Lee Valley Lions -v- Cardiff Dragons
09/09/06 (Lose 1-7)
Lee Valley Lions |
Cardiff Dragons |
||
01 |
Stefan Nubert (G) Michael Ranby Billy Whitney Grant Hutcheon Nick Darby Mark Saunders Nick Braithwaite Rob Courtman Richard Hodge Romanas Fedotovas Paul O’Neill (A) James Hatfull (C) Michael Jacobs George Alley (G) James Scott-Joseph Kwabina Oppong-Addai (A) |
06 |
Michael Hutching Michael Newberry (A) Steve Deacon Jordan Baber Dan Bowers James Dancy Jamie Hayes Alex Madge Stephen Fisher Michael Price Luke Piggott Chris Thomas Gareth Dixon James Manson (A) Luke Takel (G) Ross Piggott (G) David James (C) |
Goals |
Penalties |
|||
Lions
|
Dragons
|
Lions
|
Dragons
|
|
Period 1: |
1
|
1
|
22
|
12
|
Period 2: |
0
|
3
|
14
|
16
|
Period 3: |
0
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
MATCH TOTALS: |
1
|
7
|
40
|
32
|
Shots on Goal
|
||
Lee Valley Lions
(shots on Nubert) |
Cardiff Dragons
(shots on Piggott/Takel) |
|
Period 1: |
10
|
9 (on Piggott)
|
Period 2: |
40
|
2 (on Piggott)
|
Period 3: |
17
|
9 (on Piggott) 5 (on Takel)
|
MATCH TOTALS: |
67
|
25
|
Lee Valley Lions |
Cardiff Dragons |
|
Highest Scorer in Match: |
Mark Saunders (1+0)/Scott Beeson (0+1)
|
James Manson (1+2)
|
Man of the Match Winner: |
Stefan Nubert
|
James Manson
|
Additional Comments: The Lions’ home game against Cardiff last season was a close-run affair, Lee Valley being unfortunate to take any points from the high-flying Welsh club. This season the Cardiff ENIHL Devils have morphed into the Cardiff Dragons and as of the time of writing they have no rink to call home. This, combined with their inevitable lack of training, meant that on paper the Lions stood a good chance of beating the Dragons. This outcome certainly looked likely during the first period when Mark Saunders and Scott Beeson combined slick manoeuvres to score short-handed at 07:58. Both teams fell foul of this season’s new, stricter officiating standards, the Dragons suffering four 2-mins penalties in the first four minutes of the game. Referee Dean Russell-Samways, himself a former player, gave Cardiff a “heads-up” by explaining the new rules and advising individuals about modifying their playing style. This was a helpful approach that would have benefited the Lions in games the previous week. Unfortunately the Lions continued to bear the brunt of penalties throughout the first period, the consequence being a goal at 09:53 scored almost from the blue line by Cardiff’s Man of the Match, James Manson, assists going to Michael Price and James Darcy. With a total of 34 penalty minutes between the two teams in the first period the second saw little improvement. However, the standard of play changed radically, Cardiff Dragons going into overdrive as Lee Valley’s defence became powerless to to hold them at bay. The surprise was that the Dragons scored only 3 goals from an incredible 40 shots on goal, demonstrating why Stefan Nubert was awarded Man of the Match for the Lions. In the final period penalties finally became minimal for both teams, Lions’ Grant Hutcheon being side-lined for hooking and Michael Ranby bizarrely serving 2-mins for delaying the game. The Lions failed to answer a further 3 goals from the Dragons, who by now had achieved a convincing 6-1 lead. Cardiff took the opportunity to change netminder at 49:35, replacing Ross Piggott with Luke Takel. Takel remained largely untroubled during the final 10 minutes of the game, facing only 5 shots from the Lions. Stephen Fisher rounded off the Dragons’ scoring at 52:15, the 7th goal being assisted by Jamie Hayes. Referee was Russell-Samways, Linesmen were Hames and Hames. |