Sheffield go clear at the top of the Superleague as Laing posts successive shut-outs over the weekend and Steelers become the first side to win 4 successive games this season. A tight game and with every inch of space fiercely contested, a constant flow of penalties was perhaps inevitable. The low number of shots by Knights reflected the determination to block shots by the defence in front of Laing.

Sheffield failed to get a shot on target during their early 2 man advantage. A right wing rocket from Maxwell appeared to have goal written all over it but met a clean catch. During Knights 2 man advantage early in the second Slater shot wide from the left when he might have done better. Later Sessa was clean through but Lilljebjorn stood tall.

Sessa was through again early in the third but Lilljebjorn saved again then Sheffield looked to be tiring as the chances came Knights way. Almost against the run of play Willman's left point shot sailed into the far top corner with the goalie unsighted and suddenly the tempo lifted again. Burke fished a puck out of the crease that was trickling towards his net. A needless off-the-play penalty by Norris set up a tense finish. Knights lifted their goalie with 71 seconds remaining and Darling netted from his own zone to huge relief from the home crowd.

Man of the Match for Sheffield : Joel LAING
Man of the Match for London : Ake LILLJEBJORN
Attendance: 3996

An end to end game of hockey with both teams creating chances. The home side were caught cold with only 41 seconds on the clock. A mistake in the Eagles zone saw Geoff Peters fire the puck past Cavallin. Both goaltenders were bringing off big stops as both teams pressed forward. The home side got back on level terms with a powerplay goal from Johan Astrom at 13.52, as Parrish sat out a tripping penalty. In the dying second Ivan Matulik had the chance to put the visitors back in front but he shot straight into the mid-driff of Cavillan.

The second period started off the way the 1st finished with both teams creating chances. The away team had a great chance 1.35 into the period as Marble was binned followed by Bowen 3.02 in and then Bergqvist 24 seconds later to give them a 5 on 3. But, the hosts held firm and killed the penalties. The home team were getting more shots on goal, but, couldn't find a way past Torchia. With 54 seconds left on the clock referee Hanson, awarded the Storm a penalty shot. Dan Preston stepped up to take it but Cavillan saved his effort. Within half a minute Eagles went down the other end and got in front for the first time in the game as Bowen netted.

This game was finally balanced going into the 3rd period, with Eagles under penalty at 47.22 Sean Selmser broke to score shorthanded to put the home side 2 in front. The visitors pulled one back at 53.28, to set up a frantic finish. With 1.21 to go Storm called a time out and pulled Torchia for the extra man. However, Eagles held on to record the first win.

Man of the Match for Scottish Eagles : Mark CAVALLIN
Man of the Match for Manchester : Pierre ALLARD
Attendance: 2466

Brown fired in from the left before McInerney did well to keep out Carlsson's backhanded shot. Selmser hit a rocket on a short-handed break which Laing did well to glove top left. Sheffield managed 2 or 3 shots before opening the scoring. Norris pushed the puck over the line after Laniel's shot from low on the right crept through the keepers pads. Majic took a needless interfernce penalty with Eagles breaking away short-handed and suddenly we had 65 seconds of 5 on 3.Eagles got Marble back but Simpson squeezed his first goal of the season in at the back (left) post and suddenly the slim margin looked a mountain.

Eagles take the game to Sheffield throughout the second and third, but the home side work so hard in their own zone to close down shooting chances. Eagles spent most of Simpson's Hooking penalty camped in the Sheffield zone but Laing had no shot to save. Within a minute a turnover mid ice gave Sheffield a chance to work the puck to Sessa who cooly slotted home across McInerney from the left wing.

Another unneccessary penalty by Majic gave Brown a powerplay goal firing home from the right. Rhett Gordon hit the bar as his goal-a-game streak came to an end. With the exception of a Vauhkonen shot which hit the post late in the game, Laing's shut-out always looked safe thanks to the hard work in front of him. Willman wrapped up the scoring with a 2 on 1 breakout, Willman carrying the puck down the right and ignoring the pass inside to net.

