Lee Valley Lions -v- Milton Keynes Thunder
04/03/06 (Lose 2-6)

Stefan Nubert (G)
Daniel Sampson
Matyas Vas
Ian Courtney
Scott Beeson
Michael Ranby
Nick Braithwaite
Richard Hodge
Mark Swaine
Chris Goddard
Grant Hutcheon
Joe Berry
Ben Osborne
Darren Wakeling (C)
George Alley (G)
James Scott-Joseph
Rob Courtman (A)

Mark Woolf (G)
Aram Todd
Paul Gore (A)
Mike Knights (C)
Lee Featherstone
Pete Taylor
Matt Roberts
Keiron Goody
Ben White
Lewis Clifford
Paul Jamieson
Aidan Mahmud
Phil Wooderson
Mark Krater
Sam Fairhurst
Dan Ramsden
Chris Roberts (G)

Additional Comments:

Rob Courtman missed a prime one-on-one opportunity to score just seconds into this, the Lions' last home game of the 2005/06 season. Milton Keynes were fast out of the blocks, Aram Todd scoring the first goal of the game at 03:04 and less than a minute later a scramble in front of the net allowed James Roberts to sneak the puck past Stefan Nubert to score Thunder's second.

The Lions pushed up their level of attack and were unlucky not to hit home in the first period. A succession of shots crept through the Milton Keynes defence but none made it past netminder Mark Woolf. Penalties dished out by referee Mohammed Ashraff were heavy-handed: Scott Beeson received 2+10 for checking to the head, while Milton Keynes' James Roberts was thrown out of the game for butt ending (a match penalty).

Not long after the second period commenced Milton Keynes Thunder found themselves with another breakaway situation, their third goal courtesy of Ben White. The Lions finally made it onto the scoreboard at 26:13 with an unassisted goal. The scorer was an elated Joe Berry, a youngster who usually ices for the Under 19s team.

Just a few minutes later Chris Goddard broke through the Thunder defence and scored Lions' second goal, assisted by Darren Wakeling. With the score 2-3 the Lions looked in contention to win their first points of a tough season.

However, optimism was short-lived as the Lions' defence weakened and Mark Krater scored Milton Keynes' fourth goal, assisted by Lewis Clifford. Nonetheless, there was some satisfaction in the Lee Valley camp as the Lions had managed to out-shoot their opponents in both periods of the game.

The final period saw Milton Keynes Thunder step up a gear. The Lions' energy sapped under the pressure, shooting a lowly 4 shots on goal. Milton Keynes were in no mood to let up on the Lions, shooting at Stefan Nubert no fewer than 15 times and scoring a further two uninspired goals to close the game 6-2.

Referee was Ashraff, Linesmen were Beck and Preen.