Banners On The Road – Solent Devils vs Streatham IHC 3/4/24
Posted: 06/02/2024 Filed under: Banners On The Road, NIHL | Tags: Banners On The Road, NIHL, solent devils, streatham ihc Leave a commentNIHL 1 South
Solent Devils 2-4 Streatham IHC
Devils: Coleman, Murray
Streatham: Lane, Waller, B. Ealey-Newman, Paynter eng
Appointment viewing: Even when the Bison were playing, I would seek out this fixture. Ever since the Bison played Streatham in the weird post EPL/pre–National Division era, I’d liked how they played. Jeremy Cornish’s coaching gave way to Adam Carr, to Michael Farn and now to Ben Paynter. As the National Division was in its infancy, Streatham and Solent battled it out for the South 1 title and I heard how good the games were. When the chance arises, I will always try to be in Gosport for the fixture.
I’ve had the opportunity this year to have a bit more contact with the Devils as a club, both division 1 and 2 sides but this was the busiest that I’d ever seen Gosport. The game sold out and was bolstered by a healthy contingent of fans from South London. Devils’ general manager, Alison Smart greeted me with a “oh how could I forget about you?” Infamy has its perks, I suppose. Either way, the low ceiling and busy seating made for a real feel that the game imposing onto the ice pad and had a real atmosphere to it.
In front of their own fans, it was not an auspicious start from the hosts. Streatham launched out of the gate and the first couple of shifts were all the visitors dictating the pace of play to the point that Solent didn’t get a clean zone entry for the first 2 minutes. Even with an attempted clearance off the boards taking an odd bounce and sitting on the line behind Danny Milton, that best chance for Solent wasn’t created by them.
It took till an early slashing call to Ryan Watt for the Devils to generate some offence, but they settled into the powerplay well, even if it didn’t end up being productive. However, the Streatham pressure immediately came back on and they were deservedly ahead when Ben Paynter won the attacking zone faceoff back to Jared Lane who snapped a shot past Aaron Taylor.
The Devils had some signs out life after the goal and Callum Perella-Fox decided a dance with JJ Pitchley would spark things for his side. It worked to a point as the Devils pushed their way back into the game. Eventually a bit of a messy play worked out for them. Pressure in the zone from Liam Coleman and Jack Peacock created a loose puck that the two of them initially struggled to work out between their own feet. Peacock stepped away and it allowed the space for Coleman to smash it over Milton’s right shoulder to tie the game in the later stages of the first.
The first break almost came at a bad time for Solent as the goal kickstarted them offensively and forced Streatham to reevaluate how they were approaching the game. The Devils were behind on the shotcount but level on the scoreboard and have shown the Redhawks that they too had claws.
The second started much more evenly. It seemed that the Devils had weathered the initial wave of pressure and now, having realised that they could damage the league leaders, were bringing them into their world. The game became a real war of attrition with nobody being given the space to really create anything.
The issue for the home fans was that Streatham are top for a reason and found ways to adapt. Gutting out a game in the trenches may not be their choice of game but they proved themselves capable to do so. It meant that the game would be low scoring and any mistake would be costly. Just before the halfway point came that mistake. With the puck on the wall in the Solent zone, Ziggy Beasley realised that he was about to be checked, laying it off to whoever was there, he went soaring into the boards. However, Sam Waller decided to hammer the laid off puck on net and as Beasley crashed into the boards, the puck found its way past Taylor into the bottom corner to give Streatham the lead back.
Penalties and chances continued to come but Solent were still within punching distance. They were given a lifeline when the visitors got themselves into penalty trouble. A lack of counting on the part of the Redhawks’ bench followed shortly after by a soft interference call on Sam Waller gave the hosts a 5 on 3 powerplay. Unfortunately for them, Danny Milton decided that now was the time to show why he’s the best netminder in the division as he and the penalty kill unit set about frustrating their counterparts on the powerplay.
