Bison Out But Not Down

Bison 2 Slough Jets 1 (aggregate 4-4)

EPL Cup semi final second leg

Jets win in a shoot out

Blimey! Where do we start. As a sports report writer, whether a professional or a rank amateur like me, you need a theme to hang your report on. But last night was a game of many themes, namely Bison’s quest for silverware cruelly receding, top drawer goaltending performances, a game in which the Jets were called for a total of 26 minutes in penalties and yet managed to shut out the Bison power play or the heroics of Nick “You What?” Watt, who gave his absolute all to haul Bison into the final of the competition. Well maybe it would be appropriate to highlight all of those features.

Having seen their chance of the EPL title more or less evaporate last weekend, Bison were hanging their hopes on an emphatic victory to overcome a 2-3 first leg deficit against the Jets and move into the final of the Cup where either the Guildford Flames or the Manchester Phoenix await. Alas after elimination from this competition, the only remaining hope of a pot is victory in the play offs at the end of the season when surely Bison have little better than a one in eight chance, such an insufficient reward for all the hard work of this season.

It was a night of goaltending performances of connoisseurs’ quality. Greg Rockman won the game for the Jets with two penalty saves and forcing Joe Miller to shoot wide, not to mention a number of impressive saves during the game. However, eclipsing Rocky’s performance was that of Stonewall Stevie Lyle, who was a colossus in the Bison net and produced a string of blocks, saves and catches, some of which had the Bison crowd gasping in disbelief and renting the air which such utterances as “What a save!” and “The man’s a genius”

“It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men!” So sang the Weather Girls (and Geri Halliwell). At Planet Ice last night it didn’t rain men or even cats and dogs, but it did rain penalties, Bison picking up 12 minutes and Slough a staggering 26 minutes, but, due to a combination of stout defense, solid goaltending and ineffective forward play, the Jets managed to negate Bison’s numerical advantage on every occasion.

And a word for Nicky “You What?” Watt, who put himself about in typical style, had a fight, set up Bison’s “winning” goal and was back on the ice on his next shift after sustaining what looked like a game ending injury in the 3^rd. People use the cliché “giving 110%”. That’s not possible – just ask Climbing Girl. But Nicky sure gave everything that was in his tank.

Anyway what about the game? Bison started rather tentatively and paid the price with a goal against on the stroke of 3 minutes. Frankie Bakrlik, a giant of a man at 6’5” and 231 lbs, but lean and quick on his feet unlike his team-mate Adam Greener, heavier, considerably shorter and not so fleet of foot, tore down the right wing covered by Zach Sullivan, who is much leaner than Greener (who isn’t?). Zach did a very good job of preventing Bakrlik from shooting himself (not literally of course), but Big Frankie chose the other option of a pinpoint pass inside where Matt Towalski, who had left his covering D-man for dead, belted in a snap shot. On came the red light and it was 0-1 on the night and 2-4 on aggregate.

Disorder of the most virulent and shameful variety broke out midway through the period. Mindy Kieras and Nicky Watt exchanged blows before Watty turned round and had a go at Aaron Connolly, who I suspect was expressing his opinions of the Bison man in a somewhat forthright manner. Next we saw Kieras and Cuddly Joe Greener become pugilistically entangled. Someone intervened and held Joe’s arms, but, much to his chagrin I am sure, Mindy continued to strike him. Suddenly a satellite encounter developed with Watty and Connolly skating to open ice, posturing, removing helmets and getting stuck in with the Bison crowd baying for blood. It was an interesting encounter, which ended about even with no blood spilled. 2 + 2 for Connolly, 2 + 2 + 2 for Watt. Heaven knows why Watty got the extra 2. As for Kieras nothing at all despite punching both Watty and Cuddly Joe.

The fisticuffs were not over. Shortly afterwards the incredible bulk, who is Adam Greener, took exception to something Greg “Chubbs” Chambers had done or said, stood in front of him and proceeded to punch him in the face. Chubbs stood his ground, declined to retaliate and amazingly had a smile on his face, maybe because he knew he had goaded the big man into buying a penalty. As for Greener, had he been a military man, he would surely have been court martialled, reduced to the ranks, had his epaulettes torn off and his sword broken in two before being incarcerated in the stockade with nothing but bread and water for sustenance and then having to suffer the final ignominy of being dishonourably discharged with a permanent stain on his character. Thankfully for him a military man he is not and all he got was 2 minutes in the box.

The Jets maintained their goal advantage until well into the 2^nd, but they were to come unstuck in the 29^th minute. Alex Symonds fired a pass from defense to Shoeless Joe Miller on the left. Joe cut in and squeezed a shot under Rockman’s pad. Duracell Man, a closer observer than me, confirmed that the puck had dribbled over the line, thereby indicating that Rocky had “got a piece of it” but couldn’t keep it out. Bison had been pressing hard and the goal hadn’t exactly come out of the blue.

The Jets fans were to become even bluer in the 36^th when Bison stormed into a 2-1 lead and level on aggregate at 4-4. The architect of the goal was Nicky “You What?” Watt, now wearing shirt no. 26, following the renting asunder of his regular no.49 shirt in the Connolly fight.. You couldn’t have described Watty’s movement as clumsy, ungainly, awkward or blundering, but rather graceful, adroit, elegant and aesthetically pleasing. In fact you could say his movement was as graceful as Canova’s Three Graces. Not that he resembled any of them (Google the Three Graces and make up your own mind). His slide rule pass (ask Climbing Girl what a slide rule is) found his ex Swindon team-mate, Jaroslav Cesky crashing the net and forcing the puck home. Neither does Jaro resemble any of the Three Graces, certainly not with five o’clock shadow of that magnitude. I would like to say that he possesses the sure footedness of an Alpine goat, but I can’t because he didn’t on this occasion. In fact, he fell over, which was hardly surprising as the desperate sprawling from of Rockman took his legs away. The red light illuminated and a sudden commotion stirred amongst the Bison faithful, who in unison sprang to their feet and delivered a vocal hullabaloo loud enough to register on the Richter Scale. Jaro regained his feet quickly enough to enjoy the goal celebrations.

Sadly for Bison, they failed to find the net again and, although winning the game on the night, they now had to face a shoot out to decide who would go through to the final. Bakrlik was the only scorer of the 6 shooters and wild celebrations broke out on the ice and in the away supporters block as Rocky saved the final penalty from Chubbs. We must now wish the Jets success in the final. Over the two legs there was nothing more than a Rizla fag paper separating the teams.