Captain Andy Smith passed the 800 point mark for the Invicta Dynamos on Sunday evening as his two goals and two assists, alongside efforts from Peter Vaisanen (4), Arran Strawson, Harrison Lillis and Callum Fowler saw his side hammer Milton Keynes 9-2 on the road.

Despite finding themselves in action between Christmas and New Year, the Dynamos showed no signs of festive fatigue as they raced into an early lead in Buckinghamshire. In just the fifth minute of play the visitors broke the deadlock as Andy Smith and Jack Tarczycki combined before Peter Vaisanen fired beyond youngster Jordan Hedley to make it 1-0. Before the midway point, the Dynamos then added another and this time Vaisanen was the provider – Callum Fowler turning in following work from the Canadian. That 2-0 advantage would hold until the buzzer with the visitors reaping the rewards of their 19 attempts on net whilst the hosts were still shutout having put the puck on the target just 6 times.

After a bright opening frame, the Dynamos started the second in the same vein and they added to their lead within two minutes of the puck drop. Callum Fowler and Anthony Leone each claimed an assist as Peter Vaisanen took his personal tally to two to make the score 3-0. The Thunder were far from done though and falling further behind merely spurred them into action. Player/coach Simon Howard struck beyond David Wride to get them off of the mark before a Maksims Petruks effort put them within touching distance less than a minute later. Any hopes of a comeback were quashed by the buzzer though as the visitors regrouped and fired in twice to restore their three goal cushion. With seven minutes to play, Andy Smith teed up Peter Vaisanen who converted beyond Jordan Hedley for his third of the evening. It was a strike that was not only significant because it completed the Canadian’s hat-trick but because Smith’s hand in the build up saw him claim his record breaking 800th point for the Dynamos. Just before the end of the frame the club captain then had further cause for celebration as Arran Strawson drilled in to give his team a commanding 5-2 lead.

If the result was in any doubt going into the final period, three goals in the space of a minute and eight seconds close to the start of the last all but ended the tie. Not content with a hat-trick, Peter Vaisanen grabbed his fourth, with assists going to Adam Copland and Callum Fowler, before Andy Smith struck a quick double with Vaisanen and Fowler involved in the build up on both occasions. The last of the night then came a minute from the buzzer as Harrison Lillis made the most of a Justin Noble pass to claim his first senior goal of the 2012/13 season.

So when the sixty minutes were up, the Dynamos celebrated a comfortable victory on the road in Buckinghamshire – a venue that has proved problematic for them in the past. Peter Vaisanen’s seven point haul made him the star performer but the night belonged to captain Andy Smith whose two goals and two assists took him to 802 career points for the side. Smith’s astounding tally comes from just 315 games in Dynamos colours and puts him 197 points ahead of second placed Elliot Andrews. More importantly the goals helped the team secure a third consecutive league victory and ended a testing 2012 in fine fashion as 2013 lay just on the horizon.

Picture supplied by David Trevallion