Islanders Upset the Red Wings (Game Recap)

Detroit started this game without Pavel Datsyuk, out with a lower body injury and Ty Conklin started his 2^nd game in a row after an impressive game in Chicago Sunday night.

The opening exchanges in this one were fast and furious as both team put a lot of puck on net. Pandolfo and Rolston had shots from the circle that Conklin kicked away before Emmerton tipped a Helm pass onto the post and Helm put the rebound wide with a gaping net. Grabner then got in behind the RedWings defence but Conklin made the save as the forward tried to score on his backhand.

The Islanders continued to create the better chances as they put 13 shots on goal in the first 10 minutes alone but they were finding Ty Conklin on top form at the start of this one.

The Islanders couldn’t force home any of this pressure though and Detroit had a great chance on a late powerplay but Nabakov made a huge save diving back in his crease to get his stick on a

This set of a spell of powerplay chances as Brad Stuart then sat 4 minutes, 2 for Unsportsmanlike Conduct and 2 for Roughing.

As he sat the Islanders took the lead a Moulson tried to centre the puck across the crease to Tavares which hit Drew Miller’s skate and went in through Conklin’s legs. This was within the first 2 minute penalty on Stuart.

Another 2 minute penalty before the end of the period on the Islander’s Andrew MacDonald levelled the men on the ice for the 2^nd period but the home team had really dominated in spell’s during that 1^st period, taking 17 shots and a 1-0 lead into the break.

The 2^nd period started with Tavares taking a puck straight to the side of the head as Kronwall tried to dump the puck in. The Islanders forward was shook up and he went straight down the tunnel for treatment.

As the penalties from the end of the 1^st period started to expire Detroit got a 41 second powerplay and Nabakov pulled off more big saves, keeping out a blast from the point and then acrobatically getting across to Franzen on the rebound to get his foot and stick up as the Swedish powerhouse looked to put it home. Tavares was back on the ice without missing a shift after his scare at the start of the period but it was Detroit starting to do most of the pressing in search of an equaliser.

However, It was Tavares who got the 2^nd goal as he skated in down through the circle and fired a puck high into the top corner over Conkling glove side.

Okposo made it 3-0 with just under 9 minutes left in the 2^nd as Tavares led the 2 on 1 breakout. He fed it across to Okposo to give him the easy chance of putting it back across Conklin to give the Islanders the big lead.

Grabner then made it 4-0 as a bad pass from Holmstrom as he tried to keep the puck in the Islander’s zone saw the puck go straight to .... and he sent Grabner in to bury it in the net. It was the Islander’s 3^rd goal on only 4 2^nd period shots.

2.36 of the 3^rd saw Kindl throw a soft wrist shot towards goal which Justin Abdelkader tipped and it found its way in behind Nabakov to get Detroit on the board.

Fillpula had a great chance to get a 2^nd on a powerplay shortly after but he missed an open net and then had a 2^nd effort smothered by Nabakov.

With 11 minutes left Nabakov pulled off another huge save as he foiled a Dan Cleary shorthanded breakaway to keep the Islander’s with that strong 3 goal lead.

It was extended to a 4 goal lead with 6 minutes left as Moulson got his 2^nd of the game. He was left alone in front of the net and Streit fired the puck straight onto his stick as he tipped it in behind Conklin.

Detroit’s defence had been awful all night with possibly the exception of Conklin who still managed to give up 5 goals. He did however make some huge saves in that 1^st period especially and was left out to dry on a number of the Islander’s goals.

In contrast, the Islander’s were extremely good defensively and Nabakov had an outstanding game as well. They were clinical with the chances they got in the 2^nd and 3^rd period proven by 3 goals on 4 shots in the 2^nd.

- Adam Yates

Calling all Hockey Card Collectors

At the end of last week an article popped up on GetReal Hockey called “Hockey Nerds Awesome Evening”. The article by Joe DeTolve told of how he had stopped off at a Goodwill store on his way home and found a vintage wooden stick which he had purchased and it had jumped to the top of his hockey collection.

