This weekend saw the Solent Devils continue their busy January with a double header weekend, welcoming Swindon Wildcats to the Gosport Arena on Saturday evening.
Things didn’t start well for the Devils, two minutes in Jamie Fitzpatrick picked up a penalty for interference putting them immediately on the defensive, and moments after he returned to the ice Evan Crockford sat a two minute bench penalty for too many men on the ice. The Wildcats carried on their attack, and captain, Daniel Sullivan helped Nathan Chilcott score.
Mascots, Natasha and Josie with Christian and Alex Cole Photo courtesy of Caren Doig
This electrified the game, Swindon, with their renewed vigour after their poor start to the season had turned things around in December and were wanting to keep their winning streak alive, and the Devils are pushing hard for the top spot, needing all the points they can get in an attempt to catch Oxford.
The puck went up and down the rink, the players skating faster and faster, trying ever more complicated plays. With the play frozen in the Swindon zone and Matthew Byron in the penalty box, Mark Pitts took the face off, knocking the puck back to Ben Lock at the blue line, who fired the puck past Michael Crisp in the Wildcats goal.
Two minutes later, Jaeden Boland-Pedley was sitting a tripping penalty when Drew Campbell and Alex Murray got assists as Richard Facey put the Devils in to the lead.
Devils captain Alex Cole picked up a penalty of his own, and this led to the forth powerplay goal of the period, Adam Coakley being the one to level the score after assists from Chilcott and Reed Sayers.
Keeping on a theme, thirty seconds in to the second period, William Harding went to the penalty box, but didn’t quite get to sit down, as three seconds later Facey put the Devils in the lead once more, assists again coming from Campbell and Murray.
It took a whole seven minutes for the Wildcats to level the score once more, Sayers with the shot that beat Christian Cole for the third time of the evening.
With just over thirty seconds to go in the period, both teams trying everything to break the deadlock, Murray finally got the goal he had been looking for all night, Facey managing to get another point with an assist, Mason Wild getting an assist too, ending the period 4-3 to the Devils.
As the third period progressed, Alex Cole went in for a check, caught a skate on the ice and went down, but his contact was taken as kneeing by the referee and while Cole sat in the penalty box he saw Joshua Kelly score an unassisted goal, bringing the score level once more.
Now both teams pushed harder than ever, desperately trying to nudge themselves in to the lead, and for ten minutes neither could get the better of the other, the two netminders showing everyone their worth, making super-human saves.
After ten minutes, the Devils were surging in to the Swindon zone, Campbell passed to Facey, who passed to Murray, who fired down the slot beating Crisp. The shout that Murray let out when the puck hit the back of the net was louder than the klaxon that sounded, signalling the goal.
As the game restarted, and the clock headed in to its last three minutes of the game, Swindon pulled Crisp to get another skater on the ice. They had control of the puck in the Devils zone, but it was picked up by Campbell, sent across to Murray, who passed it long to Facey heading in to centre ice. Facey, with just one defender to beat, took his time to make sure he wasn’t going to miss, and with the crowd screaming, Facey put the puck the puck between the pipes, earning his hat trick and making the game 6-4 in time for the final buzzer.
Sunday night, then saw the Devils make the trip to Chelmsford to face a team who had spent years defeating them.
Alex Murray truly wanted the victory, and when Michal Oravec was sent to the penalty box for boarding, Murray picked up an early, unassisted goal.
It took ten minutes for the Chieftains to equalise, but with so much time in the game it was obvious that they would, and when Oravec being the one to score, following an assist from Will Polston.
Half way through the second period, with the score still 1-1, Ross Brears picked up a misconduct penalty. The Devils focused, and Mason Wild helped Richard Facey put them back in to the lead.
Forty seconds later, Oravec tied the game back up, assists this time coming from Donald Campbell and Cameron Bartlett.
Thirty seconds more, and the Devils were once more cheering. Campbell and Wild, providing the assistance for Facey to score again. Another two minutes, and the man finding the net was Kieran Annis, Campbell with another assist, Murray joining in too.
The second period ended 4-2, and when the two teams returned from the locker rooms they were both looking determined.
Five minutes in to the third, Mark Pitts was sent to the penalty box for high sticks. Somehow, this didn’t stop the Devils, Campbell with yet another assist, and Solent hero, Facey, picking up yet another hat trick.
Mascots, Natasha and Josie with Saturday’s man of the match Alex Murray Photo courtesy of Caren Doig
The Chieftains picked up a consolation power play goal, as Pitts finished his penalty, Oravec earning a hat trick for himself, but the Devils completely locked things up at the back and saw the game out 5-3.
Speaking after the game, head coach Alex Murray said “It’s a great result, I am really proud of the boys, it was a great effort and a great result, I am really pleased.” When talking about the rest of the season to come, Murray continued “This game, and the upcoming games against Bracknell and Oxford are really important for us, we had identified this weekend as a massive weekend for us and now it is time to look ahead and really push for the top spot.”
The Devils will be at home again this Saturday, as they face Basingstoke Buffalo, face off at 5pm in the Gosport Arena.
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