News Report

Chieftains outshine Stars

An impressive, ruthless display from the team!

• admin
• 28 November 2023

Oxford City Stars have really struggled with their form this season. They have lost players through injuries and bans. They have also been on a recruitment drive over the last few weeks to bolster their numbers, could this be a new rejuvinated team?

The Riverside looked full, the puck dropped for the first period, and the action started. For the first few minutes, the play was end to end, both teams looked evenly matched. The Chieftains were struggling to connect passes and at times looked off-pace. Oxford were pushing forward but weren't looking dangerous either. The Riverside just wasn't up to full volume, you could hear the puck moving around the ice. This period was looking like a slow burn. With just over 8 minutes played, Bailey Hind Pincher from the Oxford Stars was able to get the puck into the Chieftains goal. There was a stunned silence around the Riverside. After Oxford's goal, the intensity of the game seemed to step up a notch. The Chieftains passes started to connect, there were more charges forward, and the crowd was getting behind the team. At 11:43, assisted by Alan Lack and James Pentecost, Jay King was able to score the first Chieftains goal of the night. The Riverside was rocking, and the momentum was gaining. The Chieftains were gaining the upper hand, but Lawday was also making great saves when called upon. At 16:29, assisted by Ben Russell and Grant Bartlett, Oli Baldock was able to put the Chieftains in the lead as he swooped around the back of the net to quickly slide the puck past the Oxford netminder. The Chieftains were gaining control of the game, but Oxford was struggling. The first period ended 2-1. Lawday faced 16 shots, and Oxford faced 17.

The second period started, and the Chieftains pretty much carried on from where they left off. The Chieftains were applying pressure on Oxford, you could tell that Oxford players were becoming frustrated. The physicality between the teams was intensifying, but at 24:53, Alan Lack scored an impressive goal to increase the Chieftains lead even further. Oxford attempted to come back. At one point, Matt Lawday was one on one with Jordan Lawday, but Jordan was calm and made a great save, deflecting the puck over his shoulder. You could hear the chants of "Our Lawday is better than yours" coming from the home crowd. The Chieftains continued to push for the next goal, and at 28:16, Grant Bartlett was able to score his first goal of the night. The Chieftains were really starting to fire on all cylinders now. The attacking play continued, and at one point, Jordan Lawday just stood there with nothing to do as the action was down the other end. At 34:57, assisted by Damon Porter and Hallden Barnes-Garner, Oli Baldock was able to score his second of the night to make it 4-1. Frustrations were really ramping up. At 35:55, Richie Pickering and Darcy Flanagan dropped gloves, but before they could get into it, Brad Watchorn came flying in from the side to take Richie to the floor. Richie had no visibility of the incoming attack. This was completely underhanded tactics, and the home crowd couldn't believe what they were seeing when Watchorn was originally sent to the sinbin. Surely it was "Third man in". The play stopped for what seemed like ages while the referee finally came to the right decision. Watchorn was ejected from the game. Richie and Flanagan both got 2 minutes for roughing. Ironically, Brad Watchorn had been brought in to bolster his team. He had now left them severely exposed. The Chieftains were on a powerplay for 5 minutes. The Chieftains went straight on the attack, and it wasn't long before Grant Bartlett was able to score the second of his night at 36:50. It was now 5-1. The team's ruthlessness was really starting to show. Only 17 seconds had passed since the last Chieftains goal, when Ethan Reid made a superb charge on goal and scored unassisted to make it 7-1. The Riverside was definitely rocking now! As the shots rained down on the Oxford netminder, it was only a matter of time for the next Chieftains goal. This time it came courtesy of Hallden Barnes-Garner at 38:14. Oxford were left stunned by the ferocity of the powerplay. The Stars looked dejected. The second period ended 8-1. Lawday faced only 4 shots, while Oxford faced 14.

For the third and final period, Dominic Rae swapped places with Jordan Lawday. Dominic has really shown what he can do in previous games, and it was great to see the young netminder between the pipes again. The puck dropped, and expectations were high amongst the home fans at the prospect of even more goals. The Chieftains were looking in great form. The defence was looking solid, and the forwards were looking ruthless in front of goal. Oxford were looking disorganised, tired, and very frustrated. The play was more open, and the action was end to end, but just under half way through the period at 49:12, Hallden Barnes-Garner was able to get his second goal of the night, assisted by Rhys King from the Chelmsford Warriors and Ethan Reid. It was now 9-1. The Chieftains were really turning up the heat once more on Oxford, and the physicality was increasing too. At 50:52, Alan Lack got 2 minutes for slashing, but the Chieftains held strong. The defence was calm under pressure, and as the final few seconds of the power kill were running down, the Chietains went on the attack. Grant Bartlett was able to score a fantastic short-handed goal at 52:50. It was now 10-1! Dylan Hullaby's frustration was visible for all to see, and Flanagan was complaining about every decision. Oxford had sunk rock bottom. To make matters even worse, at 54:50, assisted by Rhys King, Grant Bartlett was able to score the last goal of the night to make it an astonishing 11-1 to the Chieftains. Both netminders faced 15 shots each for the period.

We can't finish this article without mentioning that Grant's last goal of the game was actually his 200th league goal for the Chieftains, highlighting what a club legend he is. Well done Grant (he also got Man of the Match for all of his fantastic efforts too!).

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 very soon!

#LetsGoChieftains #CongratualtionsGrant #GoalScoringAtItsBest