Two goals from Anthony Leone, alongside strikes from Andy Smith and Joe Bliss, saw the Invicta Dynamos claim a 4-3 win over the Chelmsford Chieftains on Sunday evening.

It was an excellent display for the Dynamos in their final Southeast Trophy outing of 2012/13.

Rooted to the foot of the cup table, and with no hope of progressing, the tie against the Chieftains was more about producing a performance for the home side and they looked determined from the off as they started the clash with a high tempo. Despite that, it was Chelmsford who came closest to a lead early on as Daniel Wright’s slapshot from distance rocked the frame of the goal behind Andy Moffat.

However, midway through, and with the Chieftains serving a bench minor for too many men, the hosts got the reward for their early running as the second line scythed through the visitor’s shorthanded back line to secure the opener. Tom Avery found Callum Best in the left corner and his inviting pass back towards the front of the net was rifled beyond goalie Ben Clements by the on-rushing Anthony Leone with a one-timer. Leone’s strike was a just recompense for the Dynamos who played to a high level of intensity throughout the opening frame, finished their checks and so led 1-0 when the buzzer sounded for the intermission.

After a determined start to the tie, the Dynamos initially started slower in the second and this allowed the Chieftains to threaten an equaliser. They would have levelled when Sam Cheema was robbed by Julius Sinkovic to give the visitors a 2-on-1 but for netminder Andy Moffat scrambling across his goal line to make a fine stop when Sinkovic’s centring pass was dispatched towards the target by teammate Gary Clarke. However, the prospect of losing their advantage only fired the Dynamos back into life and, after successfully killing a number of powerplays, they finished the frame the stronger side.

Anthony Leone was again in the thick of the action as his shot from the right circle forced a smart leg save from Ben Clements before Nanthaniel Rose was also denied by the goalie following a clever redirect from Andy Smith’s long diagonal. With neither team able to put the puck in the net, the second period then concluded the same way as the first – with the Dynamos holding a slender but deserved 1-0 edge.

In the final frame, having been kept at bay for 45 minutes, the Chieftains finally netted to break their duck and pull level at 1-1. Ross Brears entered the offensive zone before passing right to Cameron Bartlett who unleashed a venomous shot from the right circle that caught the glove of Andy Moffat before finding the net behind him. Their time on a level footing was shortlived however as the Dynamos retook the lead on the powerplay midway through with Michael Ranby penalised for hooking. Peter Vaisanen found Nathaniel Rose back on the blue line and his long diagonal towards the crease was tipped in front by Andy Smith to send the puck beyond the grasp of Ben Clements and make it 2-1.

Just 41 seconds later that advantage then became 3-1 as Callum Best’s drive from wide left was given up for the rebound the other side of the target and, though Anthony Leone saw his first effort blocked, he swept home at the second attempt for his second of the evening. With just five minutes to go the Dynamos were then even further ahead when they added a fourth whilst shorthanded to make it 4-1. With Arran Strawson sitting a hooking minor, Joe Bliss picked off a poor pass by the Chelmsford powerplay unit on his own blue line to race through on the breakaway. The young forward used his blistering pace to keep the Chieftains rear guard behind him and kept his cool to rifle beyond Ben Clements for the three goal edge. The visitors were far from done though and, despite never really looking dominant at any point in the tie, they claimed two late goals to threaten an unlikely comeback.

The first came on the powerplay, as Justin Noble was called for hooking, as Darren Brown dispatched Danny Hammond’s pass from behind the net over the line from the edge of the crease. The second then came 15 seconds from time as a 2-on-1 saw Ross Brears pass right to Hammond who turned from goalscorer to goal provider with a neat wrist shot that went back across goal and into the top far corner from inside the right faceoff circle. Ultimately it was too little too late for the Chieftains though, who fell to their first defeat in the Southeast Trophy with the Dynamos completing a four point weekend across two competitions.

So whilst it was technically a ‘dead rubber’ game for the hosts, their performance on the night suggested the result meant much more and they were excellent value for their 4-3 victory. A near full strength side played as a unit, kept up the intensity from start to finish and delivered both skilful and physical hockey to the delight of the home support. Man of the match awards on the night went to both netminders with Ben Clements and Andy Moffat both making a number of fine stops for their respective sides.

Picture supplied by David Trevallion