Man of the match Andy Smith claimed six goals on a Saturday evening as his Invicta Dynamos side romped to an emphatic 13-5 victory at the Hangar against the Slough ENL Jets in the ENIHL South Division 1.
After a double loss the weekend before, the Dynamos found themselves behind again in Slough as 42 year old Serbian Zoran Kozic fired the home side ahead in the seventh minute. The visitors were in no mood to accept a third straight defeat however and dominated the remainder of the frame to finish the period 3-1 up.
Club captain Andy Smith levelled the score at the midway point before two in the space of 19 seconds from the prolific forward late on saw him complete a hat-trick and secure the 3-1 edge.
The Dynamos then began the second frame in determined mood and tallied four without reply for a commanding 7-1 advantage – all of the quartet coming courtesy of the squad’s Canadian contingent. Ryan Ellis and Justin Noble both grabbed a brace before Slough finally managed a reply through Stuart Mogg halfway through the tie. Mogg’s drive beyond Andy Moffat did little to reverse his side’s fortunes however, as the rampant visitors then added another four ahead of the break.
Having completed one hat-trick in the first period, Andy Smith started working on another as he made it 8-2 and former ENL Jets forward Callum Best fired in beyond his old team to take that tally to nine. Another pair from ‘import’ Justin Noble then completed a comprehensive second period performance for the Dynamos and gave them a commanding 11-2 lead heading into the last.
In the final frame, and with the points in the bag, the visitors eased off a little and this allowed Slough to add a little more respectability to the scoreboard. Daniel Rose took advantage of a powerplay to give the ENL Jets their third but two in the space of 20 seconds from Andy Smith saw the visitors lead by ten – Smith’s double completing his second hat-trick of the evening.
The hosts would tally the last of the night however – Swede Johan Lisspers grabbing a fourth for his side before GB under 18 blue liner Sam Godfrey notched on the man advantage close to time.
So it was an emphatic 13-5 victory for the Dynamos in Slough with the Gillingham side expected to pick up the points but putting in a dominant display that cast aside the disappointment of the weekend before. Man of the match on the night was double hat-trick hero Andy Smith who has now netted nine times against the ENL Jets in just three outings.
From here the team made the trip home in time for a home clash against the Milton Keynes Thunder in Kent the following night.
Picture by David Trevallion