The Braehead Blog; Chapter 1 - Joining The Clan.

The Braehead Blog: Chapter 1- Joining The Clan

Now that 2010/11 Elite Ice Hockey League season is just over 2/3 done, I feel I can competently bluff a blog on it, with some seThe mblance of Ice Hockey knowledge. Having now attended at least a dozen EHL games, I have a passion for the puck and pipes, and look forward to having as many ups and downs fired at me as being a Motherwell FC fan does.

It's fitting that my newly found enjoyment of ice hockey coincides with the debut season of the newly founded Braehead Clan. Had it not been for the franchise starting up, I'd be making do with another consistently inconsistent season at Fir Park. Instead I have both the Clan and Motherwell to delight and dismay me, although the Clan have provided me with more wins than the Well this season.

The sudden emergence of Richardson's Purple Army was not the initial interest peaker in British hockey for me. For that, you can blame my fiancée and her folks.

Going out with a foreigner brings with it interesting culture clashes. Had I fallen in love with a Japanese girl, I would maybe be bang in to my Sumo, a Spanish señorita may have gotten me in to Bull Fighting or a French maid may have grabbed me by the Boules. You would expect by that logic that my Mrs is Canadian. But she's not, she's Northern Irish.

OK, so technically not foreign, (although her cousin Johnny's accent would have you believe otherwise...) but she and her family are massive Belfast Giants fans. If ever there was an EHL franchise to have as your "other" sports team. The Giants were it.

Pretty much the best team in the League over the last decade, watching the Giants for the first time was class. The Fergusons had trooped over for a weekend where Edinburgh Capitals hosted a weekend tournament for the Giants, themselves and 2 NHL back up teams, the Bulldogs and the Marlies.

Obviously the NHL teams were streets ahead in terms of speed and excitement, but that didn't stop me getting in to the EHL pace and play. Perhaps it was because of the family affinity or the fact that I can't stand to see an Edinburgh team win at anything, but I became a part time Giants fan.

It gave me something to bond with the in laws over and in turn, turned me on to something fresh at a time when football was getting more and more stoaic.

Then came the announcement that a further Scottish team would be added to the league. Braehead Clan.

As soon as was possible, I signed up to the website for updates on when the franchise would go live. Shortly after the announcement, Belfast visited Edinburgh again and it got me thinking that if a "foreign team" could get me excited about the game, then having one local would be even better.

Come October 2010, those thoughts were realised. But not before I had tried to get myself a wee in. Summer 2010 was spent job hunting and with my newly acquired media degree, ideally a media based job would have set me on my way to realising my potential.

Countless emails to Miss Longmuir at the Clan were sent, asking about media positions within the newly formed franchise. Ideas were pitched about game night involvement, webcasting away games, writing articles for the match night magazine, badgering for any job possible.

Alas, nothing came of them, meaning I had to make do with being a just a fan and not a cog. By the time the Clan's first home tie against Dundee Stars came around, I was ready for some on ice action.

Walking in to the Arena, I was impressed with the layout. To that point, I'd only been to Murrayfield Ice which is essentially a shed where someone left the cold tap running. The size and welcoming nature of Braehead Arena is ideal for this kind of event. As Elaine and I took our seats, the Clan squad were going through their warm ups. JF Perras was sliding about in front of the goal, moonwalking round his D. Cook. Chaumont, Landry, Bostock and Lil Bruce Ruchardson, a to become new heroes, glided about, running plays and shooting freely at Perras.

One shot was so wayward that it came over the glass and landed to my left. Free Puck! Elaine can vouch that I was like a kid with a new toy when I retrieved it and held it in my pocket for the duration of the game, like a lucky charm.

It was indeed lucky as the Clan trounced Dundee Stars 5-1, Bobby Chaumont netting a hat trick, with Cook and Campbell chipping in with the other 2. After the game I had a decision to make. Would Braehead be my 2nd team behind the Giants or would they become number 1?

I weighed up the argument. Could I support a team that wins a lot but I barely get to see or get behind a team that I had easy access to but would need to put a lot of faith in, without guaranteed success? The choice was easy in the end.

I returned to Braehead Arena 2 weeks later, Elaine and my mum in tow to see the Clan defeated in a shootout versus Coventry. Blaze had been 1-0 up since the first period and in what was a taught game, Brendan Cook levelled the game with 8 seconds remaining. The noise inside the Arena was huge and set up a tense finish where Clan's luck ran out.

It was at that point that I knew joining the Clan would be similar to being a Motherwell fan. No expectations, only hope, holding head high after a win, higher after defeat.

After the initial win over Dundee, Braebead went on a horrible slump, where Elaine and I as well as pals and relatives witnessed a few capitulations after being 2 or 3 goals to the good. For most, a losing streak would see a loss of interest, but it made my hunger grow for the game.

Saturday nights became game nights where I would try and rope as many folk in to going as I could. It's encouraging to see that other Clan fans are doing the same, as attendances look to be up every week. I'll come more to that in my next blog.

So, there's a potted history of how I've come to be a Braehead Clan fan. Over what remains of the season I'll be writing about many a Clan related theme, as a newcomer to UK hockey and so on.

Hope y'all enjoy the read.

Mon Ra Clan!!!!