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.