Hockey Night in Canada Scotland and Ireland
Is it October yet? Yes, October is here, and with it comes all of the glorious things fall has to offer–apple picking, pumpkin-inspired everything, corn mazes, and of course, the seasonal return of the world’s best sport, ice hockey!
So what now?
Over two weeks have now passed since the start of the lockout. All preseason games have been cancelled, and only a small miracle is likely to prevent regular season games from following suit. But there is hope , and there is hockey.
There are also the East Coast Hockey League, Central Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and numerous junior leagues to boot. A handy website you might find useful is called Hockey Team Finder, which searches all of the aforementioned leagues, plus NCAA D-1 teams.
Last week, the Edinburgh Capitals defeated the Hull Stingrays 4-3 in a seven round shootout thriller that had all 673 in attendance on their feet!
The EIHL level of play is probably comparable to an ECHL game, but having never been to one of those I can’t say for sure. Nevertheless, just seeing hockey play was a welcome experience.
This weekend I took in games in Belfast and Glasgow, so there will be lots more to report regarding the good old hockey game on the other side of the Atlantic as the EIHL season progresses. Lat night, the Belfast Giants topped the Nottingham Panthers 3-2 (SO), at Odyssey Arena, and Glasgow’s Breahead Clan face the Sheffield Steelers tonight – puck drop at 6:00pm (BST).
Back in North America, I don’t know when this year’s lockout will end. I hope it’s soon, but optimism is becoming increasingly scarce. Regardless, just because the NHL doesn’t want to play nice doesn’t mean all of the fans have to sit in time out. Get out, go see a game and support the teams who, if it weren’t for the lockout, wouldn’t be getting that support and exposure.
All of that being said, Let’s go Amerks! And let’s go my new home team, the Edinburgh Capitals! So for the next few months I’ll continue to Loccupy Scotland. Or perhaps, Lochupy may be more appropriate.