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.
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.
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:
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.
The Weekly Faceoff is a regular column talking about all things Tongues, in and around the AIHL.
What happens when a team determined to win meets a team lacking chemistry? Find out more below.
Period 1: Blue Tongues Tear Knights
After 2 shaky performances against the North Stars, and a 2 losses on the road in Adelaide (1 in a shootout), the Blue Tongues were home last weekend to host the visiting Canberra Knights, captained by former Blue Tongue and always fan-favorite, Mark “Rummo” Rummokainen. The Blue Tongues were hungry for a win and determined to send a clear and defined message to the rest of the league; we may have 1 point in 4 games, but watch the @$#@ out. And that they did. A 6-3 victory on Saturday saw a very motivated Blue Tongues out-play the Knights in almost all areas of the ice. The Knights, who looked shaky most of the game looked to be lacking team chemistry, but the Tongues know better than to underestimate the boys from Canberra. Sunday saw an even more motivated Blue Tongues simply destroy the Knights 8-1. Even the consistently (bad) reffing from “he who must not be named” was not enough to put a dampener on this Tongues performance, although there were times when we wondered if he did in fact have an eye on the ice. Mike McRae picked up the hatric in the demoralizing game for the Knights. This weekend the Tongues travel to Sydney to play the Ice Dogs and Bears.
Period 2: Contoversy, Blogs and Opinions
As many of you know, I am not exactly the most tactful person on the Interwebs; in fact, i’m often quite the opposite. But even I was more than a little shocked at how a personal blog post on AusPuck turned into a major issue to the extent that an apology was demanded of the author. If you’ve not yet read the whole thing, you can read the post and the comments here: http://www.auspuck.com.au/2011/05/aps-corner-the-aihl-is-asleep-at-the-helm/ . Now, last time i looked, AusPuck, much like LizardInsider is a personal blog dedicated to Australian Ice Hockey. It is not affiliated with, or run by a team or the league. What is said on personal blogs is simply a matter of opinion. Anybody who reads personal NHL blogs would know this. Criticism sucks, but it is ALWAYS going to be there, regardless of how much people try and control it. So to me, to have anybody demand an apology from AusPuck for posting an opinion (that was based upon fact) is simply bullshit. We often have the same issue on the Hockeypulse Forum, where opinions are hosed down if they are considered too extreme. Hockeypulse, much like AusPuck is unaffiliated with the league or any of its teams.
Period 3: Trew Vs Riesen
Those at the Blue Tongues games over the weekend would have seen Blue Tongues local Cam Trew pretty much make Alain Riesen of the Knights his b… well, you get what i’m saying. in a game that was pretty heated already, things got rough when Cam and Alain dropped the gloves… followed soon after by Riesen hitting the ice. The most shocking part of the whole incident was not the fight, but the participant. Many fans were shocked, and then in a state of respectful awe when they heard it was none other than Cam who won the fight. Way to go Cam for defending your goalie, a big LizardInsider Kudos to you.
Overtime: Geric & Johnson Injured
The games in Adelaide really hit the Tongues hard. Adam Geric left the ice in the first period of Saturdays game and did not return all weekend. The team announced early last week that both Geric and Matt Johnson would miss between 4 and 8 weeks each due to injuries. Both these players had a big impact on the Blue Tongues lineup against the North Stars, so losing them to injury could have potentially left a whole in the teams offense. Based upon what we saw vs the Knights last weekend, we might not need be so worried.
