The Invicta Dynamos had a weekend to forget with Streatham winning a controversial game 3-1 in Gillingham on Sunday evening.

Kevin Parrish’s side were hoping to bounce back from Saturday night’s 8-2 mauling at Solent Devils, but lady luck and the officials were clearly not on their side against their local rivals.

Without suspended captain Callum Fowler the game always looked a little tougher on paper, but were also without Ashley Jackson (in India), Damian King, Joshua Condren and Haydn Wootoon (all injured).

Starting the game with limited options, the last thing the Dynamos needed was to pick up penalty points with officials Belfitt, Edwards and Fusco having been the better referee and linesmen to officiate throughout earlier games in the season.

However, it was to be the three officials that were the talking point at the end of the game as they harshly penalised players from both sides with the Dynamos coming off worse from contentious decisions they either saw or didn’t.

It was a fast start to the game with both netminders being kept busy with John Dibble back in goal for the Dynamos whilst Matt Colclough kept the score at 0-0 at the other end.

With almost nine minutes on the clock the game erupted. A Mason Webster hit ended up with an all out line brawl that saw players going toe to toe. The resulting penalties, after much deliberation, saw Webster pick up a 2+10 for checking from behind with both penalty boxes filling fast.

Four minutes later and the penalty box was filling up fast again as Adam Rehak took exception to Streatham’s Jack Tarczycki boarding Nicky Lewis.

Again after a very lengthy delay, it was the Dynamos that came off worse when the penalties were handed out with Harrison Lillis handed a game for being 3rd man into a fight and a further match for fighting.

How the game was still 0-0 at the end of the first period was hard to fathom, but it was a period that took over an hour to play with the officials having lost control of a keenly fought game.

The second period was less eventful than the first with Arran Strawson scoring in the 24th minute, making full use of a powerplay to register his 200th point in a Dynamos shirt.

It could have been even better for the Dynamos had Rehak’s fierce shot not hit the frame of the goal.

With the Dynamos looking the more likely to score, it came as a bit of a shock when Streatham scored the equaliser in the 33rd with Alex Sampford coming from behind the goal to score.

As a bird fluttered around the rink, looking for the best vantage point to see the game, the third period started with the score level and both teams going all out to win.

Time and time again both sides failed to find the target or found netminders in their way, but the game truly came to life again in the 54th minute as Rehak was given a 2+10 for checking from behind with the Streatham man on the ice looking to have slipped.

It took only four seconds for Streatham to make the most of their numerical advantage with Wood finding Sean Scarborough and he slammed the puck past Dibble.

The Dynamos managed to survive a 5 on 3 late on with Strawson sitting for holding whilst the bench received a penalty for abusing an official.

With one minute and forty seconds on the clock, the Dynamos took the gamble and pulled Dibble, a move that backfired though with George Norcliffe firing down the ice into the empty net on 59:21.

That though wasn’t to be the end of the fiery night though as seconds before, Dynamos import Ondrej Zosiak had had his stick broken, when slashed by a Streatham player, something the officials either missed, or chose to overlook.

The normally mild mannered Slovak was incensed, so much so that he picked up a ten minute penalty for confronting the officials.

In the end the scoreline will show Streatham won the game 3-1, but it won’t show how poor the officials were on the night.

Rightly, Kevin Parrish chose not to be interviewed after the game, a game that has seen the pack close on the Dynamos who stay second in the NIHL South, but crucially allows Chelmsford Chieftains to put one hand on the league trophy.

The Dynamos now have a week to prepare for their only game of next weekend with London Raiders coming to Gillingham on Sunday night.