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AIHL Finals: Matt Amado Is Dave Upton? WTF?

Sam — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:35:39 +0000

Of course, we all know that Matt Amado is in fact NOT Dave Upton, but apparently the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) don’t.

Today during the online stream of the AIHL semi-finals when the AIHL announced the league MVP runner ups, they showed an image of Dave Upton when announcing Matt Amado. There is quite simply no excuse for such a simple mistake to be made.

This error was not the only problem today though, as the entire live stream itself was unusable for the entire first period of semi-final 1 between the Melbourne Ice and Adelaide Adrenaline. To their credit the stream was fixed as soon as possible and provided great quality video and audio of the games.

Hopefully they will have corrected the Matt Amado image by tomorrows stream of the AIHL Final game between the Newcastle North Stars and Melbourne Ice.

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2011 AIHL Blue Tongues Season Round-Up… Next, The Finals

Sam — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:17:52 +0000

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.

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Blue Tongues MVP Talk

Sam — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:49:55 +0000

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.

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Stupidity Cost Us The Game

Sam — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:44:08 +0000

Warning: If you’re wearing rose coloured glasses, leave now. If you’re a ra-ra fan, leave now. If you were at yesterday’s game and are pissed that we lost, please read on.

It’s not often I’ll start a blog post with a disclaimer, but as there are those who feel fans should not speak ill of a team they support, i wanted to give them a heads up so they can leave now before being blessed with my words of wisdom.

Yesterday’s loss to the Melbourne Ice was a tough one to take. The Tongues played hard for most the game, but fell into a serious lack of discipline at times which cost us dearly. The Melbourne Ice are one of the smartest teams in the AIHL. They knew which players to go after and they targeted our weaknesses, and right on queue the Tongues responded in kind. In short, they fell into the Ice’s plans and suffered accordingly.

But it was with 5 minutes left in the first period where the wheels fell off the bus, and the blame should fall squarely on the shoulders of Matt Amado and Alex Boyd.

Those not at the game, here’s how it went down. Amado drops the stick and challenges Joey Hughes to a fight. Hughes is all for it and goes at Amado. Amado cowers from the fight and tries to get away. Meanwhile, Alex Boyd jumps off the bench and has a go at Hughes. Game misconducts are handed out and the Tongues end up with a 5 minute penalty kill. The Ice go on to score the game winning goal on that powerplay.

It was a stupid penalty to take and an absolutely gutless play. If you’re going to challenge a guy to a fight, either man up and hit him or expect to get knocked the hell out. It was a pathetic cowardly move by Amado and his team mates should be disgusted with him for that. And as for Boyd, to jump off the bench and get involved is a cardinal sin and sheer stupidity. It is an act unbecoming a player at this level! For a so-called MVP player, Amado displayed a total lack of thought on what was a classless play. It was selfish, gutless and it cost us a goal, and the game!

That chain of events entirely changed the game completely. Sure, the reffing was atrocious towards both teams, but that play was the game changer.

Positives from the game…

Adam Geric being back in the lineup adds a much needed defensive forward punch to the squad. Jack Conner was playing really well and that goal by Dave Upton was a thing of pure beauty. Luke Fiveash was shaky in the first period, but stellar when we needed him to be and has been a consistent presence between the pipes for the Tongues. It would be nice to see CJ start a game, but as they say, when a goalie is hot, you keep playing him. At least Kane isn’t playing. Tobias Falk has been consistently solid all season and deserves to be the top nominee for an MVP award. On defense Bob Sannemo has been incredible and helps drive the special teams incredibly well. I also want to send a special kudos to those guys who give 110% every single game and never get the credit they deserve, so this is to the likes of Ben Spillane, Ross Howell, Cam Trew, Alex Hall and others who play depth roles. You guys make this team what it is. Superstars may score the goals, but without you guys playing the depth roles, they would have no ability to do so. So as a fan, thank you. We do notice you on the ice, and we appreciate every single thing you do for this team.

