5 For Thinking:Skydome Memories

5 FOR THINKING

SKY DOME MEORIES

So a few weeks back we had the NIHL Final 4 in Coventry. As I said in the last 5 for Thinking Coventry is very much my spiritual hockey home. It’s the city where I turned my life around and the city where I was baptised as a UK hockey fan and got the first stages of my education in the sport. Every year when I go back to Coventry for the play off weekend it’s a very nostalgic experience for me. I have, and will always feel a special connection to the Skydome and various sites around the city, most notably the Cathedral. As that was the spot I made the decision I wanted to attend university at Coventry.

      

   

               
This year possibly marked a big change for me in terms of my relationship with the Coventry play offs. The splitting up of the leagues means that this coming season I could be faced with the choice of following Streatham in the play offs in April or heading to Coventry to spend time with all the friends I have made over the years from the other fan bases. I know to some that may seem a no-brainer, but for me personally right now it’s a tough choice because my hockey friends represent a sort of found family for me. Who with the splitting of the leagues I may struggle to see next season. This had me contemplating all the memories I have of my time in Coventry over the course of that weekend. So today I would like to reminisce about my 10 favourite memories of the Skydome.

1. First Ever Blaze Game

September 22^nd 2008. It was my first night in Coventry having only moved in to halls that very day. And I was excited to explore my new city and finally get a taste of live hockey for the first time in my life. I have seen countless games since then, but this game will always stick in my mind. It was the game I was introduced to Blaze’s most famous line combo the ACDC line. Blaze had ripped the Panthers D apprt 10 minutes in to build a 4-0 lead. As first games go it was incredibly entertaining and I knew from that night on I was hooked as Blaze ran out 6-5 winners on the night. It is a night I will never forget as it was the night that a course was set in my life, a course that would inter twine my involvement with hockey with my future career path

2.All The Games I commentated for SITV

Scorched Ice TV was, for lack of better words my baby. A highlights channel for the NIHL 1 team of the Coventry Blaze. I owe my degree to the whole project as it was editing and working on SITV  that lead in to my career as an editing assistant. SITV was designed as a method to gain more filming and editing experience both for myself and my fellow students, while getting some new exposure for the Blaze B team. In my second year on the project I had found myself in position as producer and been promoted to on air personality as a commentator and presenter.

Partnered with Paul Wheeler I got an incredible education in the game and how it actually worked. I grew from just a fan, who always saw things through the rose tints to a fan who could see the break down of the play. As would later be remarked on my playing ability, if only my body could keep up with the way my mind was playing the game I’d be lethal. It wasn’t just the education I got though, SITV was an immense amount of fun. Working with Paul was a joy as we developed quite a good dynamic working well with each other and having many a laugh along the way. Be it on the broadcast, away in Whitley Bay or in the stands at Nottingham nothing could stop Paul and I chirping players while analyzing the way they played.

The Night Wheeler and I were at Maximum Snark in Nottingham

3. Blaze V Panthers Bench Clearance

As my time in hockey has progressed, so to have my feelings on the sport and its core elements. While I loved a good fight back in the day, nowadays with all the info about CTE and other brain injuries we have seen come out of hockey my feelings on fighting have become somewhat different. There are now times I feel a fight can be warranted, others not so much. In the case of December 4^th 2010 when the Coventry Blaze and Nottingham Panthers played one another it was certainly one of those nights where a fight was warranted.

The tense Blaze Vs Panthers rivalry exploded in the first bench clearing brawl British Hockey had seen in years. Following Tom Darnell's poor officiating of the game, combined with his failure to protect Brett Jaeger from repeated attempts by Panthers players to aggravate a back injury Jaeger had suffered by falling on him and crashing the net hard. The game had grown tense and bad tempered, or chippy as we say. Then it all exploded in a flash point, having been thrown out of the game for protesting another soft call against him Brad Cruikshank decided to give Nottingham a taste of its own medicine, and ran the Panthers net minder as he was leaving the ice. Both benches would clear and a brawl the likes of which I hadn’t seen took place.

This makes the list quite purely because it was a very fun night, and the hockey game around it was another bad tempered yet enjoyable Panthers Blaze rivalry game. But also because it was one of those, I was there moments in UK hockey history.

4. BISON 4-0 TELFORD
Breaking The Dragons Curse

The 2018 Play Off weekend was a memorable and fun one in itself without the hockey. Following the total collapse of EPL hockey the NIHL had been forced in to a working relationship with its wealthier cousins. There was some concern the NIHL sides fan bases would not buy in to an EPIHL style play off weekend format. This of course wasn't helped by the final 4 teams being EPL sides, Basingstoke,Sheffield,Peterborough and Telford. However when the Whitley Warriors fans arrived in forced and brought the party with them all those fears went away. They started a conga line around the dome, they turned up in fancy dress, they chanted for the Bison. In short they were the life of the party.

