Braves seal double over Scorpions

JUNIOR ICE HOCKEY

WHITLEY Braves completed a quick double over Sheffield Steel City Scorpions at Hillheads in English Under 18 North Division Two as they won 12-0.

It leaves the Braves with six maximum points from their first three games.

The home side started brightly and it came as no surprise when they took an early lead when Alex Nergaard struck in the third minute.

Steel City netminder Charlie Renzi was kept busy and made a string of good saves before he was beaten again.

The Braves were short-handed with Sam Dellow sitting out a minor clipping penalty when Thomas Fraser netted his first goal of the game at 15.13.

He was on hand again with 63 seconds remaining in the period to extend the advantage to 3-0 following good work from Daniel Winton and Kieron Downs.

The middle period went pretty much as the first with Braves’ netminder Jack Wakefield being a virtual spectator.

His opposite number Renzi, meanwhile, was being peppered with shots and he denied Whitley until 31.26 when, with Braves on their first powerplay, Matthew McDonald made it 4-0.

Only 48 eight seconds later it was 5-0 as Downs struck for his fifth goal of the season.

Fraser then completed his hat-trick and scored his sixth goal of the season.

It was another powerplay goal as Braves made it two from two on powerplays and a 6-0 lead.

There was still time in the last 35 seconds for Nergaard to make it 7-0 despite the Braves being short-handed for five minutes due to Jack Wilkinson’s penalty for roughing.

Despite still being shorthanded, there were only 57 seconds gone in the final period when McDonald claimed his second of the game.

Nergaard then fired home his hat-trick marker and sixth of the season.

Jack McCumiskey helped himself to his second goal of the season at 54.56 to take the Braves score into double figures and less than a minute later it was 11-0 - McDonald striking his hat-trick marker and fifth goal of the campaign.

With under three minutes remaining, Nathan Summerson was on target for his first goal of the season to seal the victory.