Sunday evening saw the Bracknell Bees return to The Hive to face the Telford Tigers in the second match between the two sides in the weekend. The Tigers had sealed the league title the previous evening having defeated the Bees and the Swindon Wildcats defeating the Milton Keynes Lightning. Referee Dave Cloutman took control of the match with Justin Lalonde and Flynn Sitch-Cunningham on the lines. The visiting 
Tigers had a full squad at their disposal whilst the Bees were still missing Rupert Quiney through injury and Josh Tetlow through suspension. Matt Smital once again got the nod for the start in the Bees net whilst Sam Gospel started in the Tigers net.
The action started early with the Bees getting an early shot in on the Tigers net but Telford broke straight back down the ice and netted with less than a minute on the clock as Corey McEwen finished passed Matt Smital in the Bees net following a quick break from Matt Davies and Doug Clarkson. The Bees kept their heads up after the early setback and both Rio Grinnel-Parke and Martin Pavlicek came close to levelling the scores. Warren Tait fired a shot over the Bees bar before a quick snap shot from Corey McEwen whistled past Matt Smital for his, and the Tigers, second goal of the evening with four and a half minutes gone. The second goal seemed to give the visiting Tigers a further lift and they piled forward looking to pile more pressure on the home-side. Doug Clarkson rang a shot off the Bees pipe work and Matt Smital had to be alert to deny another chance in close for the visitors. As the Bees scrambled to clear the puck Danny Ingoldsby was assessed a delay of game penalty as the puck was cleared out of the defensive zone but over the plexi. On the resulting powerplay the Tigers moved the puck around patiently and Doug Clarkson was on the spot to tap in a loose puck as the puck fell kindly from a deflection. The third goal for the visitors fired the Bees up and on a breakaway they had what looked like a goal not given by the match officials, despite appeals from the Bees players and fans. A number of big hits and good efforts from the Bees Shaun Thompson, Lukas Smital, Matt Foord and Rio Grinnel-Parke all forced Sam Gospel into action as the Bees pushed forward looking for a way back into the game. A high stick minor penalty on Adam Jones saw the Bees head on to the powerplay and this time it was the Bees that would take full advantage as they passed the puck around well and Lukas Smital, David Gaborcik and Luka Basic combined with Basic finishing the nice passing move past Sam Gospel with just over five minutes remaining in the period. The action wasn’t over though as the Tigers had a late goal washed out as the Bees net was off its moorings before the puck crossed the line.
The middle period was a much quieter twenty minutes than the opening period had been. The play was physical but clean as both sides battled for control of the puck. Both netminders were in fine form keeping all chances out to keep the scores as they were. Rio Grinnel-Parke had a good chance in close with Milan Kolena forcing Matt 
Smital into a big save also. Play swung from end to end as the Bees looked to get back into the game and the visiting Tigers kept them at arm’s length but creating a few chances of their own. With no penalties called and the period drawing to a close looking like the scoreboard would remain unaffected Telford extended their lead further with a late goal through Corey McEwen, his hat trick goal, with one minute and five seconds remaining. The final minute ticket away without further incident.
The third period started off as the second period had finished, with both teams cancelling each other out and deny any clear opportunities. Two good chances did come the way of the Bees about five minutes into the period as first Shaun Thompson and then Alex Barker forced Gospel into action the Tigers net. The Tigers nearly extended their lead further as Dough Clarkson forced Matt Smital out of position and fired the puck goal ward by Bees Captain Matt Foord flung himself in the way to keep the puck out of the Bees net. The Bees kept up the pressure and Luka Basic and Martin Pavlicek came close narrowing the Tigers lead. More big hits from both sides showed the two teams were still battling hard but time was the Bees worst enemy as the clock ticked on. A late penalty on Corey Goodison of the Tigers gave the Bees a powerplay chance with just under six minutes remaining in the game. The Tigers however dug in well and despite some good pressure from the Bees saw off the advantage. With fifty-nine seconds remaining in the match Luka Basic managed to net the Bees second goal of the evening. The Bees bench immediately called a time out and removed Matt Smital for the extra skater but despite the extra man and throwing everything forward they couldn’t find another way past the Tigers defence and netminder. The visitors hung on for the victory. Man of the match awards went to Bees Captain Matt Foord and to netminder Sam Gospel for the visiting Tigers.
Match stats Period scores: 1-3; 0-1; 1-0 Bees scorers: Basic 2+0; Lascenko, L.Smital, Barker & Gaborcik 0+1 Tigers scorers: McEwen 3+0; Clarkson 1+1; Zajac 0+2; Rose, Silverthorn, Kolena & Davies 0+1 Bees PIMS: 2 (Ingoldsby 2) Tigers PIMS: 4 (Jones & Goodison 2) Shots on Bees (M.Smital & Empty Net): 21 (7, 7, 7) & 0 (0, 0, 0) Shots on Tigers (Gospel): 40 (19, 8, 13)
With Bees match report
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