28.06.2002 McSorley on the brink of takeover
CARDIFF Devils will be sold to Canadian Chris McSorley this weekend. The Great Britain coach has agreed, subject to contract, to take charge of the trouble ice hockey club.
McSorley is pressing ahead with plans for a joint bid with former Peterborough Pirates boss Kevin Tatam, who has also been negotiating to take over the Cardiff club.
Both McSorley and Tatam planned to make Cardiff Devils one of the strongest teams in the Findus British National League. McSorley, 38, is keen to bring back a number of former Cardiff Devils players with Mike Ware, Marco Paulsson, Frank Evans and Vezio Sacratini among his targets. Tatam has already lined up former Newcastle and Sheffield centre Glenn Mulvenna to become Cardiff coach, while McSorley was keen on former Devils coach Troy Walkington. That, though, can only be discussed after McSorley and Tatam have agreed they will work together. |
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28.06.2002 Latest from Around League
* Superleague Champions the Belfast Giants have today re-signed former Panthers Curtis Bowen, who becomes the sixth player to re-sign.
* London Knights have today confirmed the re-signing of Ian McIntyre, Dave Trofimenkoff and Paul Rushforth for the coming season. |
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27.06.2002 Hull want Tait
Hull Thunder today admitted they want Ashley Tait to make up the British National League's best forward line. The GB international is viewed as the ideal foil for new signings � ex-NHLer Dan Currie and NHL draftee Marc West.
Tait was a huge hit in Hull for two seasons in the 1990s, notching up 188 points in 89 games, before returning to Nottingham. But his possible departure from Super- league Panthers has sparked widespread speculation about his intended destination. Thunder, their BNL rivals Guildford and Newcastle, and Superleague London have all been linked to Canadian-born Tait. |
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27.06.2002 Latest from Around League
* Netminder Mike Torchia is rumoured to have re-signed with the Manchester Storm.
* Sheffield Steelers are close to signing former players Kent Simpson and Warren Norris.
* Bracknell Bees winger Doug Stienstra has left the Hive to join Dutch side Nijmegen Tigers |
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22.06.2002 NHL Draft
The Columbus Blue Jackets shook up the opening of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, trading up with the Florida Panthers to acquire the first overall pick, which they used to select left wing Rick Nash (left). The Thrashers then took Finnish goalie Kari Lehtonen, and Florida chose Jay Bouwmeester. Joni Pitkanen (Flyers) and Ryan Whitney, (Penguins), rounded out the top five selections. |
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21.06.2002 Latest from NHL
Theodore takes home Hart, Vezina
The battle for the Vezina and Hart Memorial trophies were expected to be the highlights of Thursday night's 2002 NHL Awards show. Neither race disappointed in a night full of drama and suspense. And, nobody enjoyed the suspense and drama more than Jose Theodore, who surprisingly walked away with both trophies Wednesday night in what essentially were split decisions.
Netting, higher glass mandated for NHL rinks
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman today mandated that the NHL's 30 Clubs install netting above the glass that borders the corners and end zones of their arenas. The height and design of the netting configuration may vary, due to structural differences from venue to venue, but must be of sufficient dimension to prevent pucks from entering the spectator areas in the corners and end zones of their rinks.
NHL's Board of Governors approves new line change procedure
The National Hockey League's Board of Governors today approved a new procedure for line changes and face-offs that is expected to reduce significantly the length of NHL games. The procedure will see the puck dropped within 20 seconds of a stoppage, except during the final two minutes of a game and after goals are scored. |
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20.06.2002 Bracknell Bees
28 year-old Brad Peddle has become the 7th player to sign for the Bracknell Bees for the 2002/2003 season. The defenceman, who recently married fiancee Susan, put pen to paper yesterday, confirming his commitment for another season. |
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20.06.2002 Manchester Storm
Defenceman Dwight Parrish has become the 8th player to sign for the Machester Storm for the 2002/2003 season. Last season Parrish notched 9 goals, including 2 on the powerplay, and 9 assists for his 18 points in 58 appearances in all competitions, while only sitting out 67 minutes in penalties. |
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20.06.2002 Sheffield Steelers
The Sheffield Steelers are today rumoured to have made their first signing of the summer, with the capture of former player Kent Simpson from DEL Side Schwenninger Wild Wings. The signings has yet to be confirmed. |
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17.06.2002 Cardarelli back for Storm
Daryl Lipseys� summer re-build of the Manchester Storm continues with the confirmation that classy winger Joe Cardarelli is returning for a second spell with the club.