The Eyes Of The Dragon. Awaits to feed on the title hopes of the Bison

Of course while all this was happening, there was hockey to be played. Having won the NIHL South 1 league title the Bison had drawn the Coventry Blaze locker room, or the cursed locker room for those who believe in such things(me included) over the previous seasons I had seen the Dragons curse(so named for the dragon face painted on the doors at the entrance players entering from this locker room use) claim the play off aspirations of all the league winners who had occupied it.

Saturday had seen the Bison and Telford qualify for the play off final. Setting up a grudge match of sorts between two teams with a recent and bad tempered history that stretched back to the previous years play off weekend. To say I was nervous was an understatement, both teams were stacked with talent and the Tigers were desperate to end their play off trophy drought. The game would see Big rink speed and skill, vs small rink grit grind and toughness.

Images Courtesy 5 Hole Photography

The nerves were killing me, if there is one thing I had come to hate more than anything in hockey in recent times it had been losing to the Tigers. All logic and reason of how the ice surface size suited the Bison more than the Tigers had left me, all I could think was how this Tigers team had beaten a Phantoms side the Bison had struggled with that season. And how Bison had only just got by Sheffield in a far from dominant performance.

What followed though a 4-0 win for the Bison was an incredible game of hockey. Its not often that I will describe a 4-0 game as incredible, and there is possibly a degree of emotional attachment due to my adoptive team winning it. But I still remember how I leapt out of my seat as Vanya Antonov fired the wrister in that made it 4-0. The treble of trophies was sealed and the party went on in to the night as the curse of the Dragon was broken. 

5. Bison Win The Play Off Championship

The 2014 Play off weekend was my first weekend back in Coventry as a hockey fan. And it was only a few months in to my time with the Bison fan base. It was kind of an eye opening weekend for me, as for a long time I hadn’t really been making friends at hockey. But in the space of one evening I made several friendships that have lasted to this day. Both within the Bison fan base and without.  It could have been a very lonely weekend if not for this and my former Panthers team mate Chris Neve being around to keep me company I don’t think I would have had the fun I did. Which may have impacted my wanting to some back.

The 2014 play off weekend was the culmination of a season of hope for Bison. Having narrowly been piped by the Manchester Phoenix for the league title, the Bison found themselves up against derby rivals the Guildford Flames in the semi final game. It was a game that saw Nicky Chinn role back the years and go end to end to score a sublime goal. The Bison would prevail setting up a final encounter with the Phoenix. A grudge match showdown between the league two best teams. While the Phoenix would take the lead the Bison would claw it back, and it would be a thrilling bomb from the blue line by Tom Karpov that would seal the deal as the Bison won 5-3 to seal a challenge cup and play off double.

6. First Practice as a Panther

2008 wasn’t just the year I began watching hockey, it was also the year I began playing hockey again. At 16 I had convinced my parents to buy me the kit to play roller hockey. I was thrilled to be trying my hand at hockey. It lasted one practice, during a training drill I took a hit and was thrown one way, while my leg went the other. The result was a broken tibula and fibula that had to be plated and pinned. For a long time I didn’t want to think about hockey, and never wanted to play again. But over time I came to see that I shouldn’t let the fear of getting injured ruin my interaction with something I loved.

So in 2008 one Thursday night I grabbed my gear and headed to the Skydome for the open practice of the Warwick Panthers. From the moment I arrived it was apparent to many on the team I was nervous. Luckily several of the players(most noteably our goalie Dave Nicol) took the time to calm me down and try to ease my worries. However I did insist on being put in the learn to skate section as apposed to the main B team as I didn’t feel my skating was good enough. However the coach would have none of this and insisted I train with the the B team as I had full kit.

In retrospect this was the best course of action so I am grateful on his insistence I do this. Because I was forced to play in a full kit scrimmage. During that scrimmage I took a hit, just like I had all those years before. In that moment I expected to hit the ice and feel the embrace of pain shooting through some part of my body, indicating I had broken a bone of some variety. But as my senses adjusted I realised I felt nothing, there was no pain. Just a desire to get back in the game and play. With one hit I had gotten over the fear I had been carrying around. And while I spent the rest of the season training with the stick and puck guys to get up to speed I would go on in my second and third years to join up with the B team. While I was never going to be Gretzky those 2 years would give me an escape, a safe place and an accomplishment I never thought I'd have in being a championship winning hockey player. 

