Image (C) Jo Loat
By Anthony Russell
28-30th October
Friday
It was Friday night lights in Slough as the Bees welcomed the Raiders. The visitors had the better start as Matthieu Gomercic got the first of the night and though an equaliser came from JJ Pitchley, Adam Laishram’s goal made it 2-1 by the end of the first. The Bees would level just 50 seconds into the middle frame through Dominic Gabaj and a goal from James Galazzi would give them a 3-2 advantage. The teams them traded goals; Aaron Connolly’s goal would tie the game at 3-3 and a second of the night from Laishram made it 4-3 to the visitors. Juha Lindgren would tie the game back at 4-4 but a hattrick goal from Laishram and a Jake Sylvester goal made it 6-4 at the second buzzer. Sylvester’s second of the night came early in the third to make it 7-4 and a second of the night for Gomercic made it 8-4 and the Raiders could celebrate with a Friday night beer and a Saturday night off.
Saturday
After being humbled by Telford in the week, Swindon looked to gain some revenge at The Link Centre. Aaron Nell made it 1-0 but it was level at the first break thanks to a goal for the Tigers from Thomas Byrne. The second took a while to get going but a second of the night from Nell and a goal from Russ Cowley made it 3-1 late in the period which gave the hosts a cushion. Reed Sayers made it 4-1 and when Chris Jones scored with just over 4 minutes to play, that was all she wrote. Swindon took the game 5-1 and were able to smile again.
MK and Peterborough met at the Thunderdome to start their home and home weekend. Lukas Sladkovsky put the Phantoms ahead and Corey McEwen made it 2-0 in the 14th minute but Lewis Christie got the Lightning on the board to make it 2-1 at the end of the first. The hosts would then get two quick goals from Tim Wallace to take the lead and a goal from Sean Norris made it 4-2 in the 29th minute which was enough to have the lead through to the second break. The Phantoms would strike back in the third, Ralfs Circenis finding the net on the powerplay but an unassisted goal from Bobby Chamberlain would be enough for the 5-3 win for MK.
It was an all Yorkshire battle at Elland Road as Leeds and Sheffield went to battle. Lewis Baldwin put the Knights ahead in the 12th minute to give Ryan Aldridge’s side the lead at the end of the first. Kieran Brown doubled the lead early in the second but the Steeldogs went on a run to turn the game around. Two goals from Matt Bissonnette and a goal each for James Spurr and Vlads Vulkanovs made it 4-2 by the 36 minute mark. Not to be outdone, the Knights came back either side of the second break as Cole Shudra and a Matt Haywood powerplay goal tied the game at 4-4. Lee Haywood put the Steeldogs back in front at 5-4 but Adam Barnes tied the game back at 5-5. Sheffield got the distinction of being the first side to take a point from the Knights but the story took a familiar turn with Brown potting the overtime winner to keep the extra point at The Castle.
The division’s new boys met in BS10 as Bristol and Hull did battle in the south west. Ed Bradley put Bristol ahead early on and Mason Lipsey doubled the advantage before Alex Kent pulled one back for Hull before the end of the first period. The teams battled all the way through the second with no additional score, and well into the third when a late goal changed the game. 16 year old Owen Bruton beat Will Kerlin to tie the game at 2-2 with just under 3 minutes to go. No scoring came in the remainder of the 60 minutes meaning Hull had secured their first point. Overtime couldn’t separate the sides and the shootout was needed. Sam Towner and Tom Stubbley scored meaning Ed Bradley had to score to keep the game alive. Jordan McLaughlin saved the shot and the Hull Seahawks finally had the club’s first win.
Sunday
Peterborough and MK reconvened in Cambridgeshire on Sunday. Duncan Speirs had the Phantoms ahead but a quick equaliser from Ed Knaggs tied the game at 1-1. Tom Norton made it 2-1 to the hosts before Deivids Sarkanis restored parity and a powerplay goal from Sam Talbot made it 3-2 in the 16th minute. Connir Pollard would tie the game again early in the second and Brad Bowering would give the hosts the lead back in the 32nd minute and give them the lead at the second buzzer. A second of the night from Sarkanis moments into the third made it 4-4 but Jasper Foster would wrestle the lead back for the Phantoms. Another from Speirs and another from Sladkovsky would put the game beyond the reach of the Lightning as the 7-4 win for Peterborough saw them split the weekend.
After their classic on Saturday, the Steeldogs and Leeds Knights met in Sheffield. Given all the goals the night before, a scoreless first was something of a surprise but the two sides were battling at both ends of the ice. Eventually the deadlock was broken in the second with Matt Haywood getting the Knights in front and Keiran Brown doubled the lead just before the end of the middle frame. Lewis Baldwin would add to the Knights advantage in the third and Carter Hamill would make it 4-0 to put the game beyond doubt. A late goal from Vlads Vulkanovs broke the shutout for Sam Gospel but the 4-1 final score saw the Knights’ unbeaten run continue.
Hull and Bristol relocated to the world’s most versatile arena as the Seahawks looked to build on their first win and this time on home ice. It didn’t start well for the hosts as Alex Roberts’ goal put the Pitbulls ahead in the 7th minute. Like the night before, it was a close and tight affair but the one goal lead became two late in the second as Owen Sobchak converted the pass from Caly Robertson to make it 2-0 with 64 seconds to play in the middle frame. The Seahawks pushed and pushed for a way into the game but pushed too hard and late on, Sobchak intercepted a pass and raced in to be Jordan McLaughlin to make it 3-0 in the late stages. Bristol exacted their revenge with the 3-0 win along with a 23 shot shutout for Will Kerlin.
After their win in Basingstoke, the Bees travelled to Telford for their third game in three days with a short bench. Sadly two games of hockey in two nights caught up with the Bees as the Tigers ran riot. Jason Silverthorn and Finley Howells made it 2-0 early on before Josh Marton got the Bees on the scoreboard. Sadly that was the last highlight for the Bees as Vladimir Luka and Brodie Jesson made it 4-1 before the end of the first. It took the Tigers a bit longer to break down the Bees’ resistance, needing till the 33rd minute to add the 5th, a powerplay goal from Howells before he completed his hattrick with the Tigers’ 6th of the night just before the second buzzer. Scott McKenzie added the 7th for the hosts before two from Lucas Price and a final goal of the game for Corey Goodison rounded out the 10-1 rout for Tom Watkins’ men.
Anthony Russell is the writer of Banners On The Wall (http://bannersonthewall.wordpress.com) which has covered the Bison and British hockey for the last 11 years. He hosts the BOTW What’s Current Stream, the NIHL’s live show for news and views, Wednesday night at 8pm at Twitter.com/BannersOTW
