So, how much has a Thursday night in Hull told us about the destination of this years Moralee North title ? A three way shoot out that’s been simmering away nicely over the last few weeks came to the boil on Thursday evening as two of the three contenders, Hull Pirates and the Sheffield Steeldogs met at the Hull Ice Arena. The game, prefaced by the usual pre match publicity from both sides, and built around a long standing rivalry, found the Steeldogs enter the arena with bragging rights following their recent North Cup semi final win. Back in Hull once more, this time looking to take a big bite out of the home teams title ambitions.

At the end of the 3rd period any thoughts of a close game, a one goal in 3 or 4, or a match sealed in overtime, had been well and truly washed away. The script was torn up in a second period that saw the home side net 7 goals without reply, and then go on to run out comfortable winners by 13 goals to 2. And for anyone who suggests they could see that one coming the answer around these parts goes something like “you’re ‘avin me on”. A sort of local expression that lets you know you’re pants are on fire.

So what does 13-2 tell us? Not only about the title but about both sides? I would suggest it tells you more about the Pirates than the Steeldogs. Having played some sublime hockey to race into a 3-0 lead the Pirates were then pulled back to 3-2 only minutes later. The crowd temporarily silent. The travelling fans out of their seats. And perhaps it’s as much the 3-2 scoreline as the 13-2 one that tells you what you need to know about the Pirates title ambitions. No panic. Just regroup. Dig in. The spectre of then going in level replaced by a 4th goal in the 1st period..

The final result then was a decisive margin. Social media lit up. Questions were being asked. Steeldogs short benched? Key players missing? Diane Abbott keeping the score? None of the above. Games like these can often be fine margins. Find your momentum and who knows what can happen. Well actually, we now do know. For Sheffield time to reflect. To move on. They’re a good team. They’ll be there or there abouts at the end. For the Hull Pirates it’s been a pretty good few days. A 10-7 Saturday away win at Telford Tigers, the 3rd contender in the mix, just edged out 4-3 at home in the return fixture on Sunday. Would you have taken 5 points out of 6 before these three games? You bet you would.

You’ll know from previous blogs that my ability to predict a result is similar to an attempt to find a black cat in a coal cellar with the light out. But there’s something about the Pirates this time around that makes me feel they’ll never have a better chance. Firepower not in doubt, defence tightened, keeper back in form. But it’s more than that. There’s a real togetherness on the ice. And they’re also keeping out of the penalty box on occasions where previously they’d be sitting it out. Less drawn in. An awareness that you don’t win games watching through the glass.

So, what next. Keep your eye on 10th March, Telford at home to Sheffield. It will be a cracking game. Vote now on the result. But don’t expect a 13-2 score. As Les Dennis would say, if that scorelines up there I’ll give you the money myself. But it’s another piece of a fascinating jigsaw in an edge of the seat run in. Add to that Telford have still to visit the Pirates, and there’s a final game at Ice Sheffield as the Steeldogs host Hull. How can you not be gripped by this seasons title run in. Bottom line, 3 good teams, each with their destiny in their own hands.

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Forget Brexit. If you want a real toughie, try this one. “Create a new structure below the Elite League that promotes, sustains and develops British ice hockey”. The perennial rumour mill is that a revised structure is on its way, whether that’s the case or not time will tell. But what structure would you draw if you had a pencil and a blank piece of paper? The return of the EPL? A conference based system? Something else? Well, it seems everyone’s having a go, so for what it’s worth I’ll throw my hat in.

Start with the desired outcomes. Sustainable British hockey. A place to nurture and develops British talent, not exclusively, but predominantly. An overall structure that recognises the relative (and on some occasions significant) differences between teams within the northern and southern sections but keeps the door firmly open for those gaps to be closed. And crucially to find the sponsorship, building on that opportunity to keep the coverage of hockey on tv channels such as Freesports.

Many years ago Rugby League changed its structure to create its own ‘Elite’ or as it’s known ‘Super League’. In doing so most of its coverage moved over to Sky. The result being it became largely invisible to the free to air viewer, lost its place in what’s been called the public consciousness. Hockey will do well to continue to reflect on this connection and should push to fill gaps appearing in traditional mainstream sports coverage.

So, what’s on my piece of paper? There’s been lots of talk about the differential, scores with 13 or 14 goal margins not being good for the game. I agree, but equally remove that opportunity to play those ‘better’ teams and you will stifle improvement. Something that I believe applies across sport generally. So with that as part of my thinking, plus the potential for the top 8-10 teams to provide an attractive and competitive structure, it goes something like this.

– Bring together 8 to 10 teams to form a Championship 2nd tier competition.
– Remaining teams into North 1 / South 1 regional divisions.
– Look to ‘lift’ teams (agreed number) from Laidler & Wilkinson into new North and South 1
– Cup competitions structured to bring together both Championship and Regional division teams, so giving the leading regional teams the opportunity to continue to compete against Championship sides.
– An option to extend those cup competitions to include/ extend to additional teams eg from Scotland
– Retain a play off end of season format to bring together clubs into a weekend finals tournament

So much though depends on money and sponsorship. So, with a reasonable amount of money available to you from investment/sponsorship, along with a fair wind, what would be on your piece of paper ?

Told you Brexit was easier.

Enjoy your hockey.