News Report

Oh My Lawday!

What a scorcher, hockey returns to the Riverside in style!

• admin
• 12 September 2023

If you're anything like us, you've been counting down to the 23/24 season for well over 6 weeks, last season has felt like an eternity away. Well, the wait just ended!

The Chieftains were at home to Slough Jets in a Challenge game. It was a chance for all of the fans to see the new players in action and to welcome back existing players from last season too. It was absolutely scorching outside, and the fans were keen to get inside to the cool climate of the Riverside.

The puck dropped for the first game of the season, and from the outset, it was a fast-paced game. It was evident the team had been working hard during training, the passing was spot on, great communication between the players, and an eagerness to always be on the puck. Alan Lack was first to get on the scoresheet at 04:35, assisted by Sasha Maltsev and James Pentecost with a cracking goal. The Riverside was rocking once more! Shortly after, Oli Baldock got 2 minutes for boarding, and Slough Jets were able to equalise with a powerplay goal from Christian Mohr at 05:02. The action was end to end, but the Chieftains had the upper hand. At 07:10 there was a flurry of action and a long delay to the game as the referee attempted to sort out the issues. Alan Lack got 7 minutes for fighting - taking Ty Cathcart to the ground, Dan fay for roughing, Ty Cathcart for hooking and fighting, and Adam Erskine for roughing. The game was becoming very physical (as you'd expect against Slough). At 12:30, Sasha Maltsev took the Chieftains into the lead again, assisted by Keiran Raynor and James Pentecost, with a fantastic goal from the young Ukranian. Sasha was definitely continuing on from where he left off last season. The first period ended 2-1 to the Chieftains. The Chieftains faced 12 shots on goal; Slough Jets faced 17.

The second period was a lot more evenly matched, the action was end to end, slightly fewer penalties, but still a joy to watch. At this point, it has to be said, it was proving to be extraordinarily difficult to pick out any one Chieftain player as they were all on great form. The second period ended 2-1, with 9 shots on each goal.

The third period was a slightly different affair. Slough Jets really started to push for the equaliser, and it was all about the attack. The Chieftains defended well. Jordan Lawday showed the Chieftains fans what he was truly capable of. His reactions were off the chart, he even appeared to dabble in a bit of juggling, the puck was coming towards him, he flicked it with his stick and caught it in the other hand, absolutely outstanding! He played a massive part in keeping the Slough Jets out. As the attack continued, the penalties started to creep back again but the Chieftain defence line stood strong, everybody played their part, the Slough Jets just couldn't break them down even when they were on a power play. At 52:01, Kieran Raynor had taken a 2 minute penalty for slashing, and with a few seconds of his penalty remaining, the Chieftains were on the attack. Kieran came flying out of the sinbin, got the puck, and whacked it into the back of Slough's net. An amazing goal, this definitely got the crowd going again. Within 40 seconds, Kieran was back in the sinbin for elbows, but we hope this gave him time to appreciate his stunning goal! Christian Mohr stepped up at 55:59 to score a powerplay goal for Slough as the onslaught continued, but the Chieftains were still holding strong. With the last few seconds of the 3rd period remaining, a timeout was called, due to an icing call in Sloughs favour. This increased the tension even more amongst the fans, but the team did us proud. The seconds ran down, and the game ended 3-2 to the Chieftains. Lawday faced an astonishing 21 shots in the final period, and Slough faced 5. What an amazing final period.

Richly deserved, Jordan Lawday was awarded Man of the Match, but all of the players could hold their heads up extremely high, a stunning display was put on for the fans. We can't wait for the next game to come now!

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

Our next league game is at home to Oxford City Stars on Sunday, 17th September at 18:00. We look forward to seeing you at Riverside then!

#LetsGoChieftains #LovingYourWorkTeam #StillBuzzingAfterSundaysGame