Blaze Vs Devils - 31 Mar 19 - League .. decider?

Congratulations to Belfast for winning the League when they probably didn't think they would
I have been watching the Devils from the beginning and have only been disappointed more when the Aviemore Blackhawks beat us in the Play off final
We have been a Jekyll and Hyde team all season, we didn't lose the league this evening we lost it at home to Milton Keynes Glasgow Dundee Coventry and Fife winning any of those games would have secured the 3peat
If you had told Andrew Lord at the beginning of the season his team would win the league if they beat Lightning at home and Blaze away he would have bitten your hand off
It's been an infuriating season there have been lows and highs
Charles Linglet has been a joy to watch all season and for effort and work Stephen Dixon has been outstanding
Fournier has been excellent and Joey Martin is the MVP
I really don't understand the criticism of Ben Bowns he is No1
If Andrew Hotham had played another year for us we would have had the 3peat by Christmas

The play offs have been devalued greatly over the years going to Wembley used to mean something and beating the Racers on penalty shots remains as my most memorable sporting experience, so I no longer value that trophy win 4 games and its yours

I would like to see a few new younger players next year hungry for success

Happy Hockey Days All see you next season
 

Mazzoak

Well-Known Member
Congratulations to Belfast.

Sport is a beast, nobody’s job is secure, every performance is scrutinised, every player, coach, manager, owner judged, it’s not for the faint of heart. Loosing to an 8th placed team on the last game, to secure the title, is unacceptable and so it should be. If fans want people to remain out of loyalty, that’s great, admirable, just don’t expect trophies and titles. If you want success then you need to improve all aspects, cycle players, strategies etc etc you have to move forward, no matter what. It’s not a career that is forgiving, a bad day at the office has more repricussions.

Who goes ??????

I’ll keep my opinion of who should stay to myself, this place isn’t the one to put it, all l would say is, the list of remaining people would be short, very short.
 

Justtw

Active Member
Social media can be a horrible place, luckily for me all the Devils fans I follow are doing the right things and saying the right words.

Some proper pieces of work out there but thankfully nowt to do with me.

See you all for the playoffs

Yeah to be fair, even when Steelers lose, you get a few devils making comments but bloody hell.. when we lose, the entire league laughs at us.
 

rolf

Active Member
I watch here with great interest at the experts on this forum bicker amongst themselves. I did not post any more after I was bullied off for sharing my opinions here. Please just remind me how much silverware we as a team have won this season? By the way I still wear the club tattoo.....
 
In fairness I think majority of fans across the league apart from the Scots dont really care about the conference titles. The league is obviously the main one and fair play to you guys for pulling it off you deserved it! Last years play offs were a massive high for me wont deny that but I think it's the format that again fans across the league dont like. Winning trophies are always a buzz but some are more special than others wouldn't you agree??
completely agree.....play - offs should be more than 2 games.....challenge cup should be done and dusted by Christmas...and if we are just 10- teams next season straight league without conferences. You have to win what`s put in front of you trophy wise, and to win them all is a real Grand Slam (not like the one claimed by Panthers a few years ago lol)
 

Wannabe2

Well-Known Member
Congratulations to Belfast for winning the League when they probably didn't think they would
I have been watching the Devils from the beginning and have only been disappointed more when the Aviemore Blackhawks beat us in the Play off final
We have been a Jekyll and Hyde team all season, we didn't lose the league this evening we lost it at home to Milton Keynes Glasgow Dundee Coventry and Fife winning any of those games would have secured the 3peat
If you had told Andrew Lord at the beginning of the season his team would win the league if they beat Lightning at home and Blaze away he would have bitten your hand off
It's been an infuriating season there have been lows and highs
Charles Linglet has been a joy to watch all season and for effort and work Stephen Dixon has been outstanding
Fournier has been excellent and Joey Martin is the MVP
I really don't understand the criticism of Ben Bowns he is No1
If Andrew Hotham had played another year for us we would have had the 3peat by Christmas

The play offs have been devalued greatly over the years going to Wembley used to mean something and beating the Racers on penalty shots remains as my most memorable sporting experience, so I no longer value that trophy win 4 games and its yours

I would like to see a few new younger players next year hungry for success

Happy Hockey Days All see you next season
Now there’s a name from the past.
 

Sliput

Active Member
I would normally class myself as a happy clapped, always find positives when we lose etc.....I very rarely comment after games but we were absolutely rubbish tonight. You had players falling over each other, three players at once going for the puck, greedy players trying to get the wraparound when there were more suitable players free. Just a bad game all round, they happen .
 
Iam too massively dissapointed that we missed out on the league title this year but to put into perspective before Steve & co. took over this club was all but finished, I would like to thank all those involved in making our beloved club into a competitive force and I'm sure lessons will learned and next season we'll be competitive again we've had a really difficult season with players leaving etc. to finish in second is an achievement so cmon lets do this again. Cardiff die trying.........
 

