News Report

Our double weekender...

A review of both games against Cardiff Fire and Slough Jets

• admin
• 22 October 2024

The Chieftains had their first double weekender of the 24/25 season, facing Cardiff Fire on Saturday and then Slough Jets on Sunday. Fans were really excited for the latter fixture, as it would be a good benchmark for the team and give the fans a chance to check out the opposing team, who are arguably going to be one of the top three teams of the season.

First of all, the Chieftains faced Cardiff Fire. The first period started slowly for the Chieftains, the play at times was sloppy, passes weren’t connecting, and they just didn’t look sharp. But as the period went on, the goals started to come. Ollie Baldock scored the first goal of the night at 04:05, followed by a Mikey Power goal at 06:15. The play evened out a little, but further goals came for the same pair. At 11:55, Ollie Baldock scored his second goal, followed by another Mikey Power goal at 13:56. The first period ended 4-0 to the Chieftains. The second period again saw the Chieftains in control but still not firing on all cylinders. Cardiff Fire were definitely not making it easy for the Chieftains, but the Chieftains didn’t appear to be pushing themselves either. At 26:20, Dyland Dix scored to make it 5-0, and this was the only goal of the second period. For the third and final period, Cardiff started to get more physical, they were continuing to push, but again, the Chieftains seemed content to sit on their five-goal lead. At 49:01, Ewan Davies from the Cardiff Devils scored to make it 5-1, and this was how the game ended.

For Sunday, the team faced current league leaders Slough Jets. As per Saturday’s game, the Chieftains started off slowly. The Slough Jets took some early penalties, and at one point, the Chieftains were 5 on 3, but Slough defended hard, and the Chieftains just couldn’t seem to mount a meaningful attack. Once the penalty kill was over, the Slough Jets attacked, their pace was causing the Chieftains issues, almost too much to handle at times, and at 10:05, Slough Jets scored courtesy of Ollie Hemmings-Maher. The play was end-to-end, but ultimately, the Slough Jets were in control. The Chieftains couldn’t get any clear shots on goal, and the shots that did make it through were coming from further out. At 16:55, Alan Lack took a penalty for slashing, and Slough Jets used their advantage well. At 17:30, Christian Mohr scored to make it 0-2. Just as the first period was coming to an end, Slough managed to score one more to make it 0-3, courtesy of Jacob Minter. Lawday faced 13 shots on goal, while Slough faced 9.

For the start of the second period, the Chieftains came out on the attack, but as the period progressed, Slough were able to dampen down the attacks, and the play became more end-to-end once more. The Chieftains play was still sloppy at times, and they were struggling to make meaningful attacks as passes were not as crisp as they needed to be. The physical play continued from Slough Jets, and the period was littered with penalties. At 34:05, Brandon Miles and Dylan Dix dropped gloves, and the Riverside noise levels went through the roof. Miles was landing punches and managed to get Dylan's shirt over his head, but this didn’t deter Dylan. He was throwing punches too, and the fight kept going! At one point Dylan nearly got his shirt back down, but they both kept throwing punches. Dylan stood strong, with Miles being the one taken down on the ice. Miles bragged as he went past the home crowd, but ultimately, Dylan was the one standing at the end of it. This fight really got the crowd and team stirred up, and at 35:05, Alan Lack was able to score to bring the scoreline to 1-3. With Miles not on the ice, it seemed to affect the Slough Jets massively, and the Chieftains pushed hard, but ultimately the second period finished 1-3. Lawday faced 11 shots, while Slough faced 25.

The home fans were confident that if the team could get one more goal, the game would really be on. For the final period, the fans were doing everything they could to get behind the team, but Slough were still in control, and the Chieftains struggled with their passes and were pushed back heavily. As the final period was coming to an end, at 58:32, the penalties started to come for Slough. Cliff pulled Lawday from the goal, and it was 6 on 4. At 59:10, Slough took another penalty, it was now 6 on 3, but Slough defended hard, and the Chieftains just couldn’t break through. The seconds were counting down, and at 59:49, the Chieftains were awarded a penalty shot. Cameron Bartlett stepped up, and the Riverside roared to get behind him. The pressure for him must have been immense as he skated forward, he tried to get past the Slough netminder, but the shot was saved, and the game ended 1-3. Lawday faced 15 shots, while Slough faced 8.

The damage was done in the first period. The Chieftains just couldn’t break through Slough’s defence, even though they fought hard towards the end, it just wasn’t meant to be.

If you'd like to see the stats for the Cardiff Fire game, just click here.

If you'd like to see the stats for the Slough Jets game, just click here.

#LetGoChieftains #HomeGameOctober