By Paul Bennett

A man of the match performance from netminder Andy Moffat, alongside a debut double from Ryan Ellis and goals from Daniel Fudger, Justin Noble and Grant Baxter, saw the Invicta Dynamos claim victory in their first game of the season on Saturday as they battled to a 5-1 road win against the Bracknell Hornets.

In the first period the hosts enjoyed the majority of the chances as the Dynamos exhibited some early season rust but, against the run of play, it was the visitors who opened the scoring as Daniel Fudger’s pass across the goal line from out left slipped by unfortunate netminder Adam Marashi at his near post.

In the second period the travelling side then found their rhythm and it was 2-0 soon after the restart as a neat interchange in the right corner resulted in Ryan Ellis bearing down on the target and the Canadian hammered in at the front stick for his first strike with his new side.

One debut goal was to be followed by another as, with the Hornets fighting a powerplay, Justin Noble skipped in from the left wing, stick handled to stretch the goalie before coolly finding the five-hole with a backhand effort.

Seven minutes from time and the Hornets were then facing a four goal deficit as another interchange between Andy Smith and Ryan Ellis left the Canadian in on goal and this time Ellis quickly shifted the puck to misplace the netminder before firing into the now vacant space at the near post.

After a dominant second frame the Dynamos were quickly under pressure in the last as a goalmouth scramble resulted in both Corey Watkins and Anthony Lennon sitting in the box on minors and, with the two man advantage, the hosts pulled a goal back.

From back on the blue line Graham Bellamy found Alan Lack to the left of the target and, with the visitors’ defence stretched, Lack beat a scrambling Andy Moffat to make it 4-1.

It was the Dynamos who would have the last say though when, close to the buzzer, Daniel Fudger’s drive from deep thundered off of the upright straight to a waiting Grant Baxter who marked his return to the club with a tap in for goal number five to complete a 5-1 victory.

So, after a sluggish start, a dominant second period showing was enough to claim the two points in Berkshire ahead of the rematch in Gillingham the following day. The Dynamos showed some early season rust and fatigue but also plenty of promise that, given time, the team will play some exciting and efficient attacking hockey.

Meanwhile shot stopper Andy Moffat was the star of the show as he answered any critics with several breakaway saves, numerous quick hand stops and frequent blocks. The netminder was unfortunate not to secure a shutout but he did take away the man of the match award for the visitors with Alan Lack claiming the same for the hosts.