The Dynamos travelled to Bracknell with limited options in defence. Missing out at the back were Arran Strawson, Ryan Giles, Andy Munroe and Harrison Lillis. Also unavailable was forward Callum Best whilst Luke Thirkettle was playing for his parent club the Invicta Mustangs – leaving the Mos with just 11 skaters with only 2 of them regular defencemen meaning utility man Matt Foord dropped into a defensive role, as did forward Louis Colvin.
At the start of the first period Bees’ Harvey Stead raced through on goal but his shot was deflected high and wide from Ryan Morgan’s stretched out stick. Morgan himself then went on to register the first Dynamos shot on goal in the 4th minute but netminder Dean Skinn had little trouble making a pad save. Then out of nowhere the Mos went 1-0 up when Owen Dell fired a shot at goal from a long way out which Dean Skinns let slip behind him on 5:23.
The Mos only stay ahead for barely 20 seconds with Bees’ dangerman Roman Malinik levelling the scores at 1-1. The Bees then edged 2-1 in front on 09:23 – Tyler VanKleef finding Shaun Thompson out wide who hit a first time pass across the goalmouth for Ryan Watt to tap home. The period ended with VanKleef hitting the Mos’ goal frame in the last second.
The second period had the Bees extended their lead to 3-1 on 21:14 – Ryan Sutton shooting into the net with Conor Morris grounded after taking a hit. Morris then went on to deny Roman Malinik in the 23rd minute and that save was vital as not long afterwards the Mos pulled a goal back. Lewis English gained control of the puck in his own zone and carried it all the way to the Bees’ net and slotted calmly under Skinns for 3-2 on 24:16. The Mos counter attack style was causing problems for the Bees and they had Dean Skinns to thank in the 28th minute when he denied Oskars Ancitis on the break. The Mos pulled level on 30:16 – Zosiak finding Leone out wide left and his shot found Matt Foord at the far post to slot home for 3-3 against his former side. Foord was then a hero at the opposite end of the ice pad with both him and Morris throwing their bodies at shots to keep the Bees at bay with the 2nd period ending all square.
The third period was a busy affair for Conor Morris, having already faced 28 shots in the second period another 25 were fired at the Mos netminder and although the puck was in the Mos’ zone a lot the away side continued to be a threat on the break. Morris produced the save of the game in the 44th minute to deny Brendan Baird with what should have been a certain goal and although he was continually screened in a busy goalmouth throughout the final ten minutes nothing was going to beat the Mos’ netminder along with his teammates who put in great efforts to tie 3-3 at the end of the buzzer and go into overtime for the first time this season.
The overtime of 5 minutes was a tense affair with 8 shots on Morris and 2 on Skinns but neither team could edge that winning goal and the game went into penalty shots- remarkably there were no penalties throughout the 65 minutes of open play with referee Cuglietta keeping her notebook firmly tucked away in her pocket.
The rules have changed this season – its now the best of 5 penalty shots instead of 3. Out of the 5 shots for each team only 1 was scored – vitally by Louis Colvin to give the Mos two big points. Conor Morris once again stood-up well during the shootout and saved all 5 shots he faced.
Referee: Cuglietta
Points:
Bees – A. Doughty 0+2, S. Thompson 0+1, R. Sutton 1+0, R. Malinik 1+1, T. Vankleef 0+1, R. Watt 1+0, S. Mogg 0+1
Dynamos – L. English 1+0, O. Zosiak 0+1, M. Foord 1+1, O. Dell 1+0, A. Leone 0+1
PIMS:
Bees – 0
Dynamos – 0
Netminders:
- Skinns – save percentage 82.35% (17 shots / 3 goals)
- Morris – save percentage 96.25% (80 shots / 3 goals)
Man of the match:
Bees – E. Knaggs
Dynamos – C. Morris