Chieftains Hand a Tanking to Wightlink

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Sunday 23 December 2012 at the Riverside Arena
Result	Chelmsford Chieftains 11 Wightlink Raiders 1
Competition	English National League Div One South (third tier of the game in England)
Hopping	Number 11 on the rinkhopping list.
Pre-match preparation
I saw the Chieftains in their bruising 5-5 draw at divisional leaders Romford last week – now they entertain second-placed Wightlink in what should be a close game.* *wishful thinking
This match in one sentence
A disappointing anti-climax that, for the neutral, turned out to be as one-sided as a Klein bottle (one for the pure mathematicians among us) but Chieftains fans absolutely loved this demolition.
So what?
League positions unchanged but the gap between third and second is reduced.
The drama unfolds
Gary Clarke opened the scoring for Chelmsford with under two minutes gone.  1-0 Here’s a scene-setter clip – Chelmsford are in white.  There are only two officials on the ice - I assume the players ate the other one earlier. The home side then successfully defended a couple of powerplays but apart from that ran up a 16-9 shot count in their favour during the first period.  You felt it was only a matter of time before the second score arrived, but the timing was a killer blow to Wightlink as it turned out.  There were only 22 seconds left on the clock when the puck crossed the line.  It was an unassisted shot from distance from Alex Green.  2-0 at the end of the first period The game was soon over as a meaningful contest.  The third (Danny Hammond) came only seventeen seconds after the restart, and a fourth and fifth were on the board (the fourth from Clarke off a powerplay) before we had reached the midpoint.  3-0, 4-0, 5-0 Another powerplay was converted before two players picked up roughing penalties.  Cue jokes about Wightlink having some fight at last, before the visitors eventually picked up their consolation goal just before the buzzer (Ben Lock, I think).  James Ayling was the scorer of the fifth and sixth.  6-0, 6-1 at the end of the second period The home team rattled in five more without reply in the third.  The last two came in the final thirty seconds of playing time. Julius Sinkovic got on the scoresheet first, Hammond scored the eighth and tenth for his hat-trick, but not before Ayling had his with the ninth goal.  Darren Brown got the rub-your-masks-in-it final score.  Final score 11-1
The programme
There is some interesting coverage of last week's 5-5 draw at Romford, with forthright views expressed by several contributors about the physical challenge and intimidation allegedly encountered by visiting sides there.
Something random
Never in doubt – clockwise!
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Nothing to report.
What Next?
Boxing Day groundhopping doubles look feasible in many parts of England, and I will make a decision depending on the weather and travel practicalities.

