Eight thousand people can't be wrong

The Play-Off Finals weekend took place this past Saturday and Sunday (as weekends tend to do) and around 8000 hockey fans descended on the National Ice Centre in Nottingham in what has become an annual tradition. I've filed a match report on the official Phoenix site so I won't do another one on here, but instead you get my personal insights into the whole experience. So feel free to either read on or skip this posting. Your choice!

The Play-Offs began for me on Friday, with a trip along the A50 in the company of my missus, my mother in law, and Tambo, who was the designated driver for the weekend. Friday night was spent in the company of 20 hockey fans from Manchester and London (and Australia and Maine, USA) in a Greek restaurant within staggering distance of the Arena, where the first round of the Rumour Mill began. For those new to ice hockey, the Rumour Mill is something that takes place wherever fans meet, either in person or online, and consists of trading rumours about who will be playing where next season. Sometimes a real pearler will come out of it, and sometimes there's even some truth in it, which can be scary at times ("Rick Brebant to coach a new team in Manchester" was the rumour that circulated at the Play-Offs after Storm had folded. Sure enough....)

So, with no accreditation of truth or accuracy, here are the rumours that reached my delicate ears over the weekend concerning our beloved Phoenix:

Manchester to be coached by Dave Whistle.
Manchester to be player/coached by Jeff Christian.
Manchester to be coached by Paul Adey.
Manchester to be coached by Mike Blaisdell.
Manchester to be coached by Paul Heavey.
Manchester's two goalies will be Ladislav Kudrna and Jayme Platt.
Manchester's two goalies will be Ladislav Kudrna and Stevie Lyle.
Manchester's two goalies will be Stevie Lyle and Mike Torchia.
Manchester's two goalies will be Mike Torchia and Trevor Robins.
Dwight Parrish back to Manchester
George Awada back to Manchester
Manchester to acquire Russ Romaniuk from Cardiff
Manchester to acquire Jason Rempel from Cardiff
Manchester to acquire Scott McKenzie from Team Scotland
Manchester to acquire Paul Sample from Sheffield
Manchester to acquire Dave Clancy from Blackburn
Mike Morin to be tempted out of retirement and come back to Manchester
Manchester Menace to be brought back from Canada
Manchester Menace to be replaced by Mrs Menace

So it's been a busy weekend for rumours, especially those concerning Manchester...

Saturday's on-ice action was a cracking day's entertainment, with first Coventry and Sheffield knocking lumps out of each other in a bizarrely penalty-free game, then Cardiff and Nottingham knocking lumps out of each other in a penalty-filled game. Cardiff and Sheffield are eliminated, Coventry and Nottingham go through.

Sunday's international match was an absolute belter. Usually this match, whilst still entertaining, ends in a whitewash by England over Scotland, but this year it was a much tighter affair, with both teams showing some real potential (except for one of the Scottish defencemen, who in my humble opinion hadn't a clue what he was supposed to be doing, and subsequently cost his team the game...)

The weird point of the weekend was the bronze medal game between Cardiff and Sheffield. Now, depending on what you hear and what you believe, it seems that both teams decided that it wasn't worth risking life and limb to play a meaningless game, and therefore chose to play it for fun. Therefore as a serious game it sucked, but as an exhibition match it was brilliant. Cardiff netminder Jason Cugnet got a chance to shine as an outskater, and defenceman Rob Davison found the net as a forward for the afternoon. You could see clearly that both teams were enjoying themselves, and on that score a fun time was had by all.

The Final match was one of the best games of hockey that it's been my pleasure to witness. As a fan, that match had everything - excitement, tension and passion. The fans throughout the arena enjoyed that game, no matter which team you were supporting. Neither team deserved to lose the game, but unfortunately one had to. Coventry earned their third piece of silverware for the season in front of a raucous crowd.

The weekend was rounded off with a session in the Bunkers Hill pub, next to the Arena, in the company of fans from Belfast, Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham and London, who were a glowing display of how hockey brings people together and that the best experience is a shared one. I don't know of any other sport where fans of rival teams can mingle in such a friendly way, and for that I'm proud to be a hockey fan.

Roll on next season and the return of the Phoenix!