Posted by Administrator on Fri 5th March, 2010
Thirty more seconds, and the book was ready to close on one of the most dominant dynasties in Varsity Ice Hockey history in front of a capacity crowd at the Oxford Ice Rink on Saturday afternoon.
Fortunately for the defending national champion Dark Blues, forward Jarrad Aguirre had other plans.
Positioning himself to the right of Cambridge goaltender Carl Mazurek, Aguirre deftly netted a rebound off a slapshot from Oxford player/ coach Landis Stankievech to tie the game at 6-6 in the last desperate moments, sending the 800-strong crowd into paroxysms of celebration as the Dark Blues clawed back into the game and forced overtime.
The pressure could not have been higher for the home team on this rain-soaked “Olympic” weekend in West Oxford. Burdened with the expectations that come with home ice, a five-year run of Varsity success, the 100th anniversary of the ‘Oxford Canadians’ (arguably the first ever Team Canada), and a crowd packed with team alumni from as far back as the 1950s, the pre-game tension in the dressing room was palpable. This was compounded by the fact that the team had been dogged by injury over the course of the previous few weeks, and the knowledge that this was perhaps the strongest Light Blue side to be iced in over half a decade.
An instant classic being hailed as one of the finest ice hockey Varsity Matches in memory, the excruciating tension of the game, in which neither team ever held a two-goal advantage and in which the lead changed five times, came to a sudden and dramatic end when Canadian MBA student Parker Carney scored three minutes into overtime to secure Oxford’s 62nd Varsity victory.
The shock of the reversal of fortunes in the closing seconds was etched on the faces of the visiting team as Oxford’s squad burst into celebration at centre ice.
The Light Blues had come into the game with clear intent, and despite an early goal by the home team, they held a 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes. The Tabs set the tone for the match from the outset, playing a physically punishing game that left Oxford reeling. “They outworked us for a lot of the match, they played physically, and they didn’t give up any more than we did” said Oxford captain Ruben Leavitt after the game, adding “they were the best opponent we’ve played in my time at Oxford.” Forward Julian de Hoog concurred: “Cambridge played smart, tough hockey, and won many of the individual battles.”
A brace of penalties by the Light Blues early in the second period allowed Oxford’s powerplay unit to go to work, resulting in a tying goal by Tennessean sharp-shooter William Bruce. The visitors regained the lead with a smart wrap-around goal less than a minute later by Daniel Tavana, who in scoring completed a hat-trick. A perennial clutch performer, Oxford’s Stankievech was quick to redress the balance, potting two even-strength goals by playing with characteristic tenacity around the goalmouth. After the smoke had cleared at the end of 40 minutes, the score was level at 4-4, despite a dramatic late surge by Cambridge during which they rang a shot off the post.
Throughout the season, Oxford’s top line of Carney, Bruce and Stankievech have dominated the league scoring charts, and been pivotal in every one of the Dark Blues’ victories. On this night, the line combined for 6 goals and 14 points. “Landis’ performance was the single most outstanding individual performance I have seen by a hockey player in any game, ever” said de Hoog. “He left it all on the ice, and we would never have won this game without him.”
However the damage could have been far worse, with Oxford’s big guns being denied more often than they are used to by the often sublime goaltending of Mazurek for Cambridge, who put on a show with his quick glove and faultless positioning to keep the game close, making one brilliant save after another.
The overtime victory marked the end of an era for Oxford, as only two of the current squad are eligible to play in 2011. For de Hoog, who was playing his fifth and final varsity match in front of family who had flown in from both Germany and Canada, it was clearly a good note to end on: “the best crowd I’ve played in front of, and it was fantastic to receive such support” he enthused. Leavitt was equally exuberant: “raising the Cup over my head with a huge roar from my teammates and the crowd…I won’t ever forget it. Best match of my life.”
Notes:
Oxford outshot Cambridge 51 to 37 in victory.
Match MVP went to Landis Stankievech, who had two goals and four assists. Cambridge’s Man of the Match was captain Luc St-Pierre, with his Oxford counterpart being goaltender Calum Nicholson.