Ocko

Well-Known Member
We lost on regulation wins so we weren’t that far away. We aren’t a bad team because of one dropped point over the course of the year.

I thought we were head and shoulders at the beginning of the season but overall it’s been a tough year that we’ve actually done ok considering. Losing Blood and Faryna killed us at times where we needed that character. Whatever happened with Hotham came to bite us as well - we were a good team just missing that bit of X factor; we relied too much on Martin, Fournier and Linglet. I rate all our additions this year and think they improved us. We just have a player or two who haven’t offered what they have in previous years and based on ability would be no where near the Giants squad. Small margins.
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
I hope all of us (fans/coaches/management/owners) never forget Coventry’s part in all this. Bent over backwards against Belfast last week and celebrating like they’d won the bloody league tonight. I can live with all that but playing the Belfast City song after the match?! I appreciate we’ve had a rivalry with Coventry over the years but that’s classless. I’d find it genuinely embarrassing if Paul Sullivan did that at our barn
 
As we have come to expect Lordo gracious in defeat, but the pain he is feeling is palpable. Read many posts tonight & will always respect the views of others, but Ocko sums it up for me. Re- read my posts & when Hotham announcrd that he was not returning , I said it was 'the one i has dreaded', can't help but feel that he was the missing piece this year. Having said that, who knows what Parisi & Blood for a full seaon would have achieved, all iffs & maybes now. Still we regroup for play offs & I will be cheering as loud as ever.
 
gutted...yes
disappointed...absolutely
surprise.....no
said last night I didn't fancy going to Coventry and getting a point....
season as a whole......to be honest had we got the point tonight, I think that it would have papered over the obvious weaknesses in our line up.
defensively.....too many games we let in sloppy goals.....that's a collective effort starting from the forwards
offensively.....to many players blowing hot and cold......only a handful of consistent performers .....
this year we also showed a lack of speed ....which over the past few years Lord has mentioned on numerous occasions......other teams were quicker in a lot of areas
this year more than most we lacked that heart on sleeve player....that one guy (or couple) that made you feel something.... and by that I mean a Lordo, Faryna, Voth, etc......i guess the players with an edge to them ......this is not too be confused about players caring btw
 
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kingmo19.1

Well-Known Member
gutted...yes
disappointed...absolutely
surprise.....no
said last night I didn't fancy going to Coventry and getting a point....
season as a whole......to be honest had we got the point tonight, I think that it would have papered over the obvious weaknesses in our line up.
defensively.....too many games we let in sloppy goals.....that's a collective effort starting from the forwards
offensively.....to many players blowing hot and cold......only a handful of consistent performers .....
this year we also showed a lack of speed ....which over the past few years Lord has mentioned on numerous occasions......other teams were quicker in a lot of areas
this year more than most we lacked that heart on sleeve player....that one guy (or couple) that made you feel something.... and by that I mean a Lordo, Faryna, Voth, etc......i guess the players with an edge to them ......this is not too be confused about players caring btw
Totally nailed it with that post. On the subject of consistent forwards, I counted 2 (TWO!). One of them played well the first half of the season then took the entire second half off! .... If he gets renewed, my season ticket won't be!
 

august04

Well-Known Member
I feel for Lord, he cares so much - but it’s unfortunate that our team this year lacked just the type of player that he was. In some ways, I wish he was still playing. And you need those character guys as much as you need the skill of Linglet, Martin, Fournier etc.
 

The_Puck

Active Member
I hope all of us (fans/coaches/management/owners) never forget Coventry’s part in all this. Bent over backwards against Belfast last week and celebrating like they’d won the bloody league tonight. I can live with all that but playing the Belfast City song after the match?! I appreciate we’ve had a rivalry with Coventry over the years but that’s classless. I’d find it genuinely embarrassing if Paul Sullivan did that at our barn
I don’t have an issue with it personally. We’ve had their number for years, we’ve knocked them out of the playoffs and the challenge cup before. They finally stopped us winning something so they have every right to celebrate as much as they did tonight. Saying that, they’ve given themselves a much harder playoff tie and it’s gonna hurt them financially aswell.
 

Hedd Wyn John

Well-Known Member
Disappointed with the loss but after the defeat to the Stars I had a feeling this would happen. The Devils this season have gone from fantastic to average and back again too many times and ultimately cost the League. Other teams have upped their game since last year but the Devils haven’t improved. Anyway it’s awake up call.
 

august04

Well-Known Member
I feel sorry for lord. Badly let down by at least a few of his players . I remember before Xmas when he quoted “absolutely disgusting “ about their not being prepared for the game . Perhaps he should have acted. Coz they have done it again to him
He’s been too loyal to one or two, for one season too many. I’d like to see a younger, hungrier team next year, who play every game like it’s their last.
 
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