A fun filled weekend of hockey!

This weekend was one that will stay in most Sheffield Steelers and Cardiff Devils fans hearts for ever! This weekend these two fantastic teams got together to celebrate their 20th (Steelers) and 25th (Devils) anniversery.

It all started on Friday night for me when I sat to watch the England Men battle against the Germans in the Eurohockey Championships (field hockey). The first half showed solid defence work from the likes of hard working Rob Moore and Richard Alexander who both put their body on the line and are probally some of the best in the world when it comes to it. The English defence tryed hard but failed to keep the Germans away as Zeller managed to score on a powerplay.

The 2nd half started strong but the wet conditions made it very hard to keep ball speed up and the control accurate. The result of the heavy downpour led to the game being delayed 12mins into the half. Players from both teams joined volunteers in an attempt to clear some of the water from the pitch - thats dedication to the game! Credit to the people as the game continued 45mins later.

The end result was not what us English fans wanted as the Germans won 3-0 with last minute goals from Deecker and Korn. However all is not lost as we now battle Belguim for the Bronze medal!

Now back to the Ice to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my Sheffield Steelers. Things got to a great start with the Juniors U15 team - Sheffield dominated the Devils juniors and by the end of the game the score was an impressive 12-0 lead. When it came to the Juniors U16/18 squad's turn on the ice they did not let us down as once again the Sheffield team won with a stunning 11-0.

At 3pm things started to change, you could feel the excitement building as the Legends took to the ice. I was amazed at being in the presence of such great players, all of whom I had heard great tales of from my Dad and Grandad so it was great to finally see the players that were before my time. The game itself was magnificent I have never seen anything like it, the arena had this feel to it that can only be decribed as an air of greatness.

The game started of well for the Steelers Legends as 2mins into the 1st half a goal came from the one and only #6 Neil Abel. The Devils fought back minutes later with a goal from #28 Vezio Sacratini. Sheffield refused to let this bother them as they scored 3 more goals in the 1st. They were scored by legendary players #15 David Longstaff, #93 Rick Brebant and the already mentioned Neil Abel.

The 2nd half also got off to a great start as 'The Duke' Tommy Plommer #11 managed to find the back of the net followed by Mike Blaisdell #21 giving the Steelers Legends a 6-1 lead. Once again the Devils bounced back with goals from #28 Vezio Sacratini and #23 Merv Priest but Steelers legend #22 Andre Malo close the game with a stunning goal leading the Steelers Legends into a 7-3 victory.

The Legends from both teams

After the game the Legends were on the concourse greeting fans and auctioning off their shirts. I managed to meet a few of them including, Sir Alex Dampier, Mike Peron, Tommy Plommer, Tim Cranston, Ron Shudra, Chris Kelland and Mike Blaisdell. I have to say they were all really nice and I got complimented about my height a few times, Chris Kelland stood on his tip toes so he would be taller then me!



Me with Tommy Plommer



Me and Ron Shudra





Me and Tim Cranston

Before the 2011/12 squad stepped onto the ice I witnessed what is the greatest honour any Ice hockey player can get: his shirt number being retired, raised to the raters to hang and remined others that they should play hard, work hard and one day they will be rewarded. Tommy Plommer was that player we were honouring and thanking. I thought it was touching that he got given his Captin's shirt that was raffled off to a fan and that she kindly offered to give it back to its owner. Was a very touching moment for us all.

When the current squad entered you could tell that this season we has a rougher, tougher, bigger roster. I would not like to mess with any of the team as they looked like they ment buisness. The first goal of the match was scored by young Tom Squires who I have to say has stepped up and is doing more pushing and shoving on the boards! The 1st period showed us all how the teams were pretty much evenly matched in strenth and skill.

The 2nd period showed continued strengh for the Steelers as new enforcer Colt King scored on a powerplay and na-na-na-nineteen Rod Sarich scored a shorthanded goal giving them a 3-0 lead. You could tell that the Devils were nervous with the new tough Steelers as even Brad Voth would not mess with them even after he got taken down in the middle of the ice.

