Wilson’s happy to keep on improving

Mar 27 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

AFTER a regular season which started with huge potential but ended unfulfilled, Rob Wilson has declared himself happy that the Vipers punched way above their weight in the 2007-08 Elite League.

The Canadian player-coach feels his side exceeded expectations by finishing fifth in the final table, although he is still hoping they can go one better by winning the play-offs for a second time in three years.

The Vipers take on fourth-placed Belfast Giants in a two-legged play-off quarter-final at the weekend, the decisive game facing-off at Newcastle Arena at 5.30pm on Sunday. But after the end of their campaign proper, which finished on a high with victory at the home of champions Coventry Blaze, Wilson was happy to toast a job well done.

“We’ve had a pretty successful year,” he reflected. “If someone had said at the start of the year you will finish fifth, reach the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup and have a good chance of a run at the play-offs, I would have been pleased with that. With the unfortunate experiences we’ve been through, reaching the play-offs finals weekend would cap it off.”

Despite winning the play-offs in their maiden Elite League campaign, the Vipers struggled last term. They were a disappointing eighth last year, spending most of the campaign even lower and were knocked out of the play-offs and Knockout Cup at the first stage. So their performance this time around represents a significant improvement.

The Vipers were top of the table in the early stages of the campaign until a succession of injuries dragged them into a position more befitting their financial status. As a co-owner of the club, Wilson is acutely aware he works under greater economic constraints than most, if not all, of his rivals.

“As far as spending goes we are definitely at the lower end of the table, right near the bottom,” said a man, who has recently come out of retirement to bolster his squad’s options. “But we’re doing what we have to sustain ice hockey in this city. If we can continue improving year on year, I will be happy.”

This weekend’s winners will compete in the play-off finals weekend in Nottingham on April 5/6.