Knights in Geneva


The 2nd - 3rd September 2005 will long be remembered by a select few of the Knights. It was our turn to be the guests in Geneva with our old friends Cogester S A Hockey Club. This Social / Hockey event occurs annually and each year the teams take it in turns to play host to each other.
The "long" weekend started with a journey to Bristol airport where we would embark on a classy EasyJet flight to Geneva International Airport. The short flight took a little over an hour and was made thoroughly exciting when we hit turbulence and every passenger left there seats!
We arrived at Geneva and were greeted by two of our hosts Daniel and Lolo. We piled our kit and ourselves into two minibus' and made our way to our first destination.
Having been in Switzerland for less than an hour we decided it was time to cause a little mayhem. Whilst driving along a main road (4 lanes of traffic) the back door of Daniel's minibus opened and began to spill kit bags onto the road and infront of the other road users. Luckily Daniel quickly realised and the crew of the first bus disembarked to retrieve the kit and reload the van. A thoroughly good start to the trip.
Our first stop was a small pub situated within a very hilly (some might say mountainous) area, we were told that this was a good time to visit the picturesque village as later in the year it gets covered by fog almost every day. The drinks in the bar were very cold which was most welcome as the temperature was not far short of 30 degrees. Whilst we sat and drank those of us who had never been on this kind of "tour" before talked to our hosts to find out more about them, there country and most importantly hockey!
After a few rounds we all hopped back in the minibus to head to our first destination for the evenings entertainment.
We arrive at what can only be described as a perfect setting for a slushy drama starring Colin Firth. Old farm buildings and views of the surrounding countryside made up this wonderful venue, a vineyard situated high up on the hills. We were greeted by the owners and shortly after other members of the Cogester S A team arrived. We sat around talking, eating exquisite food prepared by the owners wife and for those who were so inclined drinking a lot of the house product. This is the kind of activity that Rec hockey players thrive on, one so much so that he became an early casualty of the tour and was left nursing a sore head for the rest of the night (and some of the following day).
At around 11pm we left the Vineyard after saying goodbye to the owners and clearing up the mess that Rec players make. We headed into the town to our second destination of the evening a Nightclub (MOA Club). The club itself was a converted disused factory and was situated in what can only be described as the most Industrial part of Geneva. The temperature appeared not to have dropped and as we entered the club it was all to clear that it would be hotter inside. We made our way upto the main bar and after a few rounds the main club opened up and we all piled in. For those who could bare the heat and the volume of the music the dancing commenced and the entertainment (a sexy show whatever that may be).
We left the club at around 2:15am and headed off to the houses of the players we would be staying with. Finally getting to bed around 3am we were told to be ready for an early start the next day.
Saturday started with a very early wake up followed by a well needed breakfast. After this we jumped back in the vans and heading to a meeting place ready for the days activities. On our way to our mystery destination we tried to prise some info out of Lolo as to exactly what to expect he wasnt letting on!
We arrive in France (yes you did read that right) at AN Rafting, the name all of a sudden gives it away. We are of course going white water rafting, we get suited in our very fetching rubber wetsuits and life jackets then pile onto a coach to be transported up river to our starting location. A few minutes later and its off the bus and into our teams ready for the descent back to the base. Before the safety briefing a few of the guys decided to test the temperature of the water, some so much so that they fell straight in! (nice one Barry)
After this minor mishap we started the safety brieing in which one of the team (*cough* Neil *cough*) managed to smack himself in the face with his paddle splitting his lip and chin! An even better start to the day than the previous one. We then set off down river on the fast moving current, desperately trying to avoid getting wet (the water was damned cold) we paddled as hard as we could to keep the rafts afloat. Our instructor thought otherwise and as we approached the "photo spot" he decided it was time for us to get wet. our raft capsized and we soon found ourselves upto our necks in the drink, some of us even got stuck beneath the raft and had to wait to get out from underneath it.
Thankfully that was the only dunking we received although some of the guys decided it was a good idea to jump from a giant rock into the water just to make sure it was still cold.
A short while later we arrived back at base where we dried off and sat down for a barbecue and some drinks, Neil managed to sit down break a bench and sned him and Robin flying onto their backs. This was followed by a chill out or volleyball if you wished (Froudy you are the spiker, dont ever forget it!).