Man of the Match for Sheffield : Warren NORRIS
Man of the Match for Scottish Eagles : Jonathan WEAVER
Attendance: 3219

Nick Rothwell Knights announcers last game before leaving for Los Angeles for six months was presented with a London Shirt before the start. Special guest for the evening entertaining the crowd was Thunder Bug mascot of the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning. Knights missing Kolesar, Eagles at full strength. Officials started with a two man system until linesman Darnell arrived 12 minutes into the game.

A storming opening saw 11 penalties called including 3 co incidentals. There were few goal chances Eagles hit the post after 5 minutes and Slater had Knights best opportunity late in the period.

The second period saw 66 penalty minutes called including a game misconduct for Eagles Mike Harding for third man in. Sacratini opened the scoring on a power play. Adams scored on the second bite of the cherry before become embroiled in a fight with Selmser.

Eagles took flight in the final period levelling the score with goals from Weaver and Vauhkonen. After Sacratini strike at 58.10 on the power play Eagles called a timeout at 58.44 and took the goalie off. They could not score and Rushforth just shot wide as the game wound down.

Man of the Match for London : Gerad ADAMS
Man of the Match for Scottish Eagles : Jonathan WEAVER
Attendance: 1801

Kazzinc Torpedo of Kazakhstan, first in Group B, will progress to Group G in Austria, with GKS Katowice of Poland, hosts EHC Linz and GMH 38 Grenoble, of France.

The winner of Group C, Acroni Jesenice of Slovenia, will progress to Group H in Latvia, with hosts Liepajas Metalurgs, Jukurit Mikkeli of Finland and Neman Grodno of Belarus.

Hungary�s Dunaferr, who topped Group D, will progress to Group I in Poland with hosts Unia Oswiecim, Khimvolokno-Mogilev of Belarus, plus the winner of Group E, fellow countrymen, Alba Volan.

The BELFAST GIANTS will host a Continental Cup Semi-Final round, the highest round ever to be held in the UK, Pool J, on November 22nd, 23rd and 24th at their Odyssey Arena home against:
Valerenga IF of Norway
The Winner of Group F (see above)
The Winner of Group G (see above)

The Eagles and Giants will be looking to emulate the success of the Superleague�s London Knights who achieved the highest ever placing of a UK team when they took the silver medal from the Final in January 2002, or perhaps even take that step further! Additional information on the Continental Cup, including all round one results and standings, can be found at the website of the International Ice Hockey Federation, iihf.com.

Szysky was given a Game Misconduct Penalty for illegal use of equipment during an altercation with Manchester player Mike Perna. Manchester feel that Szysky should have been given a Match Penalty for unnecessary rough play.

Sheffield Steelers v Nottingham Panthers, 21st September 2002
Their are two incidents to be reviwed from this game after both teams asked for supplementary discipline.

Firstly, Sheffield Steelers have made a request for Supplementary Discipline to be taken against Dody Wood of Nottingham Panthers for a High Sticking Offence against Chris Szysky during the Sheffield Steelers v Nottingham Panthers League Game played on Saturday 21st September 2002. They allege that the High Stick by Wood was reckless and caused a facial injury to Szysky, and that Wood should have been given a more severe penalty at the time.

Secondly, Nottingham Panthers have asked for Supplementary Disciplinary action to be taken against Sheffield netminder, Joel Laing, for alleged reckless use of his stick against Nottingham player Jason Clarke. Nottingham allege that Clarke was struck on the face by Laing during a goalmouth incident, during the Sheffield Steelers v Nottingham Panthers League Game played on Saturday 21st of September 2002.

The ISL Disciplinary Committee conducted a full Investigation into the claim and after consulting the Match Officials and viewing their reports and the videotape of the game, decided that no further action should be taken.

It was clear from the evidence at their disposal that it was the actions of Nottingham player Jason Elders that caused a high stick to be deflected on to his face, and not the actions of Mark Kolesar.

