The Invicta Dynamos booked their place in the NIHL Southern Cup Final after an entertaining battle with the Wightlink Raiders.

Having trailed 3-2 after the first leg on the Isle of Wight, the Dynamos knew they would be in for a tough game against their rivals and that certainly proved to be the case for large parts of the second leg in Gillingham on Sunday evening.

Kevin Parrish’s side went into the game once again without the services of the injured Mark Lee who is resting an ankle injury, whilst forward Frankie Harvery was unavailable due to work commitments.

That made selection a little easier for Parrish who went into the game with three lines of sorts with Mark McGill handed the netminder role after impressing since arriving from Dundee.

With a vociferous if not sell out crowd intent on getting behind the Dynamos from the off, it was the home side that came out of the traps the quickest in the opening period, but it was the visitors that took a surprise lead in the 9th minute with Carl Graham firing home to make it 4-2 on aggregate.

The game on the night was levelled just into the 16th minute as Nicky Lewis danced down the ice and fired home to the delight of the home support.

If that was something to cheer, the home fans were on their feet 19 seconds before the end of the period when Andy Smith and Juraj Huska combined to set up Callum Fowler who poked home.

Leading 2-1 on the night and now 4-4 on aggregate going into the second period, once again it was Wightlink that grabbed the lead in the 23rd minute with Jeremy Cornish left unmarked to tap home the simplest of finishes.

It took until the 40th minute for the Dynamos to restore the lead back to 3-2 and make it 5-5 on aggregate when the ever impressive Michal Oravec was set free by Smith and Fowler leaving Wightlink netminder Matt Colclough with no chance.

At 5-5 on aggregate going into the final period, fans were treated to an entertaining last twenty minutes with the Dynamos taking less than two minutes to take an overall lead with Juraj Huska firing home after Colclough saved from Smith and then Fowler.

Bang on the 49th minute and it was 5-2 to the Dynamos on the night and 7-5 on aggregate as Huska bagged another, with Smith and Fowler taking the assists as the home side made full use of a powerplay.

Cornish was then guilty of spurning the greatest of chances, somehow managing to miss the target from one yard out, hitting high over McGill’s bar with the goal at his mercy.

That proved to be costly as the Dynamos strecthed their lead further in the 54th minute with Huska claiming his hat-trick.

At 6-2 up on the night and cruising with an 8-5 aggregate lead, the Dynamos were pegged back to 6-3 (8-6) when Craig Tribe slotted home in the 56th minute, giving home fans reason for slight concern.

That needn’t have been the case though and despite Wightlink having a go in the final few minutes pulling Colclough, they couldn’t find their way through a resolute Dynamos defence.

With Colclough back on the ice for the final few seconds, Fowler wrapped up a fine night for the Dynamos scoring with just 12 seconds left on the clock.

His goal sealed a great night for the Kent club who booked their place against the Chelmsford Chieftains in the two legged final at the end of the month. The record books will show it was 7-3 on the night and 9-6 on aggregate.

To listen to our exclusive interviews with Kevin Parrish and Callum Fowler after the game, click here: