Guildford not been going through a really tough injury crisis right now, we'd be top of the league and ahead of Manchester by a point or two. Unfortunately we had a dreadful weekend because the team was so tired from such long shifts. Yesterday night we were rolling with about 2 D lines and about 2.5 - 3 forward lines. We were 3-1 up against Basingstoke but as our defence tired, we let in two quick goals late in the third and then lost in OT.
Those Phoenix jerseys are shocking haha! I hadn't seem them yet, jeez! When I mention about Phoenix winning every game ect.. I just mean the mentality of the fans, it was the same with the Storm days. Team wins, everybody wants to show up and be part of it, team loses a game and they all stop caring. They need to break the cycle and get people to care whether they win or lose!
Theres currently been some Phoenix tickets on wowcher and groupon! So I am considering attending, but you can't shout at me yet for not going as I have been to some Trafford Metros games this season
Garethw87 wrote:Theres currently been some Phoenix tickets on wowcher and groupon! So I am considering attending, but you can't shout at me yet for not going as I have been to some Trafford Metros games this season
Don't you mean Manchester Minotaurs?! Trafford changed their name last summer. Which teams did you see them play? Whenever I've seen highlights on Youtube, the attendances have been pretty darn small (less than 100).
Phoenix tickets are really expensive. You can get EIHL tickets for the same price. Even Guildford's are cheaper - they're about £9.50 for the best seats, but with my season ticket it works out as about £6 per game which is great value!
Garethw87 wrote:Theres currently been some Phoenix tickets on wowcher and groupon! So I am considering attending, but you can't shout at me yet for not going as I have been to some Trafford Metros games this season
Don't you mean Manchester Minotaurs?! Trafford changed their name last summer. Which teams did you see them play? Whenever I've seen highlights on Youtube, the attendances have been pretty darn small (less than 100).
Phoenix tickets are really expensive. You can get EIHL tickets for the same price. Even Guildford's are cheaper - they're about £9.50 for the best seats, but with my season ticket it works out as about £6 per game which is great value!
Yes Minotaurs haha! I was going to log back in to edit that Went to see them against Solway on the most recent visit. The quality isnt great, obviously but for what you pay you know it isn't going to be, so it makes sense! And yeah the attendance was about 100 exactly when I went, not sure how they manage to get the rink close for their games, as they can't be covering all their costs.. anyway!
Phoenix ticket prices are the main reason I don't like going. Its not right. They drop down leagues because of "costs" according to Owner Morris, yet they keep the ticket prices the same? and one of the reasons was "but we'll be keeping the pre game entertainment and DJ/Lighting set up" WOW THANKS I keep meaning to go to a Steelers game, I'd rather pay the extra on the train to see them! (then again the Metro link costs, it might be cheaper to train it to Sheffield) haha!
Man my eyes are bleeding what the Lindros is that thing?!? I'm laughing so much right now. They want to incapacitate the other team with their ugly look?
Holy rubbish, that's taking Christmas jumpers to a new level! They're not the only team to do this; I know Coventry, Milton Keynes and Swindon are doing Christmas jerseys too. They all get auctioned off for charity and/or the teams' running costs.
My favourite has be Bristol Pitbulls' jerseys. The red is the goalie jersey and the green is the skater jersey!
](./images/smilies/wallbash.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
Yet when I go to see Manchester Phoenix, I have to pay more then to see Lev Prague or Dinamo Riga.. call it economics or whatever you want it's plain wrong 
Went to see them against Solway on the most recent visit. The quality isnt great, obviously but for what you pay you know it isn't going to be, so it makes sense! And yeah the attendance was about 100 exactly when I went, not sure how they manage to get the rink close for their games, as they can't be covering all their costs.. anyway!
I keep meaning to go to a Steelers game, I'd rather pay the extra on the train to see them! (then again the Metro link costs, it might be cheaper to train it to Sheffield) haha!
