A 13 man Invicta Dynamos put in a phenomenal display against league leaders Streatham IHC in Gillingham on Sunday night pushing the side from the capital all the way to the finish in the London Cup tie that finished 6-5 to the visitors.
Coming into the tie, Covid, injuries and suspensions left the Mos with just 11 skaters and two goalies and supporters may have been fearing the worst given the team’s significant defeats to their opponents in recent meetings however the players available put on a brave display that would have home fans singing throughout the night.
In the opening frame the Mos started well and an early tripping minor to James Warman allowed them a spell with the extra man – they took advantage at 03.05 as Billy Phillips powered in a low slapshot from the middle of the blue line to make it 1-0. A slashing call on Anthony Leone then gave the visitors a powerplay of their own and they too made the most of it – Danny Ingoldsby hitting the post from close right but Ivan Antonov reacting fastest to force in the rebound from the crease.
At 08.15 the visitors took the lead – a long shot from the blue line leading to another scramble in the crease and this time Joshua Ealey-Newman was able to force in at point blank range to put them 2-1 to the good. A tripping penalty on Billy Phillips gave the visitors another powerplay and they made it count again – at 10.01 Ryan Watt threaded a pass through to Ivan Antonov who had found space in the slot and he sent a shot low inside the left post for 3-1. Despite falling further behind the Mos still engaged in the fight – literally at 12.42 when Mason Webster snapped at a puck as goalie Nathan Gregory attempted to freeze causing Jordan Gregory to react by dropping the glove and instigating a scrap. Gregory landed the more punches as Webster struggled to free his arm but neither man fell and the officials eventually intervened.
At 16.32 the home side the cut the deficit to 3-2 – Juraj Huska dancing along the goal line from left of the net, across the crease and then roofing over the goalie from close right to light the lamp. Just as he scored defenceman James Warman hit him from behind which Arran Strawson took issue with responding with a cross check from behind of his own on the blue liner. This in turn prompted Ben Paynter to step in and throw punches at Strawson before a brief wrestle. When the dust had settled Strawson was given a cross checking minor in addition to a fighting penalty that had also been given to Paynter resulting in another Streatham powerplay that they duly made count at 17.05. This time Samuel Waller had space to line up a shot from the back of the left circle that arrowed into the bottom far corner to make it 4-2.
Just 45 seconds later the visitors added one more – Danny Ingoldsby escaped the marking of Harrison Lillis down the right to go clear and firing over the reach of Ben Clements to secure a comfortable looking 5-2 lead.
At the start of the second period Ben Clements made two good early saves from Ivan Antonov and James Warman before the Dynamos hit back at 27.16 – Billy Phillips started and ended the move as he forced his way down the right before teeing up Jursaj Huska in the middle whose shot was blocked but Phillips was then first to the rebound and to make it 5-3. Down the other end Clements again performed heroics with saves against Antonov and Danny Ingoldbsy and it was one of his stops that soon turned into a quick counter that resulted in the Mos cutting their deficit to 5-4. With Streatham over committing, Mason Webster found a pass that sent Richard Harris in on the breakaway and he pinged the puck home off of both posts at 30.13.
The Dynamos almost levelled soon after as Juraj Huska was found alone right in front but Nathan Gregory kept him at bay. Down the other end the visitors then gave themselves a greater cushion before the period ended – Ivan Antonov showing why he’s arguably the best the league has to offer by beating two down the right before tucking beyond the netminder from close range to make it 6-4.
With tiring bodies and a two goal deficit it would have been easy for the Mos to give up the game in the last but they still battled on fighting until the very final moment. Time and time again the fatigued skaters threw themselves into the passing and shooting lanes to keep Streatham at bay and, when the visitors got through, more often than not Ben Clements was there to deny them.
The frame started with an early chance – Richard Harris splitting the defence to go through but unable to apply the finish that would beat Nathan Gregory. Naturally the majority of play was down the other end where Ben Clements denied a Michael Farn slapshot with a quick glove, scrambled across his crease to rob Scott Bailey who looked certain to score from close left and turned away an Ivan Antonov breakaway. With time now running out the Mos pulled the netminder late on and the gamble looked to have backfired as Antonov chased down a loose puck, rounded the back of the net and attempted to turn into the empty frame but Arran Strawson intervened just in time to deny him. Frustrated, Antonov tried to win the puck back and hooked Juraj Huska before shouting abuse at the official when he was called.
Back on the powerplay the Mos pulled the netminder again and frantic scramble in the Streatham crease followed – this time the puck breaking to Juraj Huska point blank right who fired in on the backhand at exactly 60.00 to make it 6-5. Of course the goal on its own was not enough to stop Streatham’s victory but it was a huge and thoroughly deserved moment for the Mos who had shown great spirit to stay with a team that has proven to be ahead of the rest of the competition especially given the significant absentees.
On the buzzer Streatham wildly celebrated another cup win – the victory sealing the fate of the London Cup with one fixture to spare. Man of the match awards went to Ben Clements of the Dynamos and Samuel Waller of the visitors.