Author: sidestep

Lee Valley hosted Basingstoke Buffalo at the den, looking to end the losing skid they were on. They had a full bench, only missing Kevin Lake and George Alley. Basingstoke have historically been a bogey team for Lee Valley, the Lions have only beaten the Buffalo once since they reformed in 2005.

First Period: Both sides kept the game close and both goalies made good saves, however it was the visitors who went on the scoreboard first when young prospect Danny Ingoldsby (17:36, unassisted) went in alone on Aaron Mallet to score the only goal of the period.

Second Period: Basingstoke were on the board again thanks to Francesco Tambellini (24:08, assist Leary) before a high-sticking penalty to James Hatfull put the Buffalo on the powerplay. The man advantage was quickly used as Ingoldsby (26:31, assist Sutton) was put through again to notch his second. Lee Valley finally got a goal from Bailey Wootton (28:25, assists Alley and Gerstein) but the visitors had their fourth only twenty-four seconds later through Matthew Lawday (28:49, assist Collins). Despite having the man advantage midway through the period, Lee Valley proceeded to concede two quick short-handed goals in consecutive powerplays when Ryan Sutton (29:42, assist Ingoldsby) was sent through by Ingoldsby before the pair exchanged pleasantries; Ingoldsby (33:37, assist Sutton) being assisted by Sutton for Basingstoke’s sixth.

Third Period: Lee Valley were quick to respond to their deficit, Gennadi Yufit (41:41, assists Wootton and Alley) adding the Lions’ second of the evening but the Buffalo added their seventh when Ingoldsby (42:21, assist Sutton) gave Lee Valley a case of deja vu. From there though, the Lions kicked on. First Adam Peach (44:35, assists Gosling and Hepburn) scored on a powerplay for the hosts before James Hepburn (45:37, assist Gerstein) was put through by Max Gerstein for Lee Valley’s fourth. The Lions were beginning to control the match at this point and brought the score within two thanks to Joe Berry (50:55, assists Yufit and Gerstein). The last ten minutes went back and forth until the closing stages when Lee Valley pressed and pressed but to no avail, and Basingstoke emerged from East London with a very tight victory.

Match Stats
Final Score: Lee Valley 5-7 Basingstoke
Period Scores: 0-1/1-5/4-1
Shots on Goal: 41 on Mallet (Lee Valley), 42 on Edwards (Basingstoke)
Penalties in Minutes: Lee Valley 20-28 Basingstoke
Scorers: Lee Valley – Max Gerstein (0+3), Bailey Wootton, James Hepburn & Gennadi Yufit (1+1), Nick Alley (0+2), Adam Peach & Joe Berry (1+0), James Gosling (0+1)
Basingstoke – Danny Ingoldsby (4+1), Ryan Sutton (1+3), Francesco Tambellini & Matthew Lawday (1+0), Neil Leary & David Collins (0+1).

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Lee Valley travelled to Gillingham to face a resurgent Invicta Mustangs who, despite their league position, had been pushing teams close in recent weeks. The Lions had been on a poor run of form and were missing nine players, including captain James Hatfull and former Invicta players Kevin Lake and Matthew Drake.

First Period: The Mustangs came out of the blocks faster than the visitors, winning more 50/50 chances and putting early pressure on George Alley in the Lions’ net. The Lions did test Matthew Daubney in Invicta’s goal but he held up well. Invicta were first to break the deadlock when Tom Dennis (4:47, assist Carle) was left unmarked to pick up the rebound. Jake Luton (6:32, unassisted) then skated in to double their lead and before the 10-minute mark, the Mustangs were 3-0 up when Josh Carle (8:46, assist Holt) fired past Alley. The Lions fought back but still couldn’t find a way past Daubney and as the period was coming to a close, Theo Abban made a clumsy hit which saw him thrown from the game for boarding.

Second Period: Like the Oxford game the week before, the Lions began the second stanza on a major powerplay (meaning they couldn’t return to full strength if Invicta scored) and it wasn’t long before Invicta had their fourth –  when a Lions’ defenceman tried to clear the puck, it came off of James Hepburn’s face and fell to Danny Terry (23:29, unassisted), who shot the puck into the top shelf of the net. Alley was called into action several times for the rest of the powerplay and once that ended, Lee Valley began to work their way into the game again and they got on the scoreboard when Nick Alley’s shot was picked up by Romanas Fedotovas (25:12, assist Alley), who bundled the puck into the net. Midway through the period and the Lions were down by four again when they failed to gain possession on a delayed penalty and Jake Luton (30:10, unassisted) collected a loose puck and rounded Alley for a fifth. Lee Valley just couldn’t get any momentum going  and the Mustangs kept piling the pressure on Alley.  With both sides short-benched the players started to tire and as the plays broke down both sides had breakaway opportunities to score but neither side added to their tallies.

