STORM BLITZ ISSUE #92 Friday 3 February 1998 If you have any comments on Storm Blitz, please feel free to e-mail stormblitz@intothestorm.co.uk any time. There are currently 291 subscribers to Storm Blitz ------------------------------------------------ INTO THE STORM IS SPONSORED BY SOUTHERN GRAPHICS http://www.southern.northwich.com ------------------------------------------------ In this issue : * 3-3 draw at Cobras * Other Express results Thursday * Ayr defeat Newcastle 6-1 * Pre-season details * Birmingham Superleague team * Into The Storm updates * The latest from Storm Audio * Latest Superleague table * Latest Express Challenge Cup table * Forthcoming Storm games * Directions to away games * TV and Radio News * Download back issues of Storm Blitz * How to unsubscribe to Storm Blitz --------------------------------------------------- > 3-3 DRAW AT COBRAS Manchester Storm travelled to Newcastle Cobras on Thursday night in their final Express Challenge Cup group game. Duberman opened the scoring for Newcastle on 6 minutes. Hilton Ruggles scored for Storm on 23 minutes and then Majic scored for Newcastle 2 minutes later to make it 2-1 at the end of the second period. Dale Jago made it 2-2 after 43 minutes but Newcastle made it 3-2 on 51 minutes from Smith. Brad Rubachuk equalised with 40 seconds remaining to send the tie into overtime. No further goals were scored and so Storm's semi-final chance was wasted due to other results. Some reports say that the table is sorted on wins when both teams have the same point, whilst others claim it is goal difference. If it is wins then Storm are already out. > OTHER EXPRESS RESULTS THURSDAY In the other Express Challenge Cup ties on Thursday night, Bracknell Bees almost certainly lined up a semi-final place with a shock 6-1 victory in Cardiff. MacWilliams opened the scoring for Cardiff after 29 seconds and then McCosh equalised for Bracknell after 11 minutes. Brant put Bracknell into the lead on 15 minutes and Gomes made it 3-1 after 26 minutes. Junkin made it 4-1 ten minutes later and then two further goals in the final period from Brant and Whistle sealed the game for Bees. Meanwhile Nottingham Panthers travelled to Basingstoke Bison and won 9-3. It was 5-1 to Nottingham after the first period. By the end of the second period it was 7-2 and then game then ended 9-3. > AYR DEFEAT NEWCASTLE 6-1 In a top v bottom Express Cup clash at the Centrum Arena on Wednesday night, Ayr Scottish Eagles defeated Newcastle Cobras 6-1. Newcastle opened the scoring on 17 minutes from Duberman but Ayr quickly equalised to level the game at the end of the first period. In the second period, Montanari made it 2-1 before Woolf scored to make it 3-1 after 35 minutes. In the third period there were three more Ayr goals from Woolf, Montanari and Parco and Ayr sealed this unimportant victory. > PRE-SEASON DETAILS Kurt Kleinendorst has announced that next season's pre-season will have a different look. The players will have arrived in Manchester in early August and meet at the Nynex Arena on the 10th. They will have their flats and cars and things given to them then as well as having a short training session on the ice. Two days later, the team will fly to Germany and Switzerland to take part in a number of games whilst on tour. The players were supposed to be going to Scandanavia this season but things were changed when Kurt arrived. They will be touring for two weeks playing five or six competitive games. The domestic season will begin in late August with the War of the Roses postponed from this season's pre-season. This will include one game at the Nynex Arena and then the return in Sheffield (not necessarily in that order!) The Benson & Hedges Cup will then begin. No further friendly matches at home have been arranged (yet!) > BIRMINGHAM SUPERLEAGUE TEAM The following is a report from the Press Association (by Ian Parkes, PA Sport): The Ice Hockey Superleague are poised to award a Birmingham franchise by the end of the month - with American millionaire businessman Blake Cullen heading the running. Cullen has made his name in sports in America having been assistant general manager and vice-president during an 11-year association with Major League baseball club, Chicago Cubs. This was followed by 11 years helping to run the National League office of Major League, before moving into ownership, firstly with Minor League clubs and then until recently an eight-year spell of ice hockey's Hampton Roads Admirals in Virginia. Cullen had been considering a buy-out of the currently up-for-sale Sheffield Steelers, but has decided to direct his attention on setting up a Birmingham team at the NEC - although he faces competition from another consortium. Superleague, however, apparently favour Cullen's proposal as he first approached ISL about the franchise and his plans closely mirror those of the owners of National Hockey League giants Los Angeles Kings, who this week