The Invicta Dynamos extended their unbeaten run in the league with a tight 2-1 win over Wightlink Raiders on Sunday night.
Kevin Parrish’s side went into the game licking their wounds from the 11-0 thrashing by Chelmsford Chieftains the week before in the NIHL Southern Cup, but keen to keep their league form going.
However, they were to take to the ice without two experienced players as Adam McNicoll will be missing for the next seven weeks with knee ligament damage and Arran Strawson nursed some damaged ribs.
The loss of both could have been costly, but the Dynamos showed real character in front of their home fans, giving a run out to their away red strip jerseys.
It was to be a tight first period as both sides weighed up what kind of game it was going to settle into with Dynamos netminder Mark McGill in inspired form.
After some trading of penalties and chances at goal, the first score of the game finally came in the 15th minute when import Eriks Ozollapa was on hand to turn the puck in from close range.
Wightlink thought they had levelled just a minute later through Jeremy Cornish, but the goal was washed out due to penalties being called for both sides just a second before.
It was Cornish that was the centre of attention five minutes into the second period as he appeared to catch Ozollapa in the face, but the officials saw nothing and the Canadian was to carry on regardless.
With Ozollapa having received treatment and the clock winding down in the second period, the Dynamos doubled their lead with Wightlink down to four on the ice as Jordan Gregory sat in the box for tripping.
A goal largely of his own making, Ozollapa went on a mazy dart down the ice before slotting the puck past the diving Matthew Colclough, much to the delight of the home support.
With fans sensing there could still be drama in the game, Wightlink appeared to up the stakes in the final twenty minutes as the game got feisty.
The Dynamos resisted the temptation to drop to that level and McGill was once again on hand to keep his side in front.
With little over a minute left on the clock, Wightlink called a timeout and moments later pulled Colclough as they went for the unthinkable.
Their reward came with 41 seconds left on the clock as Jaroslav Cesky fired home through traffic leaving McGill completely unsighted.
It was to prove to be in vain though as the Dynamos saw out the remaining time to cling on to two valuable points.
The victory sees the Dynamos make it three wins from three in the league and climb to fifth in the league table, six points behind league leaders Streatham Redskins who have played five games more.
Next weekend sees the Dynamos back in cup action with a trip to London Raiders on Saturday night before welcoming Chelmsford Chieftains to Gillingham on Sunday evening.
To listen to our exclusive interviews with Assistant Dmitri Rodin and Man of the Match Harrison Lillis, click here:
Pictures supplied by David Trevallion.