Romford Raiders Vs Milton Keynes Lightning 29th November 2009

Romford Raiders 2 Milton Keynes Lightning 5 (0-0 : 1-1 : 1-4)

A depleted Romford side saw their 3 game home winning streak come to an end, as they ran out of steam in the final period, against Milton Keynes on Sunday night. Frankie Harvey joined Joe Allen and Darren Cotton on the injury list, and Michael Timms was also missing.

The first period saw no scoring, but there was no shortage of action. Both teams had plenty of powerplay chances, as referee Nigel Boniface shared 5 minor penalties between the teams. Dallas Costanzo saw a shot come back from the pipework, whilst Mikko Silvennoinen and Jon Sitko were both denied by Alex Mettam in the Lightning goal. At the other end Euan King was equally as busy, twice denying Andre Smulter.

The first goal of the game came in the second period, and it went to the visiting side. Romford were unable to clear the puck from the zone, and eventually it fell to Michael Wales, who centered for the unmarked Adam Carr to fire home, at 24.22. Romford then found themselves on the penalty kill as Costanzo was called for holding, but the Lightning were unable to make any further impression on the scoreboard. With Romford back at full strength they tied the game just after the games halfway point. The growing understanding between Silvennoinen and Danny Marshall was evident again, as the skipper picked out the Finn on the right, and he slammed the puck past Mettam, at 30.45. Both teams then had periods on 5-on-3 powerplay, but King and Mettam held firm to keep the game tied going into the last 20 minutes.

The final period looked like on step too far for a tired Romford defence, as the visiting side dominated. The go-ahead goal came at 44.08, as Leigh Jamieson picked up the puck just in front of his own goal, and, as the Romford defence continued to back off him, he skated into the zone, before sending a wrist shot across King, and into the far corner of the net. Immediately Romford had a chance to tie the game again, when Monir Kalgoum was called for interference, but despite keeping the pressure on the Lightning goal for the whole 2 minutes, they were unable to force the puck into the net. And the failure to score was punished when the teams returned to even strength. The goal was almost a carbon copy of the Lightning's 2nd, as Andre Smulter skated into the zone, again the Romford defence backed off, and the forward fired home, at 49.23. Just 25 seconds later it was game over, as the visitors made it 4-1. Adam Brittle picked out the unmarked Smulter on the right of the crease, and the Finnish forward lifted the puck into the roof of the net. Another 2 minutes later and the score became 5-1, as Danny Cox failed to look up before making a pass, and sent the puck straight to Ross Bowers in front of the net, who made no mistake. Romford kept pushing forward looking for a way back into the game, and they were rewarded with a consolation goal, at 58.11. Again it was a defensive giveaway that caused the goal, as Jamieson passed the puck straight to Jason Buckman in front of the net, and he also made no mistake, to make the final score 5-2.

Man of the match for Romford was King, with fellow netminder Mettam the Lightning choice.