Coventry Blaze sadly lost 5-3 at home game to Manchester Storm in the Elite League on Sunday night. This was the first Ice Hockey game I have attended in my 18 years of life, and it probably comes as no surprise that I had no idea what was going on the whole time. Not being the biggest sports fanatic, my attention span was at an all time low but I wanted to get involved with some Coventry community spirit, and thought that the best way of doing this was to attend a sports game and support the local team. I just about managed to grasp the concept of how the scoring worked, but sadly that’s as far as my sports knowledge wished to extend to.
Two goals inside 43 seconds from Paul Phillips at 11 minutes 19 seconds and Vinny Scarsella - Number 23 - at 12 minutes 02 seconds helped Manchester Storm hold a two-goal first-period advantage.
I had no idea what to expect from a home Ice Hockey game, however I’ve come to the realisation that a lot of the crowd was most likely made up of those who wanted to be sports fans without the hassle of following a Football or Rugby team and sitting through long, tedious matches. Of course, there were your typical stereotypes amongst the spectators, such as the dedicated away team fans that travelled by coach chanting team songs all the way, and continued to do so throughout the whole duration of the match, there were the angry fans who liked profane language towards the opposing team a bit too much, and there were the families who had come to try and use sport as a way to bond on a Sunday. Although many of the young children that were there probably had more of an idea of what was going on than me, they relentlessly sat there sounding their horn blowers and waving their flashing light sticks about in an endless attempt to catch a player's attention.
I’ve quickly come to the realisation that Ice Hockey is just football without the swearing and abuse, which seems to be a much more family friendly scene, although it seems to be a scene for middle class people looking for a fight. This is the fourth defeat Coventry Blaze has Matt Sisca - number 45 - and Carl Lauzon - number 52 - traded markers but Blaze slipped to a fourth successive defeat to Storm this season. Despite the defeat, Coventry Blaze players stayed very humble and congratulated players from Manchester Storm, giving credit to the goalie due to his talented saves during the match. Coventry Blaze players have proceeded to say that this defeat will not knock them down, but has determined them not to feel sorry for themselves and to work harder to make themselves better.
(originally posted 26th November 2015 www.luna-llena.co.uk)
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