The Invicta Dynamos came from behind three times to record a 6-5 victory against Milton Keynes Thunder on Sunday night.

Having lost 4-1 at Oxford City Stars the night before, it was important the Kent side got back to winning ways in Gillingham, but for large parts of the night it didn’t look like that was going to be the case.

Taking to the ice without injured duo Adam McNicoll and captain Nicky Lewis, the Dynamos looked a little light on experience and it proved to be the case as they found themselves 2-0 down inside the opening four minutes.

With defenceman Arran Strawson off the ice for a hooking penalty, Thunder made full use of the powerplay to open the scoring in the third minute with Goode firing home the rebound after his former team-mate Damien King made the initial save.

Less than a minute later and it was 2-0. Strawson was involved in a scrap with Tom Castle and in the ensuing melee the puck ended up in the goal with Tom Mboya claiming the score.

After much deliberation, the officials decided the goal would stand and Strawson was back in the penalty box once more.

Stunned by going two goals down, the Dynamos upped a gear with Eriks Ozollapa finding the frame of the goal, but they couldn’t trouble the scoreboard in the opening twenty minutes.

It took until the 28th minute for the Dynamos to register their first goal and it came from an unlikely source as Andy Henderson stepped up from the blue line to thunder the puck home.

Little over a minute later and it was 3-1 though as Milton Keynes broke down the ice at speed with Jamie Line slamming home.

The Dynamos weren’t to be denied though and in the 33rd minute they clawed it back to 3-2 with Steve Osman linking up well with Ozollapa before firing home from close range.

Arran Strawson was guilty of not being able to clear when needed and Ryan Coffey took full advantage in the 40th minute to make it 4-2 going into the final period.

With a flea in their ear and Strawson benched by Head Coach Kevin Parrish for the final twenty minutes, the Dynamos came out all fired up and they were rewarded quickly for their efforts.

Bailey Wootton clawed it back to 4-3 in the 42nd minute as he linked up well with Osman and import Ondrej Zosiak as Parrish jumbled his lines.

Less than a minute later and it was 4-4 as Ozollapa scored from Conor Redmond’s cross with the import firing the crowd up with his celebration.

Milton Keynes withstood terrific Dynamos pressure over the coming minutes and edged back in front in the 52nd minute with Line breaking free from the home defence before firing past King.

With less than four minutes left on the clock, the Dynamos pegged it back to 5-5 as Ozollapa scored after great work from Joshua Condren and Redmond.

At 57:35 Nidal Phillips had to sit for a penalty and both teams called time outs to decide on their tactics for the remaining time. It was to be the Dynamos that came up with the best plan as they made full use of the powerplay with only 73 seconds left in the game

Playing in a forward role now, Zosiak was sent free by Elliott Dewey and the import did the rest slamming home from just inside the blue line to the delight of the very vocal Dynamos support.

That wasn’t to be the end of the game though and Thunder pulled netminder Villem-Henrick Koitmaa with ten seconds to go and despite a barrage in front of the Dynamos goal, they hung on for the 6-5 victory and two very precious points.

The win sees the Dynamos end the weekend fifth placed in the NIHL South and next weekend they entertain Cardiff NIHL Devils at home on Saturday night before heading to league leaders Chelmsford Chieftains on Sunday evening.

To listen to our exclusive interviews with Ondrej Zosiak and Brad Gutridge from after the game, click here:

https://audioboom.com/boos/3815246-ondrej-zosiak-after-the-invicta-dynamos-beat-mk-thunder-6-5

https://audioboom.com/boos/3815262-brad-gutridge-after-the-invicta-dynamos-beat-mk-thunder-6-5