Having been the subject of 2 or 3 Follow Fridays on Twitter this week from various hockey outlets, I feel I should probably get back in to the habit of regularly blogging about my beloved Clan. Work and other things have been piling up, so finding the time to write has been scarce of late. I am also finding that not attending games as much as I would have liked, is putting me in a position whereby my thoughts may not be as insightful as they could be.
Indeed, I had written a full blog about a week and a bti ago, after the glorious Belfast match, about what a great performance it had been in light of the Hull defeat, and that it was maybe down to the cracking Movember mousers that the team had sprouted, injecting some testosterone in to the lads performances. Alas, a bumpy bus and thick thumbs on an iPhone combined to accidentally copy and paste a text message on to my Notes app just as I was finsihing, meaning my work of literary genius ended up as " Sorry for putting the x at the end, force of habit."
The Belfast game itself was an awesome spectacle. It was the first time this season I had seen the elements of Richardson's legacy break through under bannister's stewardship. They had gusto, they were fighting, they were taking and giving big hits and not allowing the Giants in to the game. That's not to say the Giant's were poor, as in the first few minutes, it looked like arguably the best team in the league were going to give us a right good tanking. However, it didn't come about and some cracking goals, particularly the 3rd form Galbraith, gave Braehead a famous victory.
That was the last match I witnessed, so I have missed the 10-1 and 8-2 wins over the Flyers and the Caps, as well as last weekend's 2 defeats, which hurt both pride and momentum. A lot has been said about the Doucet hit on Zajac and the resulting farce of a decision that the league dished out regarding it. Having not seen KB54's check that resulted in a 3 match ban, I don't know how it could have been much worse than the hit on Sammy. I know that The EIHL gave a statement on the reasons for the 3 game ban to our talisman, but the inconsistency of these calls is abominable.
I got in to Ice Hockey at a time when the SPL and football in general was becoming more and more farcical, particularly with last year's referees strike and the contrivedness of the SFA, SPL et al to do anything substantial regarding it. In most sports, fortune falls on the big hitters, but I didn't really expect there to be as much of an issue between the way the "Big 4" are treated in comparison to the rest of the league. It seems almost like they are shutting the door after the horse has bolted, Clan complained about being hard done by, so next time it happened, the league imposed their ruling to the detriment of Bannister's Purple Army. Farcical.
It means Bruce's influence was missed in the 2 Edinburgh games and more importantly this weekend agaisnt Belfast. Having seen Clan win at the Odyssey on Boxing Day last year, I know they have it in them to pull off an upset, but without, Bruce and Krestanovich, hopes will be pinned on Galbraith, Bayrack and McPherson for a repeat performance.
Bayrack's scoring exploits have been noteworthy, having scored almost the same number of goals in his first ten games for us than he managed in the whole of last season. The line with he, Jade and Jordan is very very potent, which is in no small part thanks to former Panther Galbraith's skill and vision. I've said it before, he may not look much of an athelete, but by jove can he handle a puck. I'm enjoying seeing Brock get amongst the goals ona regular basis, as he is a beast of a man, and his size and speed are a great thing for Coach Drew to rely on.
Despite losing to Edinburgh and Sheffield, I still see the Belfast game as somewhat of a turning point. It was a more rough and tumble performance than we had seen all season, and saw a real step up in the strength of the team. If I was beign uber-critical, I'd say the D need to give Suoma a little bit more protection, as as well as he plays, he is having to make saves from plays that the D should be sweeping up. Still on goalies and hard hitting, the stae of Mike Will's face after Voth's bemch check on him was horrific. Players get less beat up on the ice than what Mike got on the sidelines, but coming away with the road win, maybe made the pain hurt a little less.
Aidan Fulton got his first goal for the Clan v Edinburgh, and he took it will with a cheeky backhander past the impressive Craze. I only know this form the Clan TV highlights and the Twitter updates, that have kept my eye on the Clan in my absence. The wonders of technology eh?
With that, I'm out. Clan are way all weekend, which gives me a chance to save for the next home game v Coventry next Wednesday. Hopeful of a repeat of the last time they visited, to stake a claim in progressing up the league.
Mon The Clan!
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