ROMFORD, UK – The Raiders suffered their second defeat of the weekend and their third in a row as they lost a disappointing outing against league-leading Invicta on Sunday, 4-2.
Coming off a tight, one-goal game in Chelmsford the previous evening it would be easy to expect a few tired legs in the Romford camp, but it seemed a case of tired minds as much as anything with the Raiders continually giving the puck away and making questionable decisions that led to an ever-mounting number of turnovers in both the neutral zone and their own defensive end.
Romford goaltender Michael Gray was outstanding in making 42 saves on 46 shots. The 21-year old has been one of the teams brightest lights alongside chief scorers Danny Marshall and Frankie Harvey, and with the latter two almost entirely marked out of the game it was Gray that needed the finest act of the evening.
After a lopsided opening period that saw the Dynamos rack up a healthy 20-7 shot advantage over the Raiders, it was Invicta captain Karl Lennon that finally gave the visitors the lead when he took a pass from Andy Smith during a 5-on-3 powerplay and ripped a slapshot past Gray’s glove side. It had been coming, but the nature of another two-man disadvantage will once more frustrate Romford player-coach Marshall. Invicta would soon double their lead on Smith’s wraparound after the Raiders failed to clear the puck following a prolonged spell of pressure in their own end. Gray scrambled the puck out from under his crossbar, but it had already squeaked across the line.
With the second period coming perilously close to an end and the Raiders creating little, they were handed a lifeline in the form of a quickfire Anthony Leone double. The Raiders captain notched his first on the powerplay as he stuffed home a rebound after Julian Smith had been denied and then tied the game 33 seconds later when he beat Invicta’s Joe White short-side off the rush. It was the kind of feather in the cap that Romford desperately needed after a tired two periods and one that gave them due optimism for the final 20 minutes.
Unfortunately for the home team, the less than perfect timing of the intermission lent itself to Invicta regaining swift control of the game. Liam Chong took a pass from point-man Tim Smith during a 4-on-4, kicked the puck onto his stick and snapped it high past Raiders goaltender Gray. It was the kind of clinical finish that set the two teams apart; Invicta looked faster and more decisive for a large portion of the contest and after Gray had made another miraculous stop off a short-handed breakaway it was left to Daniel Calitri to put the gloss on the victory with the Dynamo’s fourth.
Disappointment for Romford, but a chance to rebound against Essex rivals Chelmsford presents itself next Saturday at RVW.
Contact the author – alex.nunn@prohockeynews.com
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