Hockey and Hedgehogs, two things close to my heart

This week there has been some huge news from across the pond regarding ex-Steelers coach and player Ben Simon. The NHL team Chicago Blackhawks have hired Simon to coach their AHL feeder team Rockford IceHogs after they saw him lead the Steelers to Elite league victory last season. This is great news for Simon and being an ex-NHLer (he played for Atlanta Thrashers and Columbus Blue Jackets) he has plenty of experiance on the ice to bring to the IceHogs, hopefully he will become one of the best coaches in the league and who knows we might just see him coaching in the NHL in years to come.

However being a fan of the Steelers and a huge fan of Ben Simon and his work I feel an overwhelming sadness that Paul Ragan let Simon go. Ben did a great job last season for us as he was thrown in at the deep end with no past coaching experiance, his determination and patience with the entire team made them strong and his work paid off, we have the silverware to prove it! Still I wish Ben all the best in the future as he is one guy who really has inspired me.

Ben Simon on the ice for Sheffield (photo by me)

Now going of the topic for hockey for a bit to talk about another thing that is close to my heart, Hedgehogs. You may or may not know that I do charity work for Hegehugs a Hedgehog charity that takes in ill, injured hedgehogs in yorkshire and nurses them back to health ready for release.

I myself have taken in a little hog this week as we are over run with hedgehogs due to the lack of food in the wild. All this dry weather has resulted in the hogs starving as all the worms are too deep in the ground for them to get to and we often find them collapsed unable to move as they are just that weak. The hog I have was found in barnsley weak, starving and covered in fleas. He is now free of fleas but he had so many on him that the RSPCA that found him named him Fleasy Fred.

Fleasy Fred - happy and flea free! (photo by me)

If you want to help these beautifull creatures then please put out some food for them as times are tough for the little critters. They eat Cat food but DO NOT FEED THEM FISH BASED FOOD OR MEAT IN GRAVEY as they are really bad their health. Also DO NOT GIVE THEM MILK as once again this is bad for them and can cause many life threatening problems for hogs.

Please is you see a Hedgehog wanderin around in the daylight taking him/her to you nearist vet as this is an indicator that something is wrong as Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals and tend to be awake during the day when something is wrong with them. Also if you see a injured hedgehog on your travels wrap it up in a towel, coat or some other warm fabric and take it the vet.

Hedgehog numbers are decreasing in the Uk and the need your help! Please help them before its too late! Thankyou

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!











It's great waking up to Hockey...

Nothing better then starting your day by finding out that hot shot forward and fan favourite Jeff Legue has returned to the Sheffield Steelers for his 5th season on the Ice. The 29 year old Canadian even managed to prank David Simms before signing on the dotted line by sending David a photo of himself driving a Nottingham Panthers car - oh how it made me laugh when i saw it!



Jeff Legue during Steelers warm up



The day was put on a slight downer when it was announced that Jerramie Domish (a.k.a The Speed Demon) would not be returning to us as he has gone to rivals Coventry Blaze. Will miss him on our blue line but I wish him the best of luck in Coventry!

To end my day I watched the movie "Sex & drugs & rock & roll". I have to say it was a great movie about Ian Dury's life and I would recommend you watch it! However you can tell I am a huge hockey fan as I got majorly excited when I saw the character who plays Ian Dury's son in a Chicago Blackhawks jersey!

Thats all for today - thank you for reading