Lipsey is delighted to have retained the services of a player he rates highly and commented, �Joe�s a good player, primarily a playmaker rather than a goalscorer even though he finished last season as our leading goalscorer in all competitions with 22 goals. Joe played a lot of last season at centre and this year I want to play him in his more favoured position out on the wing. Joe has excellent character and didn�t moan once last season about playing out of position.� |
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17.06.2002 Coyotes name McSorley minor league coach
Marty McSorley, who was convicted of assault for an on-ice incident nearly two years ago, on Sunday was named coach of the Phoenix Coyotes' top minor league affiliate.
McSorley will take the reins of the Springfield Falcons in his first coaching job. The move was announced by Phoenix general manager Michael Barnett, who used to work as McSorley's agent. McSorley's former teammate, Wayne Gretzky, is a part-owner of the Coyotes.
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14.06.2002 Bowman calls it a career
Scotty Bowman ended one of the most successful coaching careers in professional sports history by retiring immediately after winning his record ninth Stanley Cup.
"It's my last game as a coach," Bowman said on the ice after the Detroit Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 on Thursday night to win their third Cup in six years. Bowman, 68, won five Cups with Montreal and one with Pittsburgh.
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12.06.2002 New format for Superleague Play-offs
The Superleague today revealed the new format for the 2002/03 Play-offs. Instead of all teams automatically qualifying for the play-offs, only the top 6 teams in the Superleague will now participate in what is an extremely exciting part of any ice hockey season.
The six teams will play each other once, with the top 3 teams in the League gaining the advantage of 3 home games, and just 2 away, whilst clubs finishing 4th, 5th and 6th will face 3 games on the road and just 2 at home. These play-off qualification games will run from the 10th to the 30th of March 2003.
The top four teams will then progress to the Play-off Finals weekend, which this year will be held on the 5th and 6th April 2003 at a venue to be confirmed.
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12.06.2002 FBNL Hockey for Newcastle
The Findus British National League Board of Directors approved applications from Newcastle and Solihull yesterday to join the League for the coming season 2002/03.
Unanimous acceptance was given by the Board for both Solihull and Newcastle who joined the second half of the meeting to discuss a revised wage structure to players for this coming season. The Executive of the FBNL will actively monitor any costs on players, by way of monthly returns and spot checks at every team. |
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10.06.2002 ISL Fixtures Released
The Superleague today released its fixtures for 2002/03 - the seventh season of Superleague action.
As we told you on Thursday, The Panthers season starts with a home game against FBNL side Coventry Blaze. The Panthers first away game is the the next night in the capital to face the Knights, the home game aginst the Knights is September 17th. The Panthers face Bracknell away on Thursday 12th before playing them at home on Saturday 14th of September. There is no date as of yet for the return game against the Coventry Blaze. |
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7.06.2002 New Format for ISL Challenge Cup
The Superleague today revealed a new format for its Challenge Cup competition. For the 2002/03 season, the Challenge Cup will operate as a stand-alone competition. This year, the competing teams will be divided into the following two groups:
* Ayr, Belfast, Manchester and Sheffield
* Bracknell, Coventry, London and Nottingham
Each team will play one home and one away game in their respective group. The top two teams in each group will then qualify for the semi-finals, which are scheduled to take place at one venue on December 8th. The winners of the semi-finals will then go head-to-head in the Final on January 12th.
Brian Storey, Superleague�s Chief Administration Officer, said. �The different format identifies the competition as a stand-alone event. The inclusion of the BNL�s Coventry Blaze is particularly welcome. I expect them to give our clubs a hard time and underlines the good working relationship between us all.� |
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6.06.2002 ISL Challenge Cup
Coventry Blaze appear to have let the cat out of the bag regarding the upcoming season's Challenge Cup after issuing a press release saying they are the only FBNL team to accept a place in the competiton. The release also stated that the Blaze would line up against Nottingham Panthers, London Knights and Bracknell Bees in the group stages.
I understand that the Panthers will start the season with a home game on the 7th September against the Coventry Blaze. I also understand that the Panthers have no plans to play any Challenge matches (friendlies) before the season starts due to a tournament featuring GB at the NIC. |
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