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TheDundalkDemocrat-Martin's Articles

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:16:48 -0600

ICE HOCKEY :Irish Ice Hockey League (IIHL) : Dundalk Bulls v Charlestown Chiefs Bulls kick start Ice Hockey League with a bang By Martin Grant, Ice Hockey reporter, At the Dundalk Ice Dome The local Dundalk Bulls where the talking point of Irish Ice Hockey this week when they returned to their best with a surprising 6-3 victory over the Charlestown Chiefs, in the first Irish Ice Hockey League (IIHL) match since last December. With the absence of top flight hockey for over three and a half months, it was good to be back in the Press Box for the second half of the Irish League, which certainly started with a bang. This was second time the Bulls and Chiefs met, the last encounter it was the Bulls that fell to the hands of the �foreign national� team. The Bulls had a full team on offer, with player/coach Sean Dooley and his assistant Steven Ewen playing forward, local lad Adam Pepper in between the pipes and newly signed Gareth Roberts in defence, it certainly was a recipe of delight for the Bulls fans. However, the Chiefs where short benched this time around, only affording to ice just over thirteen players which included locals Niall Mc Evoy and Craig Fay. Intense first period The first period of twenty minutes consisted of hard hitting, end to end action and goals that will go down in history. The Bulls where first into the penalty box when referee William Fay banged up coach Sean Dooley for ten minutes, only three minutes into the game. With the teams coach serving a penalty, it was up to Steven Ewen to prove his worth to the team as assistant coach, and he done just that. Oldie Mats Anjesto, who has been with the team since the first season, netted the first goal of the game just five minutes into the game, after seeing an open slot in the Chiefs nets, giving the home team a 1-0 lead. The Chiefs were determined not to let their guard down and replied with an equalising goal from captain Aigars Brencis, less than fifty seconds later, proving just how fast ice hockey can be played at, if you know how to play the game. A good ten minutes of play followed in favour of the Bulls, with them having most of the possession deep in the Chiefs halve for the majority of the time. Their tactics eventually plaid off after a pass from Mateu Rudovosky that was followed through by goal scorer Vlad Polacek, to give the home side a 2-1 lead. And the work ethic continued as Rudovosky and Polacek combination contributed once again to make the scoring 3-1 in favour of the Bulls. A defensive error on the Bulls behalf gave the Chiefs Janis Kipars a scoring oppotuinty in which he took his hand and run with it leading narrowing the Bulls lead to 3-2. In a last minute effort of this period, Coach Sean Dooley had a one-on-one opportunity against the Chiefs goaltender Denniss Kurelass, and just yards away from the goal frame, Dooley went down on the ice and brining the period to a close, as the Bulls went into the dressing room with a 3-2 lead. Superb goaltending from both sides in second It was the skilful, yet professionalism, goaltending from both sides that made way for an explosive second period of action. With experienced Deniss Kurelass in nets for the Chiefs and local youngest Adam Pepper in between the pipes for the Bulls, the players certainly had their work cut out for them if they where going to have any chance of scoring. Pepper made some outstanding saves that have never been witnessed at the Inner Relief Road venue in a long, long time. Three shots from Raimonds Karpinskis where all denied by Peppers pads, including an open net shot that hit the woodwork. A default by the Chiefs Kurelass, who came out of his crease, made way for a priceless goal from Bulls forward Mike Minearch, brining the score to 4-2 in favour of the current League Champions. Temperatures where running high on the Chiefs bench as everything they sought to do seem to go wrong in every way possible, as the Bulls defence stood tall. The next decent scoring chance of the day came from Robert Grosawitz, but he just shot inches wide of the nets. With minutes remaining in this period, the Chiefs (formally known as the Latvian Hawks) where eager to slot home another before the intermission. Chiefs Aigars Brencis shot fiercely, but Pepper stood tall to bring the scoring 4-2 at the end of the second for the Dundalk Bulls. Chiefs dominate third but Bulls covert chances The third and final period for the majority of time was played deep into the Bulls halve. The difference in these two teams this time around was that the Bulls chances converted into goals and the Chiefs chances�..well didn�t turn into anything at all. The Bulls got the ball rolling first in this period of play, with a goal coming from recent forward signing of Gareth Roberts, just seven minutes into play making it 5-2. And things just got better and better for Dundalk as three minutes later Joakim Lundin brought the scoring to 6-2 following his second goal of the night. The Chiefs finally got their act together and eventually saw the Bulls nets. An unassisted goal from former Bulls player Alex Fjodorovs made the scoring 6-3, which proved to be the final goal from both teams. A questioning appeal regarding the goal from the Bulls coaches to the officials wasn�t going to happen as the goal was already awarded and recorded on the statistic sheets, before the coaches made their way to the officials. In a last bid saloon to add another goal to the Chiefs score sheet, Agars Brencis was awarded a penalty shot from centre ice in the dying minutes of the game. As he skated him left to right and right to left trying to observe the movements of Pepper in nets, he failed to slot it behind the line as the sound of joy was heard ringing around the Dundalk Ice Dome when the final whistle was blown, with the directors of the Dundalk Bulls Ice Hockey Cub leaving the building with a winning smile on their face following the hard working display from Sean Dooley�s men. Although he hasn�t been toughly tested this season, Dooley seems to have laid down solid foundations which he can build upon. The Dundalk Bulls had done it. They had defeated the Chiefs. The first defeat the Chief have taken all season in the current season. The slogan of �you will never beat the Chiefs� is well and truly put in the rubbish dump from here on in as the Irish Ice Hockey League gets back to its best. Dundalk Democrat Man of Match : Adam Pepper Dundalk Bulls: Seanna Conway, Adam Pepper, Mats Ajnesjo, Joakim Lundin, Steven Ewen, Mateu Rudovosky, Sean Dooley, Vlad Polacek, Peter Castka Robert Grosowitz, Michael Rogan, Mike Minerech, Christian Ajnesjo, Gareth Roberts, John Carney See edited version in this weeks Dundalk Democrat dated 17thFeb THE DUNDALK DEMOCRAT-NUMBER 1 FOR ICE HOCKEY ACTION WITH MARTIN GRANT