After reading it I decided to have a click around on Ebay at different Hockey memorabilia so I typed Hockey Cards into the search option and set the list to come up with the highest priced first. To my surprise after getting past the Gretzky’s and the Orr / Howe / Hull vintage cards I found a load of 97/98 Upper Deck Black Diamond cards listed at ridiculous prices. It seemed that specific brand and year had held rookie cards for the likes of Roberto Luongo, David Legwand and the Sedin twins amongst others.

Being on my festive holiday’s meant I was staying with my family where my Hockey card collection was being stored in the loft and although not 100% certain, I was sure I had purchased some of those Black Diamond cards back in the day as most of my collecting was done from the 96-97 season to the 99-00 season. As the Christmas decorations went back up into the loft so the Hockey card collection came down. I must admit I wasn’t sure what I was going to find but the excitement was building up as I went to open the cover of the first hard back binder.

And there it was – staring straight back at me from the inside the 1^st plastic sleeve of the binder. It seemed I had broken into a few of those 97/98 Black Diamond packets back in the day as there sat a Roberto Luongo Rookie Card. It wasn’t just the regular Roberto Luongo rookie card either (which was listed on Ebay at roughly £60 or $90) but the 3 Diamond version!

To put the value of this card into context with the regular card I have seen listings of the 3 Diamond version since then on Ebay for up to roughly £250 or $400!

Not wanting to get too excited I continued to flick through my collection and also came across both Sedin rookie cards – the regular cards and the David Legwand one as well. It seemed I also had the 3 Diamond Curtis Joseph , Sergei Federov Double Diamond and  Sergei Samsonov Double Diamond Premium Cut cards.

Not bad from what I remember to be only a handful of packets from that series bought due to the price of them at the time. I remembered them as being very beautiful looking cards and really well made which they certainly are. They were also still in Mint condition as I had the sense the put them in individual plastic sleeves inside the plastic wallet 9 card holders that sat inside the hard backed collectors binders you could get. I had also collected a lot of Detroit RedWings cards all those years ago which is where my love of the team started. Because of this I had quite a lot of Steve Yzerman cards and inserts. Unsure of what the value of many of these were I needed to find a way to look this up.

I remembered owning a couple of copies of Becketts monthly back in about 97/98 but would have no idea if A) I still had them and B) if I did, where they would be so I googled them to see if they were now online. I did indeed find them but found that I would need to sign up and pay a fee to look at what they were listing the cards as. Instead, I managed to find a website that seemed to be selling a lot of cards from the same era and had listings of prices for most of the sets I had collected. I decided to use this site and Ebay and make a listing of what my collection consisted of and what the value of it could be.

Starting with those Steve Yzerman cards I had acquired a lot of low value insert cards ranging roughly from £3-£8 or $4-$9 as well as basic cards from many sets. There was 40 cards in total and the value I calculated for them was around £65 or $100.

I’d managed to collect around 20 odd Wayne Gretzky cards as well, similar to the Yzerman cards there was a mix of base set cards and low value inserts that came to a value of around £35 or $55.

I’d completed the full set of 96/97 Pinncale trading cards which value is roughly £30 or $50, the only base set I had in full and I also had the Blade Runners insert set from 96/97 Skybox Impact range in full (25 Cards) that I worked out to be worth around £25 or $45.

Suddenly all this was adding up to a nice amount of money. Money that could be used towards a trip of a lifetime I have wanted to take for as long as I can remember over to Toronto for a visit around the Hall of Fame and to take in some NHL and AHL action. With talk of the Winter Classic being held in Detroit next year as well the idea of a dream trip was starting to form in my head.

The decision was made and I have started to list some of the cards on Ebay. Although the decision to sell these cards wasn’t an easy one to take I know I am doing it for the right reason. The collection has been hidden away for a few years now and although I would love to keep it and have it on display at home I just don’t have anywhere to do this and if someone can get enjoyment out of the cards I’d rather pass them on. It also gives me chance to aim at completing my trip of a lifetime to see some NHL action over in Canada or the US. Having previously had a taste of it when the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks visited London in the NHL Premiere it is something I have wanted to experience again and this is the opportunity.

If you are interested in looking at any of the cards available please visit

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/adamyates27/m.html?item=220927290757&sspagename=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649&_trksid=p4340.l2562

Or contact me:- steelad@hotmail.com

- Adam Yates

SteelDogs Come Out on Top Versus the Slough Jets

The SteelDogs faced the Slough Jets in the 2^nd of their home games this weekend and what a cracking game it was. The entertainment started in the warm up as SteelDogs player coach jokingly went to punch the mascot as he entered the ice in the introduction which saw the mascot put on the ice as he fell over backwards.

