MORIA EXCITED AS FORMER TEAMS SET TO MEET
British Ice Hockey Hall of Famer Steve Moria would love to see former clubs Cardiff Devils or Fife Flyers reach Sunday’s PredictorBet Play-off Final – but Cardiff is where his heart is.
Moria, now a PE teacher in Basingstoke, played for Fife between 1986 and 1988 before moving to South Wales, where he played over two spells between ’88 and 1992 then 1995-2001.
And he’s dying to get himself to Nottingham to see what happens when his two former teams come together in Saturday’s semi-final.
“I was following the results of the play-offs and when I saw both had won and were going to be playing each other, I immediately wanted to go to it,” he said.
“Having played for Fife for two years and Cardiff for ten, they were my first two teams in the UK, so it’s an exciting prospect.
“I follow the Devils results and try to get to at least a couple of games a year and still know a lot of people there, who I try to visit as often as I can.
“That’s where my heart and I’d love to see them progress and win, but on the other hand, if Fife did the same I would be delighted for them too.”
“I hate to disappoint my first team here, but I played for Cardiff for ten years and they were the best years of my hockey life.”
Moria retired from the sport in 2012 after being player-coach for Basingstoke Bison in the EPL, but had a good career in the UK that saw him win the Super League with Cardiff in 1997.
While no longer involved, he watches both teams with great interest and reckons the Devils will have the heartache of how they lost last year’s final in their minds.
As for Fife, Moria believes just getting to the final four was an achievement in itself after the manner of how they turned around their quarter final with Manchester Storm.
He added: “Last year’s final may be in Cardiff’s minds about how they lost and wanting to get themselves to the next level. They’ll want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
“Devils had some downtime for a while there, but under the new management, they’ve moved themselves on and got to where they want to be.
“It’s good to see and I know a lot of fans that watched the team back in the 80’s that have suddenly gone back to watching hockey again, it’s great for the city.
“Fife have had a great year and I’ve never really regarded them as one of the stronger teams in the league. But then, what do I know? I haven’t been around the sport for a few years now.
“It’s great to see them win a title and get to the finals weekend and I think it’s possible to see them causing an upset this weekend.
“In many ways, they caused an upset in just getting there and it will be an exciting game.”
PHOTO: Courtesy of Basingstoke Bison
LISTEN NOW: Moria excited for former teams in play-off meeting