The third period saw 5 more minor penalties , 2 for Storm and 3 for Steelers and one more goal from Gordon to increase Sheffield's lead - The Sheffield supporters are ecstatic and the Manchester changing room will not be a place to be right now - Steelers take a well deserved win 6 -1

Man of the Match for Manchester : Colin PEPPERALL
Man of the Match for Sheffield : Joel LAING

The second was not that much better for the Bees. The Giants scored two more goals (Schulte's hat-trick and Stevens) before the Bees found the back of the net, Kirton scoring after a Peddle shot. The Giants got straight back on the attack scoring again in just 46 seconds of the restart (Karlander). The Giants made it nine a minute and a half later (Karlander) before the bees got there second at 39:35 whilst on the Powerplay, McBain let a hard shot go and Kirton was there to tip it in.

The Third started brightly for the Bees with Owen scoring after Bach thought he had stopped it but it trickled through his pads. The game then settled down and the Bees tried to gain some respect but the Giants manged to get two more goals with Stevens completing his hat-trick and a goal from former Panthers Curtis Bowen.

Man of the Match for Bracknell : Scott KIRTON
Man of the Match for Belfast : Paxton SCHULTE

The Giants were at full strength while Xavier Majic was missing for the Eagles. Dave Whistle's team, who played a game at the Manchester Evening News Arena the previous night until 11.15pm could have been forgiven for starting slowly. But it was quite the opposite and Shane Johnson, Paxton Schulte and Kevin Riehl all went close but all their shots were expertly saved by Eion McInerney. The Eagles scored against the run of play on 10.05 when Bob Quinnell netted after a turnover from former Giant Jason Bowen. The Giants equalised on 18.06 when Kevin Riehl shot the puck from the right circle. It hit the post came back of McInerney's pads and into the net.

The second period was completely dominated by the Giants as they scored three quick goals. Ryan Kuwabara hit a sweet shot on 24.01 which McInerney didn't see at all. That was soon followed by Rod Stevens who scored a fantastic solo effort on 25:22. He took the puck around three Eagles before flicking the puck into the roof of the net. Rob Stewart hit a fantastic shot on 34:59 from the blueline which took a defection off Kory Karlander and into the back of the net. The Eagles knew they were out of the match but continued to fight all the way. However every shot struck at Bach was easily saved by the Giants' netminder.

The third period was a scrappy affair and frustrations boiled over but the officials were always quick in to break anything up. A fair result but the Eagles will definitely improve as the season goes on.

Man of the Match for Belfast : Ryan Bach
Man of the Match for Scottish Eagles : Sean Selmser

Barry Nieckar Nottingham Panthers (Supplementary Discipline)
Bracknell Bees, under the ISL Practice & Procedures made aRequest for Supplementary Discipline against Panthers Barry Nieckar for an incident during the Nottingham Panthers v Bracknell Bees Challenge Cup Game played on Saturday the 14th of September.Following a full Investigation into the incident the 2 Minute Minor Penalty awarded for High Sticks at the time has been increased to a Match Penalty. It was established that through Video Evidence that Nieckar Butt Ended Bracknells Mark Matier on the face during the Altercation that was taking place. Under the ISL Playing Rules he will be Automatically Suspended for a Total of 5 Games and Fined �250. The Suspension will start immediately.

Knights at full strength, Bracknell minus Steve O'Rourke. London had much the better of the opening period as Watkins was put under considerable pressure by the Knights forward line. A powerplay yielded Knights first as a shot from Hoad on the blue line rebounded off the keepers pads to be picked up by captain McIntyre. Five minutes on a Hoad solo effort made it 2-0.

Mansi was helped to a one timer by Hoad who weaved through several Bees players to set up the playdefenders. Rushforth made it four before Bees finally broke their duck as Trofimenkoff went down to an Owen shot which went under his body. Gosselin doubled their tally six minutes on. Blanchard picked up his own rebound off Watkins pads squared a pass to Sacratini who scored. Period ended with a stand up fight between Gosselin and Maxwell.

The final period was a quiet affair with few chances the better of which went to London as Watkins was forced to pull off a number of quality saves.

Man of the Match for London : Jeff Hoad
Man of the Match for Bracknell : Greg Owen

In a tight first period both teams looked eager to make up for the lost time, fast changes and two way hockey resulted. With the home team choosing to start Stevie Lyle in net again he did what was required of him although the ISL Champions only managed 4 shots on goal in the period - Manchester trebled that with 12 on Ryan Bach. Referee Hanson kept the game flowing and only two minor penalties were awarded - both to Giants, Storm had the luxury of a 5 on 3 for 1 minute but could not find a way past Bach.

