It’s been quite the weekend so allow us to share what we took away from a weekend with a variety of talking points
1. Olympic spirit carries GB Women
There’s a lot to be said about the pride and passion whenever players pull on that GB jersey and the GB Women’s team showed it in spades over the weekend.
They may not be going on to the next stage of Winter Olympic qualifying, but there’s little doubt they’ve won a lot of new fans with their tenacious and heroic displays.
Mike Clancy has taken charge of his first competition and he has a wonderful foundation from which to build on looking ahead.
It didn’t go their way on Sunday against Korea, but performances like the ones they gave over the three games suggest this team could be heading for higher things.
Linden Springer has returned to the Elite League with a bang (PHOTO: Mark Ferriss)
2. Springer aiming for a new record
Presumably after being inspired by Liv Andersson’s London Marathon World record achievement last week, it must be what’s driving Linden Springer at Manchester Storm and his escalating penalty minutes.
His return to the game is exciting because we like guys like him in this league, but 57 penalty minutes in only five games this season must be some kind of achievement in the EIHL.
When you consider he reached 183 PIMs in two seasons playing just over 60 games in each season in his previous campaigns with Manchester, at this rate, he’ll surpass that in roughly 12 games time.
Steelers and Flames shared 19 goals this weekend (PHOTO: Dean Woolley)
3. Goals galore
If you ever attend or watch a Sheffield Steelers-Guildford Flames game, you’re guaranteed goals aplenty. Trust us on this.
This weekend’s meetings between the two saw 19 goals between them and in the 22 total games between them since Flames joined the Elite League, only one game has yielded less than five goals.
In those 22 games going back to September 2017, fans of both teams have seen 163 goals – that’s an average of 7.4 per game. Minds. Blown.
Flyers are still short of bodies and the sooner they get them, the better (PHOTO: Flyers Images)
4. Fife need bodies quickly
We like Fife. We like the fans and love the history and contribution they’ve made to the sport over the years, but this must be tough to see them like this.
Another three losses over the weekend puts them at zero for seven so far and is their worst ever start to an Elite League campaign since they joined the league in 2011.
Coach Todd Dutiaume has made it clear where the issues are, but he’s still crying out for players to help strengthen the team. He has to get them soon or it’s going to be a long year ahead.
Jason Hewitt is still scoring points for fun with Sheffield Steeldogs (PHOTO: Sheffield Steelers)
5. There’s life in the Steeldog yet
Jason Hewitt is definitely one of the good guys in ice hockey so, after Hull Pirates dropped out of the National League because of ongoing work at their rink, ‘Hewy’ needed a home for the season.
We suppose it was somewhat inevitable that he’s ended up at Sheffield Steeldogs this season and even at the ripe age of 38, he’s still showing the young ‘uns how it’s done.
Five goals and three assists this weekend, making it a total of 18 points in seven games has put him third in the points list for the Autumn Cup, with no sign of slowing down. There’s plenty more in the tank from the former GB international.
