Season starts here – Wilson

Nov 24 2007 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

ONE week on from the horror show which threatens to derail the Vipers’ season, coach Rob Wilson is still unable to say where things went wrong but the Canadian is adamant there will be no repeat in this weekend’s Elite League trips to Basingstoke Bison and top-of-the-table Cardiff Devils.

The 39-year-old has told his team to forget about their three defeats in a week and start a “new season” at the Silverdome Arena tonight.

With the opportunity to go top of the table, the Newcastle side lost 6-2 to Coventry Blaze, then 6-3 to Belfast Giants.

They were also beaten 5-4 by Nottingham Panthers in Tuesday’s first leg of the Challenge Cup semi-finals.

It is something Wilson is yet to get his head around.

He said yesterday: “We came out flat against Coventry, we were stung a bit and never bounced back. Maybe we got bitten by the importance of the two games and didn’t react as well as we should have.”

Wilson prides himself in not losing back-to-back matches, so to lose three in succession was particularly galling.

And for the former defenceman to see his side ship 17 goals in the process added to the frustration. The Vipers squad have already been called in for extra training this week, and there will be plenty more to come.

“It’s unusual and I don’t like it,” Wilson said. “We worked on it again yesterday and we will for the next few weeks. We need to make sure everyone understands what their own jobs are.

“We don’t face Coventry for a while now and we just have to put it to the back of our minds. We’re back almost to a new season and it’s up to us to start another run.”

Until the Coventry debacle, the Vipers had not lost during regulation time in any of their previous seven games, if one discounts the Challenge Cup dead rubber at Sheffield Steelers. And Wilson thinks it had perhaps started to go to their heads.

“We were maybe too confident and started believing too much we were going to win any game,” he said. “The one thing we can’t do is drop our work-rate. We’re a good team but not an offensive powerhouse.

“If we have a strong work-rate and we’re defensive-minded, we’re tough to beat but we have to make sure we play that way.”

His resources will be stretched next month after academy graduates Jez Lundin and Dean Holland were named in the Great Britain Under-20 squad for the World Championships in Latvia from December 12-19.

The pair will miss the Elite League matches against Hull Stingrays, Cardiff and Sheffield but Wilson, assistant coach to the GB senior team, is unconcerned.

“They both deserve it,” he said. “They’re playing very well this year. You don’t want to lose anybody but getting called up for your country is really special. I look on it as an opportunity for them to improve their games and for us to grow as a club.”

Whitley Warriors and Billingham Bombers are in Northern League action this weekend. Wins for the Warriors at Blackburn Hawks today and at home to Paisley Pirates tomorrow will send them second, having played three games more than Dundee Stars. The Bombers have two opportunities to pick up their first points this season, at Fife Flyers today, then at home to Solway Sharks tomorrow.

:: THE Vipers have extended ticket office opening hours ahead of the semi-final second leg against Nottingham.

It will open from 10am-4pm today and 9am-6.30pm Monday to Thursday. Season ticket holders have until Thursday to buy discounted tickets (£11 adults, £8 concessions, £5 under-16s, £30 family).

We came out flat at Coventry ... maybe we got bitten by the importance of the two games