The third continued in much the same way as the second had. This game wasn’t about to be some 8-7 gunfight at the OK Corral, this was going to be razor thin margins to decide a winner. The start was very nervy and edgy from both sides which was fitting for the occasion.
Another penalty on Waller saw the Devils put on their worst powerplay of the night, ineffective and disordered, they didn’t really generate much. When the sides returned to 5 on 5, the hosts kept pushing and forced their guests into a couple of icings in short succession. Eventually the dam broke. Steve Osman won the faceoff back to Alex Murray for a blueline drive that hit the twine with just over 10 minutes to play.
The game then went into something akin to a Rocky movie where they were strategically trying to take shots at each other. It was going to be a case of which shot made it through and which one glanced off of the proverbial chin. If anything, the visitors were guilty of not being direct enough with their offence, Taylor seemingly able to throw his glove at all the shots that came his way.
It was going to take a moment of magic or misery and ultimately it was a bit of both. Shortly after Coleman had fired a chance over, a break up ice saw the puck glide towards Kris Nekrosevicius. Under pressure, he lost control of the puck to Ben Ealey-Newman who suddenly had a direct path to goal. The Streatham forward skated in, drew Taylor down and found enough of a gap to slide it past the sprawling netminder with 3.05 to play.
Understandably the Devils started throwing everything at the Redhawks. An interference call to Coleman wouldn’t deter them as Taylor was pulled for the extra skater but eventually the puck was bundled into the empty net by the Streatham player/coach to call the contest to a close.
Whilst I venture neither coach was doing cartwheels over the performance of this game, as a neutral it was a good game of hockey. It wasn’t free flowing, it wasn’t pretty, but it was good. Where last week I saw two sides at the bottom of the league, I saw the best team in the league against one of their rivals who put on a very different game but one that gave good value for money played in front of a sold-out crowd. South 1 hockey doesn’t always get the love it deserves but these last two weeks are a reminder that there’s some real gems to be found. This game could have genuinely gone either way.
The hosts did everything right only to be stung at the end. The way to stop Streatham was to make them play Solent’s game and in the small confines of Gosport. The Devils knew that they’d have a side trying to put them under pressure but that if they could survive it, make it a battle and keep them close then they had a chance. They got so very close.
Solent’s gameplan usually predicates itself on a real team effort but there were some standout performances. Liam Coleman took man of the match off the back of a really pretty goal on top of a variety of good chances. The combination of Steve Osman, Cain Russell and Ryan Sutton were the most dangerous line for the hosts and some good line matching allowed them to exploit their speed and skill. Luke Forsyth and Jack Peacock continued to provide some energy.
One moment cost them and that’s something of a byword for Solent’s season. They are very close, the playoffs are a real chance for them to do some damage if they can just get that moment, the singular point that changes to game, to fall for them where it didn’t on this night and did the following night in Chelmsford, they can win a trophy.
As for Streatham, it’s as I said above. Good teams find a way. Having been in Gosport when Invicta came and tried to play their game and got outsmarted, the quality in Ben Paynter’s side to be able to play outside of their comfort zone, not play their game and still win.
Ziggy Beasley is a perpetual motion machine on and off the puck so his taking of the man of the match wasn’t a huge surprise. He stood out above the rest of the team on this night.
The other player who stood out for me was Tomasz Skokan who has to be in the best defensive players in the division. At even strength shepherding Preston Tombs along or on special teams with Callum Burnett, the only thing Tomasz could do for my money is shoot more. Danny Milton won’t be happy to concede goals but when Streatham needed him most, during the 5 on 3 and at the death, he showed his class at this level.
It was a character-building performance rather than lots of players being high quality. The close and bitty nature of the game on small ice meant that that Ben Paynter needed to necessarily adjust the game plan. It was risky but you have to back your boys and Ben Ealey-Newman, who hadn’t had the best night of his hockey career, did what he was signed to do when the moment arose.
On another night, this could be a very different piece. Instead, it was two points towards South London and the march back to Coventry continues for Streatham.
