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.
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.
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.
The Weekly Faceoff is a regular weekly blog talking about all things Tongues, in and around the AIHL.
The 2011 AIHL season is just months away, and teams are now in the process of getting their rosters together.
Adam Geric
Adam Geric on the Saskatoon Blades
Late this week the Gold Coast Blue Tongues announced the signing of Adam Geric to the 2011 squad. Geric, a native of Victoria, BC, Canada is a gritty power forward who will bring a strong work ethic and physical aspect to the team. Those who have seen him play compare his style to the likes of past Blue Tongue players, Mike Gough and last season’s Dallas Costanzo. Geric is an experienced player and included on his resume are 2 seasons with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL.
Melbourne Mustangs
One of the biggest changes to the league this season is the inclusion of the Melbourne Mustangs, the 2nd Victorian team in the AIHL. The Mustangs are an enigma right now and have not had AIHL season experience, however aim to play hard and show they belong in the league. The Mustangs will play their season partially out of the Ice House, where they will share the rink with the Melbourne Ice.
Bring The Pain
With the signing of Adam Geric, the Blue Tongues have some great physicality to the game. The Tongues have always been one of the more physical teams in the AIHL, so it will be interesting to see how the Tongues play this season under new coach, Peter Nixon. We don’t yet know who will be on the final roster, however if the likes of Dave Upton, Ben Spillane and Jon Bale return, the Blue Tongues could be a very hard team to play against once again.
The 2011 AIHL season will see the introduction of a new AIHL team; the Melbourne Mustangs. The Mustangs played a series of exhibition games during 2010 and showcased their talent pool with teams around the league, so it will be great to see them play in 2011.
On a similar front, the Pandas, a team allegedly put forward by a Brisbane group has seemingly gotten lost amongst the Bamboo and is nowhere to be seen. While those of us here in Brisbane would love to have a new Brissy team, the talent pool up here is simply not good enough to put together a second South East Queensland team.
