Two empty net goals helped the Solent Devils down the Invicta Dynamos in Gillingham on Sunday night as goals from Tomas Banovsky (2) and Juraj Huska (2) was not enough to prevent the hosts slipping to a 7-4 league defeat.
The Mos had their strongest roster in some time as covid and injury troubles finally subsided allowing a team of 17 to take to the ice. The visitors numbered the same. Ben Clements started in net with Christian Cole his opposite number.
The opening frame saw a slightly sloppy start from both teams as each side struggled to get going but slowly the chances started to come – Anthony Leone’s shot from the slot being denied by Christian Cole before Mark Pitts fired onto the bar down the other end. The Devils then also saw Ben Clements deny a Connor Hutchison breakaway before the Mos then began to dominate. Ashley Jackson couldn’t beat Cole from between the circles and Juraj Huska was denied from close left but eventually they had the opener at 10.28 – Mason Webster’s cross ice pass from the left boards teeing up Tomas Banovsky for an emphatic one timer in the right circle that left Cole with no chance.
After the goal the Mos had chances for more but Christian Cole was in fine form – the netminder denying Tommy Ralph’s slap shot from the middle and Richard Harris from close left. At 16.32 the gloves then came off – behind the play Henry Aiken and Connor Hutchison removed their helmets and went toe-to-toe in a fairly even bout in which neither brawler fell to the ice with the officials intervening at the first opportunity. When the play restarted the Devils had some late moments – Scott Cooper forcing Ben Clements into action when he was clear close left before Elliot Lewis was perhaps a little wasteful during a 3-on-1 as he chose not to pass. At 19.03 they reaped the rewards of their late rally – Harrison Lillis misplacing a pass that allowed Andrew Campbell through on goal and he rifled over the netminder to make it 1-1.
In the second frame the Mos started well enough but they failed to make the most of their chances – Tomas Banovsky unable to beat Christian Cole from point blank left after selling a neat dummy to Alex Murray whilst a late redirect from Richard Harris on a long range shot was also stopped by the goalie. Meanwhile the visitors gave a lesson in being clinical – at 26.38 Elliot Lewis beat the Dynamos rear guard to go in alone and he lifted over Ben Clements on the backhand for the 2-1 lead.
The Mos hit back immediately at 27.27 – Juraj Huska finishing off a breakaway of his own with two quick stick shifts that fooled the netminder before squeezing the puck just inside the left post from close range. Despite the goal the Devils would pull away before the period was over. At 31.28 Andrew Campbell moved clear down the right channel and he pinged the puck home off of the far post with an excellent finish that made it 3-2. With Anthony Leone in the box for interference they then added another for 4-2 – Alex Murray centring from the right boards and Elliot Lewis driving a one-timer low through the legs of Ben Clements for the two goal edge.
In the final period the Mos initially struggled to unlock a Solent defence that now had a score to protect and in fact the visitors extended their lead at 44.37 – the puck dropping to Connor Hutchison between the circles and he flicked over Clements for 5-2. The home side hit back quickly to maintain an interest in the tie – at 47.48 Tom Davis and Tomas Banovsky exchanged a neat one-two that ended with Banovsky sending a shot low into the far corner from the left circle to make it 5-3.
More goals proved hard to come by – Juraj Huska’s one-timer in the slot being saved by Christian Cole who then also saved from Tom Davis who was found alone in a similar position after a good pass from Tomas Banovsky. Perhaps the biggest chance came when a rebound dropped to an on-rushing Billy Phillips right in front but his slapshot was also thwarted by a defiant Cole. At 55.07 Cole was finally beaten to set up a tense finale – a scramble in the crease seeing Solent’s netminder make yet another stop but Juraj Huska poking over the line from point blank range to make it 5-4.
With time against them the Mos elected to pull Ben Clements with 90 seconds to go but the gamble failed to pay not only once but twice. At 58.41 Alex Murray found the empty net with a half clearance half shot from his own blue line that put the visitors two ahead and at 59.47 Scott Cooper joined in the empty net action having whacked the puck into the frame from his own zone.
So it was a 7-4 defeat for the Mos after a frustrating night in which there was little between the sides and the scoreline perhaps flattered the visitors. Nevertheless the Devils gave a lesson in taking your chances with the Dynamos made to rue missed opportunities. Man of the match awards went to Arran Strawson of the hosts and Christian Cole of Solent.