BRISTOL, UK – The Bristol Pitbulls ENL2 team have been trying to carry on the form it found against Streatham and Peterborough recently with matches against Solent and Gosport Devils and Oxford City Stars ENL2. Solent and Gosport Devils:
In recent weeks the Pitbulls ENL2 squad have consistently improved their performances after a rocky start to the season. The two wins boosted the confidence within the team and it showed in the match against the Devils. For half the game. In the previous meeting of the two teams, the Devils were clearly the better side as they thumped the Pitbulls with a score of 16-1. The match at Frogmore street started off with the Devils pulling to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Though the Pitbulls were able to kill a 5 minute powerplay after Liam Williams was sent off for a head-butt. To make matters worse the Pitbulls were penalised again during the 5 minute penalty with another two minute infraction for tripping. For Pitbulls credit and thanks to a few superb saves from Michael Crisp, the Devils were unsuccessful at converting on the 5 on 3 powerplay.
Before the end of the first period, the Pitbulls pulled one back after Janne Virtanen picked up a rebound to make the score 2-1 to the end of the first. The second period saw the Devils score first, but the Pitbulls came within one after Matt Phelon dumped the puck from the centre line only to see it go in the Devils net. Unfortunately after that, it was a show for the Devils who made most of their chances. The Pitbulls held on as much as they could and kept pressure in the offensive zone, but were unable to convert from chances. Luke Curtis added to the Pitbulls score tally to end the second period. The third period saw the Devils finally run away with the game. Though the Pitbulls were awarded penalty shot after Graham Chilcott was brought down on a breakaway. Unfortunately by this time the ice was snowy due to the zamboni breaking down after the warm-up and the puck wouldn’t settle on Chilcott’s blade. The Pitbulls managed to get one more goal from Virtanen who had an easy job of putting the puck in the net from a pass from Adi Smith. The final score of the game was 14-4. Oxford City Stars ENL2
The second match of the week saw a thinned Pitbulls team travel to Oxford’s refurbished rink. The Pitbulls were without Adam Young (upper-body), Tom Eggerton (lower-body), Matt Phelon (upper-body), Liam Williams (suspended) and Ian Clark. The Pitbulls were expecting to ice their second import player in Marek Geroc who has been out since the summer with a lower body injury. Unfortunately, Geroc’s registration had not gone through so the Pitbulls were without the services of the Slovak. Determined to improve from their last game and confident that the team could leave Oxford with a win, the Pitbulls started the game strong. Both teams were battling hard to get the first goal but after 20 minutes of play the score stood at 0-0. The second period saw both teams come out the gate hard to battle for the first goal of the game. The Pitbulls were offered a chance on a silver plate with a 5 on 3 power play, but Oxford stood its ground. However, the Pitbulls were the first to register a goal after Paul ‘Sakic’ Davies found the net. The lead didn’t last for too long as Oxford quickly equalised the game. The Stars then pulled ahead with a power play goal from Joe Boot. Pitbulls were kept in the game with a stellar performance by its goalie Craig Sutherland, who picked up the man of the match honours at the end. Sutherland’s highlight reel save came in the second period when he denied Boot from scoring on an open net with a diving paddle save. By the third period the short Pitbulls bench was suffering from lack of legs and tried to do everything in its power to get the game back to a draw, but Oxford raced to score four goals in the period. T he Pitbulls will look to return to winning ways after Invicta make the cross country trip to Frogmore Street on the 19th of December. Contact the author: janne.virtanen@prohockeynews.com
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