Once the game was started it didn’t take long for the entertainment to continue as Andrew Hirst put the SteelDogs into an early lead at 2.46 as he picked up a loose puck infront of the net and backhanded it into the net. Assist coming from Chris Sykes and Steve Duncombe.

Payette then had a good shot from the top of the crease around the 3 minute mark but the puck went straight into Rockman’s pads.

In what was a fast paced game both teams were creating chances but it was Slough who struck next as Kieras bulleted a shot over Bowns glove and it crashed in off the iron. Ex Elite league players Adam Calder and Doug Shepherd picked up the assists as both players looked dangerous all night.

Another good chance went begging for Slough with just under 5 minutes left as Morgan and Hirst ran into each other to cough up the puck to Mark Galazzi but he fired the puck wide.

In the last 3 minutes Payette fired a backhander wide and then a couple of SteelDogs players had chances as the puck bobbled around in the crease.  Hirst picked it up from the side of the net but he just couldn’t get enough of his stick on it to send it in and it went right across the goal line and wide.

The 2^nd period started with a huge hit by Sykes on Zach Sullivan which saw the Jets player down on the ice and dazed. Play was stopped but he managed to make his own way back to the bench but was clearly shook up.

Janis Ozolins gave the SteelDogs their 2^nd lead of the night at 7.26 as he picked up the puck from the feet of the Jets defence and fired high above the glove of Rockman with Hirst and Elliott picking up the assists.

Hirst then led out a 3 on 1 breakaway but as he tried to feed Sykes they couldn’t force the puck in as Rockman smothered. Off the face off Doug Shepherd broke down the other end and fired a shot into the pads of SteelDogs netminder Bowns.

Both teams were still trading chances and penalties as Waller sat 2 minutes for hooking and Gomeniuk went for tripping to cut that powerplay short.

Slough equalised during this 4 on 4 time as a quick face off win was won and Pliskaukas tipped a Kieras shot in behind Bowns.

Aaron Connolly had a great chance to make it 3-2 to Slough as he was found all alone between the circles but his shot slid off his stick and went wide of the net.

The game went into the 3^rd period and both teams knew the next goal would be huge.

Both teams again were creating chances as Calder for Slough shot from the point straight into the netminders pads and then Bebris did the same at the other end for Sheffield.

A powerplay chance then came the SteelDogs way and Pavel Gomeniuk made it count with 2 seconds left as he put a bullet in at the near post of Rockman from the slot.

A slip from one of the SteelDogs defencemen led to Bowns having to make a quick double save to keep the score at 3-2 as the game entered the final 10 minutes.

With 7.56 left an incident in behind the Jets net led to a fight between SteelDogs Payette and Watts from Slough, the latter getting a pasting from Sheffield’s enforcer still to skate away geeing up the fans as if he had actually done more than just be a human punch bag for 30 seconds.

As time started to run out for Slough, SteelDogs Ben Morgan was called for Boarding but they couldn’t force an equaliser and Janis Olozins fired the puck into the empty net with under 20 seconds left to seal a 4-2 win for the home team.

A great weekend for the SteelDogs with 4 points out of 4. Tonight was an extremely even game that could have gone either way and a great advert for the EPL. Fast and furious with a hatfull of chances for both teams, great netminding and 2 teams that seem to me are going to amongst the runners for some silverware this season.

- Adam Yates

Sheffield Steelers Come Out on Top Again

Friday night saw a rare televised game over here in the UK as the Sheffield Steelers visited the Blaze at the Sky Dome Arena in Coventry.

An entertaining 1^st period saw Coventry have the better of the early exchanges but it was Sheffield who took the lead as ex Blaze forward Luke Fulgham pounced on a puck after good pressure from Phillips and Finnerty,  deked around Hirsch in the Coventry net and finished from a wide angle.

Sheffield had to then kill off their first 2 minutes of the night as Jason Hewitt sat for tripping but Coventry couldn’t force an equaliser as they pressured the Steelers net.

