Four weeks ago, Solent Devils played Oxford City Stars, in Oxford, and the Devils took the game 10-4. This Sunday, the Stars headed to Gosport for the rematch.
Aiden Doughty – file photo courtesy of Optikl Photo
Early in the game, Aiden Doughty was sent to the penalty box for charging, giving Oxford a power play, but the Devils successfully managed to prevent them from making the most of it, and as Doughty stepped back out on to the ice he picked up the puck and almost got a goal of his own, denied at the last by Tom Annetts.
Both teams were playing pretty evenly, neither making much headway or progress over the other, and with the puck being moved around in centre ice, Sam Rudkin knocked it over to Doughty, who in turn forwarded it on to Alex Trendall. Trendal headed out towards the wing where he found space, looking up, he saw a space between Annetts’ shoulder and the crossbar. His shot, fired from the blue line, went straight through that space to hit the back of the net.
Barely two minutes later, Michael Whillock sent the puck out of the Oxford zone, and it was picked up by Joe Edwards as he came off the bench. Edwards, coming on to the ice behind most of the rest of the players, took the puck to the Devils blue line, and from there sent it past Christian Cole, levelling the score.
With more of these two teams trying to better the other, the puck spent more time in centre, until Doughty’s pass to Richard Facey near the boards. Facey went down the wing, then, with unparalleled composure, brought the puck towards the goal, waiting for the netminder to commit, and when Annetts went down on his knees to block Facey, a deft bit of footwork and a quick flick put the Devils back in to the lead.
Oxford were given another power play early in the second, with Ben Lock picking up a delay of game penalty when his clearance went up in to the netting. Not only did the Devils prevent the visitors making use of the advantage, Annetts fumbled pass out from the goal was picked up by Mark Pitts, who went behind the goal, passing it out to Alex Murray who bagged a short handed goal, extending the Devils lead.
As soon as the puck dropped, the Stars pushed hard, and as Lock stepped back on to the ice the play was all in front of the Devils goal. Cole went down and saved a shot, but the rebound was knocked in by Dominic Hopkins.
Things started to get feisty as the clock was running down in the second, the Devils defending their lead and the Stars trying to make sure they didn’t start the third period from behind. The buzzer went, and the Devils were still holding the score 3-2.
Jaroslav Cesky and Alex Cole -file photo courtesy of Optikl Photo
Once more, at the start of the period, the Devils took a penalty, this time, for too many men on the ice. Seconds later, for the first time of the evening, the Oxford sin bin had a visitor, when Hopkins was sent off for slashing, after hitting Drew Campbell’s stick away.
During the 4 on 4 hockey, Jaroslav Cesky passed to Alan Green, who went hard in to the Devils zone, and tied the game up.
There followed fifteen minutes of hard, fast paced hockey, that kept the fans on the edge of their seats, but neither team managed another goal, taking it right to the buzzer 3-3.
For their next game, Devils host league winners Chelmsford Chieftains, face off 7pm at the Gosport Arena.
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