Jan 24th Democrat Articles - Jim Pepper Interview

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:08:31 -0600

Six locals named in squad By Martin Grant SIX local players have been lucky enough to have been chosen in the Irish Under-18 squad that will compete in the Ice Hockey World Championships in Mexico this March. This week The Dundalk Democrat caught up with local man Jim Pepper, the General Manager of the team, to see how things are looking ahead of the competition. "Last week we had a panel of 28 players for trial and this week we have cut it down to a team of 19 players. Head coach Sean Dooley and his assistant Steven Ewen have been looking at the team very closely over the last number of months and they have used a very stringent programme to select the team that we now have and I am very happy at the team that was picked". Jim passed his wishes to the local players that failed to make the team but predicted that next year will be their year. "I got to know the other lads that didn't make the team personally after 10 weeks working with them. I feel very sorry for them after putting in 10 weeks of hard work", he said. "Three of the lads that where trying out - Sean Coleman, Conor Redmond and Padraig Tuite - didn't qualify to participate in the competition by age. It is sorry to see them go, but our loss is next year's gain and they have seen the higher standard of ice hockey and training that goes with it, so all they can do is improve". Local youngster Mark Theater also trialed for the team but failed to secure his place, however Jim says he will bounce back next year. "Young Mark was nearly there, but he is going to be another super player next year. I think those four players will make up next year's U-18 teams and we will need them because the majority of this year players go to U-21 level". Six local players impressed the selectors enough to make the team including: Steven McEntee, Ryan Duffy, Jason McCrainor, Aidan Morris and Brendan Saunders. McEntee, McCrainor and Morris return to the team for their second consecutive year following last year's success in Turkey where the team bagged a bronze medal. This will be Duffy and Saunders' first outing in the Irish squad and both have played together as team mates for the past two years. Duffy will have a disadvantage as he is only returning to the ice after a year out with an injury he sustained during a match. Talented 16-year-old Rian Larkin also made the team for the second year. Unfortunately, Larkin wasn't in attendance for the trials as he is playing hockey in Canada, an experience that he is immensely enjoying. Larkin too sustained a recent injury while in Canada but is fit to play in March and he is expected to make his return to Dundalk in two weeks time. Pepper also said that the sport of ice hockey isn't escaping the current economic difficulties. "The flights are very expensive and we are now actively seeking sponsorship, both north and south of the country. "The fact is that we are a national team so we are looking for national sponsors. It�s hard but hopefully some of the larger companies will come out and support us, but we will be carrying out the reliable bag packing, car washing and flag-day fundraisers and no donation is too small�. Jim is well aware of the tough competition that the team faces upon arrival in Mexico and says that if the team win one game then it will be a great achievment. �Our group is very tough. We are up against Mexico, South Africa, New Zealand and Israel. My dream is to beat the New Zealand All Blacks. If you look at the way the draw is put together we are looked as the weakest. The underdog tag suits us very well, as we all know the Irish like to be the underdogs. They perform better as the underdogs than being at the top. My realistic aim is to win one game but my dream is to come with gold�, he laughed. �We are really going prepared. By the time we go to the tournament we will have 30 training sessions under our belt, considering we went last year with only three. We may not win anything, but we will be the most prepared and fittest team there�. Team Ireland Under-18 staff: Jim Pepper (General Manager); Sean Dooley (Head Coach); Steven Ewen (Assistant Coach); Petr Castka (Fitness Coach) Aeidamar Sally, Catharine Pepper, Kelly Ewen, Peter Bohan, Irish Ice Hockey Executive (Organisational Staff). Read in full in this weeks Dundalk Democrat THE DUNDALK DEMOCRAT-NUMBER 1 FOR ICE HOCKEY NEWS WITH MARTIN GRANT

