Manchester Metros vs. Warwick Panthers

The Manchester Metros traveled down the M6 to Coventry on Sunday night to square off against the Warwick Panthers at the SkyDome. The Metros came into the game needing an emphatic win to really state their case in the Cup Competition. (@ Edinburgh 1-1, vs. Newcastle 3-2 win)

Once the puck dropped, the Metros put the pressure on Warwick, not allowing them to breathe. Warwick found themselves in an uncomfortable position of having extreme difficulty gaining the offensive blue line as the Metros D and back-checking forwards were completely disruptive of Warwick's passing and overall flow. Warwick were unable to respond to the high intensity the Metros were playing with. The Metros pounded the Warwick goalie with shots from all over the offensive zone and the 1st period saw no shortage of goals as the Metros led 4-0 at the 1st break.

The 2nd period was much the same as the Metros continued their dominance. The team carried over their stellar passing from the first period as they weaved their way in out of the Warwick defense. Although the Metros created several opportunities, they were only able to capitalize on 2 of them, extending their lead to 6-0 after two periods of play.

The start of the 3rd period saw a change in Warwick's goal. The new goalie faced much of the same as the starter did and was peppered with shots at point blank. The lads added one extra insurance goal on a blazing shot from the point to supplant a 7-0 lead. The Metros did slow their play down which allowed for 3-unanswered Warwick goals, all via the breakaway.

The game finished 7-3 with the Metros stealing not only both points, but saw them climb atop the Cup Competition table since Edinburgh could only muster out a tie against Sheffield. It was definitely the emphatic win the Metros were looking for.

The Metros can take a lot of extra confidence as they have just under 2 weeks off before Sheffield comes-a-calling to Deeside on the 9th of December.

For full stats, gamesheet, and summary, visit:
http://www.buiha.org.uk/gameStats.php?gid=1815

Photo credit to: Martin Klefas-Stennett
(View all of Martin's photo collections at his Flickr account.)

Tickets, please, tickets!

Behold, my first Southampton FC ticket. :D
Kick off, 12,45PM on Saturday, 10 Dec.
I will be heading down with Andrew Mackinnon (who has organized the trip & is a lifelong Saints supporter), and 2 of his other friends [one a Blackpool supporter].
Game day stories: animosity may brew between Blackpool and Southampton-- the carryover from Southampton's defeat of Blackpool in last year's FA Cup.

The match will take place, of course, at St. Mary's Stadium in Southampton.
Southampton is just under two hours southwest of London.
St. Mary's has a total capacity of 32,689.
I look forward to a fantastic match!

A Very English Thanksgiving

I doubt any American in their right mind would give up a day of complete self-indulgence, (I hope I used that correctly?!), even if they were 4,000 miles away from their own table. To say the least, I am that American.

So I felt the need to bring Thanksgiving across the pond for several of my newest friends who greeted my arrival and welcomed me to Manchester.

The catch? I had never in my lifetime prepared a single dish for Thanksgiving outside of taking the top off of the cranberry sauce. I'd like to thank my mom for taking care of me just before she left on the train for London -- she of course wrote from memory the recipes for sweet potato casserole and the macaroni & cheese I like so much [even if it doesn't go with the traditional Thanksgiving meal].

On Wednesday, like most things I do [last minute], we headed to Asda to buy all the essentials for our Thanksgiving feast. Led by my shopping list ("mana mou re!") we filled our shopping cart to the brim.

On to Thanksgiving Day...

It ran much like a Charlie Brown special, with broken pie crusts, nervous turkey cooking, eating pies before they have settled in the fridge, and a lesson that turkey goes well with pretty much anything -- especially the chocolate cream pie.

Myself, with the help of Panayiota, Dominic, and David, began preparing the meal at 1pm. By 6.15pm the table was set. By 6.30pm, Russian Alex had KO-ed himself after one plate (amateur). By 7pm the parsnips and roasted potatoes were finished being cooked after being started around 5pm, ugh, our luck. ;D

Room for dessert? Of course! (sort of at least) -- chocolate cream pie with an enormous amount of canned whipped topping.

On this day, I would like to say I'm thankful to my family for everything they do, especially to my parents for allowing me to live out my study abroad dream. Second, I would like to thank all of the staff at UNCG Study Abroad & Exchanges for providing me with the ability to pursue my dream. Third, I would like to thank my new family of friends here in Manchester for taking me under my wing and enhancing my experience abroad. And finally, to the Boston Bruins for winning the Stanley Cup last year. :]

(Not pictured: Ravi and Alex as we sent them to get drinks from Sainsbury's.)




(David insisted he had his photo taken with the sweet potato casserole.)








(Can't have Thanksgiving photos without a photo of the mess that directly follows it!)


Note: For the full photo album of "An English Thanksgiving" feel free to visit my Facebook.

Oh and, to let the cat out of the bag early... well at least because Andrew Mackinnon said I could [gloat] about it-- I'm going to see Southampton FC play Bolton in Southampton (Saint Mary's Stadium) on December 10th! Big news as I am a recently new supporter of the Saints, courtesy of Mack who is now teaching me the ropes to being a Saint. So a big thanks to him for arranging tickets! <-- a great Thanksgiving Day surprise.

Weekend With Family / Metros Div 3 in Bradford

My parents flew into London on Wednesday (17/11) morning and took the train up to [Manchester] that same day. They are visiting not on me, but have booked a UK Travel Tour and plan to visit Paris via the Eurostar train. (Connects London to Paris and Brussels)

After introducing them briefly to the city, we all sat down for a nice meal with Roho (friend from the Metros) at Paramount; a lovely pub (and fairly priced) on Oxford Road.

Thursday (18/11) was a special day as I took them both to Trafford for the Old Trafford tour. An added addition was the appearance of the sun and rather reasonable autumn temperatures -- as opposed to the grey and rainy English weather I had when I first one. But seeing Old Trafford in both types of weather makes for totally different experiences, both being great of course.

What was extra special about the day, is United had recently dedicated the North Stand to [current] manager Sir Alex Ferguson, which went alongside Manchester United's celebration of Sir Alex's 25 years of service at the club.







I was eager for their reaction to a football pitch they hear so much about and I think they really enjoyed their visit to Old Trafford.


_ _ _ _

The Manchester Metros Div 3 team traveled to Bradford on Thursday (18/11) night for a clash with the Bradford B team. The significance? I help coach the "M3tros" as they refer to themselves. It has been a lot of fun to see the potential they all posses and the growth they have made since the beginning of the season. The Metros handled the Bradford Sabres quite easily, cruising past them in a 10-4 fashion. The M3tros dominated not only on the scoreboard, but on the shot totals as well, boasting 80 shots to the Sabres 12. Had the team capitalised on all of their chances, they could've been looking at a record number of goals!

Interesting fact: To get to Bradford from Manchester, one must take the M62 Motorway, which connects Liverpool to Hull. The M62 Motorway runs over top of the Pennines [mountains] and at its highest point Saddleworth Moor, the motorway becomes the highest point of any motorway in the United Kingdom at 1221 feet (372m) above sea level.

I wasn't able to get a picture of the sign detailing this point as it was dark out and we were moving quite quickly back to Manchester in Andy Mack's car, BUT, here is a photo of the sign to look for:

(Photo courtesy of M62 Location Scout)