My Night of Passion in Essex

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Sunday 16 December 2012 at the Romford Ice Arena
Result	Romford Raiders 5 Chelmsford Chieftains 5
Competition	English National League Division 1 South (Third Tier)
Hopping	Rink 10 on my lifetime list and my first game at this level.
Pre-match preparation
First plays third in the division – and a keen rivalry between the two clubs.  Chieftains’ player-coach Gary Clarke has appealed in the local press for “cool heads”.  Yeah, right.
This match in one sentence
Chelmsford were so near and yet so far from an epic win in a bruising encounter, but Romford levelled the scores with nine seconds on the clock.
So what?
No change in the league positions.  Lots of work for physiotherapists.
The drama unfolds
There were two penalties for each side in the first three minutes – both teams seemed ready for a physical encounter.  Chieftains scored first, just under four minutes gone.  A great diagonal pass to the right allowed Danny Hammond to score.  0-1 The second goal came in the 7th minute.  A mistake at halfway let in Julius Sinkovic for a one-on-one, and as the netminder Michael Gray went down, the puck was flicked up and in.  0-2 Shocked at the scoreline, Raiders were still facing a powerplay as penalties occurred with regularity – so the shorthanded goal from Juraj Huska must have been particularly welcome.  1-2 The home side were now flying and netminder Ryan Bainborough made the first of many key saves at the 8.40 mark.  Here is my scene-setter clip from midway through the first period.  Romford are in white. Huska was instrumental in setting up the equaliser by skating at pace round behind the goal and laying the puck back to Shaun Yardley.  2-2 However, Chieftains were ahead again through Gary Clarke just after 15 minutes had passed, and both netminders made good saves to keep the score that way.  2-3 at the end of the first period The second period was calmer (though always competitive), and we got to the midpoint and my second clip, with no further scoring. With 35.22 on the clock, Raiders drew level again.  Huska assisted Billy Phillips for a powerplay goal.  3-3 Tempers started to run high, and after a clash at the boards it took officials several minutes to calm things down.  I missed the first 30 seconds or so of this, but a few shots to the head were landed. When all calmed down, Shaun Wallis (Raiders) and Michael Ranby (Chieftains) were penalised for roughing, with game penalties for resisting the officials.  With 16.02 showing on the clock, some of the lights went out so the period ended early and the Zamboni came out for its clockwise rotation. No-one has yet debunked the Northern Hemisphere Zamboni Clockwise Rotation Net Coriolis Force Theory With light restored, there was no further scoring in 3mins58 before the teams changed ends. The event was now running very late. 3-3 at the end of the second period I’d long since lost track of the penalties, but at 43.37 Ross Brears put Chieftains back into the lead during a 5-on-3 powerplay.  3-4 The lead lasted only a couple of minutes.  Julian Smith, just the right side of the blue line, picked up a long pass out of defence, moved in on goal and scored a great goal.  4-4 I took several more clips at this critical stage of the contest.  The first one ends with a penalty, and the next ends with an injury to Ryan Bainborough. Bainborough did well to save his team from the embarrassment of conceding another short-handed goal before they took the lead once more.  The score, at 53.24 has been credited to Brears, but there was a long delay before the goal was confirmed.  There seemed to be controversy about whether the puck had crossed the line.  4-5 I have some more clips from these closing moments.  Another Chieftains player went off injured, and the longest clip ends with a timeout. With nothing to lose, Raiders withdrew netminder Gray, and the tactic paid off with 9 seconds left.  Matt Turner was the Raiders hero, caught in my last clip and as you can see, the house went wild.  5-5 After the buzzer, there was some unpleasantness on the far side from where I was standing.  The players gathered over by the edge and words were exchanged with some spectators.  I have no real idea what caused it, and fans of both sides have been accusing each other on Twitter.  All I can say for certain is that some adjacent youngsters were very upset and frightened by what happened, and it was ugly rather than serious.  Lots of Chieftains fans were saying that it was “as good as a win” as we headed out into the packed car park to cool down.  I’d been waiting for overtime until it became obvious that, in this league, tied scores are allowed.  Final score 5-5
The programme
Something random
Hello to any former pupils reading this – I have professional connections with both towns.  I was head of chemistry at St Edward’s, Romford from 1984 to 1989 and then deputy headteacher at Rainsford High School in Chelmsford from 1989 to 1994.  The educational landscape was very different in those days – much better in some, but also a lot worse in many, to be fair.  I was in Romford for the end of O levels and the arrival of GCSEs and a National Curriculum, and in Chelmsford for the start of grant-maintained status and the emergence of a national school inspection system.  The quality of teaching now is better than it was then, and we are better resourced – but the fundamental inequalities remain, and five governments later your educational prospects in this country still depend way too much on who your parents are and where you live.  If you ever get me started on this, please be prepared to listen for a long time.  There is still so much to be done.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Nothing to report – I am only counting the football fixtures in the total.
What Next?
No definite plans as yet – follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details as they emerge.

Not in Doubt at Nottingham

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 24 November 2012 at the Capital FM Arena
Result	Nottingham Panthers 5 Cardiff Devils 0
Competition	Elite League – top-tier British ice hockey
Hopping	Number 9 on the rinkhopping list
Pre-match preparation
Not a lot – I arrived in the pouring rain with five minutes to spare from Brigg.
This match in one sentence
An efficient and dominant performance from the home team, and the points were won with the four goals in the second period.
So what?
Nottingham are fourth in their “southern” conference table and have closed the gap to Cardiff in third to just one point.
The drama unfolds
Panthers’ David Clark was penalised for hooking after 12 seconds.  This is excellent commitment on his part – his team successfully defended the powerplay.  Here’s my scene-setter clip.  This is an excellent and comfortable arena, by the way – thoroughly enjoyed the visit here. Each team had one more powerplay opportunity in the first period but there were no goals.  I was surprised to find the shot count announced as 8-8 because my impression had been that Nottingham were well on top.  What do I know?  I don’t even know all the actions to the music – it’s embarrassing when you get “Put your hands up in the air, put your hands up in the air” mixed up with “We will rock you” and I have no idea about this gangplank style thing that everyone is doing.  0-0 at the end of the first period Panthers removed any lingering doubt about this result with a second period demolition of the Devils.  Cardiff had three penalties and Nottingham were lethal in converting all three into powerplay goals, with another one thrown in.  Bruce Graham scored one and assisted two, Pat Galivan scored two, including one from a rebound from a shot smacked in by Jordan Fox from the blue line, and Matthew Myers had the even-handed goal.  See, I am picking up the jargon.  Game over, to all intents and purposes.  4-0 at the end of the second period Myers added his second and the team’s fifth in the third period.  Not much else by way of drama apart from a bit of coincidental 2+2 roughing penalties and two of the officials hitting the ice when trying to separate the teams.  One of the penalties was against the Panthers’ netminder Craig Kowalski so fair play to Devils’ Devin Didiomete for trying to rough up someone with even more padding.  Final score 5-0
The programme
Something random
Clockwise!!!! It was never in doubt. Look at the posts tagged ice hockey in the cloud on the right if you would like an insight into the strange world of Zamboni behaviour.  This one has been badly disguised as an aeroplane but fools no-one.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Nothing to add – except that you can still make a pledge which I will ask you to pay up in June 2013 to help the funding of world-class eye and sight research at Moorfields Hospital.  Use the HoppingForMoorfields tag to look for further details.
What Next?
I will try to get to a midweek game, working hours and weather permitting.  Hanworth Villa v Littlehampton in a Vase replay on Tuesday is top of the shortlist.

