English National League Division 2 North
Fylde Flyers 4 - Hull Stingrays 3
Period Scores: 1-1, 1-2, 2-0
Shots On Goal: Flyers 62 - Hull 63
Penalties In Minutes: Flyers 50 - Hull 28
Flyers Scoring: Andy Clark 3+1, Bobby Caunce 1+2, Mark Gillingham & Joe Charlton both 0+1
Flyers Penalties: Grinbergs 40, Melbourne, Etherington, Fearon, Charlton, Caunce all 2
Flyers MVP: Bobby Caunce
Referees: Boynton / Abbott
Attendance: 134
Well, this was the first match of the season that we were able to get to - and what a cracker it turned out to be!
Following on from last season, when they finished 4th in the league, I had expected a bit more "oomph" from the Hull team but you can only beat what is put in front of you and the Flyers got off to, well, a "flying" start with great opening goal from Andy Clark midway through the first period. Hull outshot the home side in the first period without necessarily looking too threatening and I felt that their equalising goal towards the end of the period came pretty much against the run of play at that time.
Flyers then found theselves with a 2 man advantage on the ice, a face off in the Hull blue zone and a minute to restore the lead before the buzzer. That play broke down, however, and the resolute Stingrays held out against the ever more offensive Flyers until another great strike from Clark broke the deadlock with a powerplay goal after 26 minutes. I fully expected the Flyers to, erm, fly away with the game from this point as they looked very confident and very much on top of things.
However, it only takes a matter of seconds to score in ice hockey, and Hull did just that - twice - before the end of the period to carry a rather unlikely 3-2 lead into the last third of the match.
The last period was excrutiatingly tense for anybody watching as the Flyers battered the Stingrays goal - outshooting the visitors 28 to 16. A Bobby Caunce powerplay goal after 43 minutes levelled the score and helped settle the nerves and then another Andy Clark goal - his third of the game - edged the home side back in front to the relief / joy of the home crowd some 10 minutes later and it was a matter of hanging on to that slender lead for the last 5 minutes.
On a slight negative note: I don't like to criticise any individual but, as a serious ice hockey writer and watcher of many years standing, I have to say that I was rather disappointed that a supposedly experienced and influential player like the Latvian Grinbergs should spend more time in the penalty box than in the game. He seems to have a bit of a history of picking up needless misconduct penalties and it is hard to understand how this early season tilt for the "Penalty King" title is helping his team mates while they battle it out on the ice trying to win matches.
Anyway, moan over with: In all this was a great game to watch and good advert for the game of ice hockey. A couple of friends who we have recently introduced to the game thought it was "absolutely brilliant" and are now both keen ice hockey and Fylde Flyers fans.
The Flyers are away to Hull next Sunday - 5pm face off - and a supporters coach is being run to the game.
The next Flyers home match: Saturday 20th October v Sheffield Senators - 5pm face off
More information: www.fyldeflyers.co.uk http://www.eiha.co.uk/Leagues/NationalNorth2.aspx
Photo by Lisa Jones
