The 2011 AIHL regular season has wrapped up this last weekend, with the Melbourne Ice taking out the H Newman Reid Trophy for the top team after the regular season. They finished the season with an impressive 21 wins and 7 losses, giving them 65 points, 6 ahead of the second placed Newcastle North Stars. So a big congratulations to the Ice for their victory.
Finals Seeding
The Finals will consist of 2 semi-finals on the Saturday and the Final on Sunday. The 2 semi’s will see the Melbourne Ice face the Adelaide Adrenaline and the Newcastle North Stars take on the Sydney Ice Dogs. The final will be played between the victors of these contests. The Finals are always fast-paced exciting hockey, so be sure to be there or catch the games streamed live online.
The Blue Tongues Season
Another Tongues season has come and gone and it’s been full of highs and lows.
Standout Players
Without a doubt the most standout player on the Tongues this season was Tobias Falk. Falk exemplified the true team-first playmaker. His passing was exceptional, his skating smooth and as it turned out in the latter half of the season, his shot was deadly accurate. Playing alongside Matt Amado most the season, Falk went from setup guy to being the #1 fan favorite import on the team.
As far as rookies go, Alex Hall had a fantastic season. His 11 points were (i believe) the highest of all rookies in the league this season, and saw a lot of quality ice time. Hall has amazing potential and will continue to grow and be a force on the Blue Tongues in future years.
Luke Fiveash may not have started the season with the Blue Tongues, but he finished it with an almost zealous cult following. His acrobatic style and spectacular saves helped the team win vital games and carried them into a true race for the Finals.
Dave Upton needs to introduction to fans. Since 2005 when Dave played for the team as a fresh faced 15 year old, Dave has always been a core member of the team. Sadly, all things must end and Dave’s time with the Blue Tongues has ended as he heads to Sydney for work. We wish Dave the very best of luck and hope that one day we’ll see him back in the Blue Jersey!
The Good
Defeating the Melbourne Ice has to be one of the standout moments for the fans. The history between the clubs and the intensity of the games made that series a true one for the books. Another game to remember is the second last of the season where the Tongues defeated the Newcastle North Stars in Newcastle; something that has only happened twice in their club history.
Seeing the Mustangs IHC enter the AIHL is a highlight, not for the Blue Tongues but for hockey in general. The growth of the league is fantastic and the Mustangs did well in their first season.
The Bad
Walker-Gate, a name coined after the Ice Dogs were given a reprieve for playing an unsanctioned Nathan Walker early in the season has gone on too far. People need to get over it.
Chemistry issues early in the season caused early Tongues games to end in less than desirable scorelines. Add that to the coaches desire to play Kane “can’t stop a puck” Easterbrook for 6 games more than he should have all but put the Blue Tongues in a very tough position. CJ Anderson was forced to sit on the bench and watch Kane fumble his way through games, when in reality he should have been playing.
Team disruption issues caused by non-passing star imports caused alleged rifts among the team, and also in the Stands. Fans were heard commenting about how scoring chances were lost because people would not pass. Then there were the rumours that some players would not play on a line with some others, causing what appeared to be major chemistry issues on the ice.
The Ugly
The Mustangs game on the Saturday will be remembered for one thing; a coach so out of control he lost the game for his team. I have heard people talk about how the Stangs were goons that game, and i want to point out that the team simply followed the example led by their coach at the time. As soon as he was ejected from the game the Mustangs settled down and played much better hockey. Don’t hate the Mustangs for that game, as it takes 2 to tango.
A forfeiture is hard to take, especially when it could be argued that it cost a spot in the finals. The Sunday game against the Ice Dogs was cancelled due to a malfunction at the Gold Coast Rink. Both teams agreed it was unplayable and the league ruled the match a forfeit. This was not the first time this had happened, and the Melbourne Ice were forced to forfeit a game a few seasons back for the same reason. People need to stop hating the Ice Dogs for that situation, as the Ice Dogs and Tongues BOTH agreed that the ice was unplayable. As i understand it (having read the full report) the Dogs did not petition for the forfeit, that was the leagues decision. As i said in an earlier blog post, don’t hate the league for the decision, hate the Gold Coast rink for being so crap and if you must, hate the team for choosing to play out of that rink.
Looking Forward…
It’s the long off-season we go through now. 6 months of no AIHL hockey for us Blue Tongues fans, gives us plenty of time to speculate on what could happen. How will the team look without Dave Upton? Who will the new imports be? Will the Blue Tongues play at the Gold Coast? Will this be the last season captain Ross Howell laces up the skates? We sure hope not!
