Lee Vally Lions 1 Swindon Cougars 6

Sunday 30 October 2011

The first fixture in a very long time (if ever) between these two teams, the home side actually being an amalgam of Lee Valley and Haringey players; Cougars playing their second two-game weekend came into the game missing the unavailable Clinton, Ford, R Young and Abu-Ebid so the team lined up with Pullen & Bonello (NMs); P Young, Kielczewski, Pettitt, Thrower and McGiffin (D) and Thompson, J Dolphin, Z Dolphin, Taylor, Nell, Redmond, Bancroft, Smith and Da Cova (F). Opponents Lions had a bench strength of 17 for this match. Match officials S. Tysoe and M. Middleton.

Period 1

Scoring
Cougars > 0 - 1 > Taylor/Z Dolphin @ 06:54 (EHG)
Cougars > 0 - 2 > J Dolphin/Thrower @ 07:13 (PPG & GWG)
Cougars > 0 - 3 > Z Dolphin/Pettitt @ 17:16 (EHG)
Cougars > 0 - 4 > Taylor/J Dolphin @ 18:25 (EHG)

Penalties
Lions > Walker > 2 min, Cross-checking @ 06:54
Cougars > J Dolphin > 2 min, Face-off violation @ 08:38
Lions > Walker > 2 min, Holding @ 12:56
Cougars > Taylor > 2 min, Holding the Stick @ 12:56
Cougars > Thompson > 2 min, Tripping @ 13:58

Shots on Goal
Cougars > 16 on Prince
Lions > 6 on Pullen

Pullen started this game in net for Cougars, and while it took until almost the seventh minute for them to open the scoring they had laid siege to the Lions goal from the puck drop, a mixture of good netminding, desperate defence and poor finishing being to blame. Not for the first time Cougars seemed to like scoring in two goal bursts as they steadily built the lead. The first Lions penalty was a bit difficult to understand as Walker inexplicably took exception to Cougars celebrating their goal, whilst the first Cougars penalty was the rarely called face-off violation, but it wasn’t easy to see why this was adjudged. As the clock ticked down Cougars were pressing to add to their lead when Prince pulled off an almost unbelievable save to deny Thrower who had pounced on the final rebound from a series of goal-bound attempts. The one down-side to the period was an injury to Smith, which required him to be stretchered off and visit the nearby hospital, although he was later able to make the journey home with the rest of the team.

Period 2

Scoring
Lions > 1 - 4 > Crosse/Manning @ 32:06 (PPG)

Penalties
Cougars > Taylor > 2 min, Elbowing @ 20:13
Lions > Jones > 2 min, Interference @ 20:32
Cougars > Da Cova > 2 min, Interference @ 21:33
Cougars > J Dolphin > 2 min, Holding the Stick @ 24:59
Cougars > Young > 2 min, High-sticking @ 25:32
Lions > Manning > 2 min, Interference @ 31:00
Lions > Bench (served by Onisto) > 2 min, Icing infringement @ 33:24
Cougars > Bench (served by Thompson) > 2 min, Too many players @ 37:00

Shots on Goal
Cougars > 13 on Prince
Lions > 10 on Pullen

The second period was very difficult to fathom out as Cougars continued where they had left off at the end of the first, but just couldn’t find a way past Prince, and also began racking up penalties, as the two-man system began to make some bizarre calls, none of the first three seemed to make any sense. Meantime Lions were also starting to throw themselves into the checks a bit, but without the same penalties being considered against them, although Manning did deserve his, having been warned only a few seconds beforehand to calm down. Lions meanwhile had been plugging away and their confidence seemed to be growing as Cougars failed to extend their lead and the goal that had been looking likely finally arrived around 32 mins; however despite their best efforts they couldn’t find another.

Period 3

Scoring
Cougars > 1 - 5 > Nell/Young + Thompson @ 45:00 (EHG)
Cougars > 1 - 6 > Taylor/J Dolphin @ 48:52 (SHG)

Penalties
Cougars > Thrower > 2 min, Boarding @ 45:34
Cougars > Young > 2 min, Tripping @ 47:09
Cougars > Pettitt > 2 min, Holding @ 54:34
Cougars > Pettitt > 10 min, Personal Misconduct @ 54:34 (start 56:34)
Cougars > Taylor > 2 min, Boarding @ 58:39

Shots on Goal
Cougars > 12 on Prince (personal and team total 41)
Lions > 9 on Pullen (personal and team total 25)

Into the third and more harsh penalties came Cougars way, in fact none of them were really justified, and the frustration with the decisions finally came to a head when Pettitt spoke out of turn after the minor he was assessed. Again Cougars just could not convert their undoubted superiority into goals until the late 40s minutes, ending with Taylor’s hat-trick marker just before 49. Lions it seemed had nothing left in their tanks, as they were unable to build on their solitary middle stanza score, and the game rather petered out over the last few minutes. Player of the match awards were given to Lions’ Manning (hmm!) and Cougars’ Z Dolphin (who having also played for U16 Leopards at lunchtime, had an absolute storming performance).

Notes
EHG = Even-Handed Goal
PPG = PowerPlay Goal
SHG = Short-Handed Goal
DPG = Delayed Penalty Goal
GWG = Game Winning Goal
ENG = Empty Net Goal



Report provided by Swindon Cougars IHC