Like last weekend, this weekend is going to be a full one - hence why I'm writing this right now because Sunday's going to be a tad busy. First up today, Saturday, F1 qualifying for the most important race of the season; tomorrow's race will decide the driver's world champion. Then this afternoon a three-hour course in decorating cupcakes for Christmas. Couldn't help thinking how bizarre it was to be doing something so genteel , twee and mumsy but by 7pm I'd be at the Thunderdome, shouting and cheering and being anything BUT genteel and mumsy! Even left the course slightly early so I could get home, wash off a covering of food colouring and glitter, and put my hockey top on.
The friend who accompanied me to the course joked that if I cut it TOO fine for getting to hockey, I could take my newly decorated cupcakes in with me and perhaps use them to help smooth over any roughing in the game ("now now, boys - stop hitting each other, have a cupcake and lets all be friends, mmm?") My personal plan was to use them to get into the changing room - say that Nick had ordered them as a post-match treat for the guys, and I was delivering them personally....!! (Incidentally if ever the team DO want cupcakes - Christmassy or otherwise - their wish is my command, if I can deliver in person, LOL!)
And I would absolutely love to be a fly on the wall in the dressing room in a period break - I'm intrigued by the dynamic, what's said, what happens - do Carrsy and Nick lay into them if it's not going well or is it just an uplifting motivational team talk to encourage everyone?
Anyway on to tonight's game. When the Steeldogs last rocked up at the Thunderdome a month ago, Lightning had a 4-0 shut out without appearing to try too hard - despite being missing Christie, meaning Carrsy had to drop into defence and our lines were unsettled a little. Lightning even managed to kill a 5 on 3 powerplay without too much trouble and the whole thing didn't seem like much of a chore for the guys at all.
So in comparison to last week's blockbuster game against Bison, a match against Sheffield didn't hold as much promise of a real battle - a thorough pasting, possibly - but not an epic game. Adam Radmall came back to MK in defence for the Steeldogs after a brief period with Nottingham - and got a warm welcome when the teams were announced. The Steeldogs also fielded Adam Brittle's brother Stuart.
The first period felt like we let Sheffield have far too much time on the puck; I kind of expected Lightning to be showing them who was in charge, right from the first face-off but it looked like the Puppydogs of a month ago weren't prepared to be bossed around again. By the end of the first period we were 3-0 up with a superior shot count, but I couldn't help feeling we'd let them have too much time in possession (even though they'd done so little with it) and frustrated that we weren't showing them who was in charge, right from the start. Was it just me?
I felt we really improved in the second period and sure enough more goals followed, and the Steeldogs looked a little less settled. By the third period, Lightning were well and truly in control , and our game was a lot more flowing and even more goals followed. Infact we were so in control that we were able to give Mettsy a rest and let Christopher Gill, netminder for MK Thunder, take over and get a bit of seniors experience for the last three minutes or so.
Although as a whole there were none of the major fireworks that we saw in last week's game there were far more penalties, which was frustrating - including two for icing infringements (which made me smile, having spent the afternoon up to my elbows in the stuff). And having said in my last blog how none of our imports spend much time at all in the sin bin, Lukas was first in there tonight after only two minutes!! No major fights for me to fret over tonight, just a late Sheffield attempt at dropping the gloves which wasn't taken up, and a fair amount of very minor pushing and shoving - including Nick having angry-looking words with Stuart Brittle for trying to lodge his stick up Nick's nose. Speaking of Nick, I was starting to worry that in the first two periods he seemed (to my untrained eye) to be spending more time on the bench than on the ice and looked a bit knackered when he headed off. The same thing occurred to me last week, which got me wondering if he genuinely IS a bit knackered (no, 37 years old isn't ancient by a long chalk and there are older guys than him still playing - but most of the rest of our team have a good 10 years on him). Or was the recent shoulder injury still niggling? Or
did he just prefer to get a wider view of the game from the bench? Encouragingly though when he's off, he always looks like he's itching to get back on again. I thought it was funny a few weeks back when he served a penalty, that he spent most of it standing on the sin bin bench peeking over the plexiglass, really craning his neck to see what was going on! Thankfully he spent much of the final period tonight icing (no, not cupcakes), racing around, battling at every turn, as influential as anyone else. On another very positive note Jacob Heron and Jamie Line both seem to be growing in confidence practically by the minute, and I hope we can hold onto him for the future.But try as I might, I just couldn't get 'into' tonight's game - whereas I was bouncing like Tigger on e-numbers before, during and after last week's match. Felt myself 'watching but not seeing' the game. Was it "it's only Sheffield" syndrome? Was it that Lightning, perhaps justifiably, didn't feel the need to push into top gear - or wanted to keep something in reserve for Sunday's game at Flames - which felt to me like an anticlimax after last week. Was it just me?
Overall I'm mighty chuffed at a 7-2 win and two more points in the bag to push us up to fifth in the table with four games in hand - although even if the guys keep playing in the fine form they're in, knocking either Phoenix or Flames off their current perches will be a hell of a task. And points will be harder to come by in the next two games - away to Flames then home to Jets (which I'm going to miss and I'm gutted!). It'll be touch and go whether or not I get to the home game against the Bees, but believe me I'll be pulling out all the stops to make it happen.
I think the frustration of being a newbie is getting to me - I had NO idea what the flip those icing infringements were until The Boy explained afterwards (and it's nothing to do with getting stray bits of glitter mixed in with your cake topping) and I missed why half the penalties were called. I still keep forgetting which of our players are defenders and which are forwards, and there's no way on God's earth I can remember at the moment who our various lines are. I think what I need is a willing victim - errr I mean volunteer - to stand with me during matchesand tell me what the flip is going on sometimes!! Anyone?!!
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