The AIHL are rumoured to be bringing in rink standards as of next season and the Gold Coast rink is well below this standard. Contrary to popular belief, the league CAN rule the rink below standard and force the Blue Tongues to find a new rink. As a fan of this team i hope those in charge are taking this possibility very seriously. The good news is, there are always rinks up in Brisbane which are well above standard.
The Blue Tongues season may be over, but don’t forget that the 2011 AIHL Finals are this weekend, the 3rd and 4th September, 2011. Full details can be found here.
The Blue Tongues have just 2 games left in the regular season to make their final push for the 2011 AIHL Finals, their opponent; the always challenging Newcastle North Stars.
The team sit 5th on the ladder, 2 points behind the Adelaide Adrenaline who also play this weekend. Adelaide take on the Canberra Knights and the Sydney Ice Dogs. The Adrenaline wont have an easy time of it, as both the Knights and Doggies will be looking for solid wins.
Matt Amado broke his own AIHL scoring record this season.
The Blue Tongues do have a tougher final 2 games, even if from a purely psychological point of view. The boys in blue have not had too much luck against Newcastle over the course of their time in the league. In the 22 regular season games played since 2005, the Blue Tongues have just 4 wins, and only 1 of those was on the road, in Newcastle. With those stats to dampen the mood, it is vitally important to go into this weekend with BELIEF that they can win.
They need to believe that Matt Ezzy, who has always been a big part of those terrible stats is no longer as good as he once was (just look at his stats this year).
They need to believe that the perfect pass does not exist, and sometimes pucks on net from all locations is key to a victory.
They need to believe that hockey is a team sport, and passing, dumping and chasing are all equally as important as scoring the game winning goal.
But most importantly, they need to believe that they CAN win.
Matt Amado Interview
Finally, here is an interview that Matt Amado did with the AIHL recently, talking about this weekends games. There is no video, so just hit play and listen along.
The games start at 5pm this weekend. Updates are available on the Blue Tongues website as well as all relevant twitter accounts. I believe Newcastle also stream audio play-by-play of the games, so keep an eye out for a link.
With just 2 games of the regular AIHL season left to play, it’s time to start thinking about end of season awards and specifically the 2011 Blue Tongues MVP. The MVP and other awards are chosen by those involved with the team, so any discussion or thought is naturally pure speculation.
In my mind there are 4 nominees for the team MVP this season, each bringing a different aspect to the game. Here they are with my thoughts.
Matt Amado (41G 27A 68Pts)
Matt Amado set a new AIHL scoring record this season, breaking the previous record he set in 2007. His 41 goals are 7 more than Newcastle’s Peter Cartwright so he should hold onto that record this season. Matt’s scoring ability is unquestionable as is his value to the Blue Tongues. For ever upside there has to be a down of course, and Matt does have Flaws on the ice. At times he can be selfish with the puck and there have been multiple games this season where his inability to pass the puck has cost the team valuable scoring chances. In a recent game he also took a bad penalty that ended up costing the team the game (documented in a previous blog post).
Tobias Falk (27G 34A 61Pts)
Tobias Falk has quite possibly been the most consistent player on the team all season. A valuable playmaker turned sniper, Falk started the season setting up Amado but of late has started putting shots on goal which has seen his goal tally increase exponentially. Falk has a solid 2-way game and leads the Blue Tongues in shorthanded goals. He also has the lowest penalty minutes (26) of all my MVP nominees, highlighting his Lady Byng qualities on the ice. Falk has often been criticized for not shooting the puck, however that has changed over the latter half of this season.
Mike McRae (18G, 32A 50Pts)
McRae has the same points-per-game s Tobias Falk (2.3) but has played less games (22). Macca, as he’s known on the team has a fantastic shot but is often overshadowed by Falk and Amado who lead the team offensively. McRae’s biggest downside is his penalty count which stands at 83 PIMs, 2nd highest in the team. With the Blue Tongues having a less than impressive Penalty Kill this season, McRae’s visits to the box have more often than not cost the team vital goals.
Dave Upton (8G 19A 27Pts)
Dave Upton has been the Blue Tongues brightest local player since he joined the team as a 15yr old in the 2005 season. His goals and points are down on his average this season, but if you were at the final home game vs the Mustangs you would have seen a classic Dave Upton style goal; undress defenders and then make a fool out of the opposition goalie. Unfortunately this is the last season we will see Upton in the Blue jersey as he is moving to Sydney at the end of the year. His points may not be at an MVP level, but to the loyal Blue Tongues fans, Upton will always been a team MVP.
Tobias Falk is the fan favorite for team MVP by a long shot. The vast majority of fans of the team would pick Falk over Amado due to his team-first style of game.
Who would you pick? Leave comments below.
The pointy end of the season is truly upon us. The Blue Tongues have wrapped up their home games for the season and now have just 4 games left to play, all against tough opponents in even tougher venues.
