From 23rd-25th September
By Anthony Russell
After a successful Friday and Saturday for the Herd, it’s time to look across the rest of the National Division.
Saturday
Milton Keynes welcomed the Bees to the Thunderdome looking to build on their good opening weekend. It was certainly a good start as Liam Stewart found the net after just 56 seconds. The Bees took a while to respond and closed the period off scoring with just 47.5 seconds of the frame left as JJ Pitchley fed Dominik Gabaj for the equaliser. After a pretty sizeable altercation in the middle frame that saw Bobby Chamberlain ejected, the Lightning regained the lead through player/coach Tim Wallace. The Bees put up an admirable fight but a tight and tense game ended with the 2-1 Lightning win.
After their awful opening weekend, it wasn’t going to get easier for the Hull Seahawks as they travelled to Telford to take on the Tigers. However it was the visitors who got the lead through Cameron Hamill and then really stunned the home crowd when James Archer, back in a Hull shirt due to injuries and lack of imports, made it 2-0 early in the second. Telford were champions back to back for a reason and found a way back. Rhodes Mitchell-King got the Tigers on the board before Jason Silverthorn’s powerplay goal tied the game just before the halfway mark. Vladimir Luka would give the champions the lead and Corey Goodison made it 4-2 in the 37th minute. Telford then managed the game through the third period to send Hull to another defeat.
Sheffield Steeldogs were missing talismanic forward Jason Hewitt as they took on the Raiders so had to look for goals elsewhere. After a scoreless first Jack Brammer got the Yorkshire side on the board in the second but new arrival Matthieu Gomercic got the Raiders level shortly afterwards. Brammer added a second early in the third and James Spurr extended the lead to make it 3-1 with just over 14 minutes to play. The visitors battled back into the game and would eventually tie things up. Aaron Connolly found the net and a goal from Harry Gulliver inside the final two minutes made it 3-3 and sent the game to overtime. The game went all the way to a shootout. Alex Graham and Erik Piatak would trade shootout goals but a second shot past Ethan James from Graham won the game for the Steeldogs and sent the Raiders back to Essex with just the one point.
Leeds and Peterborough met at Elland Road with the Phantoms having the unenviable task of stopping the Knights attack. Grant Cooper scored right on the 7 minute mark for the lone goal of the opening frame before doubling the lead in the 25th minute with a powerplay strike. Adam Barnes made it 3-0 just before the half hour and Cole Shudra added a 4th just moments later. Duncan Speirs got the the hosts on the board in the 35th minute to end the middle period. In the third the Phantoms desperately looked for a way back and foind a second on the powerplay through Austin Mitchell-King. With their tails up, the hosts pushed for a third but were caught out just 4 minutes from time as Shudra added a second of the night to seal the 5-2 win for Ryan Aldridge’s side.
Sunday
Sunday saw the league a game short. Both the Bees and Swindon wanted to rebound from a poor start to the weekend but an electrical fault at The Hanger meant that the lighting wasn’t of the standard required. The game is yet to be rescheduled at time of writing.
Having beaten the Bees the night before, the MK Lightning made their first trip to Bristol. Liam Stewart again would do the damage as he put the the visitors ahead on the powerplay in the 13th minute. Bristol would get an equaliser in the second as Mason Lipsey found the net. Bobby Chamberlain would give the Lightning the lead back but the scores would again be level as Tamas Elias beat Jordan Hedley. The teams went back and forth in the third with chances at both ends but MK went home having a disco as Stewart broke Bristol hearts, scoring with 53 seconds left in the game to continue MK’s perfect start.
Hull and Telford reconvened at the world’s most versatile arena in the East Riding. The teams went scoreless through the first period with the deadlock being broken in the second by Vladimir Luka for the Tigers. At only 1-0 after 40 minutes, the Seahawks were still well in the game and after Nathan Salem levelled the scores. Cameron Hamill put the Seahawks ahead against the league champions. The lead didn’t last long as Rick Plant’s goal made it 2-2 and Finley Howell’s goal 8 minutes from time put the game out of Hull’s reach. Telford secured the 3-2 and Hull remain rooted to the foot of the table after two weekends.
The Raiders and Sheffield met up in Romford for part two of their weekend. It was a good start for Sean Easton’s side as Matthieu Gomercic introduced himself to his new fans with a powerplay goal after just 3:01 but that was all the joy that the hosts would have. Jack Brammer tied the game and Matt Bissonnette had the Steeldogs 2-1 to the good at the first buzzer. Brammer’s second of the night and a goal from Warren Tait made it 4-1 in the second before Tom Palmer made it 5-1 early in the third to put the game beyond the Raiders’ reach.
The other home and home of the weekend saw Peterborough return the favour and host leads. It was 1-1 after twenty minutes as Zach Brooks and Duncan Speirs’ goals cancelled each other out. Tom Norton scored on the powerplay in the 27th minute but a shorthanded goal from Brooks gave him and the Knights their second of the night. The Knights took the lead early in the third through Grant Cooper but goals from Glenn Billing and Corey McEwen gave the Phantoms back the lead. The advantage for the Phantoms lasted just over a minute. Cooper’s second of the night made it 4-4 before his hattrick goal made it 5-4 with just under 9 minutes to play. Cooper added his fourth of the night before Brooks completed his hattrick with less than two minutes to play to end the game 7-4 and leave Leeds joining MK in the undefeated pile as the second weekend came to a close.
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