This last weekend was the final home game of the season. It’s sad that we wont see our boys again at home until next season, but this season is not over, and our boys are more than capable of being in the finals this season. Good luck in the next few weeks guys… GO TONGUES!

As always, comments are welcome below.

Weekend Roundup: Ice Dogs Bite & Bears Fall

Sam — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:45:44 +0000

Another weekend of Blue Tongues hockey has come to an end. The boys in blue split the weekend with a 5-0 loss to the Ice Dogs on Saturday followed by a 7-5 win against the Bears today.

Saturday’s loss against the Ice Dogs hurts us a little as they’re the team directly in competition with us for a playoff spot. We were without Mike McRae for that game, as he sat so Mikki Levy could play the minimum number of games going forward. We were also without core depth players like Zach Daunt, Jon Bale, Dave Upton and Jack Conner. The Ice Dogs are never an easy team to beat, especially in their own barn. Rolling just 2 lines against them gave the Blue Tongues an incredibly hard hill to climb, and at the end of the day the local team was stronger and better on the day.

Sunday was a much better game and saw the return of local favorite Luke Fiveash between the pipes for the Blue Tongues. McRae was back in the lineup today and his 4 assists showed just how valuable he is to the team. Tobias Falk and Matt Amado both picked up hatricks, with Falk netting an incredible 5 on 3 shorthanded marker from the blueline. Falk ended up the MVP with 3G and 2A for the game.

Around the league

The weekend had 2 standout matches / series. On Saturday night the Canberra Knights, currently 7th in the league with 5 wins from 17 games played absolutely destroyed the Newcastle North Stars 14-4. This is one of the largest scorelines in recent years and has left a lot of people thinking “WTF!”. Kudos to the Knights for the win, great game guys. The other match/series was the 2 games the Adelaide Adrenaline played against the traveling Melbourne Ice. The Adrenaline did great work to win both games in overtime (shootout).

The Blue Tongues are at home next weekend where they host the Sydney Ice Dogs.

Weekly Faceoff: McRae, The AIHL & World Champs

Sam — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:44:45 +0000

The Weekly Faceoff is a regular column talking about all things Tongues, in and around the AIHL.

Div II Group A World Championships

In case you didn’t hear the cheers rising from down south, Team Australia won the Gold at the Div II Group A World Championships this last weekend. Representing the Blue Tongues on the Aussie team was local favorite Dave Upton. While I do wish the Kiwis had finished better (i’m a Kiwi, would you expect any less), I would like to offer my congratulations to Team Australia for a fantastic result.

Mike “Basil” McRae

Mike McRae was impressive for the Tongues last season, putting up 27G and 20A on the season, leading the Tongues in both goals and points. We were therefore very pleased to hear that McRae is returning to the Tongues for the 2011 AIHL season. Last year many fans coined Mike “Basil” as a sign of respect, a reference to NHL legend Basil McRae. Mike has been playing alongside Matt Amado during intersquad games, and has looked very good.

Around The League

Teams around the league have been naming their import players over the last few weeks. Adelaide have a very strong team on paper, and look to be a force to be reckoned with this season. Newcastle have the return of AIHL scoring leader Brian Bales and Peter Cartright and wont be an easy team to get past, especially with Ezzy coming off a good run at the Worlds. The Mustangs are the dark horse of the league, but their roster lacks depth so how they do is anybodys guess. All eyes will be on the Ice vs Mustangs matchups, as the derby matches are sure to breed a great rivalry between the two clubs.

The Ice and Mustangs open the 2011 AIHL season this Thursday 14th April.

Weekly Faceoff: Imports, Sponsors & Intersquad Games

Sam — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:20:56 +0000

The Weekly Faceoff is a regular weekly blog talking about all things Tongues, in and around the AIHL.

The Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues have had a busy few weeks preparing for the start of the 2011 AIHL Season.

Signed Imports

The Blue Tongues made 2 new announcements in the last week or so. The first was the return off Alex Boyd to the lineup for 2011. Alex is currently playing Rugby in Canada but will return for the start of the season. Also named to the season were 6 key local players; Dave Upton, Cam Trew, Ben Spillane, Marco Bertossa, Ross Howell and Brad Young.

