News Report

Chieftains thump Invicta

A stunning performance from the team, another contender for game of the season!

• admin
• 13 February 2024

The Riverside was sold out for this fixture. The Chieftains welcomed back Ben Russell, but with Cam Bartlett and Oli Baldock still suspended, could the Chieftains turn over their local rivals to push themselves forward in the Britton Cup?

The puck dropped for the first period, and the Chieftains went straight into action. Compared to last week's game, this was the polar opposite. The Chieftains were playing with pace, their passes were spot on, and for the first couple of minutes, they were stamping down their authority. There were great hits being made, and Invicta could hardly get over the blue line, they were being pushed back so much. Wave after wave of attack was coming down on the Invicta netminder, and at 05:47, Alan Lack was able to get the first goal of the night (assisted by Tommy Huggett and Grant Bartlett). It was 1-0. Invicta looked stunned, they just couldn't seem to suppress the Chieftains. For big, local derbys like this, you need good refereeing, and at this point, the referee was allowing the game to flow, which allowed the Chieftains to grow momentum. At 7:02, Kieran Raynor scored a fantastic goal, unassisted, to make it 2-0. The Riverside was rocking, and the away fans looked subdued. Invicta were really being pegged back, but being 2-0 down kicked them into action. The play became more even, and when needed, Jordan Lawday was being his normal phonomenal self, somehow managing to keep the puck out of the net. At 10:31, Owen Dell was able to make a charge on the Chieftains net. He managed to get through the Chieftains defence and claw a goal back for Invicta, it was now 2-1. The action remained end-to-end, but the Chieftains always had the edge over Invicta. The first period finished 2-1. Lawday faced 11 shots, and Invicta faced 16.

The first period had been great to watch, but the team managed to take it up another notch for the second period. The Chieftains just seemed to be able to build attack after attack on Invicta's goal, their netminder was making some great saves, but it was only a matter of time before the Chieftains would score again. The home crowd was very loud, and the Invicta fans were still subdued. At 26:12, Kieran Raynor gave the home fans even more to cheer about when he scored his second goal (assisted by TJ Fillery) to make it 3-1. Kieran was having a phonomenal game, and the plays were so well orchestrated. This was turning out to be one of the best games of the season. The Chieftains looked deadly and in control, whereas Invicta looked shell-shocked. Home fans were also picking up that Lillis was getting limited ice time, something you certainly wouldn't expect from a captain! At 28:04, Invicta got a 2-minute penalty for hooking, which put the Chieftains on the powerplay. With the attacking play we'd seen so far, the fans were expecting a goal, and they didn't have to wait long until Damon Porter scored unassistd at 29:35 to extend their lead further and make it 4-1. This was proving to be a very clinical performance, and it was a delight to see the strength of the team on full display. The action continued to be end-to-end, with Jordan Lawday doing his very best to keep out the Invicta attacks while frustrating them at the same time. The period finished 4-2. Lawday faced 11, but Invicta faced 23!

The puck dropped for the third and final period, and the attacking play from the Chieftains continued. At 41:33, Grant Bartlett scored the first goal of his night, assisted by Damon Porter, it was now 5-1. Just two minutes later, at 43:42, Grant Bartlett scored another, this time assisted by Alan Lack. It was now 6-1 and it's fair to say that Invicta was all over the place. Invicta just couldn't stop the punishment coming from the Chieftains, their netminder, Owen Rider, was soon taken off, replaced by their second-choice netminder. You could tell Rider wasn't happy! The play evened out a little, and at 50:27, Invicta was able to claw back a goal to make it 6-2. This spurred the Chieftains on even further. The attacking play soon started to build, and at 53:33, assisted by Sasha Maltsev and TJ Fillery, Kieran Raynor scored a fantastic goal to get him a hat trick! It was now 7-2, but the Chieftains wanted more. Just over a minute later, at 54:47, Grant Bartlett scored another great goal, making it a hat trick for him too. He was assisted by Jay King and Alan Lack. It was now 8-2. The Chieftains were in control, and the shots continued to rain down on the Invicta goal. At 58:08, Stanislav Lascek started a fight with Alan Lack, but as you'd expect from our captain, he soon took down Lascek. The home crowd roared with delight, the last seconds of the game ticked down, and the game finished 8-2. Lawday faced 9 shots, and Invicta faced 22. 

The Chieftains had put on a stunning display. Kieran Raynor had a fantastic game, he was everywhere on the ice and his goals were superb. He was rightly awarded Man of the Match for his efforts, and the home crowd thoroughly enjoyed seeing our local rivals get thumped!

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

#LetsGoChieftains #WhatAWeekend #GameOfTheSeasonContender