Jets Roaring On

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 17 December 2011 at The Hangar, Slough
Result	Slough Jets 9 Manchester Phoenix 0
Competition	English Ice Hockey Premier League
Hopping	#2 on my new rinkhopping list, and here because it fitted in well with my Middlesex League game earlier in the day.  As with football, I will be posting from any new venue that I attend for the first time.
This match in one sentence
Slough always had more attacking threat but the one-goal first period held no hint of the six-goal demolition to come in the second.
So what?
Slough stay second behind Guildford and Manchester are fifth in a congested mid-table.  Slough and Guildford still have to play each other four times this season so the competition is still open.
The drama unfolds
Slough took the lead just over three minutes in.  There was no clue of what was to come, except that Manchester’s failure to score (see clip) when two Slough players were in the sin bin hinted at their lack of firepower up front.  Both teams seemed to be affected today by injuries and international calls (and perhaps suspensions for all I know). This game is fast … and I utterly failed to get any usable footage from the second period, when Slough rattled in six goals in fairly quick succession to render the game meaningless as a contest.  It was impressive stuff, and embarrassing for the visitors (who were well-supported by the way). This is not meant to be a highlights site though, so we must content ourselves with an “atmosphere” clip from the third.  I suspect Slough gave some ice time to their squad members and the focus became whether netminder Gregg Rockman would keep a clean sheet.  He did, despite 35 shots from the visitors (most of them in the third, I think).
A snippet from the programme
From the Jets’ perspective, that 5-4 reverse at MK Lightning last week, which I now realise was doubling up as a cup qualification game. “MK lost Gracic to a 5+game check from behind penalty after a hit on Joe Greener.  Defending his brother, Adam Greener was awarded a match penalty for cross-checking and a 10+game penalty for abuse of an official.  Slough called their timeout at 58:58 and despite playing 56 seconds with an extra attacker and empty net it was the home team who hung on for the points to split the weekend results.”  (Jets had beaten Lightning at home the day before.)
What I learned today
There are lots of other reasons for 2-minute penalties that I had not seen before … and that there can be 10-minute penalties for misconduct.  I am still not totally sure what the Slough player had done to deserve this at a restart – it appeared to be something like looking at the stripey man in a sarcastic manner.  It was certainly very tame compared with the other carnage that seems to happen as a matter of routine.  No doubt I will gradually learn these things in the month ahead. Adam Greener, the angriest man on ice for the Jets when I saw them last weekend in a spectacular 5-4 defeat at MK Lightning, was absent today. (The Jets had come back to 4-4 from 4-0 down only to lose to a late goal in a superb game.) However, all else pales into insignificance compared with the news that the Slough Zamboni also goes clockwise, so my Northern Hemisphere Coriolis Force Zamboni Influence Theory is holding up with 2 from 2.  Disappointingly, it was not a Dave at the wheel, so that one is gone.  Nevertheless, a trip to Australia will be necessary at some point to check this out.
What Next?
I must start some fixture research to decide my Boxing Day double footy hop.  I don’t know of any evening fixture that would allow a treble, so please let me know if you know different!