Infact it was Ramsay who made it 2-0 for Sheffield at 8.37. Jeff Legue led from the red line on a 2 on 1 and his pass to Ramsay was just about directed towards net and the puck seemed to squirm up and over Hirsch on his stick side.

It was soon 3-0 as Jason Hewitt picked up a rebound off a Matt Stephenson shot at 10.05 as Paul Thompson called a time out from the Coventry bench.

This stemmed the flow of goals from Sheffield who in all honesty were lucky to be leading by 3 so early. The game had been pretty even with the Steelers seeming to be getting the bounce of the puck as well as being clinical with their chances.

The first minute of the third period saw Birnstall and Hewitt in the box for Sheffield whilst Farmer went for Coventry which gave the Blaze another powerplay opportunity that they couldn’t capitalize on.

Coventry would come to rue some bad powerplay time as the game went on as Sheffield made it 4-0 at 10.45 of the 2^nd. It was Mike Ramsay’s 2^nd of the game on a Steelers powerplay as Ashley Tait found the inform wingman all alone and he buried the puck low past Hirsch.

Robert Farmer then decided he would try and get the Blaze team going after a little skirmish infront of the Steelers net. He dropped his gloves in anticipation Mark Thomas was going to dance with him but his ex team mate declined. Amazingly Farmer wasn’t called for his actions and only Jason Hewitt was called for  his 3^rd 2 minute penalty of the night, this time for a hook in the build up before the fracas. However, Coventry still couldn’t get anything going to get back into the game.

They did finally manage to get on the board with 6.30 left on the period as Bryan Jurynec tucked the puck in quickly after a big rebound was given out by John DeCaro off a Jeremie Domish blast from distance.

There was an immediate chance for a 2^nd as Mike Ramsay gave up a puck infront of his netminder but this time DeCaro made a great glove save to deny the Blaze. DeCaro then made his 2^nd great stop of the period as he got a piece of one shot with his glove and as it went over his shoulder he manged to get back down to deny the Blaze forwards crashing the net trying to force home the loose puck.

There was certainly a momentum change after the Blaze goal as Coventry tried but failed to get a 2^nd before the end of the period.

Coventry would however come out for the 3^rd period with around 1 minute 20 left on a powerplay opportunity but yet again they couldn’t click on this as the period had an extremely scrappy start to it.

The Blaze would then have 4 consecutive powerplays from 7 minutes into the period without managing to create too many great chances on them.

Mike McLean had the best chance of all but he somehow managed to hit the post with the cage wide open infront of him.

The Steelers saw out the remainder of the game and despite being outshot 33-25 and taking 20 PIMS to the Blaze 8 they held on to that 4-1 scoreline and the 2 points were heading back to Sheffield.

The Steelers now head to Kirkcaldy for a Saturday night game against the Fife Flyers and then over to Edinburgh on Sunday to finish off 3 games in 3 nights with a tough tie against the ever improving Capitals.

- Adam Yates

Red Wings Come out on Top vs Stars (Game Recap)

Injuries depleted both teams for this match up as Robidas and Souray were missing from the Dallas defence whilst Helm, Holmstrom and Eaves were missing from the Detroit forward line.

The first big chance of the game fell to Jiri Hudler 5 minutes in but Lehtonen robbed the Detroit forward as he pulled off a big glove save. Hudler somehow not burying the puck as he was wide open on the Dallas doorstep with just the netminder to beat.

Filppula gave Detroit the lead at 8.02. Lidstrom and then White sent in shots wide on Lehtinen which managed to pull the netminder out of position and when the puck bounced

Hudler made it 2-0 with 2.54 left on the 1^st period. Zetterberg miss hit a shot which flew straight into the skates of Hudler and into the net. It was judged a good goal on the ice and the review confirmed that no kicking motion was made.

Erikson cut the lead in half only 50 seconds later. He picked up his own rebound off Howard as the netminder made a save short side and circled back around infront and fired the puck back through traffic and behind Jimmy Howard.

However, Detroit regained their 2 goal lead with a minute left on the period as Zetterberg skated from deep in his own zone, layed a puck off to Filppula on the wing and he sent it across to Hudler who skated infront unchallenged and buried his 2^nd past Lehtonen.

