A man of the match performance from Daniel Fudger lead the way on Saturday evening as his goal helped the Dynamos to victory.
Fudger’s goal was accompanied by others from Ryan Ellis, Callum Best, Justin Noble, Michael Timms, Andy Smith and Callum Fowler saw the Invicta Dynamos overcome the Cardiff ENL Devils 7-2.
The ENL Devils arrived in Kent short on numbers but, despite their limited bench, they were first to light the lamp when Stephen Deacon’s dump towards the crease from the right corner deflected beyond a bemused Andy Moffat at his near post.
The hosts would be level by the break though as they answered when shorthanded to make it 1-1. Callum Fowler’s counter down the right wing was followed by a long diagonal towards the far post that saw Cardiff shot stopper Mike Brabon out of position allowing Andy Smith the easy tap in by the left stick for the equaliser.
In the second period the Dynamos then took just 32 seconds to edge in front. Ryan Ellis prevented the Devils from clearing their own zone back on the blue line, skipped through the visitor’s rear guard and beat the netminder with a shot low into the far corner from close right.
Three minutes later and it was 3-1 when Michael Timms collected Daniel Fudger’s well placed cross-ice pass before lashing in off of the left post from the back of the right circle. By now the hosts were dominant and they would tally a fourth when Fudger then turned from goal provider to goalscorer by drilling a slapshot low into the net beyond the outstretched leg of Mike Brabon from a central position.
Midway through and a fifth would follow as Jack Tarczycki’s long drive was given up for the rebound right in front and ‘import’ Justin Noble was only too happy to bundle in for the 5-1 lead. Conceding four in the space of ten minutes prompted Cardiff to call a timeout and they gathered their composure to cut into the deficit ahead of the break. Jordan Powell’s long range effort was deflected en route by Ryan Giles leaving goalie Andy Moffat out of position and unable to adjust quickly enough to prevent Jamie Hayes firing in.
After seeing their edge cut to 5-2 at the close of the second, the Dynamos then grabbed a sixth at the start of the third as Justin Noble found Callum Best rushing towards the crease and the young forward dispatched inside the left upright to join the list of scorers. Despite a string of chances, the hosts then had to wait until four minutes from time to claim their seventh, and what would prove to be their last, of the night.
A prolonged spell in the final third eventually saw the puck find Callum Fowler close left and he netted beyond Michael Brabon to stretch the lead to 7-2 ahead of the buzzer.
So it was a comfortable victory for the Dynamos who cruised beyond a disappointingly shortbenched Cardiff team to secure two league points that could help them towards a higher league finish than their Welsh rivals. Fourth place would mean crucial home advantage in the second leg of the first round in the playoffs with the two teams now destined to meet again come the close of the regular season.
The result means it’s advantage Dynamos with man of the match Daniel Fudger a major part of the squad’s success. Jordan Powell took the beers for the visitors.
Picture by David Trevallion