Ice hockey Pitbulls end the weekend on a winning note
THE Bristol Honda Pitbulls picked up two big points on the road on Sunday night, recovering from 4-2 down in the third period to win in a shoot-out against Bees IHC in Slough.
The previous night, the Pitbulls were defeated 6-3 at home by the Peterborough Phantoms. Saturday night saw Aaron Moody and Joe Llewellyn playing, while Sunday featured Christian Mohr, Luke Smital and Jacob White-Sey.
Ben Solder played in Saturday’s home defeat but was with Manchester Storm on Sunday and missed the win at Slough.
The Pitbulls went into first intermission tied at 1-1 on Saturday against second-placed Peterborough after an equaliser from Alex Roberts.
Period two saw the Phantoms build a 4-1 lead before Tamas Elias scored a rebound from a Reece Kelly shot. The Pitbulls looked good in period three but conceded a fifth before Owen Sobchak made it 5-3, with the Phantoms scoring an empty-net goal to seal the two points.
The opening period in Slough against Bees IHC came and went with very little action, Elias had the best chance, but he was robbed by a pad save from Bees netminder Adam Goss. Morgan Clarke-Pizzo - MCP - opened the scoring in period 2, his first Pitbulls goal. Sobchak took the first shot which was saved, but MCP was on hand to turn the rebound in.
Bees responded through Vanya Antonov who roofed over Pitulls netminder William Kerlin in all alone, but Caly Robertson made sure the Pitbulls had the lead after two periods, another rebound goal, this time from a Roberts shot.
For the second time during the weekend, the Pitbulls switched off and allowed three goals in quick succession to open a period. Brendan Walkom added the game
tying goal after a gorgeous feed from Harvey Stead. James Galazzi got the Bees third goal in from close range before Juha Lindgren gave the Bees their two-goal cushion.
It was left to youngster Luke Smital to settle the nerves, he received the puck down the left wing in neutral ice, skated onto his forehand and sniped past Goss. With 2:06 left to play, MCP tied the game up, his shot snuck through Goss to make it 4-4.
The Pittbulls’ Kerlin was the busier netminder in OT but both teams held firm to take it to penalty shots.
Sobchak was the only scorer after two shots for each side. Walkom scored for the Bees before Reece Kelly found the back of the net via the inside of the post. Will Stead was denied by Kerlin giving Christian Mohr the chance to win it, his effort went wide. Alan Lack was
next over the boards, knowing he had to score but yet again Kerlin stood firm, denied Lack and won the shootout.
Jamie Elson was largely pleased with the performances from his team at the weekend. He said “Sunday was a great road win from the guys, especially missing Ben Solder from the line-up. The guys stuck together even when we came under pressure and fell behind in the third period. We kept working and found a way to get it done and I was proud of the work rate and the battle we showed. It was a game that could have gotten away from us, but the guys stayed the course and that was probably more like a 50-minute performance, so we’re getting there. It was an important win as we’re battling it out for eighth spot with the Bees right now.”