24th Jan Dundalk Democrat Articles

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:04:15 -0600

Interesting year ahead for the Dundalk Lady Bulls By Martin Grant IF we were to go back four months, the local Dundalk Lady Bulls Ice Hockey team were critically low on numbers. Players were transferring to various clubs and it looked like there would be no Bulls Ladies team participating in the Irish Ice Hockey Division Two League. However, fast forward to the present day and we see more ladies registering with the team, trips to foreign countries being organised and the second half of the season starting. Speaking to The Dundalk Democrat this week about the Ladies team, head coach Vytautas Lukosevicius said: "We are very going very good at the moment. At the start of the season we thought we didn't have a team and now we have 15 girls and counting". Vytautas praised the club's 'Zero to Ice Hockey Hero' programme, that is being exclusively covered by The Dundalk Democrat, by saying: "With the Dundalk Bulls Zero to Hero programme we have another two girls coming on board and we are teaching them how to skate and play and they think that the want to stay and play hockey with us because they are enjoying it". Vytautas, who has coached the Ladies for the past three seasons, also spoke about the season to date: "We're not doing too bad in the Irish League, even though we have lost the games against all of the mens teams that we play, but we didn't lose any game by more than ten goals and we scored at east one goal in every game so that is good for me as a coach to know". 2010 could be an exciting year for the Bull Ladies as Vytautas is organising team trips to foreign destinations. "I am organising a trip to Prague, Czech Republic, in September for the Lady Bulls where the hockey is at a very high level and where we will play a few games against Ladies Teams", he said. With the leagues being reshuffled for the second half of the season, the three ladies teams the Dundalk Lady Bulls, the Belfast Ice Vixens and the Cubs - are all in the same division, something that Vytautas is excited about. However he admits that it won't be easy for his team. "It will be tough and at the end of the day, a game is a game. If you play against the boys or play against the girls you have to be ready. You cannot just sit there and say that we are going to beat them. We have to go and play your hardest and to the best of your ability". He also added that the possibility of an all ladies league could be on the cards for next season. "It could be that next year we have a ladies league. We already have three ladies teams and they can play against one another, but we will have to see what the future holds". Read in full in this weeks Dundalk Democrat THE DUNDALK DEMOCRAT-NUMBER 1 FOR ICE HOCKEY NEWS WITH MARTIN GRANT