7. First Home Game as a Panther.

A year after that first practice I got to play my first home game at the skydome. I had already had my first game a few days before in Peterborough. But a home game was a completely nerve wracking prospect for me. I had friends and my partner in attendance at this game, far from providing a calming influence this was making me more nervous. Luckily the team we were playing was a team made up largely of new players like myself so it wasn’t like I was being thrown to the wolves out on the ice.

Being part of the 4^th line with my new friend Chris Neve was a bonus as well, and we had already established a chemistry with our line mate Simon in the first game. I had an ok game, and was able to get some shots on net, and discovered the beginnings of my skills as a face off taker. But my best moment was providing the assist that lead to Simon getting a break away for a goal. I could not be prouder of you, were the words of a friend, you'd think I had set up the Stanley Cup winning goal the way they described it. Irregardless it was an incredible night for me, the first of many with my team mates as we romped to three titles in 2 seasons.

8. Blaze Lift EIHL Trophy

There is something very special about seeing your team lift a trophy. As a Toronto Maple Leafs fan this is something that I obviously have not and many will say likely will never experience. The 2008/09 season had been a so close yet so far season for Blaze fans. Beaten to the league title and play offs by the Sheffield Steelers the team needed to bounce back in 2009/10.

The final 2 days of the season rolled around and the Blaze had somehow squandered multiple chances to put the league title to bed. Going in to the final weekend of the season the Blaze had 2 games, away in Edinburgh on Saturday and home to league title challengers the Belfast Giants on Sunday. I remember it being one of the tensest weekends I had experienced in a long time. I lay on my bed in my halls room listening to the online updates come in as the Blaze struggled to beat a Caps side they should be able to brush aside. The game went to over time, and I will forever remember the moment my friend turned to me and said “you’re about to go absolutely nuts” as they read the update. This was followed by the goal horn animation the site used and several complaints from flat mates as I blew the roof off celebrating the Blaze’s OT winner. This made the final home game vs Belfast a dead rubber game, the Blaze were league champions.

Blaze would lose the game the next day as both sides played their back up netminders for the game. But it didn’t matter at all, the Blaze had triumphed and delivered another league title to add to the banners in the rafters of the Skydome. Sadly this memory now stands out so high on the list because of the fact I was witnessing the last league title the Blaze would not only win but also come even close to winning in the last decade. Some play off success has followed but nothing close to a league title. Meaning this is another I was there moment in hockey history for me

9. Pirates V Phantoms NIHL Final 4 Final 2019

The 2019 NIHL final 4 weekend was as I said, something of an emotional weekend for me. The questions around whether I would be back, heading off down memory lane when I was alone on Friday evening. And of course after all I had seen come to pass over two seasons I was feeling a bit burnt out on UK hockey. But over the course of 48 hours my love for the game was well and truly reignited by 2 amazing games of hockey.

The first was the incredible comeback by the Hull Pirates to defeat the Bracknell Bees in the semi final on the Saturday. I just loved the Pirates offensive style of play. It was ultimate run and gun hockey, they may score 8 we will score 9. The following days NIHL 2 final was just as much fun, watching 2 teams throw it all on the line and seeing a player score 5 goals as his team won the NIHL 2 final. Combined with being reunited with my partner in crime when it came to yelling at clouds Anthony had me smiling ahead of the final.

Peterborough VS Hull on paper looked like it would be a win for the Phantoms. I wont lie I am not a fan of the Phantoms style of hockey, sitting back and only gunning things when they get a lead is just very boring hockey to me. However the Phantoms had won 2 championships that season off the back of it so it worked. It would be a clash with Hulls run and gun style, a style that could see the Pirates fail as a result, we all settled in and wondered what we were about to see.

What we got was possibly the second best game of hockey I have ever seen at the skydome. I am in no way a Pirates fan but I became emotionally invested in seeing them win(that’s the magic of the play offs) It was a pendulum of a game with one side scoring before another followed shortly after. It seemed nothing could break the deadlock before disaster struck. Sonny Karlson the Pirates star forward was injured by a stray puck to the face. It seemed all was lost, as the Phantoms took the lead. But in a moment straight out of a movie Karlson would return and score the 5^th Goal for Hull to seemingly sew it up. But only 4 minutes later James Ferrara would fire in the equaliser. As if this game didn’t need more drama it went to overtime. We all sensed it was Phantoms to win, but a series of saves from Hulls Netminder Ashley Smith set the stage for Matt Davies to set up Bobby Chamberlain for the game winner. It was an incredible way to end the season and for me personally it completed a symmetry as I felt I had begun the league season with a game just as entertaining, that had also gone to OT between Streatham and MK. But most importantly I was finidng hockey fun again

10.Coventry Blaze Vs Manchester Phoenix OT Thriller

January 24^th 2009 The best game of hockey I have ever seen at the Skydome. My 23^rd birthday was spent where else but at the Skydome. I had gathered my friends and promised them an evening of great entertainment. And the Blaze delivered this in spades, not with one of their best performances in terms of game play. But in terms of entertainment this game hand down was the most I have been entertained at a hockey game.