acquired the London franchise at the Docklands Arena. Anschutz Sports Holdings are a British subsidiary of Anschutz Properties Company, who have the majority shareholding in the Kings and two Major League Soccer teams - Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire. ASH's 7 million pound investment sees them become sole owners of the team and equal shareholders with SMG Management in the Arena. Cullen admits his package is similar, with his bid boosted due to the backing of private investors eager to establish what would become Superleague's 10th team. Negotiations with league chief executive Ian Taylor and the NEC's owners have been on-going for the last few months and are set to continue for the next two to three weeks. Superleague will hold a board meeting on February 28 when it is expected they will make a decision on who will be Birmingham's owners, with the team to be up-and-running for the start of the 1998 season along with London. Speaking to PA Sport from his Virginia home, Cullen said: "I am very hopeful Superleague will look upon my proposals favourably. "The talks I have had with Ian Taylor have been good, but unsurprisingly he remains neutral because there is another group who have expressed an interest in a Birmingham team. "Basically, it seems that whoever gets the deal done with the NEC will get the franchise, but the discussions I've held with them have also been promising. "Superleague has a board meeting on February 28 when I hope they will make a decision. I've certainly inked that on my calendar as D-Day. "If I do get the franchise I want to get things moving as soon as possible. I want to get the word out and to let people know we're hot. "I can't afford to wait until May or June for an answer. There just wouldn't be time to put together the plans for the NEC and the team." Cullen admits his investment does not match that of London, but then the NEC does not need to be as extensively refurbished as the Docklands Arena. It is estimated setting up a Birmingham team would cost around 4 million pounds, and having had opinion polls conducted in the area, knows there is the fan base to support a side he already sees as being called the Bulldogs, or even his favourite from when he owned Hampton, the Admirals. (end) Since this report was written, reports have come from the Superleague that there is doubt that the deal could be completed in time to secure the launch in time for the start of next season. > INTO THE STORM UPDATES Guestbook - Added link to the Devils ICE Guestbook. Into The Storm Guestbook has had a minor amendment to the script to improve the layout of Guestbook entries. Fan Interviews - Interview with Janet Valentine updated. Ice Hockey Links - Added link to Devils ICE, a new unofficial Cardiff Devils Web page. Added link to (yet another!) unofficial Newcastle Cobras site. All the tables, results, fixtures, latest news etc have been updated as normal. > THE LATEST FROM STORM AUDIO The latest upload to STORM AUDIO includes news and post match reaction from the recent game with Basingstoke Bison. Kurt Kleinendorst talks about Storm letting 4-0 become 4-3 and hot news about the summer plus Peter Woods on why the Bison had a bad weekend. Also available is news on Jim Hrivnak's shutout after the 4-0 win over Sheffield Steelers and Darly Lipsey after Storm beat Newcastle Cobras 2-0. An edited version of STORM AUDIO appears each Monday evening on BBC GMR 95.1FM at 5.55pm. STORM AUDIO can be found on the Internet at http://members.aol.com/stormaudio The latest uploads to STORM AUDIO require Real Player 5.0 Beta, which can be downloaded free from the link on the STORM AUDIO Web site. > LATEST SUPERLEAGUE TABLE Pl W D OL NL +/- Points Ayr Scottish Eagles 24 17 1 2 6 +43 37 Manchester Storm 23 13 3 1 7 +31 30 Nottingham Panthers 23 13 3 0 7 +8 29 Cardiff Devils 22 12 2 1 8 +14 27 Sheffield Steelers 24 10 2 2 10 +3 24 Bracknell Bees 23 10 1 1 12 -23 22 Basingstoke Bison 23 5 3 4 15 -29 17 Newcastle Cobras 24 5 1 1 18 -47 12 Win=2; Draw=1; Overtime Loss=1; Normal Loss=0 > LATEST EXPRESS CHALLENGE CUP TABLE Pl W D OL NL +/- Points Ayr Scottish Eagles 14 12 0 0 2 +30 25 Sheffield Steelers 14 9 0 0 5 +6 18 Nottingham Panthers 14 8 0 0 6 +6 16 Manchester Storm 14 5 3 2 6 +10 15 ----------------------------------------------------- Bracknell Bees 13 6 2 1 5 +2 15 Cardiff Devils 14 6 1 0 7 -8 13 Basingstoke Bison 14 4 0 0 10 -26 8 Newcastle Cobras 13 1 2 1 9 -20 5 Table not yet confirmed Win=2; Draw=1; Overtime Loss=1; Normal Loss=0 > FORTHCOMING STORM GAMES DATE OPPONENTS F/O VENUE COMPETITION Sun 8 Feb Ayr Scottish Eagles 6.30 Away Superleague Sat 14 Feb Basingstoke Bison 6.00 Away Superleague Sun 15 Feb Cardiff Devils 6.00 Home Superleague Sat 21 Feb Sheffield Steelers 7.00 Away Superleague Sun 22 Feb Bracknell Bees 6.00 Away Superleague > GETTING TO STORM AWAY GAMES The following information is taken from THE STORM SHELTER (http://www.omen1.demon.co.uk/storm/index.html) Ayr