Lowlight of the night: No notes
Highlight of the night: The exciting ending
Banners On The Road – Solent Devils vs Oxford City Stars 21/10/23
Posted: 24/10/2023 Filed under: Banners On The Road, NIHL | Tags: Banners On The Road, NIHL, oxford city stars, solent devils Leave a commentNIHL 1 South
Solent Devils 4-3 Oxford City Stars after OT
Devils: Sutton, Peacock, Russell, Coleman
City Stars: Hind-Pitcher, Hullaby, Williams
Friday 20th October – It’s about 8pm. Devils’ defenceman Harry Cloutman is trying to think on the spot. I’ve just asked him how he’s managed to start the season so well in terms of his points. He’s currently tracking at just below a point per game. Over the years of interviewing people, I know when people are giving an answer they’ve prepared or when they’re answering in a more “off the cuff” fashion. From looking at Harry, he genuinely doesn’t appear to know.
Saturday 21st October – it’s around 6pm. Harry Cloutman has just scored his 5th point in the 6th game of the season as Jack Peacock has tied the Devils’ game with Oxford at 2-2. He might not know how he has so many points so early on in the campaign, but he knows how he got that one. Cloutman’s shot has ballooned off the pads of Ross Miller and towards his team mate to fire into the goal. The difference that less than 24 hours makes.
That second goal game at an opportune moment for the Devils, coming as it did early in the second period. The first period had been something of a frustrating one for the hosts. They’d been the better side in the first twenty minutes having had more of the puck and more of the chances but finding themselves behind at the first buzzer.
Oxford came into this game needing a result of any description. So far, it’s been a disappointing season for the City Stars after the promise and excitement of the summer. The revamp in team PR and the new signings had given cause for optimism but since we last left the City Stars scratching their heads after losing at home to Slough, a lone home win against Streatham is their only positive mark on the record. The initial exchanges in this game spoke to a team short on confidence and struggling to adapt to their surroundings, the later not uncommon at Gosport. The hosts were ahead early as a result, their relentless early forecheck saw Ryan Sutton walk out from behind the goal and find a gap at Ross Miller’s left post within 94 seconds.
What the City Stars lack in execution, they don’t lack in effort and whilst a lot of what they tried didn’t come off, enough did. For all the Devils pressure, they kept giving openings. Bailey Hind-Pitcher jumped on a rare rebound off of Aaron Taylor to tie the game and after surviving another onslaught of pressure, they landed a gut punch. Another Miller save saw the visitors break up ice and Josh Abbott’s pass was hammered goalwards by American import, Dylan Hullaby. Taylor got a piece but not enough and the first had ended with Oxford leading.
That returns us to the start of this piece and the equalising goal. It was more than deserved on the balance of play but after that it seemed that the Devils returned to their effort without outcome. Oxford were markedly better in the second than the first and whilst the shot count for the period was very lopsided, 22-8 in favour of the hosts, the actual play was much more equal. The City Stars were certainly more decisive and incisive in their attack, albeit much of it didn’t register on the shot count.
The third saw Oxford get something of a reward. Almost a carbon copy of the second goal, a quick move up the ice saw Danny Williams find a way to squeeze the puck past Taylor and give them back the lead.
From there, it was a bombardment worthy of the nearby navy. The Devils battered the Oxford goal, frustrated by an array of last gasp defending and the determination of Ross Miller. Shot after shot, he managed to turn them away. Some were merely blocks where he got a limb or piece of equipment to the puck but others were calculated saves that he did well to control in the small space he had to work with.
The hosts cranked the pressure and eventually it told. Moments after a superb save in open play, a set play broke the resistance. Drew Campbell won the faceoff back to Cain Russell who lasered a shot into the top of the net. 3-3, and it was entirely fair. One team had made the running, the other had offered a spirted and valiant defence. Regulation time ended and a point was guaranteed each way.
Overtime followed the pattern of the third. A late powerplay was killed off by the Stars but they couldn’t hold back the tide forever. One pointed bit of attack with the extra space, the puck to the front of the net and Liam Coleman deflected the puck past Miller before falling into him.