Dundalk Democrat articles 20th Jan 2010 - Article 3

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:00:54 -0600

Peppers looking for top spot Dundalk brothers could make Team Ireland Ice Hockey side i> By Martin Grant Once local ice hockey player is looking for his spot on the Team Ireland Ice Hockey side. And so is his two older brothers. Adam Pepper, who plays with the local Dundalk Bulls, will be taking to the ice of the Dundalk Ice Dome this weekend for trails for the Team Ireland Ice Hockey side, and his two other brothers are following in his footsteps. For the first time last year, Adam represented the senior national team on the international stage in New Zealand where he was the first choice goaltender under head coach Jim Tibbets. Adam started out playing roller hockey in League in Northern Ireland before moving to Ice Hockey when the Dundalk Ice Dome opened in 2006 and he has played the position of goaltender ever since with the Dundalk Bulls. He also represented the U18�s National Team last year in Turkey. This weekend he will attend trials for the team along with his older brothers Mark and Sean. Mark players as a forward with the Flyers and Sean recently transferred to the Charlestown Chiefs as a goal tender. Speaking exclusively to the Dundalk Democrat, Adam said �I am really looking forward to the trials. It should be hard competition this year. There is a lot of goalies coming up, such as Sean Pepper and Scott Bickerstaff have both come on tremendously and are huge competition for the senior goalie spot this year�. When asked is there any rivalry between himself and his brothers Pepper said �There is always a rivalry between me and my brothers and with Sean moving to the Chiefs, I am really looking forward to that game. �As my brother Mark is lineman, he can�t wait for the game to come and he hopes that he will be working for that game� laughed Adam. He also added that his Mother and Father stays out of it and supports all three of their sons. Adam is thinking positive and says that all he can do is give his best this weekend. �I don�t really know my chances of getting on the team. �All I can do is go out and play my own game and not worry about the competition and hopefully I will get the spot again this year�. Pepper also thinks that Ireland could do very well on the international stage in April. �If I make the team I would like to get a gold medal, if not a silver� he said, �the group isn�t that hard and we could do really well if we get the team picked early and get good preparation for going away�. Kenny Redmond is the assistant coach of the team and he has worked with Adam before when he was the head coach of the Bulls, but Adam reckons that it doesn�t favour him for the place on the national side. � Kenny has a lot of experience as coach and is a very good and capable coach� he said, �But just because he is the assistance, it doesn�t favour me for the place. It all depends on how I perform on the day�. His brother Mark said, � Hopefully I�m in with a chance of making the team. I will have to see how the weekend trials go. It would be quite an achievement if all three of us made the team this year. I wouldn�t know what to say�. www.DundalkDemocrat.ie Read in full and edited form in this weeks Dundalk Democrat