The Zetterberg, Filppula, Hudler line was absolutely on fire through the 1^st period, scoring all 3 goals and running the Dallas defence ragged. If Lehtonen hadn’t been as good as he had been through the period then Detroit could have had a lead of 4 or 5.

It took just over 1 minute of the 2^nd period for Dallas to score their 2^nd of the game as Jamie Benn picked up on a puck that was purposely shot wide by Goligoski and quickly fired it in before Howard could get across.

Corey Emmerton scored at 3.51 to put Detroit back into a 2 goal lead as he fired the puck from behind the goal line into the back of Lehtonen’s skates and into the goal.

With just over 7 minutes gone Michael Ryder made it 4-3 as he fired in a shot from the wing the crept passed Howard on his blocker side.

Franzen then made it 5-3 at 11.46 of the period as Datsyuk stole the puck behind the Dallas net and his quick pass was one timed high into the net by the Swedish forward.

That was to end the scoring in the 2^nd period even though Dallas came extremely close towards the end of the period as the post was struck by Pardy on a shot from the point.

It took 14 minutes of the 3^rd period before the lamp was lit again and it was Ryder with his 2^nd as Dallas yet again closed to within 1 goal. He picked up a puck just inside the Detroit zone and delayed on making a pass before choosing to shoot and send it high glove side past a screened Howard.

With time running out for Dallas to get the game tying goal, Lehtonen was pulled but to no avail as the clock ran down and Detroit took a 5-4 win.

It was a fast and furious opening 2 periods with goals galore. Both netminders conceded where they should have saved but both pulled off great saves as well. There was a distinct lack of penalties called in the game, the only one being 15 seconds into the game on Bertuzzi for Holding The Stick. This meant the game was played even handed throughout and made for a riveting contest.

Another 2 points for Detroit as they moved to only 1 point behind Western leading Chicago.

- Adam Yates

NHL Round Up - Highlighted by the Winter Classic

The big game of the afternoon was of course the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.The Flyers played host to the New York Rangers infront of a crowd of almost 47,000. With only 2 points separating the teams at the top of the Atlantic division and a fierce rivalry between them there was more at stake here than people might have thought. This wasn’t just a showcase game, both teams wanted the points and the bragging rights over their rivals.

It was a fast and furious 1^st period without either team getting off the mark. Lundqvist was playing exceptionally well in the Rangers net and it took until 12.26 of the 2^nd period before the Flyers finally got the opening goal of the game.

It was Brayden Schenn’s 1^st NHL goal and what a game to get it in as he picked up a rebound in the crease off a Matt Carle shot and slammed it into the gaping net.

It was quickly 2-0 as Claude Giroux was sent through by Maxime Talbot and he went forehand to backhand to beat Lundqvist high over his blocker shoulder.

The Rangers took only 30 seconds though to get the score back to 2-1 as Mike Rupp snapped a shot from between the circles low past Bobrovsky who was screened by Meszaros. Rupp celebrated with a Jagr style salute which seemed to upset some of the Flyers players on the ice.

Ironically, Jaromir Jagr had seemed to pick up some sort of injury towards the end of the 1st which had limited him to only 7.06 of ice time. Most of that was through the 1^st period as he was seen very little in the 2^nd and not at all in the 3^rd.

It was the 3^rd period where things really hotted up as Mike Rupp got his 2^nd of the game at 2.41. He squeezed a puck stick side on Bobrovsky where there really didn’t seem any room to do so.

Brad Richards gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead at 5.21 of the period as he received the puck at the top of the crease on a smart pass from Dubinsky and buried the puck into the back of the net.

Both teams then continued to create chances but none better than the Flyers chance to level the game with just under 20 seconds left as they were awarded a penalty shot with Ryan McDonagh adjudged to have covered the puck with his hand in the crease. The responsibility fell to Danny Briere but Lundqvist had been outstanding all game and was once again as he saved the shot and denied us all an extra 5 minutes of this wonderful event.

The Rangers came away with the 3-2 win, extending their lead in the Atlantic Division to 4 points whilst making it a 3-0 record against the Flyers this season.