The Devils were value for the win on the balance of the game itself. Quite simply put, they did more. They controlled the play and pace of the game they had more chances; they had the better chances. I don’t think there’s much argument there. Liam Coleman got the man of the match and certainly gave a good performance but it was a solid team effort from a side missing its creative attacking force in Steve Osman. Aaron Taylor might want the second goal back but wasn’t challenged as much as he could be. The defence was solid for the most part, it was up front where it was a bit more of a grind for them. Jack Peacock and Ryan Sutton lead the way on that front in terms of effective forechecking and forcing turnovers, but all lines did their job.
As for Oxford, getting something from the game feels more appropriate than them getting nothing out of the game. They tried to play solid road hockey and counter when they could. The issue for Oxford was arguably that lack of confidence that all teams at the lower end of the table suffer from. It felt like they overthought things, tried too hard rather than trying to play it simply. In a place like Gosport where you don’t have much room against a team known for its high press and aggressive forecheck, they almost seemed to want to be too cute at times. This wasn’t the time for attempting slick passing, Invicta proved that back in September. As I said though, what I like about the Stars is their sheer bloody-mindedness. They could have capitulated at points but didn’t. Ross Miller was the only choice for man of the match though. Solid team effort or not, he nearly stole the game by himself.
Lowlight of the night: Both teams just lacked a bit of creativity that would have made this a great rather than just a good game.
Highlight of the night: Ross Miller’s save on Jack Peacock in the third was TV quality.
Banners On The Road – Solent Devils vs Invicta Dynamos 16/9/23
Posted: 19/09/2023 Filed under: Banners On The Road, NIHL | Tags: invicta dynamos, NIHL, solent devils Leave a commentNIHL 1 South:
Solent Devis 5-3 Invicta Dynamos
Devils: Forsyth, Llewelyn, Lackey, Osman, Peacock
Dynamos: Condren, Dell, Stokes
A question of scale: In a different world, I’d have gone to games in Gosport more than I have. When I moved back to Britain after living in Germany, looking for a hockey team meant finding somewhere within easy public transport reach. I was also aware of the Elite League and knew Basingstoke was easy to get to. I wasn’t aware of a rink in Gosport. How things could have been.
For those of you unfamiliar, the ice surface at Gosport is small. That’s not to belittle it but the ice surface is unique. Grimsby, Sutton and the Isle of Wight spring to mind in terms of size. On a humid night like this, everyone walks in to be slapped in the face by the blast of cold. You’re immediately hit with an element of claustrophobia as people pack into the bleachers or stand around by the end closest to the cafe. Kids were playing with sticks and pucks in the walkway between the bleachers and the Plexiglas, being forced to stop or shuffle to the side and breathe in as Owen Rider leads the Dynamos out from behind the seating and past the fans towards the ice. There’s no separation, no barrier, just the opposition marching past the fans. It’s a surreal sight.
It’s these unique environs that Solent live and thrive within. Theirs is a one of a kind venue to play and watch hockey in. Having been runners up to South 1 champions, Streatham so often, clearly Alex Murray’s side can do the business on big ice as well but this is where everyone has to adapt to them and if you don’t then you will pay.
The first if a prime example of that as the Dynamos got their game plan all sorts of shades of wrong. Coming out with a gameplan and experimenting in the first game of the season is fine but it took the visitors from Kent too long to adapt. Invicta were attempting to play a big pad game on a small pad and it didn’t work at all. Faced with a host side playing an aggressive forecheck and content to clog the passing lanes at every opportunity, the Dynamos were too cute on the puck and were trying to get a passing game going.
The visitors had no answer for the physicality of the Devils and were made to pay. Ryan Sutton muscled his way behind the net and fed out front for Luke Forsyth to fire in and a faceoff win by Drew Campbell went straight back to Joe Llewelyn to fire home.