Dundalk Democrat articles pubished on 20thJan 2010 - Article 3

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:57:33 -0600
Peppers looking for top spot Dundalk brothers could make Team Ireland Ice Hockey side i> By Martin Grant Once local ice hockey player is looking for his spot on the Team Ireland Ice Hockey side. And so is his two older brothers. Adam Pepper, who plays with the local Dundalk Bulls, will be taking to the ice of the Dundalk Ice Dome this weekend for trails for the Team Ireland Ice Hockey side, and his two other brothers are following in his footsteps. For the first time last year, Adam represented the senior national team on the international stage in New Zealand where he was the first choice goaltender under head coach Jim Tibbets. Adam started out playing roller hockey in League in Northern Ireland before moving to Ice Hockey when the Dundalk Ice Dome opened in 2006 and he has played the position of goaltender ever since with the Dundalk Bulls. He also represented the U18�s National Team last year in Turkey. This weekend he will attend trials for the team along with his older brothers Mark and Sean. Mark players as a forward with the Flyers and Sean recently transferred to the Charlestown Chiefs as a goal tender. Speaking exclusively to the Dundalk Democrat, Adam said �I am really looking forward to the trials. It should be hard competition this year. There is a lot of goalies coming up, such as Sean Pepper and Scott Bickerstaff have both come on tremendously and are huge competition for the senior goalie spot this year�. When asked is there any rivalry between himself and his brothers Pepper said �There is always a rivalry between me and my brothers and with Sean moving to the Chiefs, I am really looking forward to that game. �As my brother Mark is lineman, he can�t wait for the game to come and he hopes that he will be working for that game� laughed Adam. He also added that his Mother and Father stays out of it and supports all three of their sons. Adam is thinking positive and says that all he can do is give his best this weekend. �I don�t really know my chances of getting on the team. �All I can do is go out and play my own game and not worry about the competition and hopefully I will get the spot again this year�. Pepper also thinks that Ireland could do very well on the international stage in April. �If I make the team I would like to get a gold medal, if not a silver� he said, �the group isn�t that hard and we could do really well if we get the team picked early and get good preparation for going away�. Kenny Redmond is the assistant coach of the team and he has worked with Adam before when he was the head coach of the Bulls, but Adam reckons that it doesn�t favour him for the place on the national side. � Kenny has a lot of experience as coach and is a very good and capable coach� he said, �But just because he is the assistance, it doesn�t favour me for the place. It all depends on how I perform on the day�. His brother Mark said, � Hopefully I�m in with a chance of making the team. I will have to see how the weekend trials go. It would be quite an achievement if all three of us made the team this year. I wouldn�t know what to say�. www.DundalkDemocrat.ie Read full article in edited form in this weeks Dundalk Democrat

Dundalk Democrat articles published on 20th Jan 2010 - Article 2

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:53:37 -0600
Burke battles for the Crown By Martin Grant Irish Ice Hockey is back on the ice and this week The Dundalk Democrat caught up with Liam Burke, the Dundalk Bulls B team General Manager. At present the player transfer deadline is still open and still Liam is indated with players willing to play for his team, but he currently has a full roster signed up. �Unfortunatly, we have to turn these players away as it wouldn�t be fair on the players who have been here since the beginning of the season and they deserve a chance to prove themselves� said Burke. He added that each player is working extremely hard to keep there place on the team because of the number of players willing to play for the Dundalk side. Burkes side are the current League champions after last years dramatic pently shootout against the Ice Breaker. But Burke insists that it will be tough going to recaim the title this time around. �It�s going to be a tough job to hold onto out title� he said, �all of these teams are very tough teams to beat. No one is better than anyone else�. According to Burke it will be an exciting finish to the season come March. He said �I think as all the teams are very strong, we will have a second half of a season filled with great and exciting games that are not to be missed�. Liam is eager for success and he hopes that his team can improve their game from the first half of the season. �We all would like to think we could take the crown, but to be honest I think it will be a tough job whoever wins it, but if you asked me this time last year would we have won the league I would have said no but we went on to win, so anything is possible. �I want this team to play much better than we did in the first half of the season, because I know we have the ability to do so�. Burke praised the work of the new Irish Ice Hockey Association Executive and went on to say �I think they are doing a great job. They are very much approachable and as they are players, they know what we want in the Leagues�. Liam�s men will take to the ice this coming Monday where they will host the Blackhawks at the Dundalk Ice Dome at 8:30pm. www.DundalkDemocrat.ie Read full article in edited form in this weeks Dundalk Democrat

