Vipers in search for the right formula

Mar 15 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

THE Vipers will be mixing and matching up front this weekend as they try to find a winning combination for next week’s play-offs. But coach Rob Wilson is confident Pavel Gomenyuk’s return will give him the right blend defensively.

The 29-year-old Ukrainian will play his first games for more than a month after groin surgery at home to Coventry Blaze and Belfast Giants this weekend.

Wilson thinks the return of his most solid defenceman will improve his team’s attacking potency.

“He allows people to attack a lot,” Wilson explained. “We want the defencemen joining the rush a lot more and having Pascha available will help. It allows Burt Henderson and Ben Storey that opportunity to join the rush a lot more.”

While the Newcastle side’s lines will have an experimental look, Wilson will not be taking either game lightly.

“I really believe these games are important to us,” he stressed. “Our second season starts with these games.

“There are a lot of things I want to try but the most important thing is winning.”

Wilson’s boss in the Great Britain coaching set-up, Paul Thompson, is on the opposite bench tonight but he believes getting the edge over regular season champions Coventry will be more valuable than bragging rights.

“We’ve done well against Coventry this season and it’s always a competitive battle,” said the GB assistant coach. “We’re two and two in the league and we won one and drew one of our pre-season exhibition games.

“I think we’re the only team in the league with such a good record against Coventry and if we can extend it in our next two games that could give us a lot of confidence if we meet them in the play-offs.”

This weekend is the penultimate one before the play-offs, but Wilson has not settled on his best combinations.

“It’s funny because all the fans like to see the Todd Jackson, Colin Shields and Derek Campbell line together, yet when we won all those games they weren’t playing together because of injury,” he said. “When I put them together we lost four straight games until I broke them up.

“There will be a mixing of the lines and it won’t be until next weekend that I know who I’m going to go with when we get to the play-offs.”

Whitley have two away games in the English National League (North) play-offs this weekend. They are at the ENL Vipers today and Nottingham tomorrow.