The second period was again very close with both teams fighting for every chance. It was Belfast's turn to try their Powerplay line with two opportunities, they had no luck either.

A thrilling third period saw both teams very well matched but unable to find a way past their respective defensive lines. Powerplay opportunities came and went but no-one could break the deadlock and, in the end, 5 minutes sudden death overtime did not help. Not a game for the fans who like goals by the bucket load but both Coaches will surely be content with a well fought draw.

Man of the Match for Manchester : Stevie Lyle
Man of the Match for Belfast : Ryan Kuwabara

Majic's signing now completes the Eagles' 16-man roster, although it is hoped that a deal can be worked out whereby promising Scottish defenceman Paddy Ward becomes the seventeenth player, either solely with the Eagles, or on a two-way deal with BNL side Edinburgh Capitals. Heavey may also continue to have Paisley players train when they can with the team which may yet see other Scottish players make the big step up to Superleague level hockey and ice for the Eagles.

In the Second the Knights really took it to the Bees with some great passing/attacking hockey. Ceman had a great chance on a breakaway at 21.01 but was denied by Troffimenkoff, at the other end Greer had to pull one out of the bag at just over two minutes later when he stopped a point blank kolesar shot. The Bees on the Powerplay were caught napping when the Knights scored shorthanded at 26.30. Then a few panalties were traded and whilst the Knights were on the powerplay they doubled their lead with a shot sneaking past Green from Ahlroos.

The third was all london really piling the pressure on the Bees. The Knights worked hard and they knew what they had to do win this game with markers from Kolesar and Slater. The Bees got a consulation goal through Ceman. But the Bees were outplayed in this one.

Man of the Match for Bracknell : James Morgan
Man of the Match for London : Kim Ahlroos

Another very tight period with both teams trying hard not to give anything away although it needed some excellent acrobatics from Storms Stevie Lyle to keep the visitors at bay. The only goal of the period came with Storm a man short - Parrish in the penalty box for Elbows - Wilson made a superb pass out of defence to Maltby who fed Captain Matulik for the 3-1 interval lead. The team shots for this period tell the story 13 on Lyle against 4 on Prior.

The third period was a great advert for the game with fast flowing hockey from both teams - the only incident worth reporting as far as penalties were concerned was the ejection of former Storm player Rick Brebant for crosschecking - Mike Rowe awarded him a Match plus 5 minutes. Steelers came back hard and forced Storm into some great defensive work but the result went to the home side 4-3.

Eagles tire against a hard working Sheffield side. Sheffield dominate the attacking play throughout the first. Gordon nets high from the right to open the scoring. But Carlsson trips and Johnstone is away up the ice. As Sheffield race back the puck was passed back for Vauhkonen who nets top left of an unsighted Laing.

Eagles had sporadic pressure throughout the second but few shots got through. For Sheffield Captain Marvel Marc Laniel produces the goals, his shots from the blue line being deflected home en-route at either end of the second period. This latter goal arrived after Szysky was clean through, failed to get a shot away going left but Bauba took a holding penalty. Laniel shot from the left wing face-off.

This game wasn't entirley in the bag at the start of the third, but with Eagles tiring there was no way back. With Laniel serving a highsticks penalty, Carlsson found sessa who passed to Szysky at the far post and his shot squeezed home. Sessa then turned scorer with his first for the club.

Man of the Match for Sheffield : Dion Darling
Man of the Match for Scottish Eagles : Jonathon Weaver
Referee : Nigel Boniface
Att: 3646

Greg is excited to be coming back to London and to have another opportunity to play in the ISL. He�s an intense player and he plays hard every night, comments from Knights coach Bob Leslie. Burke will play his first game of the season with the Knights this Sunday when they travel to Bracknell.

Knights took the lead when a Hoad shot was deflected off the keepers pads as he dived to save the shot. The rebound was picked up by Ahlroos to score. The game boiled over 16 seconds from the opening interval with a clash by the Blaze net which saw three players penalised for roughing and Steve Carpenter receive a further misconduct for arguing with the referee.