In Vancouver, the Canucks hosted the San Jose Sharks and this game needed a shoot out to decide it. Jannik Hansen gave Vancouver the lead with just under 5 minutes left in the 1^st period. He lead a 3 on 1 break out for the Canucks and although it looked like he had made a mess of it he somehow still managed to slide the puck on net and in off the San Jose defender Dan McGill who was diving in front of the net.

Vancouver edged the 1^st period without creating any clear cut chances despite having 3 powerplay opportunities.

Ben Ferriero levelled the game 94 seconds into the 2^nd period as he swept in the puck right on the doorstep as Bieksa had blocked one shot with his foot and stayed down by the side of the net.

San Jose started to create some momentum after the equaliser and Luongo fended off 6 shots on a Sharks powerplay soon after including a fantastic glove save from Thornton as the forward fired from point blank range.

Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead midway through the game. The Sharks pressure paid off as he picked up on a rebound from a Braun shot and back handed it past Luongo.

Thornton had a great chance to make it 3-1 but Luongo pulled off a pad save as the Sharks captain skated behind the Canucks defence and in on the netminder.

Hodgson then had a great chance for the Canucks as Joe Thornton gave the puck away on his own blue line and Hodgson went 1 on 1 with Niemi. The netminder managed to deflect the puck over with his arm as Hodgson tried to go high gloveside.

Vancouver had over a minute 5 on 3 at the start of the 3^rd period as Burns and DeMurs sat for 2 minutes each but despite putting 4 shots on net they couldn’t find an equaliser at that point.

They finally got the equaliser with 8.25 left as Hodgson scored on the Canucks 6^th powerplay of the game. Hamhuis got the puck out of the corner to Hodgson and he fired a one timer lower across Niemi and into the corner. Bieksa picked up the 2^nd assist on the goal to extend his point scoring streak to 16 games.

The game stayed at 2-2 as both Luongo and Niemi fended off everything thrown at them for the remainder of the period. A 5 minute OT period couldn’t separate the teams either and it was decided on penalty shots. 

Burrows went 1^st and missed as Niemi poke checked the puck away as he approached the net and then Luongo saved from Clowe as he tried to go stick side.

Hodgson went to his back hand side but Niemi saved with his blocker then Pavelski was shut out as he tried to go five hole on Luongo.

Kesler went right down the centre on Niemi and had the Sharks netminder backing into his net only to wrist the puck against the inside of the post which left Handzus with the chance to win it for San Jose. He did just that as he deked backhand to forehand and shot the puck past Luongo stick side.

In Ottawa the Senators staged a 3^rd period comeback against the New Jersey Devils to tie up the game 2-2 before taking it 3-2 in Overtime.

The Devils built a 2-0 2^nd period lead as Zubrus forced home a puck after Anderson had made a pad save on a Sykora attempt and then Clarkson tapped in a puck that Zajac had forced in behind the Senators netminder.

Spezza halved the advantaged a minute and a half into the 3^rd period as he found some speed going in on Brodeur to fire the puck past him with ease.

It was Erik Condra who tied the game on a short handed play with just over 6 minutes of the game left as he fired from the wing and the puck somehow found a way through Brodeur.

That left it to Captain Daniel Alfredsson to win it 4 minutes into the overtime period as he fired the puck high stick side from the face off circle and into the net. It was a powerplay goal as Clarkson was serving a 2 minute hooking call and the Senators picked up the extra point.

In Chicago the Blackhawks were looking for some sort of revenge on the Edmonton Oilers after being battered 9-2 in their previous meeting in Edmonton. Things didn’t go to plan though and the Oilers took the 2 points with a 4-3 win.

Chicago had taken a 1^st period lead as Toews beat Dubynk with a soft wrist shot that went straight through the Oilers goalie but 2 powerplay goals at the mid point of the 2^nd saw the Oilers turn the game around. It was a 5 minute major penalty on Daniel Carcillo for boarding that saw the Blackhawks man thrown out and the Oilers get the powerplay chances.

First it was Ryan Smyth who put in the puck after a goal mouth scramble and then Taylor Hall fired in from an acute angle to give the Oilers a lead.

Andrew Brunette levelled the game at 12.39 of the 2^nd as he tipped in a Hjalmarsson shot infront of Dubynk but Andy Sutton scored the Oilers 3^rd before the end of the period as he found himself alone infront of the Blackhawks net to fire past Corey Crawford.