After the game, Dynamos coach Karl Lennon told me that he’d had a stern word with his team in the first intermission and it showed in the second. Things started going the way of the visitors. A brief period of time where Devils’ player/coach Alex Murray was forced into medical attention after taking a puck in the face but also, the hosts were either tired or forced into a period of energy retention. The aggressive forecheck of the first period was gone, replaced with a more standoffish approach. That, combined with a more direct game plan from the visitors saw them edge their way back into the game. Josh Condren connected onto a balloon of a rebound off of Aaron Taylor before Owen Dell tied the game at 2-2 with a textbook wrist shot by Taylor. It had been a game of two very different periods. So what would the third offer?
The answer was actually a mix of the two but ultimately, and sadly for the visiting fans, more of the first. It started as a very open period with both teams managing to score; Dan Lackey’s near mirror image of Llewellyn’s goal being cancelled out by Michael Stokes to keep both sets of fans excited and invested.
It was going to take a moment of magic to win the game and as I found myself wondering “who is the hero here?”, the answer was Steve Osman. Having played such a close, disruptive style of play, the one bit of space that the Devils were given was used to great effect. With Dynamo defenders desperately diving to stop him, Osman skated into the available space and fired an absolute laser of a shot past Rider into the top corner. Just less than two minutes later, an uncharacteristically lax rebound from Rider dropped into his crease for Jack Peacock to tap home and that was the hammer blow.
The game itself was not the exhibition of free flowing hockey that some might have been wanting but I’ll tell you this, it was a lot of fun. 8 goals, end to end action, momentum that see-sawed in all directions; I’ve paid more to watch worse.
I said on the Zero Pucks Given preview podcast that I had no idea what we’d get from Solent but that I was looking forward to not knowing. Now that I have some idea, what are we getting? We’re getting the Solent Devils. Even with their summer changes, this team is going to come crashing towards you at speed and zero finesse. Then, just when you think you’ve been ground into dust, they’ll exploit their high end skill. It is hard to really read them at home, as daft as that sounds, because Gosport is such a unique location for hockey that they should really win every game there.
For all the critiques you can make of their home, this was an entertaining game and a really entertaining style of play from the Devils. It wasn’t only that, it was clever. Against a visitor that had played the weekend before on bigger ice and thrives off of passing the puck around, they gave them no time or space to do it. The second was an issue and their inability to keep up the momentum for 60 minutes almost cost them but having found a second wind, they got over the line.
Aaron Taylor got man of the match on his return to senior hockey which is fair enough although it wasn’t the most convincing of performances at times, his rebound control not quite on point. However if this is what he does one game in, that only bodes well. It was also very Solent like for the outskaters to act as a unit and the netminder to stand out.
For Invicta, they got the game plan wrong and got beaten trying to answer a game plan that they weren’t ready for. Don’t get me wrong, the quality of the Dynamos was clearly on display and this is a good looking side. You could see the talent on the roster but they just didn’t adapt to what they were facing well enough to really make any headway. Yes, when the Devils took their foot off of the gas, they exploited it well and man of the match, Josh Condren took his goal very well, but too often they tried to do too much with not enough space or time to do it in. The times they played that more direct style, it worked. When they didn’t, it didn’t. He wasn’t available but the availability of Dan Scott would have been interesting in a game like this.
I was very impressed with young defenceman, Matt Bell who I thought looked very assured on the puck made some very good plays. Owen Rider gave a decent account of himself in net and has an assured way about him.
The Dynamos rebounded the following night against the Romford Buccaneers so it wasn’t a totally lost weekend for them. I can’t help but feel that they might rue this loss later in the campaign. Many teams will lose in Gosport however the Dynamos had the talent to beat them and didn’t find a way to stop themselves being beaten. That will likely frustrate.
Lowlight of the night: Mistakes happen but when the clock is left running during a break in play, put all the time back on and not an arbitrary amount, please Mr Referee.
Highlight of the night: The Osman game winner was very pretty.
Banners On The Wall 