News Report

A hard fought night

Chieftains took an early lead, but Streatham prevail.

• admin
• 07 November 2023

Before the first puck had dropped, both the Chelmsford Chieftains and Streatham IHC remembered and paid tribute to Adam Johnson #47. The players stood together, the teams inter-mixed around the centre ice. A minute's silence was held, followed by a minute of clapping to celebrate the life of Adam Johnson. A fitting way for the ice hockey family to come together, support each other and pay their respects.

The puck dropped, the fans knew that this was going to be a tricky game. We had beaten Streatham last week, but Streatham had thumped Invicta 8-3 the night before. Streatham always come out strong after a defeat, but the Chieftains were calm and definitely in control. The action was fast paced, and you could tell the Chieftains were up for the challenge. At times, Streatham were sloppy, they were getting frustrated, and penalties were creeping into the game. At 08:31, John Gregory got 2 minutes for tripping. The Chieftains were on a powerplay. Streatham were defending well, but with only 20 seconds left of the powerplay, Alan Lack, assisted by Hallden Barnes-Garner and Ethan Reid, was able to get the puck between Milton's legs and get the puck over the line to score the first goal of the night. The action was end to end, both teams defending well, but you could still tell Streatham were frustrated. Tomasz Skokan had been trying to wind up Alan Lack at every given opportunity and at 18:50, both players fought. Alan Lack successfully took down Skokan, and Skokan went off the ice to get patched up. Lack went to the sinbin. The first period ended 1-0 to the Chieftains. Lawday faced 12 shots, Streatham faced 13. A close first period!

For the second period, it was inevitable that Streatham would come out strong, and that's exactly what they did. The Chieftains' defence held strong, and the Chieftains were making great charges at Streatham. At 21:14, assisted by Leigh Jamieson and Cameron Bartlett, Oli Baldock was able to score a cracking goal. The Riverside was rocking once more and the fans were grateful for a little more breathing space! Streathams' tactics were becoming blindingly obvious. At every opportunity, they were goading the Chieftains' players, specifically the Bartlett brothers. It was like watching Invicta of old. At 27:40, Ben Paynter was able to slot the puck into the top right corner, beating Lawday and getting the first goal for Streatham. As per last weeks game, with Leigh Jamieson on the ice, there was a calm atmosphere, the Chieftains were sticking to their game plan, and the fans were treated to some amazing stick work from Damon Porter. He was making some amazing charges on goal, desperately trying to stretch out the Chieftains' lead. However, Streatham had a much better period than the first. At 38:14, Josh Ealey-Newman was able to level the scoreline. The second period ended 2-2. Lawday faced 14 shots, and Streatham faced 10 shots. The third period was going to be a nail biter!

It was all to play for in the final period. Not much time had been played in the third period, before it all kicked off. Both Bartlett brothers were involved in a skirmish at the Streatham end. Cameron got 5 minutes for fighting plus a "GAME" penalty, Grant got 2 minutes for roughing. This was going to make the third period a lot harder. It didn't take long for Streatham to get a powerplay goal. At 42:33, Sam Waller was able to score for Streatham. It was now 2-3. With the Chieftains back to full strength, the play evened out. Leigh Jamieson started to get more involved, it was amazing to see the big man charge through the Streathams line, but each time he just wasn't able to get the puck in the back of the net. At 52:34, Streatham made a charge on Lawday. Danny Ingoldsby was able to get the puck past the talented netminder to make it 2-4 to Streatham. The Chieftains had a lot of work to do, but they didn't give up. The crowd was doing their best to get behind the team, Streatham were becoming sloppy in places and penalties crept back in (as well as the goading). However, the Chieftains just couldn't maximise the powerplay. With only 30 seconds left of the final period, Coach Cliff pulled Lawday from goal. A brave move, with nothing to lose, the Chieftains pushed forward once again. Streathams goal was under extreme pressure, but the Chieftains just couldn't find the back of the net. The final period ended 2-4. Lawday faced 10 shots, Streatham faced 17 shots, which highlighted the final charge.

Leigh Jamieson was awarded Man of the Match for the Chieftains, and unsurprisingly, Streathams netminder was awarded MOTM for his efforts in keeping the Chieftains at bay.

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

We can't wait to see you back at the Riverside for our next game, it's against Invicta Dynamos!

#LetsGoChieftains