Blaze would come out flat to begin with and would struggle as the Phoenix stretched out in to a 2 goal lead before Blaze would pull one back. I was hopeful at this point the Blaze would then pull level and win the game. But this wasn’t the case as the Phoenix capitalised on a nightmare night for goalie JF Perras to score 2 more goals and make it 4-1. All seemed lost, its all over before we are even half way one of my friends said to me.The fightback would begin as Sylvain Deschataletes and  Russ Cowley scored to make it 4-3. But the pendulum of fate would swing the other way again as the Phoenix would score 2 in succession to make it 6-3 Phoenix in the third period. It seemed the Phoenix were going to put a dampner on my birthday celebrations.

But then came the most incredible few minutes of hockey I have ever witnessed at the Skydome. First Dan Carlson would feed a waiting Adam Calder centred on net who would fire it with power by Stephen Murphy to make it 6-4. Still I didn’t see the comeback coming off, but when Carlson and Calder set up Swede Erik Hjalmarsson to slot it 5-hole on Murphy, suddenly there was hope that the comeback could happen. 

With less than a minute left head coach Paul Thompson would pull the goalie for the extra attacker deploying all his big guns on one line. The puck would be fired in and Dan Carlson would work hard in the corner to feed the puck out to Sylvain Deschateles in the slot who would fire it in to level the score at 6-6 and send the game to overtime.
 

Overtime would see the come back completed as Barrie Moore and Danny Stewart would find a way to break in 2 on 1 on the Phoenix defence. Moore would feed Stewart who would force a pad stack save attempt out of Murphy but it wasn’t enough as the puck would sail in to the net and give Blaze the win 7-6. A game Blaze didn’t really deserve to win but it was an incredible game to witness live. And will forever be the best memory I hold of my days at the Dome.

There have been many other fine memories I have had in the dome over the years. But these have always been the ones that stand out in my mind no matter how new or old they are. The Skydome may be a bit of a concrete monster, not really designed to host hockey and it may have a sticky floor. But to me it will always be a home away from home. A place where I have laughed, cheered and not so much cried but been made to feel gutting low points. But its also a place I will always associate with some of my greatest personal accomplishments in life. So here's to hopefully another 10 years of memories to come. 

Taking Fligh:One Door Closes Another Opens

TAKING FLIGHT

Welcome to Taking flight. Where here on the blog we take a look at the new faces, the familiar faces and the faces departing the club. The new season is still a while off, and the old season has only just ended but already the club has begun assembling a squad to make an assault on the "new NIHL 1". Thats right new NIHL 1, or as I should say old NIHL 1. As everything old is new again, the EPL sides who dominated things for the past 2 seasons have departed for the newly named National league and the head coach of the Streatham Redhawks now has to build  a squad capable of competing for trophies against some very familiar old faces as the league welcomes back the Oxford Stars,Solent Devils,Bracknell Hornets,and Chelmsford Chieftains along with the rise of the Slough Jets and Romford junior team. To line up with the returning MK Thunder and Invicta Dynamo's. There are rumors of a retun to NIHL 1 for the Cardiff Fire as well but for now we are a 9 team league again, but a 9 team league on a more even playing field.

ONE DOOR CLOSES

On the eve of the play offs the club was rocked by the announcement that head coach Jeremy Cornish would not be returning for the 2019/20 season. When ever a coach departs from a team the accepted practice is for us to asses his body of work and decided if it was a success. The hard and fast method would be to look at the wins and loses column, and how many trophies were won under Jeremy's tenure. Of course a quick look at these would reveal more loses than wins over the last 2 seasons, and a slightly more even record over the course of the season where Corny took over from Nicky Chinn. Eliminations in the quarter finals and semi finals of the play offs and NIHL cups all show a lack of silverware. So a failure right? No, by no means was Jeremy Cornishes run as coach a failure. He turned the team around in 2016 and coached it to a 3rd place finish. There are ways other than trophies and games won to asses the success of a coach. 

