Four point weekend for the Raiders!

 

1-February-2010

 

Two big wins for the Wightlink Raiders over the weekend ensured they bagged the maximum four points from their back-to-back games with old EPL rivals the Chelmsford Chieftains.

 

Chelmsford arrived on the island on Saturday with high hopes of adding to their own impressive point tally after securing a convincing win over the Raiders in the teams first meeting of the season back in November. However it was the Raiders that opened the scoring as Captain Danny Hughes led by example and hit the back of the net at 10.34 with assists from Alex Murray and Stewart Tait, in what was to be the only goal of the first period.

 

Alex Murray made it 2-0 to the home side mid way through the second period, before Chelmsford got themselves on the board five minutes later beating Matt Colclough in the Raiders net. Head coach Jeremy Cornish continued his points run with a goal at 37.33 to give the Island side a two goal lead heading into the second interval, with assists from Alex Murray and Niall Bound picking up his first point as a Raider.

 

The third period opened with more hard hitting hockey from the Raiders, allowing Chelmsford little room to get back in to the game. It didn't take long for Alex Murray to find his second goal of the night, with a high-speed wrist shot after picking up a well-placed rebound from Danny Hughes previous effort. The Raiders would secure their 5-1 win with the last goal of the game through solid defenceman Luke Reynolds, assisted by the Island trained Steve Gossett and a second point of the night for Jeremy Cornish.

 

The Raiders made the long return journey to Essex on Sunday, with fans still celebrating the previous nights victory few thought the team would be able to repeat the feat against the Chieftains on home ice. It was not looking good news for the Raiders without a single goal in the first half of the game and having conceded three from Chelmsford it was beginning to look like a mountain too big to climb. Minutes later at 32.46 coach Jeremy Cornish decided to make a start with a well taken shot assisted by Steve Gossett, finally getting the team on the board.

 

The third period well and truly belonged to the Raiders with Dan Scott bagging his fourth goal of the season early in the period with the single assist going to Steve Slater. In the final minutes of the game Danny Hughes would pull the score even at three goals a piece with a feed from the determined Dan Scott. Much to the delight of Raiders fans and horror of the home crowd, impressive playmaker Stewart Tait slotted home the game-winning goal with less than four minutes on the clock with an assist from his captain Danny Hughes. The goal was to be the last of the game, securing the 4-3 win for the Raiders a result that made the long journey home all the more enjoyable.

 

The Raiders have no home game this coming weekend, however they take on the Bracknell Hornets at the Hive in Bracknell on Saturday, and the team are urging as many fans as possible to travel to the game and help the team continue their run of good form. Spaces are available to travel on the team coach to the game, with a cost of only £10 it's a great value day out, please contact Steve Price to book your seat today, steve_mgt@iwrsc.com

 

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