Bees fall to table toppers

BRACKNELL, UK – The Bees put in two brave performances but came away empty-handed from tough games against the league’s top two sides.
The Bees went down 4-2 against league leaders Milton Keynes before losing 8-4 at home to local rivals Slough. The Bees wouldn’t have expected to score maximum points put were confident following a four–point haul the previous weekend.
Sunday’s game at The Hive against the Slough Jets gave the Bees the opportunity to take revenge on their rivals but Slough are having a strong season and were too powerful for Bracknell.

Bracknell got off to the worst possible start as netminder Carl Ambler’s skate broke allowing Jan Melichar to give the Jets the lead after 14 seconds. Ambler left for the bench to have his skate repaired leaving Adam Marashi to face a barrage of shots from Slough.
The Jets added to their lead with goals from Slava Koulikov and Michael Bowman before Ambler retook his place between the pipes for the Bees. Bracknell looked like they would head into the first break without a goal but Jaroslav Cesky slammed the puck home with four seconds remaining for a power play goal.
The visitors restored their lead early in the second period when Jamie Milton scrambled the puck past Ambler. To the Bees credit they didn’t give up and got themselves back into the game with two quick goals. Captain Terry Miles tipped Ashley Calvert’s shot past Gregg Rockman and seconds later Michal Pinc put Bracknell within a goal, finishing off a good power play move.
Bracknell’s resurgence was short-lived as Slough took control, scoring four unanswered goals. Peter Poljacek gave the visitors some breathing space before Daniel Davies scored on the power play to give the Jets a two-goal lead.
Bowman put the result beyond doubt, making it 7-3 with 15 minutes to go. The game lost its spark as both teams knew the contest was over. A fiery end to the game saw two Jets players given misconduct penalties. With both teams losing their tempers there was still time for two late goals. Joe Greener rubbed salt in Bracknell’s wounds but the Bees had the final say as Greg Martyn struck with three seconds left.
The Jets were too strong, but Bracknell have another tough week ahead as they face Guildford on Thursday night at The Hive before a crunch match with Swindon next weekend in a battle for the final playoff spot.
Contact the author david.bol@prohockeynews.com