While Luke himself would probably never admit it, he is a truly good player, and an even better guy. On the ice he is dedicated, positions well and gives his all during games. Off the ice he’s a genuine bloke who always takes time to stop and talk to fans and opposition players alike. He’s the kind of guy you want on your team.
Luke, a local of the Gold Coast who spent time in Canberra in seasons past came back up this way 2 seasons back, grabbing a spot on the Blue Tongues in the process. His style of play has always been really great to watch and in the 2009 season he manned the pipes well, taking the team right up to their first ever spot in the playoffs. To fans dismay however, after doing well all season Luke was benched at the playoffs, replaced by veteran goalie Milan Novysedlak. Luke, always the team guy did not complain and took what many fans to see as an insult with a smile. I remember at the finals asking him how he felt and his response was one of dedication to the team, not once saying a bad word.
The 2010 season rolled around and Luke was slated as the starting goalie once again, with CJ Anderson coming back to share the job from time to time. Luke played well and worked on his game. The team defense struggled at times, leaving Luke to take the responsibility and Luke was up the challenge. His team-first views came over once again when he willingly shouldered blame for losing games where as fans, we saw defensive holes the size of Alaska on the ice. After the unfortunate departure of Voldy Dashko, the team opted to sign import goalie Reese Kalleitner, and just like in 2009, the coach opted to bench Luke. For the remainder of the season Reese played every game, except the final 2. By those 2 games the Tongues were out of playoff contention and only then did the team look back to Luke, who was unavailable.
Nobody knows what the 2011 Blue Tongues will be like. As fans we do know who we would like to see return to the squad, and Luke Fiveash is in that list. Whether he plays an entire season or yet again is turned aside by the team is yet to be seen. We do hope he can stick the spot, because at the end of the day, you need positive players like Luke on your team.
With just 4 games left in the regular season for our Blue Tongues, and all 4 of them against the Newcastle Northstars, the Tongues have just one thing on their mind… turn out the lights on the boys from Twinkletown!
Matches between the Northstars and Blue Tongues has always been some of the best hockey to watch, and these last few games shall be no different. The Northstars bring with them a strong offensive lineup and solid netminding from Matt Ezzy (product of Gold Coast Ice Hockey, btw). The Blue Tongues bring size, grit and a strong offensive scoring punch from imports Mike McRae and Dallas Costanzo. This season the Blue Tongues have a new weapon however. One that could play a huge role in these final 4 games; Reese Kalleitner. Reese has been solid in all his games played this season, and looks to continue his domination between the pipes this weekend.
Going into this weekends games, the Northstars have just 8 regulation wins, but have managed to pull off a whopping 7 shootout victories, ensuring their place in the standings with 39 points! The Blue Tongues have 9 wins and 1 shootout victory and currently sit tied for 4th spot with 30 points. While the Stars have put up more goals this season, the goals against for both teams (62 & 66 respectively) are both in the top 3 in the league.
The current standings are:
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | D | PTS | GF | AVG | GA | AVG | PCT | L10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle North Stars | 18 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 85 | 4.70 | 62 | 3.40 | 0.722 | 7-1-0-1-0 |
| Melbourne Ice | 18 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 90 | 5.00 | 52 | 2.90 | 0.648 | 4-4-0-0-0 |
| Adelaide Adrenaline | 20 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 86 | 4.30 | 75 | 3.80 | 0.533 | 3-2-0-2-0 |
| Gold Coast Blue Tongues | 18 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 69 | 3.80 | 66 | 3.70 | 0.556 | 4-4-0-1-0 |
| Sydney Bears | 19 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 55 | 2.90 | 77 | 4.10 | 0.526 | 5-4-0-1-0 |
| Canberra Knights | 18 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 68 | 3.80 | 83 | 4.60 | 0.315 | 2-6-0-2-0 |
| Sydney Ice Dogs | 19 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 55 | 2.90 | 93 | 4.90 | 0.211 | 2-7-0-1-0 |
For most of us, there are places we’ve always wanted to visit that directly relate to our passions or beliefs. Our first journey to these places is more than just traveling, it’s fulfilling a goal or living a dream; a pilgrimage. In 2006 Wendy and I made our first ever “pilgrimage” when we traveled to Dallas, TX to see the Dallas Stars play. We still remember that first game, the sights, the sounds, the smells, all of it.
Dane Tilse scores for the Raiders
This weekend Wendy and I make another pilgrimage. You see, Wendy and I are Canberra Raiders fans and have never been to Canberra Stadium to see them play live. That is, until this Saturday. Wendy has been following the Raiders since 1993, and while hockey may now be her #1 favorite sport, has a big spot in her heart of Footy. Quite understandable when you consider her cousins are Kevin, Kerrod and Steve Walters.
On late Saturday afternoon when we’re sitting in the cold, wearing our Raiders gear cheering the Green Machine on, there will be another battle going on just across town.