Ben Eager made it 4-2 at 8.17 of the 3^rd as he swept a back handed shot across Crawford and in at the far post. This would prove to be the game winning goal and make some amends for his performance against Minnesota in the previous game.

Jimmy Hayes made it 4-3 with 4 minutes left to give the Oilers a scare towards the end but an equaliser could not be found. However, it was a 1^st NHL goal for Hayes in only his 2^nd game.

It was a low scoring affair between the LA Kings and the Colorado Avalanche as the Avs took a 2-1 win after a shoot out.

LA had taken a 2^nd period lead through a Dustin Brown goal, the forward picking up a pass from behind the net from Kopitar and backhanding through Varlamov in the Avalanche net.

Ryan O’Reilly scored his 10^th of the season to level the game in the 3^rd period as he snapped the puck in off the far post with just over 5 minutes left.

It finished 1-1 after the overtime period and Milan Hejduk was the only one to stick his penalty shot inbetween the pipes and he took the extra point for Colorado.

- Adam Yates

Sheffield Steelers Hit Coventry Blaze For 6.

More GB hockey action for our readers !!

The only Elite League game to be played on New Years Day saw the Sheffield Steelers regain 4^th spot in the Elite League with a fine 6-3 win over the Coventry Blaze.

Coventry started the opening 2 minutes looking menacing but a defensive lapse saw Colt King give Sheffield the lead at 2.33. He fired the puck high over the net but it took a funny bounce to come straight back infront of the net and with the Blaze defence asleep King stole in to fire the puck past Hirsch.

The Blaze levelled at 8.34 as Barry Jurynec was the beneficiary from a Matt Stephenson mistake as the puck found him open infront of the net and he fired past John De Caro. Stephenson was less than impressed with himself, smashing his stick on the crossbar as he realised he should have controlled and cleared the puck.

Sheffield were to take a 2-1 lead into the 2^nd period though as ex Blaze star Luke Fulgham got on the score sheet with a clinical finish at 17.46.

2 quick goals at the start of the 2^nd period saw Sheffield take a commanding 4-1 lead as Fulgham scored his 2^nd of the game at 21.48 and Jeff Legue fired  a one timer in off the bar as Colt King fed him the perfect pass on a 2-1 breakaway.

It then turned into the Peter Hirsch show as the Blaze netminder started to stand on his head to keep the score down. He pulled off some jaw dropping saves from Legue, King and Finnerty – the latter the most upset as he slammed his stick into the plexi after being denied on his chance.

The Blaze did pull a goal back in the midst of all these Steelers chances as Owen Fussey scored a powerplay goal at 5.53.

Hirsch was still on top form at the start of the 3^rd period as he again denied Finnerty a certain goal but he was finally beaten for a 5^th time as Matt Stephenson atoned for his earlier error and managed to force the puck in behind the Blaze netminder.

Coventry weren’t finished yet though and brought the game back to within 2 as Greg Owen scored at 9.32 of the third, firing the puck in off De Caro’s skates from just behind the goal line.

However, Mike Ramsay finished off the scoring at 11.45 of the period as he was put clean in on Hirsch and this time the netminder couldn’t pull off the big save as Ramsay deked round him and fired it into the net.

A superb game from both teams but Sheffield proved they are a force on home ice and got back to winning ways after 2 disappointing games over Christmas.

My man of the match awards go to Peter Hirsch in the Blaze goal who certainly stopped the Steelers scoring 10 in this game. There were at least 5 / 6 one on ones where he pulled of miraculous stops and he kept his team in the game in the 2^nd period.

For Sheffield, Colt King really impressed me. Having a reputation as more of an enforcer type of player he is certainly a lot more than that. A great power forward display and his passing was excellent throughout the game. 1 + 1 on the board and was one of the ones that Hirsch stoned otherwise would have scored more.

- Adam Yates

Continental Cup Day 2 Round Up - HC Asiago, Rubin Tyumen, Donbass Donestsk all Notch Wins

HC Asiago took control of Group D as they got their 2^nd win of the weekend so far. They let their Hungarian opponents, Dunaujvaros take a 2 goal lead – just like they let the Steelers in the 1^st game but this time came back and won the game in regulation 3-2. It was hat trick hero from game 1, Bentivoglio who got the game winning goal with just 1.38 left in the 3^rd period.

