TICKETS: The Go Goodwin’s Manchester Storm are back in home action this SATURDAY & SUNDAY (19th & 20th November), as we take on the Braehead Clan & the Fife Flyers respectively, here at the Storm Shelter. Face off is at 7:00pm on the Saturday & 5:30pm on the Sunday, and tickets can be ordered online or by calling the box office on 0161 926 8782, or in person at the box office.

Hey fans,

I hope everyone is excited for this big weekend coming up against Braehead & Fife this Saturday & Sunday @ the Storm Shelter.

Last weekend was a difficult few games for us as we faced the challenge of 3 games in 3 nights. That’s a tough enough task for any team at the best of times, but we faced a lot of adversity by having so many players out with injuries, but I was proud of the overall effort, given the key personnel that were missing from our line-up.

On Friday night vs Dundee, we played a solid defensive game but gave up a goal with less than five minutes to go in the game. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the extra point in overtime/shootout. These are games as a team that we have to close out. We are hoping the next overtime/shootout we can get the extra point, we are certainly due some lady luck on that front!

On Saturday, we struggled to score on the chances we created. We generated many chances but couldn’t find a way to finish. You’ll hear this from every coach, but when you create those chances, you have to bear down and find a way to get the job done. As a team, we gave up too many odd man rushes that ultimately cost us the points, so that’s something we have addressed this week in practice already.

During the game on Saturday vs Braehead, we lost Eric Neilson to a severe and scary eye injury. He had surgery Sunday morning and we are hoping to get him back in the line-up in a couple weeks’ time. That pic of Neiller’s eye on his twitter was scary eh? We all wish him a full and speedy recovery, and look forward to welcoming him back to the Storm line up when he’s ready.

On Sunday, we had an opportunity to start Phil Spanswick in net when we travelled to Cardiff to play a Challenge Cup game. Both ourselves & Cardiff had already qualified for the next stages, something that as a coach I am very proud of. To get through this group and qualify for the second consecutive season means a lot, as we get put with some of the recognised more established teams. I thought for his first pro start, Spanny did really well. He made some great saves and kept us in the game. Unfortunately, we lost the game but as a team we were really happy for Phil. I also want to give a special mention to Rhys, Jordon and Sam for jumping in our lineup short notice. They did a great job for us given how shorthanded we were & it was great to see our seasoned pro’s welcome them and help them in their transition to stepping up to EIHL hockey.

We have already started our week of practice and we are hoping to get a couple of guys back for these two big conference games. Games start at 7pm Saturday vs Braehead & 5.30pm on Sunday vs Fife Flyers! Let’s have the Shelter rocking this weekend & get behind the lads the whole 60 minutes of hockey each night. When the Shelter is loud, it’s unreal for our guys and intimidating for the opposition, so let’s do it!

See you all on Saturday & Sunday!

Pach