Andy Smith believes the Invicta Dynamos have what it takes to beat league winners Chelmsford Chieftains in the play-offs this weekend.

The club captain was in inspired form last weekend as the Dynamos came back from trailing 6-4 after the first leg of the play-off against Cardiff NIHL Devils to win 13-10 on aggregate after winning 9-4 on Sunday night.

Smith was to score five of the Dynamos nine goals and epitomised the team spirit within the camp and told KSN how he was thrilled to have put on such a good display in front of the home fans:

“Saturday was tough to take and coming back from two goals down was hard as you don’t want to be in that position, but we knew bringing it back home for the second leg we could win it.”

“Towards the end it was tense, but we managed to get there. At 5-1 down you almost think you are out of it, but you’ve got eighty minutes of hockey still to play and the boys this year have shown character throughout and have shown it at Cardiff.”

“I think we just had more legs than them in the end and the third period is always our best at home and the crowd seem to get behind you.”

“At 6-4, when it was 10-10 on aggregate going into the last few minutes, it got pretty tense, but I knew we had the character and the commitment in the team to get through.”

With five goals under his belt and over 800 for the team in his career, Smith was left to reflect on what has been a good weekend personally:

“I wanted to score a hat-trick over the weekend in one of the games and to score five in one game is great, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without my team-mates.”

“I ended up with five plus one and Callum Fowler ended up with one plus five, so there’s good chemistry there and I was pleased.”

“It doesn’t matter who scores the goals, as long as you win the game and there’s probably between fifteen and eighteen guys that play a role. Some guys don’t get on, but play their role on the bench.”

“That was probably one of my best nights for a long time personally. I knew there was a bit of pressure on me because I had my family down. My mum and dad come every week, but my brother and his family came down for their first game this year.”

“I had about fifteen to twenty people watching me so I had to step up to the plate!”

With Chelmsford Chieftains coming to the Silver Blades Ice Bowl in Gillingham on Saturday night and the two teams facing off in Essex just twenty four hours later, Smith knows his side are in for a stern test, but believes if they play to their potential, could make their way into the play-off final:

“We know that on our day we can beat anyone. We haven’t beat Chelmsford yet in Chelmsford which is going to be hard to overcome, but with the performance and attitude we have shown over the weekend, it doesn’t bother me who we play in the next round.”

“We really have got to make sure we take our chances in the first leg and get a good lead before we go to Chelmsford on Sunday.”

Having scored over 800 points for the side, Smith is already looking towards next season and has no plans to hang up his skates just yet:

“I think I have still got a few more years. There’s a lot of life changing things coming up and I’m getting married this year as well as looking to move house.”

“Next season is a long, long way away at the minute, but after night’s like Sunday, it will be hard to hang them up.”

“I’ve been playing this sport since I was four and I will be twenty nine in October, so it’s going to be a hard thing to step down and not play anymore.”

“I think you just have to show your love for the game and play for as long as you can.”

“It doesn’t cross my mind how many points I have got as long as the team get the two points and get through to the next round of the play-offs, that’s all that matters to me.”

“When I first signed for the club I never thought I’d get to where I am now, but that’s not just down to me, that’s down to each team-mate I’ve had over every season.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without them, the coach or the fans. It’s all down to them.”

You can show your support for the Dynamos as they look to get a first leg lead when they take on the Chelmsford Chieftains on Saturday night.

Face off at the Silver Blades Ice Bowl in Gillingham is 5:15pm with more information at www.invictadynamos.com

Pictures supplied by David Trevallion