Michael Attwell: Botany Swarm Captain ahead of the ice hockey semi-final series against West Auckland

It’s crunch time in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League this weekend, with the Botany Swarm and West Auckland Admirals facing off in a two game semi-final series. 

D’Arcy Waldegrave caught up with Botany Swarm Captain Michael Attwell to preview the series – delving into how the semi-final will impact the final, and how the team is looking heading into the most important games of the season thus far. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News talks'b eight eighteen.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Let's look some ice hockey. Now we go to the
Botany swarm. Michael will at all joined us. Michael, how
are we very well? Probably not quite as excited as
you blokes are, because we're coming down to the crunch.
What this is the final round before you hit finals time?
And she's pretty tight at the top, isn't it, Michael?

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Yeah, it's been an interesting year, which is it's a
good change for the league.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Actually, what the fact that you've got competition?

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Yeah, well yeah, the fact that there's four teams at
the top, so so it's high. It's it's been a
while since it's been like this, so it's been an
exciting year. I don't I don't remember the last time
the standings came down to the very last game of
the season.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
What is I know why that is? That's because teams
are very well balanced. But how come it's flattened out?
How come you've got a case with what botany? Your
team is sitting thirty one points and then that goes
thirty twenty nine, twenty seven, So cigarette paper between them.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
Yeah, yeah, it's pretty good, I think.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
I mean, Dunedin has improved a huge amount this year.
Queenstown probably lost a few more than usual. So yeah,
it's given the haw Auckland team's a bit of a
chance to stay in the race for number one.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
On the two games you've got and they're up against
the Admirals and Botany. What quarter past five tonight, quarter
to five tomorrow? What's hanging on these games as far
as the results concerned. How does this change or effect
what happens in the finals next weekend?

Speaker 3 (01:47):
So if Botany win, we play at home the following
weekend against Queenstown. If West Ackland win, they go down
to Queenstown and play them down there.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Okay, so.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, it's been a it's been a while since we
had a home final.

Speaker 4 (02:07):
I think it's been about fourteen years.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
You think it's been about fourteen year you know, it's
been fourteen years.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
And I was there.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Oh wow, So definitely a stager. You've been around the
block and calling you elderly. Not at all you've experienced,
which is important what far as your form goes and
what you're at. You've advanced a bit, but you're still there.
And right at the peak of you of your powers?

Speaker 3 (02:32):
Are you?

Speaker 4 (02:32):
Michael?

Speaker 3 (02:33):
No, I don't know about power and speed, but I
like to think that I've gained a bit more experience
and knowledge, so hopefully I can use that at my
advantage rather than just skill and speed.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
I remember trying to play squash years ago with an
old guy, and I was much fitter than he was.
This is in my early twenties. Couldn't beat him because
he had the upstairs situation sorted out in the mental horsepower,
and he basically just poked the ball around the court
and watched me run around in circles. Is it that
kind of what you're trying to put down?

Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah, I just I just hope that the young kids
playing with me can do most of the skating and then.

Speaker 4 (03:12):
I can just be the smarts and dish it round.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
And yeah, it just be I guess a backbone of
the players on the rink with me.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
When it comes to form, you're sitting at the top
of the table. Only just where's your form? Over the
last couple of weeks.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
Being I think it's been.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
I mean we haven't had a game for three or
four weeks now, but the last games we had were
pretty reasonable. We split both weekends. Last two games were
against Queen Town, split those two. In the week before
that was against west Auckland and split those two.

Speaker 4 (03:49):
So I think we're I think we're sitting pretty good.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
We've had some good trainings and been working hard, so
I like to think we're ready for it.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
What was with the break? Why is there three weeks?

Speaker 3 (04:00):
Well, we had we had to buy the last round
of the season, and then they had a league break,
and then the first ob the semi final games was last.

Speaker 4 (04:12):
Weekend and then it's us this weekend.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
That's hardly ideal, is it. I don't know how it
works in ice hockey, but surely you want some form
of momentum. Does that have to change if you guys
made a complaint, has it been an investigation?

Speaker 3 (04:29):
We just we just we just do what we're told
and play. But I guess it's I mean, on one hand,
it's good because we can rest up and we can
I guess, regroup and work on what we need to
work on. But then, like you say, you lose a
bit of momentum.

Speaker 4 (04:43):
So yeah, it's.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
It's hard, but that's okay. You don't do this because
it's easy. And I suppose if you can get the
work hand playing at home, well, not only is that good,
you're sleeping in your own beds, playing on your own ice,
but you haven't got the plane fears to worry about,
we know, is right?

Speaker 3 (05:02):
No, exactly? And yeah, I mean we're used to our wrinkle.
All the rinks are different sizes around New Zealand. So
to play at our home rink where we're used to
the size and the space on the rink is I
guess a huge advantage.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Here's a question for a rank outsider. Yeah, how you
slam each other into the wall all the time? The
various walls around the rinks? Do they have different strengths
or flexibility? Do you notice that?

Speaker 4 (05:29):
No, not so much like strength or flexibility.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
There's a few rinks where the boards are a little
bit higher and a little bit more prominent, so I
guess getting hit into those you get your hips and
ribs and stuff.

Speaker 4 (05:44):
But that's pretty much the.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
Only difference that the perspects and stuff is typically all
the same.

Speaker 4 (05:51):
Well to me it is anyway, Well.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
At least it's not concrete and glass, because you'd be
in a power of trouble for that was the case.

Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yeah, well I used to be half the rinks used
to have just wire mesh rather than the perspects, so
a lot's changed.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
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