Bartercard Naming Rights

Just today the Blue Tongues announced the return of Bartercard as the primary / naming rights sponsor for the team.

Intersquad Games

Get a glimpse of the 2011 Blue Tongues before the season starts at the 6 pre-season intersquad games which have been scheduled. These 6 games will see the Blue Tongues battle it out against each other as part of their training / team selection process. Last seasons games were exciting and gave a good view of what the team could bring down the road. Dates are listed on the Blue Tongues official website.

Congratulations Dave Upton, Hockey Roo in 2011

Sam — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:25:11 +0000

I know this isn’t really breaking news, but we wanted to congratulate Dave Upton on being named to the Hockey Roo’s in 2011.

Dave has been a valued member of the Blue Tongues since he was 15 and has proven to be not just a strong physical body on the ice who can score and play both ends of the ice, but a fantastic guy off the ice.

We wish Dave the best of luck in 2011 and look forward to seeing him once again put on the Blue Tongues jersey come the start of the AIHL season.

Looking To 2011

Sam — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 16:38:43 +0000

The long dark now approaches. That painfully long period between the end of one season and the start of another. Sure, we have local hockey to keep us entertained and the NHL season kicks off in just a few weeks, but for the hardcore AIHL fan, this period is rather hard to take most years.

The 2010 season was one of ups and downs for the Blue Tongues. We saw some huge improvements from many of the local players, most notably Cam Trew who was standout most games and the return of favorites Dave Upton and Mark “smitty” Smith.

Luke Fiveash saw some great time in net up until Kalleitner was signed and regular locals Ross “Rosco” Howell and Ben “Tick Tock” Spillane were as solid as always, although fans would rather see the coach play Ben as a solid player rather than the grinder/enforcer role he appears to have been lumped with.

The 2011 season is a long way off but many of us, we’re already looking forward wondering what to expect. What imports will the Tongues bring in, what will local players bring to the game next season.

Will see see a change in game style maybe? New changes on or off the ice? These are all questions that go through a fans mind during the “long dark” of the off-season.

One thing is certain though.. we can’t wait for 2011 to get here!

Dave Upton: A Farewell Tribute to #96

Sam — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:14:53 +0000

As fans of the AIHL we are used to seeing import players come and go each season. It’s not so often however that we find ourselves saying farewell to long-term local players, a position Blue Tongues fans find themselves in now with the departure of #96, Dave Upton, who is pursuing a Rugby Union career.

Dave Upton

Dave Upton is one of those guys who can only be described as a freak. Naturally talented at most sports, Dave smashed his way into the AIHL with the Brisbane Blue Tongues at the age of 15, the youngest player ever to play in the league to date. Since then fans have watched Dave grow, not just as an extremely talented hockey player, but as a person.

There are many highlight reel moments over the years including amazing goals, blazing speed and some of the best checking and hittin the Blue Tongues have seen. Fans may remember the massive open ice hit Dave put on a Central Coast Rhino a few years ago in brisbane, or the countless times Dave’s passion and determination shone through as he worked hard to carry the team back into games.

It is fitting and pleasing then to know that Dave’s last game as a Blue Tongue was also a historical one; the Blue Tongues first ever AIHL finals game, a game that was the culmination of 5 years hard work, determination and pure grit by players such as Dave Upton.

Dave Upton’s hit on a Rhino’s player. We apologise for the video quality.

Dave’s departure from the Blue Tongues leaves more than just an empty roster spot, it leaves a “Davie shaped hole” in the very heart of the team, as one fan was recently quoted as saying. A lineup without Dave Upton wont feel like a proper Blue Tongues lineup.

We would like to thank Dave for the time and effort he has put into this team over the last 5 years, and want to express how deeply we appreciate the memories he have given us. Whereever the future takes Dave, we know he will excel and do well.

So to #96, Dave Upton; farewell and thank you for the memories.