Once our dinner had settled we again donned our westuits but this time it wasnt for rafting, we had a choice of two activities Hot Dogging or Hydroski. The former basically was canoeing in an inflatable two person canoe, the latter (and some may say more suicidal option) was to hold onto a giant swimming float don some Scuba flippers and swim down the rapids.
The Hot Dogging went pretty smoothly apart from Mike Smith ending up in the drink on a few occasions trying to stop his and Silks' canoe from sinking. The Hydroski was a different kettle of fish entirely. Robin must have been attacked by a shark because whatever it was it took one of his flippers and didnt want to give it back. Most people came off of it with bumps and bruises and Daniel looked like he had sprained his ankle.
Back at base again and this time we got dry properly, we purchased some copies of the photographs that were taken and made our way back to the minibuses and returned again to our billets.
When we arrived back we were told we had a few hours to get showered and ready for the evenings entertainment, thoroughly exhausted we got changed then sat and watched some football on the TV whilst we waited to go out. At this point we had played no Hockey and done a lot more exercise than most of us do in a month! Again we travelled in the bus and again we tried to get some information out of Lolo, I swear this guy could withstand interogations he wasnt letting on.
We arrive at the main Ice Rink in Geneva and thank our stars that we aren't expected to do anything else physical that evening. We eat some tasty food prepared by Lolo's wife then head into the Rink to watch Geneva take on newly promoted Basel. The stadium is huge and the Ice Hockey is of a standard higher than that of the UK's Elite league. On top of that the entry to the game was a mere 10 Francs, the equivelant of about £4.50! The game was great and saw the home side cruise to victory. We left the rink amongst the melee of people and headed home.
We had to try and get some sleep as our game (you know the reason we actually went in the first place!) was due to face off at 7am, yes you read that correctly 7am on a Sunday! This meant getting up at the ungodly time of 5:30am (for some even earlier) and drive to the training Rink. We weren't playing at the stadium that we had visited the night before, instead we went to what looked like a much smaller venue. this was deceiving as when we got inside the changing rooms we foudn them to be about three times the size of the home dressing room at the Link Center topped by what can only be described as the pinnacle of high tech shower rooms compared to the Links efforts.
The game faced off late as the referee didnt arrive due to having had an accident on his moped on the way to the game! Thankfully he was OK and because it was a friendly we agreed it wasn't neccesary anyway. So the game faced off, the Knights wearing the dark blue and the Cogester team in a very pale blue. All the details of the game I cant remember however Geoff netted twice as did Shaun and Robin, leaving the Knights the victors 6-3.
As is customary after the game we had a few drinks sat outside the rink in the open air bar. We said goodbye to the majority of the Cogester team then for the last time headed back to our billets. On the way a few of us were lucky enough to get a walking tour of Geneva town center with Lolo, he told us how Geneva was defended against the French and took us to see the giant Geneva water fountain on the edge of Lake Geneva. We then arrived home and packed our things ready to return to Blighty.
We had a rather quiet trip to the airport, we were either too tired or too sad to be leaving to say anything. We unloaded at the terminal said our goodbyes to Lolo and Daniel then headed into the Airport to catch our return flight.
I think i can say on behalf of everyone that went that it had been quite possibly the best away game the Knights had been too. We were really grateful for all the effort the Cogester team had put in to making the weekend a success. We cant wait for them to come here next year and we can only hope we put on as good a show for them as they have for us.
Knights in attendance in Geneva:
Mike Smith
Neil Parkin
Barry Parkin
David Littlewood
Shaun Littlewood
Robin Littlewood
Geoff Collins
Joe Bangs
Jamie Harman
Gary Froud
Ray Taylor
Supporters in attendance:
Sarah Masson
Craig Masson

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Isle of Wight to take part in the Invitational tournament 2005

The Knights and fan club visited the lovely Isle of Wight to take part in the Invitational tournament hosted by the Wight Dinos rec team. Four teams took part in the tournament Isle of Wight Dinos, Westminster Statesmen (current trophy holders), Peterborough Rink Rats and ourselves.