Third Period: Lee Valley knew they could pull the game back; they had been creating chances but still they couldn’t find a way past Daubney. As the Lions started to break out, a loose pass went straight to Michael Stokes (52:22) who went one-on-one with Alley and finished the game off as a contest. After Nick Alley and Tom Dennis dropped the gloves, Lee Valley did add to their tally when Fedotovas (59:33, assist Hepburn) blasted past Daubney straight from a face-off but it was too little and the game ended there.

The Lions host Basingstoke Buffalo next Saturday (22/2) and will be looking for an upturn in fortunes after a run of four games without a win.

You can keep up with the Lions on Twitter and Facebook.

Final Score: Invicta 6-2 Lee Valley
Period Scores: 3-0/2-1/1-1
Shots on Goal: 45 on Daubney (Invicta), 57 on Alley (Lee Valley)
Penalties in Minutes: Invicta 30-41 Lee Valley
Man of the Match: Romanas Fedotovas
Scorers: Lee Valley – Romanas Fedotovas (2+0), Nick Alley & James Hepburn (0+1)
Invicta – Jake Luton (2+0), Josh Carle (1+1), Danny Terry, Tom Dennis & Michael Stokes (1+0), Kwame Holt (0+1)

Lee Valley travelled to League Champions Oxford looking to repeat the success of their 3-2 win earlier in the season. Missing from the line up was Graham Lewis.

First Period: The Lions couldn’t have asked for a better start. After a quick build up, Romanas Fedotovas (0:17, assist Hodge) was in the perfect position in front of the Stars net to put the Lions in front and silence the large crowd in attendance. The game continued to go back and forth but Oxford scored a short handed equaliser when Alan Green (4:39, assist Oliver) caught the Lions’ defence napping on a long clearance and blasted the puck past Aaron Mallet. With some inconsistent calls being made, the Lions found themselves in the box from the 16th minute. Eventually the pressure of being short handed told and Oxford took the lead through Joe Oliver (19:10, assists Green and Nick Oliver). An altercation between James Hatfull and Oxford defenceman Andy Cox saw the Lions’ Captain ejected with a match penalty for cross checking. The Period ended with the Lions facing seven minutes of penalty kill.

Second Period: As expected, the Lions were under immense pressure from the off and it wasn’t long before Oxford broke through the Lions penalty kill. First, Darren Elliot (21:59, assist Oliver) doubled the hosts’ lead, then ex Peterborough player James Pentecost (23:43, assist Elliot and Oliver) made it four. The short-handed nightmare was topped off by Sam Broughton (24:31, assists Cox and Oliver), putting the Stars out of sight before Lee Valley had even had a chance to play the period even handed. Jacob Smith (30:34, unassisted) then went in alone to make it six, and Nick Oliver (33:19, assists Green and Elliot) capped off a destructive period that ended 7-1 to Oxford. To top it off, Theo Abban was made to sit a dubious ten minute misconduct penalty and Kevin Lake’s night was ended early with a broken toe.

Third Period: It didn’t get any better for the Lions, who by this point were playing damage limitation against a side who were firing on all cylinders. First Josh Oliver (41:58, unassisted) scored Oxford’s eighth, then Pentecost (55:50, assist Smith) added his second of the evening and the final nail in the coffin was hammered in by My Oxford himself as Darren Elliot (56:57, assists Green and Oliver) scored his second of his evening. Leaving the Lions to lick their wounds ahead of next week’s trip to Invicta.

Final Score: Oxford 10-1 Lee Valley
Period Scores: 2-1/5-0/3-0
Shots on Goal: 22 on Skaife (Oxford), 59 on Mallet (Lee Valley)
Penalties in Minutes: Oxford 49-51 Lee Valley
Man of the Match: Ashlee Cave
Scorers: Lee Valley – Romanas Fedotovas (1+0), Richard Hodge (0+1).
Oxford – Joe Oliver (1+4) Darren Elliot (2+2), Alan Green (1+3), Nick Oliver (1+2), James Pentecost (2+0), Jacob Smith (1+1), Josh Oliver & Sam Broughton (1+0), Andy Cox (0+1).

There are photos from the game available on fozzyimages’ Flickr page here.

Next Saturday (16/2) the Lions travel to Invicta Mustangs.
You can also keep up with the Lions on Twitter and Facebook

This Sunday’s away match with Oxford City Stars will be streamed live online on OXBOX.TV

Face off is at 18:15 and should you miss the game live, you can listen it on the Oxbox TV website.