First I must point to the obvious, the last 2 seasons saw the Redhawks going up against significantly stronger opposition with the arrival of the EPL sides. And it may sound like I am making excuses but that accounts in my mind for the fact he coached more loses than wins here in Streatham. Jeremy Cornishes success comes in the change he has fostered at the club, Streatham suffers from a problem a lot of NIHL teams do that fosters an environment of stagnation rather than progress. That being the clubs location in Southwest London works against it. Players can't afford to move to the area, import signings are going to be players who moved here for work reasons or university. So the club for a long time saw itself bringing in what it could get and familiar faces combined with graduates from the junior system. Jeremy Cornish changed all that, the club changed in to a place players wanted to come and play from far and wide, as was evidenced by the club picking up a large portion of the Isle Of Wight Raiders players who found themselves without a team after the Raiders demise. And then over the past two seasons bringing in EPL level stalwarts like Michael Farn,Ryan Watt, Adam Carr Ben Russell,Rupert Quinney and Liegh Jamieson, while also landing one of the best imports in the league last year in Alex Roberts. The teams built over the last 3 seasons would certainly count as title challengers in the old NIHL 1 and this new NIHL 1. It was fate however that undid these plans as after the 17/18 side was assembled the EPL collapsed. Overnight a title contended became mid table fodder. In spite of this Cornish has left the foundations of something potentially special for his replacement to work with going forward. 

However ultimately Cornys tenure has fallen victim to the same restrictions that impact hockey recruitment at this level. Being based on the South coast meant Corny had a lot of travel time to put in for games and training sessions. This has an impact on work life and of course family life, and so it was totally understandable that Jeremy made the respectable decision to step down in order to spend time with his family. Hockey will always be there, but we don't always have all the time in the world with our loved ones. Good luck in all you do Jeremy we will miss you here in Streatham 

ANOTHER OPENS

It didn't take long for the club to announce the incoming replacement for Jeremy Cornish. And instead of looking without,the club would look within. Benefiting from the change in recruitment that had taken place under Jeremy Cornish the club appointed current Captain Adam Carr as new Head Player Coach. When it comes to hockey, Carr has been there seen it all and worn multiple T-shirts. 3 time EPL champion,4 time play off champion former GB junior player and for a large part of his career in Milton Keynes, and of course here in Streatham he has been a team captain.

I am a huge fan of the player coach approach in UK hockey, it allows clubs to double the effect of resources outlayed on a single player. In this case the club has been able to exchange giving Carr his break in to coaching in exchange for a first line centre calibre player. Something which can prove costly and difficult to find but is a necessity to challenge for trophies. Certainly something Carr's firepower will provide as he is showing no signs of slowing down his totals in the points columns.

Carr is no stranger to leadership having been a Captain of hockey teams for the better part of 12 years now. Of course while coaching a team is very different to wearing the C, Carr will find there are more similarities than differences. While Captain he was expected to be a leader in the locker room, the same will be expected now as a coach but with the added edge that he sets the line ups, the plays and recruits the roster. Some may worry that tactics and recruitment may be an area he will struggle with, but when you consider Carr has played under Nick Poole, Pete Russell and Jeremy Cornish in his career I don't think there is anything to worry about. As he will no doubt have picked up a trick or two from these 3 legends of the British game.

Similarly Carr's ability to recruit shouldn't be a worry at all either. While new to the recruiting game, and while not carrying the aura that Jeremy Cornish does that made players want to travel to Streatham. He does have a long careers worth of contacts to call upon for scouting and potential recruitment targets. This makes the possibility of returns to the roster of groups like the MK connection(Farn,Russell and Jamieson) a good possibility. Being a member of the roster over the last 2 seasons and a leader in the locker room who no doubt had the respect of his team mates. Means that the possibility for retention of a large group of the teams core from the last 2 seasons could be quite high. Carr could possibly benefit from the strong foundations built by Jeremy Cornish.

Carr has no intention of his team being also rans as he has stated in press releases. But of course all championships are won in part by the teams construction. And Carr has hardly been inactive since the announcement of his signing.

FARNTASTIC

Adam Carr made quite a splash with his first signing as head coach. In a move I don't think anyone could have predicted. 2 time NIHL 1 all star defence man Michael Farn was announced a s returning to the club for the 2019/20 season. At 30 years old Farn is in what could be termed as the prime years for a D man. And as a 2 time member of the All Star team in NIHL 1 and with a wealth of championship winning experience behind him higher levels. It came as no surprise that Farn had received offers from clubs heading up to the new National league. However for some there is more to hockey than just money. And so Farn has opted to stay and help his friend and head coach finish what he feels they started when they signed here 2 seasons ago.