Our team line up was as follows;
#2 - Alex Collins
#4- Mike Smith
#5 - Neil Parkin
#6 - David Littlewood
#12 - Geoff Collins
#16 - Joe Bangs
#19 - Jamie Harman
#23 - Barry Parkin
#31 - Gary Froud
#34 - David Collins
#88 - Neil Gatherum
#89 - Shaun Littlewood
Saturdays draw had us playing Peterborough Rink Rats for our first game. We were a bit shaky to start but found our form and managed to clinch the game 3-2, a good start to the tournament for the Knights.
In the alternate game of the morning the Home team (Wight Dinos) lost a very close game to the Statesmen 4-3.
During the break between games we checked into our accommodation and found ourselves something to eat. We then headed back to the rink to watch the first afternoon game before we were due to play again.
The first game was between the Dinos and the Rink Rats again the Dinos came very close and lost out 4-3. At this stage the Statesmen, Rink Rats and ourselves had all won a game and were level pegging on points.
Our second game started a bit late and we were still quite tired from the morning game. We started on the wrong foot against the Statesmen (we are just too friendly with them!) and found ourselves a goal down. We soon bucked our ideas up and forged a solid lead only to drop a goal near the end of the game. The final score 6-2 to the Knights, pretty much sealing our place in the final.
After we had finished at the rink some of the players decided they needed to refuel for the following days action and spent a fair few hours in the bar balancing out there alcohol / blood levels.
Sunday morning schedule gave us a bit of a lie in before we had to play again, we still managed to get up, eat breakfast and arrive at the rink to watch some of the Statesmen / Rink Rats game before we had to get ready again.
Unfortunately our buddies the Statesmen couldn't hold off the Rink Rats and lost 11-4 which put the Rink Rats through to the final which meant we would have to face them again.
The Statesmen / Rink Rats result meant that our game against the Dinos would be a bit of a non event as we were already through and having lost two games the Dinos were already out of contention. However this didn't stop both teams putting on a fine display which again saw the Knights victorious with a 6-3 win.
So at the end of the Round Robin, the Knights had won three out of three with 15 goals for and only 7 goals against.
After a hearty lunch and some sleep in the local Wetherspoons pub (Hockey players can sleep anywhere!) we returned again to the rink to watch the 3rd / 4th place play-off game.
The Dinos took control of the match early and although the Statesmen managed a few great comeback goals the end of the game saw the reigning champs in last place having been defeated 8-4 by the Dinos. All credit to the Dinos having lost 3-3 in the round robin they were determined not to lose again.
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Onto the Final
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Due to certain incidents that had occurred during the Rink Rats round robin games the vast majority of the crowd donned a moral Green shirt and cheered for the Knights from start to finish.
At the start of the game this seemed to only spur the Rink Rats on and they took the lead early on. Not disheartened by this we fought on and managed to bring the game to a 1-1 tie at half time.
Into the second half and Shaun Littlewood pulled off a spectacular move dancing through the Rink Rats defence and back handing a shot into the net. Knights 2 - Rink Rats 1.
The games momentum was slowed somewhat when an accident occurred involving star forward Alex Collins. The puck was scooped into his face which sent him crashing to the ice. Several minutes later he stood up with blood streaming down his face, he was quickly seen to by on hand first aiders and later had to have 4 stitches just below his eye.
At this point the crowd were going mental and were baying for the opposition blood.
With around 15 minutes left to play Silks called for different tactics which saw us change into a more defensive stance hoping to hold onto our narrow lead. With a shortened bench this proved difficult. Especially when with 4 minutes to play Geoff Collins was sent into the penalty box for giving his opposite a friendly hug!
When his penalty was up Geoff returned to the ice and along with the rest of the guys they held off the Rats until the final buzzer blew.
The ceiling nearly came off with the cheers from the crowd and the over excited Knights jumping around like lunatics. Shortly after the ceremonial bundling of the keeper took place!
In disgust half of the Rink Rats team left the ice and didn't return for the presentation! We each received a gold medal for our achievements and the miniature Stanley Cup trophy was presented to Silks.
On top of this Gary Froud received an award for Best Netminder, David Collins received an award for Best Defenseman and Shaun Littlewood picked up the award for Best Forward.
The only one of the Honours which didn't go to a Knights player was that of Spirit of the Tournament which deservingly went to John Cavanagh of the Westminster Statesmen.
All in all a thoroughly great tournament, I think its fair to say we are all "Loving Life" right now!