Our Blue Tongues will also be in Canberra this weekend with 1 goal on the agenda… 2 wins against the Canberra Knights. The Tongues are playing well and have their eyes set on one of those final 4 spots on the ladder. The Knights are all but mathematically eliminated from the AIHL Playoffs, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make a difference. Tongues fans from years back may remember when the Knights eliminated the the boys in blue from playoff contention. A season later, they pretty much did it again. There is history, and rivalry between these 2 clubs, a rivalry that is only intensified by former Blue Tongues Captain, Mark Rummukainen now wearing the C for the Knights.
While we will miss the Saturday Blue Tongues vs Knights game, we will be there Sunday ready to witness the Blue Tongues nail down a victory!
GO RAIDERS! GO TONGUES!
I’ll never forget a few seasons back, we had one of the players come and sit with us in the stands during a Blue Tongues game. It was the first time he had really sat and watched a game and saw it from a fans perspective, and he was relatively surprised by how differently he saw the game. More importantly, he started to get a better understanding of why the fans see the game often so differently from those playing it.
The reason I mention this is because it was bought to my attention recently that my posts are often critical of the Blue Tongues, and that I don’t give equal praise to the team. I started looking back over my previous comments and, much like the aforementioned player in the stands, I found myself being surprised, even slightly angered by my own comments.
I want to apologise to any of the team who have been reading my commentary here. No offense is ever intended by my comments, and my criticism was never meant to come over so negatively. I also want to personally thank the player in question who bought this to my attention.
I would like to give those players who don’t know me a little history of me and my history with the Blue Tongues.
My wife, Wendy and I have been to almost every single Blue Tongues game. We were there at the very first exhibition game in Brisbane the year before the team entered the league, and, as far as I am aware, are the longest standing fans of the team. Now please understand, I’m not blowing my own trumpet here, I just want you to understand how long we have supported the Blue Tongues. During the years since then, the team has gone through changes, moved location, had some great players and some not so great players, imports return, imports leave, and had had both highs and lows. As fans, we have been tested, pushed to extremes, and challenged over our faith in the Blue Tongues…
But we’re still here.
Wendy and I drive from north Brisbane to every game, over 90 minutes each way, rain or shine to watch our team play. We’ve flown once and driven the 14 hours to Newcastle (and Erina) twice times to watch the team play, two trips for regular league games and last year to support the team for the Finals. We’ve flown to Canberra and Sydney to watch the team play on the road. We wear our jerseys proudly, scream support to the point of losing our voices and will ferociously defend our team if anybody dare insult them. Hell, in 2006 we even gave Blue Tongues jerseys to Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen of the Dallas Stars!
We’re fans.
Which I guess is where my posts here have confused, or even angered some people. How can fans say such horrible things about their team? I got challenged a few days back on Facebook, and a player (the gentle giant he is) asked me if I was a fan, or a critic. To me, they are not so different. The only real difference is that a critic has no team loyalty, whereas a fan of course does. I always thought of myself as a fan who is honest, but i’ve been shocked to see that what my posts show me as is a critical fan, and that actually made me sick to my stomach.
I believe fans should be critical of their team. I don’t believe in rose coloured glasses and believe honesty is always better than simply cheering blindly. But, there comes a point where critique becomes negativity. I crossed that line, and I am incredibly sorry that I did.
Last NHL season I read an article on one of the hundreds of emails I receive each week that talked about “when fans go bad”. At the time I thought it was funny because it talked about fans who literally lose their minds after games. Montreal Canadiens fans are a great example for those who followed the playoffs. The article coined this great phrase, “IPF Syndrome”, or “Insanely Passionate Fan Syndrome”. Great phrase eh? All it means is we get so caught up in our passion for the game and the team that small things become big issues, and losing… well, that just becomes painful to take. As many of those who know me understand, when the Blue Tongues lose, it hurts. I forget however, that the players are even more upset at losing than I, as a fan am. Heck, that gives you guys (the players) such a huge amount of respect in my mind… seriously!
You guys are more than a team to us. The Blue Tongues have become an integral part of our hearts.
In 2 weeks the Blue Tongues travel to Canberra to take on the Knights. Wendy and I are traveling to Canberra that weekend and will be at the Sunday game, decked out in Blue and as always, screaming on our team to win… GO BLUE TONGUES!
Reese kalleitner made 3 giant shootout saves tonight and the Blue Tongues special teams excelled to secure the Blue Tongues 3-2 shootout victory against the visiting Sydney Bears. Mike McRae netted a fantastic shorthanded goal and Alex Boyd put in a 1st period goal in a game that was fast-paced and full of intensity.
The key standout feature in todays game was the Blue Tongues presence in front off the Bears goalie, Nick Boucher. The boys in blue crashed the net and screened the goalie perfectly, and it was on one such occasion that Alex Boyd put the Tongues ahead.
The last line of defense, Reese Kalleitner was once again, outstanding between the pipes making this fan swallow his words posted in an earlier blog. I admit it, i was wrong about Reese.
I want to give a very special shout-out to Ben Spillane and the other injured players. It’s not easy being injured and having to watch the game instead of play in it, and these guys are professional in both victory and defeat. I know that Ben is itching to get out there and will see action when the team travels to Canberra in 2 weeks time.
The Blue Tongues are looking strong and all the boys are ready to make a strong run for their spot in Melbourne at the end of August!
Go Tongues!
