But before we get to that, we have to go back in time to October 2012. Woodhands had been broken down because of activity issues, everybody went to different directions. Only three weeks before PS3 NHL13 EHL tournament. Some guys still stayed in touch and talked how great the time in Woodhands had been. Maybe it was those good memories that got me thinking that maybe there is hope and maybe Woodhands can come back. We talked with CiciStar and he gave me strenght with his positive thinking to start the process of getting our guys back home. I can assure to you that it wasnt an easy task to do. Everybody had already found themselves a new club. It takes a lot of promising and convincing and scouting to build the team once again. First there was me and CiciStar with new guy Jansku. Then Kookasi came back and shortly after that Maskuta, Sluibailija, SinCosTan and Kohmelo77 joined too. Last pieces were octobussy and pqohi, those guys and a couple of new dudes and we were good to go.
EHL was a great success. We lost only 1 game in the group stage and in the playoffs we took out DPH, WDD, CAR and FwH. We were PS3 NHL13 EHL Champions. It felt great! Especially after the struggles with activity issues and rebuilding problems.
After the EHL tournament our activity hit rock-bottom. Many of us had a full stomach. Team began to split in half to those who still wanted to play daily and to those who just didnt have the drive to play actively. I tried to boost our activity and motivation by bringing in two new guys from Carlsberg HC. It affected but it didnt last for long. EHL success pretty much destroyed our daily games, which is complitely understandable, but it split us apart. Active members kept asking for new players or some other actions that could have helped us, but we already were a big club and since we had many guys in woodhands that were and still are friends with each other, kicking some guys werent an option. And if you want to keep some consistence and quality in games, you cant have too many players in the team. We were in trouble.
After a while I had enough. I tried to wake the team up and keep both sides happy but it didnt end well. It felt like the other side didnt really care at the time and the other side were waiting for someone to be the first guy who jumps out of the boat so that everyone else can follow. I reached the breaking point. I didnt have the motivation to spend so much time worrying about this situation and both sides. This is just a videogame after all. I did my decision and left with some other active members. Im not saying that I made the right decision but it felt like I had to do something and staying in Woodhands didnt feel like an option at the time.
Anyhow, Im glad that Woodhands didnt die away complitely and now they are already playing actively, with some rent-players but still. I have only good memories from Woodhands and there are many guys that I like very much as a person and as a teammate. I got nothing but respect and love towards them!
Only time will tell if I come back in NHL14 or not. Now it is time to enjoy the summer and try to find the motivation for comeback. It is a long way to the next fall. Have a great summer!
Peace and love!
- Boris Raisinger
