Last week the main topic for my thoughts was about how really we didn't learn anything of any massive significance during the opening weekend of the new Elite League season. This weekend backed those sentiments up for me..... on the whole!
After a disappointing opening weekend the Coventry Blaze bounced back with a fantastic shutout victory in Belfast on Saturday followed by a thumping 6-1 victory against the Flyers on Sunday in a game which was delayed for almost 2 hours after the Flyers' coach broke down. Braehead Clan who had also suffered two defeats the previous weekend bounced back with a hard fought victory in Cardiff who themselves were 3-0 down in Hull on Sunday before coming back to win 4-3.
Results like this is showing how competitive the league is becoming as clearly nothing can be taken for granted. Based on last weekends results you would never have expected Coventry to go to Belfast and get that result. This in my view just makes for a more interesting season as at the moment you don't know which way results are going to go.
From a Panthers perspective, this weekend's triple header north of the border wasn't without its fair share of incidents and controversy...
First up on Friday night was the Stars and a 5-2 defeat. Many would have perhaps predicted a narrow win for the Panthers in this one and although the performance wasn't without endeavour, Dundee had a game plan which they executed perfectly.
Then on Saturday was a visit to Fife in what turned out to be the most controversial game of the weekend. This game had everything, including the 'sucker punch' and 'the goal that wasn't given'. I am not going to comment on the sucker punch by Henley as the video released by Fife didn't really show what had led up to the incident. Henley was thrown out of the game at the time followed by a one match suspension following a review of the incident on the request of the Flyers. However I do want to speak about the final penalty shot and the goal that wasn't given.
I have watched the footage of the penalty shot taken by Justin DaCosta several times and in my opinion it was a goal and as some have suggest it denied Fife the opportunity to possibly win the game. However I cannot stress the word possibly strongly enough. It wasn't a game winning penalty shot, it was a game levelling penalty shot. It seems though in the furore of the event, many fans, particularly those who don't support the Flyers or the Panthers seem to have forgotten that. The outrage that followed on Twitter was ridiculous as many either claimed that it has cost Fife 2 points or that the Panthers had somehow paid off the referee. Now I am not going to argue that the ref had a stinker that night, but to suggest it was done purposely to give the Panthers the win is nothing short of ridiculous. These people need to get out more. I can understand the emotions of fans shortly after the game, had the shoe been on the other foot then no doubt there would have uproar amongst our own supporters, however there are pundits representing other teams in the league who have stoked the fire with pathetic comments in respect of an incident that didn't even directly affect them.
Lastly on Saturday the Panthers received a further blow when Werner broke his leg. He is likely to miss 8 weeks of action. Panthers officials were quick to announce they are looking for a replacement, which is good news. However I hope that we avoid the situation where Corey puts his stakes back on as we are a far better team with him behind the bench than we were with him on the ice. It was pleasing to see however that fans from all teams sending messages of support to Werner and despite all the 'chips on shoulders' it shows that we can come together as a league when the situation calls for it.
My 'Blog From Block 15' award this weekend goes to the Dundee Stars. Still unbeaten and quite rightly getting the plaudits after a weekend that saw them beat both the Panthers and the Steelers. Jeff Hutchins' squad may have looked a little underwhelming to many but he and the Stars have shown some real quality and grit in their opening games. I sincerely hope that they can keep up the fine form they are showing as it will make for a more interesting league and conference this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment