EIHL week 1 round-up
We are up and running for season nine of Elite League ice hockey but with a curtailed start as only four of the ten Elite League clubs took to the ice in serious action the past weekend.
And after that opening weekend probably Nottingham, Cardiff and Sheffield feel fairly pleased with their starts, with only Belfast feeling disappointment as they missed out in their home opener at the Odyssey.
Saturday night saw an impressive Nottingham display as they skated away from Cardiff at the NIC in front of 5,500 fans and took two points in both league and Challenge Cup with a 6-1 success. Star man was veteran sniper David-Alexandre Beauregard as he found the net three times for an opening day hat trick.
Devils had actually taken an early lead through Sam Smith but Panthers turned the game their way to lead 2-1 after the first period, and they never looked back after that and outshot their opponents 36 to 18 on the night.
Also on Saturday in the league Sheffield edged a tight one in Belfast 2-1 after a shootout. Steelers led with a Matt Stevenson powerplay goal in the 5th minute, right up until Mark Garside pulled Giants level in the 51st minute . Overtime found no winner but in the shootout both Mike Ramsay and Steve Birnstill scored for Steelers without any home reply.
On to Sunday and the only match saw Devils and Panthers hit the ice again on Challenge Cup business. This time it was a quick revenge for the Welsh side as they pulled clear late on to win 4-1. A goalless opening session was followed by each side scoring early in the second period before Jeff Pierce scored what turned out to be the game winner in the 30th minute. Panthers were still very much in the game until the home side hit two late goals from Scott Dobben and Pierce again inside the final four minutes to claim the points.
Other Elite teams were involved in action over the weekend in Challenge games and Hull Stingrays will be feeling pretty pleased with themselves as they picked up the P & O Cup with 8-2 and 7-1 wins over Dutch sides Tilburg and Geleen respectively. Also involved in this tournament were hosts Coventry Blaze and they had a mixed time of it, losing late on to Geleen 3-2 before trouncing Tilburg 6-1.
Fife Flyers had their first taste of action at Elite League level as they took on fellow Scots side Dundee Stars home and away over the weekend. And despite being short staffed and losing 6-1 in Kirkcaldy, the Fifers showed some real grit to tie 4-4 in Tayside the following night.
Player of the Week time to finish this round up and it’s an easy choice for us this time around as we ask ace marksman David-Alexandre Beauregard of the Nottingham Panthers to skate forward and take the applause of the fans.
A hat trick in any sport is impressive indeed but to fire three home in the opening game of the season is sure to boost the confidence of a player who during his long career has had the rare talent of being a natural scorer.
EIHL round-up courtesy of Ronnie Nichol and John Lydon