Giants Derailed by Autumnal Leebs on the Line

Matt Beleskey has temporarily switched from Ducks to Blaze

A hockey netminder - society's way of finding work for clearly insane people.
No-one knows why people choose to do this.

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 3 November 2012 at The Skydome
Result	Coventry Blaze 5 Belfast Giants 4 (OT)
Competition	Elite League (the top tier of British ice hockey)
Hopping	Rink #8 on my lifetime list – here because I was in the Midlands for the day and an attempt to see a football match earlier was rained off - a waterlogged pitch at Highgate (and Alvechurch) despite the bright sunshine.  My first Elite League game.
Pre-match preparation
Not a lot!  Coventry are bottom of the table at the moment but there is very little between the teams in their conference.
This match in one sentence
A very entertaining see-saw fixture which saw Coventry come back in the third period from a two-goal deficit before Belfast took the tie to sudden-death four-on-four overtime.
So what?
The two teams meet again today - Blaze will overtake Giants if they can repeat the result.
The drama unfolds
The first period was somewhat cagey and entertaining at a technical level.  The game seemed less frantic (at this stage) than some of the Premier league encounters I have watched so far.  The sides defended a powerplay each.  Here's a scene-setter clip.  Blaze are in blue. Blaze then had a goal disallowed (the red light came on) because the net was off its moorings.  The second clip is also from the first period and Blaze are again successfully defending a powerplay after a teensy bit of hooking by Brad Leeb.  0-0 at the end of the first The next clip has Giants defending a powerplay (for some minor assault or other) and excellent work by Blaze netminder Peter Hirsch.  A goal began to look more likely. The goal duly arrived at 33m52s from Giant's Noah Clarke.  Good finish.  0-1 Blaze struck back within four minutes (3 minutes and 59 seconds to be precise).  Dustin Cameron the scorer with assists from programme-cover star Matt Beleskey and Shea Guthrie.  Beleskey has signed on-loan from the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL and Blaze fans will be hoping that the NHL player lock-out continues for a while yet.  To quote the programme, "After a debut performance including an impressive fight that instantly won over a packed Skydome ...".  1-1 Within one minute, however (57 seconds for the pedants) Andrew Fournier's shot was beaten out by Hirsch but straight back to him and he reacted well to score.  1-2 His second goal just before the end of the second period was also a clinical finish to give the Giants a two-goal cushion and they looked to be in control of the game.  1-3 The teams played four-on-four for two minutes after some cross-checking misdemeanours but a "too many men" penalty for Giants opened a window of opportunity for Blaze as they would start the final period with 93s of powerplay advantage.  1-3 at the end of the second Here's their crucial powerplay goal at the start of the third.  The scorer is Brad Leeb.  2-3 The momentum had switched and Blaze were soon level.  Beleskey and Cameron combined to assist the score by Mike Schutte.  3-3 Giants' netminder Stephen Murphy was called upon to make three saves in quick succession before Blaze rattled the goalframe, but the turnround was complete as Blaze converted a powerplay goal.  Brad Leeb's second of the night was assisted by brother Greg with Robbie Sandrock watching from the sinbin for tripping.  4-3 To be fair to Giants, they came straight back themselves to level the match.  With Schutte sitting out 2 mins for tripping, Jeff Mason got the goal with just under nine minutes to go.  4-4 Blaze completed the handover of the initiative to giants as Beleskey was penalised for high sticks, and then gift-wrapped it with a full minute of 5 on 3 as Benn Olson was adjudged to have delayed the game.  Here's the clip. Superb defence work by Blaze to ensure that we needed overtime, which in this league is four-on-four sudden death.  4-4 at the end of the third It took two-and--half minutes before this happened to decide the game (after some crowd-pleasing "Put your hands up in the air.." action a few seconds earlier...).  It's the Leebs again, combining in the same order as they had done for the fourth goal.  This one won it.  The ref is right on the spot to make the call.  A great night of sporting action for a £16 ticket.  Final score 5-4
The programme
Something random
Clockwise! (I do love a running joke … see previous ice hockey posts for details of my northern hemisphere net Coriolis force clockwise Zamboni rotation theory which remains intact even if my credibility doesn’t.)
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Nothing to report!
What Next?
More careful scrutiny of weather charts as we enter the season of fixture disruption.