In Farn the club gets exactly what it needs, a no nonsense offensive D man who can stabilise and quarterback both the power play and the penalty kill. Having lead the league in assists and points for a defenseman over the last 2 seasons he brings a creative edge that will drive the play in all situations. Not only that but with Carr stepping up to the coaching role there is a vacancy for a new Captain. And Farn in my opinion fits the bill as an excellent candidate for the role. Having been an assistant captain last season he already has the experience of a leader. If the club can find a good stay at home D man to pair alongside him the first pairing will be hard for any team to deal with next season.

THE KING RETURNS

There is an old axiom in Hockey "build from the net out" what is meant by this is the first player you sign should be your starting goalie. Its an understandable approach, you can sign an entire team of all star defence men but if none of them can stop the player with the puck getting through its up to the goalie to be the last line of defence. In that event a coach needs to have a goalie who he knows will come up big in that situation. Damien King is certainly a goalie that fits in to that category.

Now while Kings numbers for the last two season do not look pretty, a .914 and .899 save percentage over the last two season on the surface would indicate a goalie in decline. But when you consider that most nights King was facing EPL calibre players we can excuse this. While his stats may not be pretty King came up with many huge saves that kept the Redhawks in games on many occasions last season, such as the 1-0 loss to Brackenll early in the season where King and Milton engaged in a goalie duel. But it is not just his play that will be invaluable for the team going forward, likely Nathan Gregory and Brett Shepperd will be returning to the team this coming season. And additionally with an NIHL 2 team coming in an experienced goalie with a championship winning calibre will be vital in helping the young goalies in the clubs system to develop.

The teams intent to compete for silverware this season has been stated by Michael Farn in his signing release. King is a goalie who has done just this, famously breaking the hearts of Chelmsford Cheiftan fans 3 years ago in the old NIHL play off final. With the way the "new look" NIHL is shaping up Kings pedigree and ability could certainly see him bounce back and help the team be challenging at the top end of the table. 

5 FOR THINKING:WHY I LOVE HOCKEY?

5 For Thinking:Why Do I love Hockey?

Why do I love hockey? It’s a question I have been asked by friend’s family and first dates alike over the years. To be a hockey fan in Britain makes me something of an oddity, while most men my age are in to football and rugby. I enjoy a sport where toothless Canadians hack each other with sticks between rounds of fisticuffs. At least that is the common public perception I fight against every time anyone, who has never set foot in a rink finds out about my love of hockey, before that question comes in to play. But this season I have found myself asking that same question of myself. Why do I love this game?

            The last two seasons for me as a fan of British ice hockey have been tough, there were times I wanted nothing more than for the season to be over. And anyone who knows me, knows that for me to make that statement alone is worrying. Me the guy who wears his hockey jerseys to work during the play offs, the guy who’s dream holiday was to spend 2 weeks  travelling Ontario making sure he stopped at every rink on the way there and back, me the teetotaller who swears he’ll only drink again if Leafs win the cup, wanting the season over its a concerning thought. But it’s not been the on ice product, that has entertained me as ever this year, in fact this season in Streatham has been some of the best value I’ve had for my ticket money in a long time. It’s been everything that came with it, from the EIHA seemingly powerless to stop the collapse of the EPL from destroying the NIHL and my love for the Coventry Blaze continuing to be tested by the teams acceptance it will never be more than a contender for 8^th place, and another season of players getting called out for homophobic, racist and sexist comments or actions I had grown tired of it all. And then something happened that changed all these feelings. I went back to my spiritual hockey home in Coventry for the play offs two weeks ago. I watched one of the best games I have ever seen at the Skydome. And I remembered in the moment that Bobby Chamberlain potted the OT winner, that I could care less about all that, and that I needed to find an answer to the question of why I loved the game so much?

My introduction to the sport doesn’t really go a long way to answering this question of course. It was 1995 and I was stood in a Toronto sporting goods store, staring up at a video screen running highlights of the NHL. At the time I had been playing rugby and was sort of getting interested in NFL. So my friends who I was staying with had decided to get me a CFL football and an Argo’s jersey. I left the store with a CFL football and a Maple Leafs hockey player key chain. In that moment a spark had been ignited in my brain, a spark that would come to shape my life. But at the time I had no real understanding of the game at all. I just knew I liked it, I guess you could put it in basic terms as I enjoyed the spectacle of it all.

