WCH04

I can almost taste the ice.

Hockey is back, with the curtain-raiser to the new season, the World Cup of Hockey 04. Thanks to the glorious people at NASN, we can catch pretty much all the games from this eight-team world tournament live, which for a hockey fan who's not seen a live game since the Play-Offs this is an absolute Godsend (not counting games played in - after all, you're not really watching them, more surviving them).

So far I've been treated to the sight of the Swedes giving the Germans a good run for their money, the Finns soundly trouncing a surprisingly weak Czech Republic side, and the two North American teams knocking lumps out of each other (Mario Lemieux starting a fight! How often do you see that happen?!)

Over the next week the NHL Tour comes to these shores, with games in Cardiff, Sheffield and London (I believe). And with the start of the new season just around the corner, it's time to get the shirts out of the wardrobe and start going hockey mad once again, even if our team isn't playing this year. Manchester Phoenix lives on through the fans, and I'm expecting to be seeing other Phoenix shirts at all of the games I make it to, cheering on either of the teams and enjoying some great hockey whilst dreaming of the day when the Phoenix boys take to the ice once more.

Oh yes, that day will come.