“Gutsy” Tigers win in Romford

Tigers came into the game on the back of their first four point weekend of the season after beating Berkshire Bees twice the previous week.

Tigers were the better side for most of the first period and opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Romford’s defense went missing allowing Eric Henderson a two man break away with David Thomson. Henderson waited out Raiders’ net minder Ethan James and shot low into the net when James was expecting a pass to Thomson.

With both teams taking penalties, the game got a bit disjointed but when the penalties expired and both teams were back to full strength, Telford doubled their lead. Henderson and Thomson were involved again when Henderson sent a terrific pass from the top of the right circle to the unmarked Thomson who sent a first time shot into the open net for Tigers’ second goal.

Late in the period, a penalty was called against Adam Harding for tripping sending the Tigers’ penalty kill unit back out. With Raiders having an extra player, it was a surprise that Telford would score next whilst short handed. Henderson and Thomson led another break away with Thomson sending a pass across goal for Henderson to finish off and score his second of the game putting Tigers ahead by three goals.

Romford hit back midway through the second period when Jake Sylvester scored from close range but almost immediately, Tigers restored their three goal lead with a fourth goal as Henderson completed his hat trick.

As the period entered the final five minutes, Raiders reduced the deficit with a second goal. Zachary Yokoyama scored against his former club again with a shot that squeezed through Brad Day’s legs and trickled into the net.

With a two goal lead at the start of the third period, Telford needed to defend resolutely but conceded a goal within the first two minutes. A turnover in the Raiders’ offensive zone led to Tjay Anderson breaking away unopposed and shooting past Day with ease.

Later in the period, Anderson went from hero to villain as he gave away a needless holding penalty which led to Telford’s fifth goal. Thomson added his second goal of the contest with a fierce wrist shot from the slot which flew over James’ glove before he could react.

Tigers spent much of the rest of the game short handed as a steady procession of players went to the penalty box. Tigers had to kill off a 5-on-3 power play with Jake Price making a terrific block to prevent a certain goal.

With five minutes left of the game, another Tigers penalty led to Raiders pulling James from goal and giving them a two man advantage but an empty net for Telford to aim at.

With much pressure on the Telford goal, Day stood tall and Tigers cleared the puck out of their defensive zone allowing Harry Ferguson to break towards the empty net. As Ferguson was about to shoot he was dragged to the ice by a retreating Raiders’ defender and a penalty goal was awarded for Tigers’ sixth goal, sealing a much deserved and hard fought two points for the Shropshire team.

Final Score: Romford Raiders 3 Autocraft Telford Tigers 6.

Scorers: Eric Henderson (3), David Thomson (2) and Harry Ferguson.

Man of the match: Eric Henderson.

After the game Head Coach Tom Watkins called, “We gave a gutsy and gritty performance and got a terrific result against a team who have had a great start to the season and occupy a top four spot in the league. We had a very challenging last ten / fifteen minutes of the game where we ended short handed, including a lengthy 5 on 3 penalty kill. Brad (Day) was solid all night.

"They say your goalie has to be your best penalty killer which he was but all the players have done such a good job over the last five games, showing a good understanding of what is needed and buying into the structure but also committing to blocking shots and playing hard. Special teams win or lose you games and tonight I certainly feel it was a reason we were successful. A great job by the team to get a well deserved two points."