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.
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.
It’s a known fact that teams win championships from the net out, and that goalies are the most important person on a hockey team. Unlike forwards or defenders where one players mistakes can be corrected by a team mate, the goalie is out there one their own as the last line of defense. A bad play by a goalie can cost goals and in the worse case, lose games.
The Blue Tongues have had their fair history of goalie issues over the seasons, and have never truly found a #1 starter. So, in absense of a true starter the team tends to rotate through 2 or 3 and share the load, a move that sounds great in theory but means the team never truly gels with their netminder.
This season the team started with CJ Anderson and Kane Easterbrook in net and until recently the 2 shared the workload. 2 weeks back Luke Fiveash returned to the lineup so now the team have 3 options in net. The only question now is, who do you choose?
CJ Anderson gets ready to make a save on a North Stars player
CJ Anderson has been involved with the club since as far back as 2006. CJ is consistent in net and has improved every year he’s been with the club. His stats this season of 4.33GAA and 0.87 SV% are in no way indicitive of how good he has been in net. CJ has at times looked shaky but has managed to bounce back after each play. CJ has played the role of backup for 3 seasons now with the Blue Tongues and looks ready to make a push to be the go-to guy between the pipes.
Kane Easterbrook is in his first year with the Blue Tongues / AIHL. He played the past 4 seasons with the Botany Swarm in New Zealand where he posted good Sv% and GAA figures in a backup role. Kane is one of our best goalies technically however has been let down by bad decision making at times which has shown in his stats. With a 4.87 GAA and 0.84 Sv% in 6 games this season, Kane has looked shaky and the team in front of him have looked like they lack confidence in his ability to make the big saves.
Luke Fiveash is back for his third season with the Blue Tongues. The quietly spoken team guy, Luke is never the one to say a bad word about others or argue his position on the team. Luke in past years has looked like he struggled after being scored on however that appears to have gone from his game this season. Luke’s has played just 2 games so far but his stats of 3.00GAA and 0.90 Sv% are right on par for his career average with the Blue Tongues, showing he’s in good form moving forward. Of the 3 goalies, Luke currently has the best stats, however only playing 2 games it is impossible to get an accurate judge of the data.
3 goalies who all bring a different type of game to the ice. All can be stars on the given day. The problem is, only 2 goalies can dress for a game and you always want to pick the 2 best goalies to be playing. So the question then is who? Based on Stats, composure in-game and previous seasons data I would pick CJ Anderson and Luke Fiveash as the 2 dressed goalies.
Links:
The Blue Tongues pulled off one of the best displays of teamwork we’ve seen this season today, and the result was a spectacular 7-1 win over the Ice Dogs. The third period was a bit slower than the first 2, but in all, the passing, positioning, defense and teamwork all worked when it mattered.
Here are a few random thoughts on the win:
- Luke Fiveash was almost perfect in net. His positioning was sound and he pulled off huge saves when it mattered. The 2 times he did have “iffy” moments his D was there to clear the puck and keep the game momentum going.
- Tobias Falk has quickly become the Blue Tongues go-to player. He’s got a wicked shot and some slick moves that just seem to confuse the opposition. Noted as a playmaker, in recent games he has become an incredible sniper.
- Cam Trew continues to improve his game. For a small guy, he uses his body well and has made some great offensive plays also.
- Marco Bertossa seems to be consistently bad on D. The fact is, from where we sit Marco should be up front, and no in D.
- The Ice Dogs coach, like many others we’ve had up here this season was really entertaining. His language at the refs was creative and his frustration really made the game much more fun.
Tomorrow the teams play again. Kane Easterbrook is rumoured to be starting in net, which is a terrible call, especially after Luke played so well today and CJ has been consistent this season. We also get Alex Boyd back, which will help the physical game a bit.
All going well, the boys will come away with another win, which will give the boys a 4 point lead over the Ice Dogs, their main rival for the playoff spot.
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.