Hosts Herning Blue Fox kept their campaign alive with a 3-0 win over the Sheffield Steelers in the evening game from group D. The British team held their Danish hosts in the 1^st period but ran into penalty trouble for the rest of the game as they took numerous 2 minute minors and 10 minute misconducts. Sheffield had to fend off numerous 5 on 3’s but already short benched compared to their opponents they eventually succumbed to the Danish teams pressure and couldn’t get back into the game.

HC Asiago need to win against hosts Herning Blue Fox to secure their place in the Super Finals on Sunday evening. If they lose in overtime or on penalty shots I believe Herning would go through on the same points but with having beaten their opponents. This, of course depends on how Dunaujvaros have done in the afternoon game against Sheffield. If the Hungarians win they can still go through but would need Herning to win in regulation. All very complicated stuff but none the less exciting.

Group E saw both teams who won Friday pick up their 2^nd wins of the weekend on Saturday as well. Rubin Tyumen left it late to beat Liepajas Metalurgs 4-3, with the game winning goal coming from Bezrukov with 37 seconds left. Liepajas had held 2-0 and 3-1 leads in this game but allowed the Russian team back into the game and eventually had their campaign ended with that cruel late goal.

Hosts Donbass Donetsk won their evening game against Cracovia Krakow 3-1 and set up a Sunday showdown against Rubin. It will be the evening game from the group to finish the weekend and it will be whichever team can hold their nerve and get the win that will go through to the Super Finals in Rouen come January.

- Adam Yates

Detroit Red Wings v Nashville Predators - Detroit on a Roll !!!!

Fillpula gave Detroit the lead in this one with just over 6 minutes left as Detroit continued their good run on the powerplay. Bertuzzi looked like he had buried the puck into the net from a move close in but somehow he put it across the goal line and off the post. The big forward even thought it had gone in as he raised his arms but Fillpula continued the play and picked up the puck to backhand it into the roof of the net.

The previous 13 minutes had been a tame affair with neither team really creating any outstanding chances. Both teams seemed to be feeling each other out but yet again it was Detroit who had managed to get the first goal of the game to settle themselves down.

This seemed to wake Nashville up as they created their best chance of the game shortly after the Red Wings goal but Brad Stuart somehow managed to clear a puck off the goal line back into the body of Howard as the Predators looked to tie the game back up quickly.

Detroit however continued to dominate possession and went into the 1^st intermission with that 1-0 lead, having outshot the Predators 14-3.

Zetterberg had Detroit 2-0 up at the start of the 2^nd as he came round the back of the net, looked to shoot on the backhand and take the puck forehand, hold on to it for what seemed an eternity and then shoot it past Rinne who had been fooled by the delay in the shot and was swimming around in the crease.

Detroit took a 3-0 lead with 11 left in the 2^nd as Jakub Kindl made a smart play, firing a puck low across the ice towards the front of the net and Hudler tipped it first and then Fillpula as he got his 2^nd of the night.

Less than 5 minutes into the 3^rd and Detroit had a 4-0 lead as Helm lifted a stick, stole the puck and then made a no look pass to Cleary who wired the puck one time past the glove of Rinne. Nashville got one back quickly as they finally put a puck past Howard. Hillen tipping the puck in off a Wilson feed across the crease at 5.34 of the 3^rd.

 

Detroit had done enough through the opening 2 periods however and Nashville couldn’t get anything else back quick enough to make a final challenge in this one. They had 2 late powerplay chances but even then it was Darren Helm who had the best chance on the shorthand. He couldn’t finish off a move that saw him clear in on Rinne and the score remained 4-1.

With only a couple of minutes left a Josi shot caught Patrick Eaves in the head  and the Detroit forward had to be stretchered off the ice. The puck seemed to turn on its end just as the rookie fired it and Eaves could do nothing to get out of them way as he took it at full pace to the side of the head.

Detroit were superb defensively all game, giving up only 19 shots – 8 of the through the first 2 periods. They have a knack of getting themselves into the lead at the minute and very rarely are they allowing teams back at them. This takes their winning streak to 5 games as they remain in hot form.

- Adam Yates