Dundalk Democrat articles published Wed 20th an 2010

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:49:48 -0600
Aidan puts on the skates and gets into gear at age 52 By Martin Grant Your never too old to try something new, that�s the message that one local man is sending out to people. Aidan Mc Cann, who is from Bay Estate, is putting ice skates and ice hockey gear on and is hitting the ice at the grand age of 51. Aidan is a well known face at the Ice Dome for a man who works as a game day official as a timekeeper but he has been to very few learn to skate sessions and admits that he can�t stop very good yet. Speaking to The Dundalk Democrat, he explains why he wants to learn how to play ice hockey and where the idea came from. �I wanted to be able to skate with my son Brian and my daughter Elaine� he said, �I would love to play a small ice hockey match with both of them�. Aidan also says that they make it look so easy on TV. He said �They make it look very easy on Dancing on Ice. It�s scary to start with, but after the first fall it gets better. �I would like to have all the experts like Jane Torveill and Christopher Dean on the ice to help me�. Mr. Mc Cann praised the heath benefits of ice skating and hockey. �It�s a great health benefit� he said �When I went started I lost a bucket of sweat in half and hour and after the skate I felt great�. Aidan says that when he can skate backwards and stop properly he will dawn on the hockey gear. �When I can skate backwards and stop properly I will put on the hockey protective gear, he said, �I�m not looking forward to running into people�. Aidan also would like a team of the old generation to be formed, he added� I would like to have a team of us doing it. As many as possible�. Last year the local Dundalk Bulls Ice Hockey Club did have a one hour slot dedicated to parents of children who played hockey but it soon was scrapped because there wasn�t sufficient numbers attending to cover the cost of ice time. Aidan also added that he doesn�t mind getting inured when playing the sport and says that he has had a number of sports injuries in his younger days. He would also like to bring the game of ice hockey back to when it first started in the Ice Dome. www.DundalkDemocrat.ie Read Full Article with edited version in this weeks Dundalk Democrat

Dundalk Democrat Articles 13th Janury 2010

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:25:00 -0600
Dundalk connections to lead Team Ireland ice hockey side ! By Martin Grant LAST week, the Irish Ice Hockey Association - the governing body of ice hockey in the Republic of Ireland - appointed the positions of General Manager, Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the National Ireland Senior Ice Hockey Team, and all of positions have been appointed to people who are connected to the local Dundalk Bulls Ice Hockey Club. Tony Griffin was handed the role of General Manager, Jim Tibbets was appointed as Head Coach and Kenny Redmond will be his assistant. Griffin will be dealing with many duties off the ice such as organising training sessions and the trip itself to AADVERTISEMENTthens, Greece, where Ireland will take on Luxembourg, UA Emirates and the home team Greece. Tony is one of the founders of the Dundalk Bulls Ice Hockey Club and led the team to their first ever Irish Ice Hockey League back in 2007 and in 2008 alongside Kenny Redmond. He also was the director of hockey within the club and is a director of the Dundalk Ice Dome. Tony has been a member of the National team's staff for a number of years and travelled with the team to Iceland and Mexico and many other countries where he was involved in many duties from coaching to assisting previous managers. At the World Championship in 2007, which was held in the Dundalk Ice Dome, Tony was again part of the team's staff but took a more prominent involvement with the coaching of the team. His last involvement with the team was in 2008 in Romania as Assistant Coach. His experience at previous World Championships on top of his work with the Dundalk Bulls Ice Hockey Club will prove invaluable to the Irish National Team. Speaking exclusively to The Dundalk Democrat, Tony said: "First it's an absolute honour to have been picked as the General Manger of our national team and when you have been around the game of hockey for as long as I have there is no better feeling to have landed the top hockey job in Ireland". Griffin reckons the staff for this year's World Championships is very impressive. "Myself and Jim have a long working relationship with the Irish team. I have been his assistant for many years and the most memorable moment has to be 2007 in Dundalk when we took a silver medal. I'm really looking forward to teaming up with him again and also Kenny Redmond, I know Kenny very well from my days with the Bulls as manager so all in all we have a very good coaching staff for 2010". Tony and his team are going for nothing but gold this year. "Our goal for Greece 2010 is gold - it's as simple as that", he said. "I know I am raising the bar high but its my belief that we have the players to make it happen. I feel we will have a stronger team available than in recent years and simply cant wait to get started". Jim Tibbetts returns to coach the Irish National Team for the fifth successive year. The highlight of his time in charge is most certainly leading Ireland to its only ever medal at the senior level in Dundalk in 2007. He also played a vital role in getting junior hockey started in Dundalk. He worked with the Dundalk Bulls back in 2007 and he has run various ice hockey camps at the Ice Dome. Kenny Redmond takes the position of Assistant Coach. Redmond, who is originally from Scotland, led the Dundalk Bulls to a league championship in 2007 as player-coach. �I�m absolutely delighted to be working with Team Ireland at the forthcoming World Championships. It will be great to work alongside Jim and Tony as they have great experience at this level of hockey. Both of them have a great passion for the game and we will all work tirelessly to achieve our aim for gold.� The staff will pick the team after trials take place on January 23 and 24 READ FULL ARTICLE IN THIS WEEKS DUNDALK DEMOCRAT wwww.dundalkdemocrat.ie