As it stands right now the Blue Tongues are in 4th position on the ladder, just 1 point ahead of the Adelaide Adrenaline and 7 points back from a 3rd place Sydney Ice Dogs. The Adrenaline are the biggest threat for the Tongues and have the advantage of an easier schedule.
Here is how the 2 teams break down of the final 4 games including the record against those teams this season.
Gold Coast Blue Tongues
Away – Melbourne Ice (1 win, 1 loss, 1 shootout loss)
Away – Melbourne mustangs (3 wins)
Away – Newcastle North Stars (2 losses)
Away – Newcastle North Stars
Adelaide Adrenaline
Away – Canberra Knights (1 win, 1 loss)
Away – Sydney Bears (1 shootout win, 2 wins)
Home – Canberra Knights
Home – Sydney Ice Dogs (1 win, 2 losses)
The Blue Tongues don’t really have any easy teams to face, except maybe the Mustangs.
Tobias Falk has been consistently good all season for the Tongues and deserves to be #1 choice for team MVP
They know they can defeat the Ice as this last weekend showed, and they have the confidence of knowing that they can compete with the Ice down in Melbourne. The North Stars are the key to this series I believe, as the Tongues history against Newcastle, in Newcastle has not been good at all over the years. That said, Matt Ezzy has been very normal this season so as long as our boys can bring the firepower they should compete. The last time they played the North Stars they did so without a full roster and zero team chemistry, so the next 2 games could be vastly different. The Tongues should pick up a win against the Mustangs and I believe they should pick up a win against the North Stars. That gives a short estimate of at least 6 of a possible 12 points.
The Adrenaline on the other hand are playing well and have a relatively easy run of things. The Bears are an easy team for them based on past history with the Knights and Ice Dogs being the key to their season. The game against the Bears will almost certainly be a win (although would love it not be). The Ice Dogs I believe will win once again and based on games this season they should split the 2 games against the Knights. That gives the Adrenaline a short estimate of 6 points from 12.
If both teams pick split their series, the Tongues will remain 1 point ahead and will secure that finals spot.
Right now it’s too close to call.
After my initial reaction to the forfeit news a few days back, I told myself to take a few days time out to clear my head and try and see the situation from a more unbiased view.
It’s hard doing that. Having been following the Blue Tongues since 2004, our hearts are heavily tied to this team and anything that happens deeply affects us at the most emotional levels. As one of the players told me last season, my wife and I have followed this team longer than anybody in the stands, on the ice or in the management, it’s only natural we react so strong to thing that happen with the team.
People are unhappy with the league for calling last Sunday’s game a forfeit, I myself was one of them. But then I stopped and thought about the situation, did some research and came to the conclusion that we should be angry, but not at the AIHL, because at the end of the day, they made the right call for the situation.
As Oscar Wilde once said, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”, and in the absence of truth, speculation and rumours will go crazy. Over the last few days there has been a LOT of speculation on this issue. The “truth” in this case lies closer to home.
You should be angry. You should be upset. In fact, you should probably be seeing red, but make sure that anger is directed at the right people. Be angry at the rink for not telling the team about the problem or trying to fix it. Be angry at the team for choosing to play from a rink that is clearly below standard. But don’t be angry at the AIHL for doing their job. You don’t need to agree with them, but if you’re a fan of any sport you should know that leagues the world over make calls we don’t agree with.
The fact is, each team in the league should have a responsibility to ensure their home ice is playable, and part of that is to ensure a healthy relationship between the team and rink owners for those teams who don’t have control of their rink. It’s the same in the NHL, AHL, ECHL and many other leagues around the world (from what I can tell). In our own league we have had teams forfeit in the past because of unplayable Ice. I have been told by a few different people over the last day or so that Melbourne forfeited a game a few years back for similar reasons. If so, a precedent was set.
Clearly the owners of the G.C. Rink don’t care about their ice or the Blue Tongues. That much is evident by the way they didn’t bother to either tell the team of the issue or try to fix it. As we’ve been told by people at the rink earlier that day, the ice was that way all day long during public skate sessions. I would have thought that’s a major public liability issue. Simply put, a national level team should not be playing in a facility that is that unprofessional and mismanaged.
The Acacia Ridge Ice Rink in Brisbane
But the team choose to play there, even though there are 2 other rinks within an hour or so drive of the Gold Coast. The problem (at least for some) is they are both in Brisbane. Boondall, where the team played prior to 2008 and Acacia Ridge are both much better locations with better ice, stands and facilities.
So be angry and upset. Feel hurt at the decision, but please make sure your anger is not misdirected.
Just something to think about before posting (like I did) about how the AIHL made a mistake with the call.