            But loving the spectacle is not really a solid answer to me, certainly it is a part of my love of the game.  The thrill of seeing a forward skate end to end and roof the puck in to the net, the excitement of a bone crunching hit and the state of sheer dread that makes me want to run away and hide, yet keep watching as my team kills a penalty. Followed by the exhilaration as the goalie makes a game defining save.These all make up hockeys spectacle, that and the fights, but there are many things in my life I enjoy for the spectacle they represent. Everything from a live band to the latest episode of Game Of Thrones. And yet none of these have inspired this devotion in me that meant I would end up uttering the sentence “I’m sorry I have hockey that day” a lot in my life(Ok maybe GOT but come on its Game Of Thrones). A sentence that has strained and I am sure broken friendships and relationships for me in the past. All because I had to witness or be part of the spectacle on the ice. 

            But then if it’s not solely the spectacle what else can it be, an obsession maybe? It certainly can be said I am obsessed with the sport. So much so that one of my criteria’s for choosing a university was access to a hockey arena so I could have another try at playing the game after my attempt earlier in life ended in training session 1 with a broken leg. In that regard I am very lucky that Coventry accepted me in 2007 for a place on their course in 2008. I had no idea that this decision would see hockey shaping my life from university onward. Both in my professional, and personal life. When I stepped in to the Skydome one September night I was clueless to the fact I’d be turning a spark in to a Blaze that would burn through my life

            To some in the sport it may seem odd for me to make such a claim, I never laced them up for a pro team, I didn’t spend years on the buses going toe to toe with the best imports.  But in retrospect hockey has shaped so much of what I did at university and what I have done after. Case in point would be my career. When I was at university I spent so much time at the rink friends joked I should have it listed as my address. I was always there either filming, playing or watching a game, in fact my dad has often remarked I didn’t get my degree in media production I got it in Hockey.  

In 2007 my life was a smouldering crater, I had wasted the potential I had shown and was working in retail. The only thing that kept me sane was using my imagination to come up with short story and film script ideas when working in the stock room. It soon dawned upon me I could put this creative energy to better use. And so in 2008 armed with A-Levels in Film, Media and English Language and Literature I headed to Coventry University to try and find my way as a creative. I had high ideas of being the next Lucas or Spielberg. But instead hockey showed me the way I wanted to go. In my second year I began a project filming highlights for the Blaze B team. For the next two years I would tinker and toy with the video editing programmes and learn the skills that would see me avoid the minefield of entry level media positions and land in the operations department of a major UK broadcaster, and has seen me go on to land my dream job with another. And I had hockey to thank for all of it.

Me and the Original SITV crew 

Running my mouth on air with Paul Wheeler

            

University can often be a scary time for many fresher’s, far from home making your own way in the world it can all seem overwhelming for some. It of course felt like this for me and so while it was great to have something like hockey to anchor learning my skills to. Over time the sport became more than that for me, it became what it has continued to be for me to this day. A form of escape, from everything going on in my day to day life. Regardless of how bad the week had been, regardless of how my flatmates were driving me nuts or how long distance was putting a strain on my relationship. I had the Skydome and the Blaze ten minutes up the road on a Sunday and for 2 hours I could just let all my anger out in the direction of opposition players.

But it wasn’t just the chance to yell at the opposition I wanted anymore, I wanted to play the game. I wanted to put to rest the demon in my mind of what had happened at my first roller hockey practice. I wanted a chance to get back some of what I had missed when I had given in to fear and quit roller hockey. Warwick Panthers gave me an opportunity to do all of this. In my first training session I took a hit in to the boards. As I flew through the air my mind went back to that night in Reading when my leg had snapped, I waited to feel that same agony course through me, to have to crawl to the bench. But then I hit the ice and realised nothing was wrong, and I got up and never looked back. It was the beginning of 3 years where I would have the best of times with my team mates, as we travelled the country dominating teams in the BUIHA Div 3. I look back on it now and think of them all fondly as a sort of family away from home.

The unstoppable Warwick Panthers B Team. 4th Line For Life

         In the second and third years, and beyond I found I would need this escape and found family more than ever due to mounting pressures in my home life. My partner at the time had been accepted to Coventry, at the time our relationship was not in the best of places. I won’t go further than that for detail but things were tense, there were so many times I was glad to have the Panthers training sessions and games to just get away for a few hours and hit the puck around. I know when two people have problems the solution isn’t to run away, but at that time in my life having hockey around as an escape and distraction was very welcome. I learned my lessons here though, and while I am glad hockey gave me a reason to get away from my problems. I learned in future to face a problem and not hide away.

