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!
The AIHL finals last weekend hosted some of the most exciting hockey many fans have seen, not to mention the sellout crowd to see the Gold Coast Blue Tongues make their first ever appearance in the AIHL finals. The Blue Tongues lost to the North Stars, who in turn lost to the 2009 AIHL Champions, the Adelaide Adrenaline in what was fast paced, end-to-end hockey.
The weekend however was not without controversy. Going into the weekend, Blue Tongues fans were aware that the veteran Milan Novysedlak would be starting in net, a move which had fans and opponents alike wondering “WTF?”. It turned out, this sentiment was not had by only Tongues fans.
- Fans feel Milan robbed Fiveash out of his goalie spot
Saturday evening during the first intermission between the Blue Tongues and North Stars I had a number of North Stars fans ask why the Blue Tongues regular season starter, Luke Fiveash, was not in net. We could only shrug of course, because that question is one we’d like to know the answer to also.
It must be said that Milan played a solid game in net on Saturday, and this blog post is not designed to take anything away from him or his game, merely to beg the question as to why he got the nod over Luke Fiveash.
According to the AIHL website, Luke Fiveash played 14 games this season (7W, 6L + 1 game where we lack correct stat data), averaging just 2.97 goals against and putting up an 88.86% save percent. He had the best GAA of all starting netminders (those who played 50% or more of their teams games). His save percent was equal to that of Newcastles Matt Ezzy. Luke also outplayed Matt Ezzy in 2 games earlier this season on the gold coast, only to have the defense let him down resulting in 2 shootout losses.
Compare this to Milan, who played 4 regular season games (3W, 1L), having missed the majority of the season due to a bad injury. His first game back after that injury was a bad 9-3 loss to the Melbourne Ice just 2 weeks ago.
OneNorth Stars fan commented that they were shocked that the Blue Tongues would play Milan when Luke was not only ready to play, but had already proven his ability to take on the North Stars. I had similar comments come from Ice, Ice Dogs, Bears and Adrenaline fans, as well as 2 business owners in the Newcastle region.
Since the game, there are rumours floating around that Milan may be announcing his retirement. Could this be connected to why he started? I don’t know. I feel for Luke. He’s a solid netminder who is a solid team guy, always doing what’s asked of him and never complaining. He helped carry the team to the playoffs, fans would have liked to see him where we believe he belongs; between the pipes.
