Jason Coles scored Tigers’ first goal. Picture by Jennifer Burton.
PICTURE GALLERY
ICE HOCKEY
Wightlink Tigers 5, Solent & Gosport Devils 10
IN FRONT of a surprisingly low crowd given its local derby billing, Wightlink Tigers were unable to get a grip against the free-flowing Devils.
The mainland side, which featured former Wightlink Raiders Will Francis and Darren Laishley, had their tally boosted by some fortuitous goals along the way, as several stops by Tigers’ netminder Aaron Knight either crept over the line or stopped just short for an easy tap-in.
Tigers actually made the brightest start, bombarding the Devils’ goal with a series of meaningful attacks, so it was against the run of play that Devils took the lead within the opening 90 seconds.
And just over a minute later, Solent had made it 2-0. Tigers were clearly shellshocked, and Devils took full advantage as they made it 3-0 with five minutes gone.
Tigers began to use their physical presence to make their mark on the match and their hard hitting paid off when, with five minutes left on the session they pulled a goal back, Jason Coles scoring from a simple shot while on the powerplay.
With around a minute left on the period, they made it 3-2, Ricky Rutherford tapping in a rebound.
The second period began much like the first, with Solent scoring early on. A shot went through Knight’s legs but stopped around three inches from the line. Before Knight could cover the puck, Greg Wyatt pounced.
Seemingly playing catch up all the time, Tigers responded straight from the restart, making it 4-3 with a great solo effort from Richard Nemb-hard, before Tigers drew level for the first time through Nathan Webb, close range. Solent were not prepared to relinquish their dominance and retook the lead two minutes’ later but again Tigers came back, making it 5-5 with a great goal scored by Mike Palin on the backhand, from Coles’ sublime pass.
However, that was the last celebration for the Tigers. For 40 minutes they kept nipping at the heels of Solent but, in the third, they allowed the Devils to run riot.
Two goals in the first minute of the final session killed off Tigers’ hopes, with two more in the final ten minutes — one with five seconds remaining — earned Devils all the points.
Reporter: sport@iwcpmail.co.uk
• Pictures from our online gallery www.iwcpgallery.co.uk below.
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