The Devils did not give up during the 3rd period and scored 2 goals. Jeff Pierce started the puck rolling giving team mate Kenton Smith the courage to score minutes after he did. despite the good start by the Devils they didnt manage to get any more past DeCaro who I have to say did a fine job today and I trust him to shut out the opposition in the future!

Coach Ryan Finnerty and Mike Ramsay

Both teams 2011/12 roster on the ice

To end a good weekend of Steeler wins I sat down on Sunday to watch the Eurohockey bronze medal game between England and Belguim (as mentioned above)

The game started strong for the England squad with an early goal by Richard Mantell from a short corner/penalty corner. Belguim eqaualised soon after with a Goal from Da Paeuw. Da Paeuw's goal was put under review after a challange from England over  dangerous ball, the goal was allowed when reviewed as the ref saw no problem.

The 2nd half shows Belguim playing well, their fast paced play makes it hard for us to keep up however it does not stop Alexander or Tindall from giving it their all. One thing I have noticed is that England are not looning as dangerous and Belguim today and teh Belguims deserved that goal to get them back into the game.

The whistle blew and the result was 1-1 so it goes down to 7 mins extra time each way. England have a mountain to climb to get back into the game mentally and physically as Belguim have been frustating the squad and using that anger to aid them.

England conquerd their anger and managed to win the game 2-1 with a stunning back handed goal from Tindal - ENGLAND GET THE BRONZE MEDAL!!!!!

All in all what a great weekend it has been!

Club FS - better then all the rest?

This week has been a rather distant one for me as I have been in Northampton on a hockey camp, miles away from my beloved house of steel and unable to hear any Steelers related news until I got home.

So before I tell you about my week on camp I will tell you about the news that we have a new forward set to step onto the ice. That forward is Mike Ramsay who scored 64 times in the two seasons that he played for the Jackalopes. Ramsay is set to fill the skates of fan favorite Joey Talbot who recently retired, no pressure Mike!



Mike Ramsay (Photo from eliteprospects)

 Ok so back on track now! For an whole week I have been on a hockey camp with futures sports, improving my hockey and making new friends. When I got there I was delighted that I had my own room as it meant that I would get a good nights sleep - oh how I was wrong! The sound proofing was not great in the rooms so you could hear everything that went on in the building, I solved the problem by sleeping with my Ipod in my ears! On the plus side view from my room was stunning! It over looked the college grounds, I think I spent alot of my free time gazing at the many animals that were frolicing in the fields: llamas, Alpacas, pigs and sheep to name a few!

We did'nt just do hockey on camp either we did many other activites! Orienteering, Rock climbing, spinning, stength and conditioning but by far the best was the day spent doing water sports! We built rafts in two teams and raced to see who's was better. My team won by default as the other raft fell to pieces in the finnishing straight, we then started a rescue mission and in the end everyone was standing on one raft (untill the weight got too much and that one broke aswell). We then headed out on kayaks and canoes and played a water version of bulldog!

During the spin session I felt right at home, probally one of the only times I felt really happy over the entire week. The reason may sound a bit silly to you but while I was cycling all the songs that were being played were ones that the Steelers play during their warm ups! I could not hide the smile I had on my face as happy memories of last season came to mind!

Also one of the coaches, Greg, soon became one of my favorite as he was the spitting image of ex-Pens player Max Talbot (now plays for the Flyers).  Yes its a silly reason to like someone but once again he reminded me of home and the hours I spent last season watching the Penguins play!

Another non ice hockey related highlight of the trip was going to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. The film was amazing and packed with laugh out loud moments! If you have not yet seen it then I suggest you get you arse in gear and go to your local cinema NOW!

I had a great time at camp and met many new friends that I hope to keep in touch with, however I did struggle to cope being so far away from family and my friends back home and would like to thank them for the phone calls when they had to put up with me crying and making very little sense! Thanks for being there for me guys!

Club FS - one big family (photo by Alice Reed)

The 2011 London Cup

I may have left school but that did not stop me going on what has become one of my best high school memories!

My best friend, Ana and I got the opportunity to go to watch the London cup in Chiswick with our old school. Watching 4 teams, 2 games and high spirited fans made it a day that we shall never forget! As soon as we got to the tournament the excitement and energy hit us, the players and fans alike were smiling and chatting on their way to the pitch. Having not been before I found it rather overwhelming!