Scottish Eagles v Manchester Storm Sunday 8 February 1998 face-off 6.30 Address Centrum Arena, Prestwick Toll, Prestwick, Ayr Telephone 0129 267 1600 Capacity 2733 Directions - M6 North joining the A74 briefly before turning off towards Dumfries on the A75. After Dumfries bypass you join A76 heading for Kilmarnock. You will eventually see signs for Ayr(A70). Take a right at the first roundabout on the outskirts of Ayr. This is the A77. At next roundabout take the 2nd turn off (Heathfield). Travel around 1.5 miles going through a small roundabout that has views of an out of town shopping complex on the right. Carry on until the 2nd set of traffic lights where you take a right turn on to Prestwick Road. Travel for around quarter of a mile. Centrum on your right, just past the Safeway Supermarket. > TV AND RADIO NEWS FRI 6 FEB BBC RADIO LANCASHIRE 95.5/103.9FM - Lancashire Sport - Preview of Lancashire Hawks forthcoming games along with other sports previews and reviews - 1800 - 1900 FRI 6 FEB BBC RADIO SHEFFIELD 104.1FM - Friday Night Sport - Preview of the weekend's games including interviews along with other sport - 1900 - 2000 FRI 6 FEB BBC GMR 95.1/104.6FM - GMR SPORT - Interviews, previews and news from Manchester Storm along with other sport - 1900 - 2200 SAT 7 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics LIVE - Live coverage of an Olympic group game - 0700 - 0930 SAT 7 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics LIVE - Live coverage of an Olympic group game - 1100 - 1330 SAT 7 FEB GALAXY 102FM - Galaxy Sports - Interview with Kurt Kleinendorst and music - 1715 - 1730 SAT 7 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics - Highlights of the Olympic group games - 1900 - 2245 SAT 7 FEB SKY SPORTS - Ice Hockey LIVE - Nottingham Panthers v Ayr Scottish Eagles live in the Superleague - 1830 - 2100 SAT 7 FEB BBC RADIO 5 LIVE - NIGHT EXTRA - Review of Saturday night's games including results as well as all the other sports results - 2330 - 0000 SUN 8 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics - Highlights of the Olympic group games - 1330 - 1430 SUN 8 FEB BBC GMR 95.1/104.6FM - GMR SPORT EXTRA - Full live commentary on Ayr Scottish Eagles v Manchester Storm from Centrum Arena - 1800 - 2105 SUN 8 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics - Highlights of the Olympic group games - 2100 - 2245 SUN 8 FEB BBC RADIO 5 LIVE - NIGHT EXTRA - Review of Sunday night's games including results as well as all the other sports results - 2325 - 2335 MON 9 FEB BBC GMR 95.1/104.6FM - Drivetime - Interview with Kurt Kleinendorst and Storm players following the weekend's games - this is an edited version of STORM AUDIO - 1755 - 1800 MON 9 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics - Highlights of the Olympic group games - 2000 - 2245 TUE 10 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics LIVE - Live coverage of the Olympic group games - 0700 - 0730 TUE 10 FEB SKY SPORTS - Ice Hockey LIVE - The first Express Cup semi-final live - 1930 - 2200 TUE 10 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics - Highlights of the Olympic group games - 2100 - 2245 WED 11 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics LIVE - Live coverage of the Olympic group games - 1230 - 1330 WED 11 FEB BBC RADIO SHEFFIELD 104.1FM - The Ice Line - Ice Hockey phone-in hosted by Gareth Hampshire - 1800 - 1900 WED 11 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics - Highlights of the Olympic group games - 2100 - 2245 THU 12 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics LIVE - Live coverage of the Olympic group games and play-offs - 0300 - 0530 THU 12 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics LIVE - Live coverage of the Olympic group games and play-offs - 0800 - 0930 THU 12 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics - Highlights of the Olympic group games and play-offs - 1730 - 1830 THU 12 FEB PICCADILLY KEY 103FM - Storm news, game preview and interviews - 2030 - 2035 THU 12 FEB EUROSPORT - Winter Olympics - Highlights of the Olympic group games and play-offs - 2100 - 2245 > DOWNLOAD BACK ISSUES OF STORM BLITZ All previous issues of Storm Blitz are still available. You can download all of the back issues from the Storm Blitz page on Into The Storm. If you do not have Web access, then if you e-mail me, I'll forward the issues that you require on to you. > HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE TO STORM BLITZ Easy! Visit the Storm Blitz page on Into The Storm and post the "unsubscribe" form. Alternatively you can send an e-mail to stormblitz@intothestorm.co.uk telling me that you don't want Storm Blitz any more. Also use this address if you wish to change e-mail addresses or if you have any comments. *** END OF STORM BLITZ ISSUE #92 *** E-mail STORM BLITZ at: stormblitz@intothestorm.co.uk INTO THE STORM can be accessed at: http://www.intothestorm.co.uk