News Report

An Unlucky Night

Chieftains lose to Oxford Stars in overtime

• admin
• 07 March 2023

It doesn't seem that long ago since the Chieftains last faced the Oxford City Stars. In that game, we won 8-3. Recently, Oxford have really hit form.

Would this game be a different affair?

As per the last game against Oxford at Riverside, Xander Wadlaw was playing a game of "Who can stay on the ice in the training session for the longest time". His opponent this time was Keiran Raynor. Nobody knows the rules, it appears to be a complete waste of time, but when the Oxford Physio called Wadlaw off the ice, it felt like it was his mum calling him in for tea. Fans were left wondering if he played this game at other rinks or just ours! (Some Chieftains fans were secretly hoping that Keiran would drag him off the ice).

As the first period started, it was full steam ahead down the Oxford Star's end. The Chieftains were really pushing for the first goal. The pressure was definitely on. However, Grant Bartlett got a penalty at 7.34 for elbows, the Chieftains were suddenly on the power kill. As the final seconds of the power kill were counting down, Oxford managed to get the first goal of the night, squeezing a puck past Cech. Shortly after, Keiran Raynor got 2 minutes for high sticks, the Chieftains were on the power kill again. At this point, the home fans were questioning what the Ref was seeing. Oxford were proving to be deadly on the powerplay, and they scored another at 13.39. It was now 2-0 to Oxford. The Chieftains were definitely not beaten, they fought to gain control but the puck was end to end. At 18.32, Moody got a penalty for hooking (it was now the Oxford fans' turn to question the ref!). The Chieftains were moving the puck around well but just couldn't seem to find the space to score. Up stepped Grant Bartlett at 19.11 with a great goal. You could see the relief on his face, the first period ended 2-1 to Oxford.

The second period got off to a great start, with only 22 seconds being played, James Pentecost was able to level the playing field with a great goal for the Chieftains. It was now 2-2 and all to play for. At 23.33, Daniel Fay got 2 minutes for holding, the Chieftains were back on the power kill. However, this time, it was successfully killed off, coupled with some great saves from Cech, he was now starting to find his rhythm, seemingly pulling pucks from the air. At 27.05, Keiran Raynor got 5 minutes for boarding. The Oxford player went down and had to be escorted off the ice for further treatment. The crowd were really starting to question the Ref's abilities at this point. He was making inconsistent decisions, even at one point missing the attention of Cech (and the crowd), highlighting that the Chelmsford goal had come off. The Ref seemed to be having a shocker. As the Chieftains were on the power kill from Keiran's penalty, Moody managed to score for the Stars at 29.22, it was now 3-2 to the Stars. The second period was to be littered with multiple penalties for both teams. The Ref was making his presence well known! The second period came to a close. It was still 3-2 to the Oxford Stars.

The Chieftains started the third period with 1:30 left on a power play. However, they couldn't maximise their advantage. Oxford successfully killed off the power play. Shortly after, James Pentecost got the puck and successfully slotted it home. The crowd was up and cheering, but the Ref had ruled this a "No Goal". Somebody in the crowd thought the Oxford netminder had kicked the goal off on purpose, the chants of "Cheat, Cheat, Cheat" quickly rang out amongst the crowd. More disapproval aimed at the Ref! Straight after this decision, the Chieftains used this momentum and Callum Burnett managed to scramble the puck over the line. This time there was no way the ref could deny it. Callum banged the glass loudly in celebration. It was now 3-3! The shots were really raining down on the Oxford goal. Cech was also playing his part, pulling off some great saves when the puck was down our end, but the pressure was definitely on the Stars. At the end of the third period, the Chieftains had 21 shots on the Oxford goal, whereas Cech had faced only 7, the Chieftains were really pushing hard. However, the scoreline remained 3-3 right until the end, the game was going to overtime!

The Chieftains had done extremely well to level the playing field, there were decisions that had not gone our way, some decisions the Ref had made seemed harsh, unexplainable at times. It had been a hard fought match, but with only 37 seconds being played of overtime, Oxford had scored.

The unlucky streak continued right to the end. The Chieftains lost 4-3 to the Oxford Stars, a bitter pill to swallow.

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

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