Haringey Greyhounds match review
With the league positions and scoring differentials being accurate (38-2 to the Chieftains in their 3 previous meetings this season) and the fact the Greyhounds turned up with just 9 skaters and a makeshift goalie in regular defenseman Sam Partington, this game was over as a contest before the first puck was dropped. The game was barely 2 minutes old when Blaho Novak slotted past Partington to start the procession of goals. 2 mins 20 later and it was 2-0 as Darren Brown slotted home thanks to a nice pass from Danny Hammond. Just under 10mins had gone when it was 3-0 when Novak got his second of the night. Less than a minute later and it was 4-0 when James Ayling set up Hammond to finish with ease. Sean Easton was the provider for Hammond on 14:04 who skated in from the wing and fired the puck into the top corner. Just before the end of the period and defenseman Reece Covington got his first goal of the season with a rifle of a shot into the top corner.

77 seconds into the second and it was 7-0 with Novak getting his hattrick goal. 23:04 saw the scorers troubled again when Ayling was able to score to make it 8. Aaron Connolly was a real livewire and his hard work was rewarded on 24:39 when his shot trickled in. 7 (yes seven!) seconds after the re-start and it was 10-0 when Jerry Pavlus skated in with the puck and waited for the gap between the defenseman's legs to open and he put the puck into the top corner of the net past the unsighted Partington. BT Williams was also having a solid game and he got himself a goal at 26:25 quickly followed up by the 50th goal of the season past the Greyhounds when Easton made a lovely pass out of defence to Novak who played in Pavlus to fire in with ease. 25 seconds later and it was 13-0 when Hammond completed his hat-trick of goals. 4 mins went by and a shot from Danny Wright was spilled by Partington and Novak was on hand to to play the puck into the almost empty net and in doing so scored his 4th goal. Enough was enough for Michael Ranby at 34:18 and the gloves came off and his 'dancing partner' was BT Williams and the two exchanged some big shots in a fairly long fight by ice hockey standards which lasted about 80 seconds. Fair to say Williams threw more, but probably connected with as many as Ranby and both would agree it was a draw.

Back to the scoring and Hammond got his 4th on 37:51 and that was quickly followed up by Connolly netting his second of the game.

The third period was very quiet compared to the previous two and the Greyhounds seemed to come at the Chieftains harder and were determined to the keep the scoreline under 20 and they did so, only allowing the Chieftains one goal 57:28 as, yes him again, Hammond got his 5th. The Chieftains will be disappointed they didn't get more as they hit the frame of the goal about 4 times in the final period and about 8 times in all throughout the game, but they can take a lot of confidence and know that some of the players who have struggled to score are back among the goals.

Speaking after the game head coach Dean Birrell had this to say "Débutante Andrew Brummitt was very good in goal tonight. Although he didn't have a lot to do for long periods, he still faced 27 shots and to keep a team out over that many shots is very impressive and he deserved his man of the match accolade. The younger players on the team showed their mettle tonight and gave a good account of themselves. I am upset that I wasn't able to call upon more of the club's youngsters, but as I've told them before 'if you don't attend training, you don't play'. It's frustrating, but the ball is in their court and if they have aspirations to play for the Chieftains then they should be showing that desire to me more. I want them playing for us, but if they won't put the commitment and effort in, then they won't get those chances."

"Looking ahead to next weekend and we have a tough one. Going to the Isle of Wight is never an easy trip and they'll be looking to make it 3 wins on the spin against us. Following on from that the next night we welcome league champions Invicta Dynamos into our rink. That too will be a tough encounter, but we've shown we can compete with both of those teams and if we can get a couple of points out of this weekend then that will be a massive confidence booster going into the playoffs. It's looking increasingly likely we're going to come up against the 2 longest and toughest away trips to make with Cardiff ENL Devils and Wightlink Raiders being in our group. I'd love to have had us in the other group, but as I've said before 'To be the best, you have to beat the best' and we'll be doing our best and we'll see what happens. I can promise the fans one thing though - We'll give the play-offs our best shot and we're going to need the fans behind us every step of the way. I don't see why we can't win the play-offs, but having that little extra with the loud fans cheering us will always help".

Peterborough Islanders V Chelmsford Chieftains review


Match review can now be found under "Team Info" then "Fixtures/Results Chieftains"

Other News The Chelmsford Chieftains and Warriors would like to congratulate the Chelmsford Cobras womens team on their success at becoming the Essex Chronicle Media Group's Team of the Year for 2009. Womens ice hockey in Chelmsford is really taking off and they are always looking to get more females playing ice hockey in the county town.

Both teams would also like to send their congratulations to the Invicta Dynamos who are now the English National League 1 (South) champions for this season. Their 5-2 win on the Isle of Wight means they are in an unassailable position at the top of the table. This result also means Wightlink Raiders are almost certain to finish 6th in the table, meaning a long trip for the Chieftains who are likely to be 4th in table and join the Chieftains in their playoff group along with Cardiff ENL Devils who should finish 2nd.

Cardiff Satans V Warriors Review
In the Welsh capital the Warriors faced a rough and tough encounter and the Warriors netminder Andrew Brummitt pulled off a man of the match performance, despite the scoreline being 5-0 to the home side. The game ended amid ugly scenes with 4 separate fights going on at once with only the goalies and 1 player from each side on the ice not throwing punches. Derek Whitbread and Joe Muskin were the main combatants for the Warriors and at the time of writing Whitbread was in hospital in Cardiff getting patched up and is expected to return to Chelmsford later today.

Update Derek Whitbread is back in Chelmsford now having been patched up thanks to a nasty cut across his eyebrow, gained during the brawl at the end of the game.

The Warriors are looking forward to their penultimate home game this season on Saturday as they take on the Vectis Tigers at the Riverside, facing off at 17:30. The Warriors are playing some good hockey at the moment and with the Chieftains away on the Isle of Wight, this is a great opportunity to see both the Chelmsford and Isle of Wight second teams in action. It's expected to be a tough and rough encounter as both teams won't be wanting to give anything. Tickets are only £5 for adults and £1 for kids, so a perfect chance to take in some ENL2 action on a Saturday night in Chelmsford.

The final Warriors home game of the season is on the 27th of March when they take on title contenders (And possible champions by then!) Bristol Pitbulls. The game in Bristol earlier in the season was a very tough game with lots of fights and scuffles going on throughout the game, so there is no doubt some scores to be settled this time around!