Sunday night, the Solent Devils travelled to Swindon for the first match of the season against the Wildcats. The Wildcats were looking for their first points of the season, after coming in from an eight game losing streak.
Alex Cole – image courtesy of Solent Devils
The game got off to a good start for the home side, when Devils captain, Alex Cole was sent to the penalty box following a delay of game call, and Wildcats captain, Loris Taylor scored an unassisted, powerplay goal.
Sixteen seconds later, Devils forward Richard Facey managed to even the score, with an unassisted goal of his own.
Barely two minutes later, in his second game for the Devils, Evan Crockford teamed up with Facey, to help Drew Campbell get his thirteenth goal from ten games this season, pushing the Devils in to the lead.
A little more than half way through the period, the Devils lost a big part of their defence, with Mason Wild’s high stick infraction getting him a five minute, plus twenty minute game misconduct, seeing him head to the showers early.
Both teams closed up at the back, and as the period buzzer went the score remained 2-1 to the visitors.
The puck dropped, and in the first twelve seconds of the period Facey gave Mark Pitts all the help he needed to make the score 3-1.
The Wildcats pushed back though, wanting to close that two goal deficit, and within minutes Taylor found Adam Coakley, who finished the job, beating Christian Cole once more.
The Wildcats continued fighting, and with less than five minutes of the period Christopher Leykam got him self a point with another for Coakley, and a second goal for Taylor.
Disaster struck for the home team though, two minutes before the second break, when William Harding was sent to the penalty box for tripping, giving Pitts and Kieran Annis time and space to help Alex Trendall make the score 4-3.
The third started, and the Devils were immediately looking dangerous. Pitts and Facey gave the assists required for head coach, Alex Murray increase the Devils lead once more.
All the way through the third period, both teams kept playing hard, the home side clearly wanting something from the game, and as the clock headed in to the final two minutes, Alex Cole once more sat a delay of game penalty, Coakley managing his second goal of the game, Reed Sayers with the assist.
The last minute of the game, Swindon took Michael Crisp from their goal, in order to get another skater on the ice and try to push the game to overtime, but the Devils held their lead, taking the game 5-4.
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