A penalty filled second period saw both sides combined for a total of 46 minutes which included misconducts against Irvine of the Blaze & Knights Slater. Blaze scored on the power play as a Ron Shudra shot found its way through a crowd of players and past Trofimenkoff. Knights best chance came mid way through the period when they hit the post.

Knights hit three in the final period as Kelham scored on a rebound. Goal of the game came from Kolesar who had a slap shot from the top of the face off circle. Knights fourth a penalty shot after a thrown stick was scored by Ahlroos.

Man of the Match for London : A.J. Kelham
Man of the Match for Coventry : Jody Lehman
Referee : Simon Kirkham

Karlander got his second PP goal of the game - a carbon copy of his first to give the Giants the lead again but from the slot Bob Quinnell equalised once more after good forechecking by Jason Bowen. A final period of thrills and spills. Selsmer gives Eagles the lead shorthanded but Colin ward soon pulled the Giants level and when Stevens netted with 1:29 to go they thought the game was over but shorthanded and with Cavallin pulled Selsmer completed hat trick with 13 seconds to go.

Into OT and with the Giants still on the PP Macdonald scored winner with 2:49 remaining just seconds after Bach had stoned Selmser on another SH breakout. A thriller to begin season at Odyssey.

Man of the Match for Belfast : Kory Karlander
Man of the Match for Scottish Eagles : Jason Bowen
Referee : Moray Hanson

Both sides looked well organised despite the lack of match practice. There was plenty of slick moves but few shooting chances as both teams worked hard to close the opposition down. The shots that did get through only served to demonstrate the quality of the netminding.

Halfway through the final session Steelers Laing produced a fine double Stop fromMacDonald and Matsos. Riehl swept doen the right wing and delievereda perfect pass to the back door on two occasions but first MacDonald fired home only to have the effort ruled out for having a man in the crease at 53:19 and three minutes later Bowen couldn't connect. Giants lifted Bach with 65 seconds remaining but could not make it count.

Former Steelers captain, now Giants captain Paul Kruse earned a 10 minute misconduct for shooting the puck after the final hooter had gone.

Man of the Match for Sheffield : Joel Laing
Man of the Match for Belfast : Ryan Bach
Referee : Andy Carson

Coventry started the game with all guns blazing in what turned out to be a bad tempered affair. The Bees ran into early penalty trouble but managed to kill a long 5 on 3 advantage to the Coventry Blaze. Bracknell took the lead with their only early attack on the powerplay thanks to a shot from point by Scott Kirton for his first goal as a bee. Coventry grab an equaliser two minutes later on a breakaway while short-handed with Ashley Tait finding Steve Carpenter who roofed it. Coventry then took the lead on the powerplay at 16:31 as Steve Chartrand scored for the second game running following a scramble in front of the net,

An exciting second period saw no further scoring but there was plenty of chances at both ends.

The third period saw Coventry's Lehman stop a two on one break from Hurley and O' Rourke and then come up big against Ciccarello. The game then turned nasty as Referee Kirkham handed out two game penalties when Bees' Kirton came into break up some rough play involving Coventry's Irvine. Hurley and Watkins were then dissmissed for leaving the Bench to join in the fun. This left the Bees with just 12 players on the bench. Bracknell equalised at 52:34 with Corey Spring opening his account as a bee. There was yet more Controversy at the end as the Bees netted right on the buzzer, but the goal was disallowed for entering the net after the buzzer.

Man of the Match for Coventry : Jody Lehman
Man of the Match for Bracknell : Joe Watkins
Referee : Simon Kirkham

Steelers come out fast and hard and Storm find themselves two behind before they really get going. Dutiaume fires home from the right wing, Norris adding a second with soem delightful stickwork on the doorstep.

Steelers hit penalty trouble and Storm get going, Captain Matulik going close on a wrap around at the right post 5 on 3. Rhett Gordon fires home from the right to seal the period.

Storm fail to capitalise on a second two man advantage and suddenly thier legs are tired as Steelers get behind the defence for 3 quick goals. Steelers thought it was all over as Storm showed they weren't beaten bagging quick goals at the start and end of the final session.