Graduation Day with my Best friend Keshia(Man was I fatter then)

            Graduation would come and my life would shift again. The skills hockey had taught me in the edit suite and the team work skills I had learned on the ice would see me land at a UK broadcaster doing a job I loved using the software I loved. But all was not well on the home front, and sadly that year I would choose to end my relationship 6 years gone like that. In the cold emptiness that was the aftermath I looked around for an anchor or a guiding star to help me, for my friends. I had thrown so much of myself in to trying to make the relationship work that I had sacrificed friendships and drifted away from people I cared about. I was fortunate that the ones who remained helped get me back on my feet. But I was in Reading, my best friend Keshia was in Weston, Linds was in Warwick,Chris was in Coventry still and Ed was in London. I knew next to no one save one person in the Reading area my friend Matt. I was a broken husk of my former self. Massively over weight, low on self-confidence and worth and had the people skills of a potato. I needed a way back, and guess how I found it.

            If you guessed hockey, your only half right. My friends of course where a big help, especially my friend Matt who dragged me kicking and screaming to the gym 3 days a week. But I needed that anchor, that escape that  beacon of hope I’d had in Coventry. Luckily I found it, down in Hampshire just an hour or so away, in the Basingstoke Bison. I still remember my first game, I remember entering the arena feeling scared of being in this new environment, wearing my Panthers shirt with pride but still worried about how I’d be received. But in the end I didn’t need to worry, I spent the night talking with a nice chap next to me and my anxiety melted away. Over time the anxiety and low confidence faded and as I found a favoured spot in C block I made new friends. The man who taught me all I know about yelling at clouds Anthony, fellow Leafs fan Debs her husband Phil, my Swindon road trip buddy Eleanor and of course the two ladies who kept me best in check Jess and Hannah.  And of course my adoptive hockey family, the Blakemores. Over that time I have even come to find friends in fan bases outside of my own in the Swindon boys. In 2013 when I first entered the Basingstoke arena, I would never have dreamed of walking in to the away end to talk to fans, or even fans of my own team. Now to everyone's annoyance you can't shut me up, and I will happily engage any fan in conversation.  
I found confidence again, and I found a new me thanks to this wonderful found family of mine. Each had an influence in finishing my hockey education, and helping me become a sociable humam being again. And that has transferred in to a confidence outside the rink to put myself in to social situations and make new friends I would have run away from back in 2013. 

Family isn't always bound by blood. 

The Swindon Boys

Me Jess and Anthony pre last years play off final.

Eleanor had had enough of me this night

Maz!

My Hockey Mum and Dad Gary and Carol

With that new sense of confidence came a new sense of adventure and self-understanding, I grew as a person thanks to these new friends. When you go from having someone to always go to events with you to having no one with you the idea of going places alone can become a bit daunting. But this found family taught me I shouldn’t let opportunity pass by because I didn’t want to go it alone(well mainly Jess did) if it hadn’t been for that I wouldn’t have busted a gut to fulfil my life’s goal of a dream holiday to Canada to see the Leafs play. Having never flown abroad alone, I was at my most nervous. But I had so many incredible experiences on that trip, from all the games I saw,  to seeing the real Niagra, the sites of the war of 1812.Standing in the presence of a fully assembled T-Rex fossil at the Ontario museum. And of course the ultimate highlight of getting to touch the Stanley Cup. These were adventures I would not have had if not for hockey, and it giving me the drive to do so.

Making new friends along the way. This is Ty, who I met in the line for the mens room!

Probably my most cherished memory behind my first Leaf game. Meeting Lord Stanley's mug

London Knights game 

Saying hello to Buffalo

When I mentioned this drive the game has given me to a friend once, they made a comparison between my love of the game and some peoples devotion to religion. Sunday is a day of worship, and for those who believe it is important for them to attend church that day, growing up in a Catholic family I knew this all too well, my grandparents still attend church twice on a Sunday some times. The comparison was that, I felt that same need to be in my own house of worship every Saturday and Sunday. Certainly the fact that we hockey fans often refer to "the hockey gods"our worship of the teams logo and the team itself. Combined with the chanting and ritual dress we wear for games all have a religious overtone. Though not a believer myself religion brings great peace and solace to people as well as hope. And over the years the experiences I have had through the game, my dream job, making new friends who have greatly impacted on my life. Moving to Streatham to live with one such friend and taking the trip of a lifetime. All while cheering like a maniac along the way have given me that same kind of hope and happiness.  

I guess on reflection at the end of all this, there’s not just one reason why I love hockey there are many. It’s been a slow evolution over the years, much like any relationship the reasons you love someone or thing in this case build over time. It’s a sport that has given me incredible highs and gutting lows, a sport that has given me a found family, a sport that gave me dreams and helped me fulfil them. A sport that built me a career, and a sport that saved me when I needed it to. It’s just a sport to some, but to me it’s everything you’ve read above and I love it for all these and many more reasons.