With the win, the Oxford Blues secured second place in the BUIHA southern division, setting up a semi-final match-up with, ironically enough, Cambridge.
Posted by Administrator on Sat 20th February, 2010
The 6th annual Nottingham Varsity Ice Hockey game proved as magical as ever, with the capacity crowd captivated by a game that could only be decided by a spectacular penalty shootout.
Uni came into the game as holding champions of the Varsity title, though had only won one of the previous 5 contests. On paper, all the neutrals were backing the Trent squad, who had been bolstered this year with the addition of seasoned ex-Nottingham Panther Paul Moran.
From the puck drop, it became clear that the Trent team wanted to get physical, and it took just two minutes for them to lose a man to the penalty box, which proved to be their biggest flaw in the team, spending almost a third of the game on the penalty kill. However, with only 5 minutes of gritty play gone, Trent found the back of the net after a scrappy play behind the cage left James Wood in front unguarded to shoot it home.
Goals from both sides followed, with Uni equalising on the powerplay, and then taking the lead with Tom Griffiths putting the pack past his brother in the Trent goal. Not dropping their heads, Trent brought it back to 2-2, Moran scoring just six seconds into a powerplay. The crowd, realising what a game they had on their hands, were raising the roof of the NIC, with Trent taking a 3-2 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the 1st period, which they held into the interval.
After some impressive pee-wee hockey action, the 2nd period began, and again Trent played a rougher game, and were penalised early. Though killing this successfully, they held momentum and scored two fast goals, one from Captain Illingworth, and another from long time Trent hero Colm Cannon, who was sporting the ‘A’, giving Trent a 5-2 lead with 25 minutes played.
Again Trent gave away a penalty, which Uni capitalised on quickly, with Griffiths scoring his second of the night Uni were given some hope from this retaliatory goal, but struggled to keep Trent out of their zone, with numerous back-to-back icing calls being given against desperate clearances by the Uni team, trying to keep the puck away from Mervyn Tasker, the goalie responsible for some spectacular stops that held Uni of Notts in contention.
After a relentless Trent attack, Uni caught a lucky break in the neutral ice, and assistant captain Robinson buried a scrappy puck, leaving the score 5-4 to Trent at the end of the second.
The third period started as the 2nd had finished, with both teams battling hard, but Trent constantly looking dangerous on the attack. Mervyn Tasker, the netminder for Uni, continued making brilliant saves, allowing Uni to wishstand waves of pressure from Trent.
With 10 minutes to go, Uni managed to take advantage of another powerplay, and brought the score to 5-5, with a big goal from their Captain Bliss. Trent responded, taking the lead back just 26 seconds later, with O’Flaherty roofing the puck for Trent’s 6th goal.
The Trent players knew it wasn’t over yet, despite the Trent fans celebrations, and Uni of Nottingham point-man Soltys proved this, rocketing home an equaliser with just over 5 minutes of play to go. Both teams used their time-outs in these dying minutes, with Trent maintaining offensive pressure, but the final hooter sounded with the score 6-6, meaning a penalty shootout would decide the victor, with no overtime. This was a situation that favoured Uni of Nottingham, with their netminder Tasker having a spectacular night, stopping 39 of 45 shots against him, compared to the 21 stops to 27 shots rate of Griffiths in the Trent net. The first 3 rounds of penalties gave no goals, with the pressure of the screaming crowd perhaps taking its toll on the shooters. On the 4th shot, Mike Davie, who had opened the scoring for Uni, managed to squeeze the puck in to lead the shootout 1-0. With Tasker maintaining his form, he made another fine stop, allowing his teammate Robinson to seal the game, scoring on the final shot of the night. The Uni of Nottingham team reacted by storming over to Tasker and mobbing him. Both goalies were deservedly awarded Man of the Match for their respective teams.
Final score
Nottingham Trent 6 University of Nottingham 6 (7)
Attendance - 7096
Post-game report by Tom Newcombe
Posted by Administrator on Mon 8th February, 2010
Last Wednesday the Swindon Wildcats were in action against the Great Britain University Team. The game was part of an early preparation for the GB side, eventually working towards the Turkey 2011World Winter University Games. The game saw some top talent from the university side, including Cardiff Devils’ Ben Davies, Coventry Blazes’ Tom Ledgard and Swindon’s own Sam Bullas.