Dundalk Democrat Articles

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:16:03 -0600
Dundalk Democrat Ice-hockey can't even escape the arctic! By Martin Grant IF you thought the current subzero temperatures and the arctic weather conditions would be in favour of the sport of ice hockey, you were wrong. Yes that's right, even last weekend's and Monday evening's scheduled ice hockey matches in the Irish Ice Hockey Division Three had to be postponed due to the extreme weather conditions. The venue itself - The Dundalk Ice Dome - was not the problemADVERTISEMENTbut it was the fact that players and officials would be travelling on treacherous road conditions. Wayne Hopkins, the Divison Two League Chairman said: "This decision was taken with safety of all our members in mind and was not a decision taken lightly. We understand that the road conditions may improved before the weekend but equally they may deteriorate. "We apologise for any inconvenience caused and understand that everyone wants to get back on the ice but we have to but safety first'" Games scheduled for last weekend will not be rescheduled until the weekend of March 21 and 22. Jonathan Dunne, who is a member of the Irish Ice Hockey Association Executive board told The Dundalk Democrat: "The games are cancelled due to the weather and with more snow/bad weather forecasted for last week, it was only right to make the decision". There are five ice hockey matches scheduled at the Ice Dome for this coming Sunday and Monday and they too could fall due to the bad weather. "The schedule is as normal, as long as the weather improves. It would all depend on how bad the weather is, obviously we need to give the Ice Dome as much notice as possible". The association is expected to make an announcement today (Wednesday) on whether this Sunday and Monday's games will go ahead. For more information check out the Associations website at www.iiha.org Meanwhile in the Irish Ice Hockey Premier League, last weekend's scheduled games where suspended until future notice pending a restructuring of the league to ensure the second half of the season and play-offs are completed successfully, the Irish Ice Hockey Association announced last week. Officials from the association were due to meet with all league teams on Sunday last to discuss the situation but it was cancelled due to the arctic weather conditions. Seanna Conway, a Director of the IIHA told The Dundalk Democrat: "The Irish Ice Hockey League meeting was cancelled due to the weather conditions, and will be rescheduled when conditions improve. Safety is paramount". READ FULL ARTICLE IN THIS WEEKS DUNDALK DEMOCRAT 13TH JAN 2010

WELCOME TO MARTIN GRANT'S CORNER JAN 9TH 2010

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:03:17 -0600
Hello All ! Welcome to 'Martin Grant's Corner' , as it says at the top of the screen and as you may have already guessed, its run by myself, Martin Grant. First, I would like to commend the fellow people who made this website up and for the offer of having a section on it, something that I will enjoy. Just a brief history about me, if any of you's don't know me already, I have been involed in Ice Hockey here in Ireland for over the past 4 years or so - Since the Dundalk Ice Dome. Learnt how to play a bit of hockey with a local for a few years until I took a very bad injury that blew me away. I then got involed in the Media World, helping out with Media with a local club in Dundalk. I then moved to journalism with a local paper called the Dundalk Leader in the summer of 2009. Great job and loved every minute of it. I still do pieces for them. With the love of writing I have, I decided that I would start to write on ice hockey with the background I had. I am now writing weekly articles and coloumns on Ice Hockey for a paper called the Dundalk Democrat (www.dundalkdemocrat.ie) I'm alswys looking for topics or stories to write on, and if you have any ideas please e-mail me at mgdundalk@gmail.com I also present an ice hockey radio show on DundalkFM100 (www.dundalkfm.com) called 'BullsEye' with four other presenters every Monday night at 8pm. Also in the download section in the next few weeks you will be able to download pod-casts of the show, once we get it up and running.