The first match of the day was New Zealand vs Korea. Now being a girl there was one thing I noticed straight away - New Zealand were drop dead gorgeous! As well as being the most attractive team it turned out they were rather good as they beat Korea 2-0. Simon Child scored a great goal, sneaking past two Korean defence men in the first half to give New Zealand an early lead. Korea tried hard to equalize but New Zealand were two strong and scored again with 53 seconds left of the game!

  

New Zealand defending their net. (photo by me)



After the game I became a groupie (so to speak) of the New Zealand team as I was determined to get autographs and have a photo taken with Stephen Jenness (see below)



Me and Stephen Jenness (Photo by Ana)



The second game was the one we had all been waiting for; England vs Belgium. This was Ana's time to shine as she knew the squad off by heart so she couls cheer them on at the top of her voice! The first half showed a very strong start from the England lads as they were soon 2-0 up with stunning goals from Richard Alexander and Glenn Kirkham. Belgium soon fought back and seconds before half time made it 2-1.

The second half showed a whole new game come to life as Belgium got another 3 goals past England's goal keeper James Fair to win the game 4-2. This was an unexpected result but its fair to say I am very proud of the England squad and so were everyone else as a huge cheer erupted from the crowd at the end of the match.


England defending against the Belgium player Thomas Briels (photo by me)





Once again we became groupies after the game as we hung around with the England players getting autographs. Ana even managed to get a photo with her favourite player Simon Mantell (see below), I don't think I had ever seen her so quiet when she made her way back to me!

 


Ana and Simon Mantell (photo by Ana)

  If anyone is thinking about going to the London cup in the future I highly recommend it as you meet so many people; players and fans! So hopefully I will see you all there next year! thank you!











A new dawn, a new day

So this week has been rather interesting for the Steelers as owner Paul Ragan decided to focus 100% on his other team the Cardiff Devils. This left the Elite League Champions in the hands of Sheffield born Tony Smith, who's commitment and professionalism will keep the Steelers on form. Welcome to the family Tony!

I would also like to welcome our new British winger Lee Esders to the house of Steel. Lee played for the Hull Stingrays last season and picked up 13 points in 53 games. I am positive that he will be great for our team and will flourish under Ryan Finnerty's coaching. I look forward to seeing Lee on the ice in a Steelers jersey!


Lee Esders
(from Hull and East Riding paper)

Moving on to field hockey now, I played for Wakefield hockey club today against rivals Wakefield Wanderers. Despite dominating the pitch we lost 2-0 due to the hard hits of the Wanderers 3 forwards. I would like to thank all the my girls as todays game was great, we may have lost but our spirits remained high! Would also like to thank the umpires, especially the young man who started chatting to me, you were lovely! Should have got his number really!

Bye for now! x




Wakefield Hockey club



Any hockey is better than no hockey!

The last game of the hockey season was the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup Final. Boston beat the home team Vancouver 4-0 with goals from two skilled players Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Marchand sealed the Bruins win by scoring a last minute empty net goal after the Canucks pulled their netminder in a last chance attempt to score. Tim Thomas the Bruins netminder once again stood strong and shut out Vancouver - no wonder he got MVP! This win is the first time Boston have won the Stanley Cup since 1972 and I have got to say it was worth getting up at 1am to watch this amazing feat (who needs sleep when you have hockey?)

Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images

However when the game ended and the Bruins celebrated I did not celebrate, before you ask no I'm not a Canucks fan! The reason I did not join in with the celebrations was due to a case of off season blues! What do I do now since there is no ice hockey and no field hockey? Simple answer was to help out with my hockey club.

Today was a good example of me helping out, teaching 9-year-olds how to play hockey. Normally I don't like coaching kids as they never seen to listen to me but I found it rather enjoyable today, teaching them about the game I love and live by. One kid turned up in a Toronto Maple Leafs shirt, ok it's not ice hockey but it's still a form of hockey so he became legend of the day! It made me smile knowing that he was a fellow ice hockey and field hockey fan!

Ok thats all for today folks - thanks for reading :)