As to be expected the game was not a highly intense, hard hitting affair however the game saw some great plays by both sides and good potential especially from the younger GB players. Team GB opened with some early chances and tested ‘Cats goalie Chris Douglas several times. He and the rest of the team stood strong until the 15th minute when a peculiar play saw the puck find the back of the net. A pass like shot saw the puck drift through a screen of players and past the skate of Douglas before crossing the line for GB’s first. Two minutes later and with some good play around the net, Swindon’s Aaron Nell responded with a wrist shot past the blocker of the GB’s netminder for the home sides first of the night. The period was bought to an end three minutes on and the score stood at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
The second period saw much of the same as the first and both sides began to press forward looking for further chances on goal. Seven minutes in and the home side then got that chance when local player Wayne Fiddes received the puck in front of goal. Once picking his spot, a wrist shot aiming 5 hole made its way past GB’s Alan Levers for Swindon’s second of the evening.
The second period went on and with it the ambition of the GB side to grab that next goal rose with it. The physicality also rose from here especially from the Wildcats’ defenseman however at 36:51, GB University’s Will Weldon doubled his teams score with a poke check and quick shot into the opposing net. The last four minutes of the period saw no further talking goals by either side and both teams went into the locker room with the score at 2-2.
The final period saw a different approach by both sides and throughout the last twenty minutes it looked as if both had really settled into their game. Longer passes, set plays and harder checks all made for a more exciting game. Penalty kills were swapped by either side and before long Swindon had found their third of the evening when import Jozef Kohut hit a rapid shot past GB’s Levers and into the net. This caused a timeout to be called by the visiting side however nothing looked to prevail when the ‘Cats then found another for the evening through defenseman Jan Krajicek. A hit from the point from previous scorer Aaron Nell led to Krajicek deflecting the puck and past the netminder, in a well executed play.
Swindon netminder Glen Jackson was called into action shortly after to rest Wildcats’ Douglas and with it, saw Jackson have his fair share of shots. Multiple chances by Ben Davies eventual Man of the Match. Luke Piggott tested Jackson but he held his own for the rest of the period. Eventually the period came to a close and the home side earned the win but against an enthusiastic and eager side who have a lot of potential for the future.
Man of the Match – Steven Whitfield, Ben Davies
Scott Gummerson – Swindon Wildcats Online
pressoffice@swindonwildcats.com
Posted by Administrator on Sun 24th January, 2010
For 364 days of the year the Sheffield Bears combine the forces of Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University to compete in the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. One day each year the club splits into its respective halves and players take to the ice to represent their University. On the ice, friendships are forgotten and players battle it out to claim victory over their rivals in 60 minutes of speed, agility and skill playing the fastest team sport in the world. Last year’s bout was the closest it has ever been with Hallam clinching an overtime winner to take their 5th consecutive title and remain undefeated in the history of the competition.
With the success of last year the Sheffield Bears are stepping up a notch and taking the game accross the road to the Sheffield Arena.There will be 5,000 seats available to come and see the spectacle that is Varsity Ice Hockey. Come and enjoy this thrilling game with us for a cost of £2 per ticket. Tickets are available from Bears players, Hallam and University of Sheffield unions as well as the Sheffield Arena box office.
The Game takes place on Saturday the 20th of February with a 2:45pm faceoff. This years chosen Charity is The Sheffield Children’s Hospital. For further information, email: Chb06aw@shef.ac.uk or visit http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/varsity/
The Sheffield Bears look forward to seeing you there.
Posted by Administrator on Tue 5th January, 2010
Monday 15th February 2010 (FO 19:45).
This year’s chosen charity is CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young).
Tickets £3.50 each (on sale end of Jan) from www.nottingham-arena.com
Executive Suites available to BUIHA Club members (£75 for 12 persons or £85 for 14 persons).
To book Suites, email: aupresident@nottingham.ac.uk
For further information, email: Simon.Hopkins@nottingham.ac.uk