The first games of 2017 saw Solent Devils paired up against London Raiders for a double header weekend starting in London.
Raiders came out strong, and after barely ninety seconds of play, Slavomir Buda found the back of the net, with assists from JJ Pitchley and Jack Cooper.
Both teams then held the other from the door, the play going back and forth down the 
ice, until the stroke of half time – literally.
With Buda in the penalty box for boarding, and at one second past the thirty minute mark, Devils Head Coach, Alex Murray, tied the score with a little help from Richard Facey.
Two minutes later, Stewart Tait and Matt France gave Buda the help he needed to make amends for giving the Devils the power play, and put Raiders back in to the lead.
Two minutes later, Tom Davis and Alan Lack provided the assists on Tom Beesley’s goal, making the score 3-1 in favour of the home team.
The second ended, and the third began, Devils trying to get back the last two goals while Raiders continued pressing.
With just less than ten minutes left on the clock, Lack and Davis once more set Beesley up, who gave the Raiders their fourth goal of the evening.
Devils rallied, with Murray and Facey leading the charge and giving Aidan Doughty the help he needed to beat Euan King in Raiders goal for the second time of the evening.
Mason Wild was sent to the penalty box for hooking, and Raiders pushed hard with the extra man, Beesley getting an assist and helping Pitchley get a goal to go with his earlier assist, ending the game 5-2.
Sunday night, Raiders made the trip down to Gosport.
Christian Cole was once more in net for the Devils and Euan King was again between the pipes for the Raiders.
Devils also had their new signing on the ice, Drew Campbell. Campbell is actually a returning Devil, having played four seasons in a Devils shirt but playing for Haringey Racers  last year. In those four years as a Devil, Campbell became the second highest goal scorer, assists, and total points of any Devil, in his 105 games amassing 129 goals and 124 assists giving him 243 points – this equates to 2.3 points per game.
The game started with the Raiders trying to get a repeat of the previous evening, and the Devils trying to get the points back they had lost the night before.
The two teams held a stalemate until nearly half way through, when JJ Pitchley set up Slavomir Buda to start the scoring for the second day in a row.
Half way through the third period, Cole was beaten again. This time by Marek Nahlik, Pitchley getting his second assist of the game and Alan Lack getting a point for an assist too.
Despite their best efforts, the Devils couldn’t find the back of the net, earning King a shut out and giving Raiders their second win of the weekend.
Devils will be hosting Invicta Dynamos this coming Saturday, for the second meeting of these two teams this season. Face off at 5pm, Gosport Arena.
You must be logged in to post a comment.