News Report

What a weekend!

An epic cup semifinal weekend, with a game that will go down in Chieftains history!

• admin
• 21 January 2025

It was cup semifinal weekend, the Chieftains faced Streatham Redhawks, and the Slough Jets were against Solent Devils. The top four teams in the league were battling it out. As we all know, the league is close. Would the cup semis be the same?

The puck dropped for the first period, and tensions were high. Both teams were fighting for control, and for the first few minutes it was end-to-end action. Streatham took an early penalty, putting the Chieftains on a power play, but Streatham defended hard. For the first ten minutes, any team could’ve scored. Halfway through the period, Dylan Dix took a penalty for slashing, and within 20 seconds, ex-Chieftain Damon Porter scored a goal to make it 0-1. Streatham started to get the better of the Chieftains, and as tensions grew, JJ Pitchley and Cam Bartlett both received penalties for delay of game. At 14:54, Ethan Lane scored for Streatham, making it 0-2, and this is how the period ended. Jordan faced 11 shots, and Streatham faced 7.

For the second period, Streatham was looking strong, their passes were spot on, they were creating chances, and their movement was fast. The Chieftains were finding it difficult to contain them. At 33:48, Thomas Beesley scored to make it 0-3. This was then followed up by another goal at 37:54 to make it 0-4, and then Thomas Beesley scored again at 39:19 to make it 0-5. The Chieftains just weren’t themselves, Streatham was able to stifle any attacks and successfully jumped on any mistakes to punish them. Jordan faced 13 shots, and Streatham faced 9.

The puck dropped for the third and final period, and Streatham was looking happy to sit back on their lead. Penalties started to creep in for both teams, but the refereeing at times seemed inconsistent, and home fans were becoming increasingly frustrated with the decisions being made. It seemed as soon as Streatham took a penalty, the Chieftains were put in the sin bin too. Midway through the period saw more goals, at 48:10, Ben Paynter scored to make it 0-6, the Chieftains were giving themselves a mountain to climb. There were periods where Streatham was just moving the puck around, not necessarily attacking, just letting the Chieftains chase after them. At 51:36, assisted by Cameron Bartlett and Sam Russel, Grant Bartlett was able to score, denying Streatham a shutout and closing the gap (even if it was only by a small margin). The Chieftains were slowly gaining momentum, but it was to late in the game. The third period finished 1-6, Jordan faced 9 shots, and Streatham faced 12.

On Sunday, the Chieftains were away at Streatham, with what seemed like an impossible mission, to beat Streatham by 6 goals in their own barn. I couldn’t make it to the away game, but thankfully the match report speaks volumes. The Chieftains ended the first period all tied up at 0-0, Jordan faced 11 shots, and Streatham faced 10. For the second period, the Chieftains managed to score at 31:50, courtesy of Hallden Barnes-Garner, followed shortly after by another goal courtesy of Cameron Bartlett at 34:23. The second period ended 0-2, the task in hand was still achievable, but it would require everything from the short-handed team, and the team did exactly that. At 50:28, JJ Pitchley of Streatham was given a penalty for interference, followed by a game penalty for obscene gestures. He had been the nemesis of the Chieftains the night before, constantly chirping away at the players and referee, this could only be a positive for the Chieftains. At 54:46, Sasha scored to keep up the pressure, and this was followed quickly after by another goal at 56:30 courtesy of Mikey Power, it was now 0-4 (6-5 on agg). The Chieftains were achieving the unthinkable, they really had brought the fight. With only 90 seconds remaining, Jordan was pulled from the net, and the Chieftains continued to push. At 59:14, assisted by Grant Bartlett, Cameron Bartlett scored to make it an incredible 0-5 (6-6 on aggregate). No one could ever have dreamed of this amazing comeback. The final seconds ticked down, and the game went to overtime. The Chieftains have been impressive this season in OT and this game was no exception. At 61:54 Grant Bartlett scored to make it 6-0. The travelling fans were treated to a superb, unimaginable comeback, and both the fans and players celebrated a victory that will surely go down in Chieftains history. Jordan Lawday had achieved a shutout in Streatham’s own rink, receiving the well-deserved Man of the Match award, and the whole team had pulled together to beat Streatham 6-7 on aggregate.

Solent was able to beat Slough Jets in their cup semifinal, so we’ll be facing them in the final, a recreation of last year's playoff final!

What a rollercoaster of a weekend, and what a herculean, heroic effort from every member of the team on Sunday! We couldn’t be more proud of you all if we tried!

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

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

#LetGoChieftains #CupFinalists #AlwaysProudToBeAChieftain