The sides meet twice in the next fortnight and the chippiness entering late in the game showed both sets of players making it clear they don't take anything lying down. Some tired legs out there towards the end.

Man of the Match for Sheffield : Marc Laniel
Man of the Match for Manchester : Mark Bultje
Shots - Sheffield 37, Manchester 28
PIM's - Sheffield 32, Manchester 30
Referee : Moray Hanson

London opened the scoring in the first period thanks to Paul Rushforth goal assisted by Blanchard and Kolesar. Bracknell tied the game at 21:46 as Steve O'Rourke scored with a close range shot to the glove side, having been set up by Hurley. London had a goal disallowed at 29.52. A minute later Kelham forced a great save from Greer.

London won the game thanks to 3 goals in 10 minutes in the third period, London regained the lead at 40:33 as Sacratini scored with an easy opportunity to become the all-time leading points scorer in superleague history. Eight minutes later it was 3-1 as former Panthers forward AJ Kelham scored on a 3 on 1 breakaway and London sealed the game two minutes later thanks to Mark Kolesar's slapshot.

Man of the Match for London : Dennis Maxwell
Man of the Match for Bracknell : Dan Ceman
Shots - London 36, Bracknell 22
PIM's - London 18, Bracknell 16
Referee : Nigel Boniface

London believe Maxwell is the tough player they have been looking for, Maxwell has averaged nearly a point a game since he began playing professionally. London coach Bob Leslie said "Dennis has been a very physical player for every team he�s played for and he�ll be a great fit into our club. We came to terms last week and Dennis will be with us in time to play on Friday."

Chris Slater joins London from the Toledo Storm (ECHL). Slater played for London in two of their CSFB Cup games in August against Eisbaeren Berlin and Stockholm.

The book is the complete guide to every team and every tournament - the perfect way to prepare for the exciting new season that is just ahead. The publisher Pineapple Books are now taking pre-orders for this title at the special limited price of �9.99 INCLUSIVE of P&P (to UK addresses) until September 27th 2002. The regular price for this book will be �11.99.

You can pre-order your now by sending your name, address, number of copies required, and a cheque for �9.99 each (overseas orders please email for postage charges) payable to 'Pineapple Books Limited', to Pineapple Books, 246 Nottingham Road, Burton Joyce, Nottingham, NG14 5BD.

Copies will be mailed out in late September and will be available at arenas and shops from early October.

More information will be posted at www.pineapplebooks.co.uk.

Twenty five year-old, 6ft, 13st 12lb Williams hails from Pointe-Claire, Quebec, and was drafted (7th round, 181st overall) by the New Jersey Devils in 1994, during the second of this three year stint with the WHL's Guelph Storm. Last season saw him split time between Tappara Tampere in the Finnish SM Liiga and then Brynas IF Gavle in the Swedish Elitserien.

Coach Enio Sacilotto travelled to the German city with 11 first team players and a handful of youngsters from the U19 and ENL teams and was joined late Friday by big defenceman Christian Gosselin, who had made the mammoth trek from Quebec via Montreal via London and Hamburg over the past 24 hours, to make it in time for the 8pm face-off against host team, Bremerhaven.

Darren Hurley was the first to find the net, assisted by Scott Kirton and Steve o�Rourke. Despite amassing a total of 42 minutes in penalties, the Bees went on to win the clash 7-5, with further goals coming from Hurley, Ceman (2), Peddle, Arkiomaa and Spring.

Buoyed by the result and further rested after their 15 hour overland journey, the Bees went into what was sure to be a much harder game against DEL team Iserlohn Roosters. And so it proved to be. The game saw Christian Gosselin ejected for cross checking from behind in the first period and he was followed in the second by Darren Hurley and James Morgan for fighting with Iserlohn counterparts Lars Bruggemann and Steve Washburn, who were similarly dismissed. Dan Ceman scored at 36.12 and the game was tied at 38.37 but there were no further goals in regular time and the game went into 10 minutes overtime. With still no result, penalty shots were taken and the winner was attributed to Corey Spring, giving the Bees the best possible start to the new campaign.

Absent from the party were Joe Watkins, playing for GB in Nottingham, and Jonathan Delisle and Dave Struch who are awaiting work permits.

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