Ice-hockey: Streatham back in pole position to retain NIHL 1 South crown

BY CHRIS BEAL

Streatham put themselves back in the driving seat in their quest for a fifth NIHL 1 South title in a row over the weekend, triumphing in their crucial encounter with Slough Jets 4-2 on Saturday before making it a full six-point weekend with a 5-3 win at Swindon Wildcats.

The South Londoners went into the Jets fixture with one point separating the clubs. Streatham looked to their experienced players to deliver in this game and captain Ryan Watt as he opened the scoring at 4:05.

Streatham netminder Danny Milton stopped a series of chances before Danny Ingoldsby extended the RedHawks lead after 10 minutes.

Slough clawed one back before the end of the period as Lewis English poked home a rebound with 16 minutes on the clock.

Danny Ingoldsby attempted to skate the puck up the centre lane and was slashed by Christian Mohr. Streatham needed just seven seconds on the resulting power play for Luke Brittle to convert to make it 3-1.

The Jets pulled one back after 27 minutes, as a blown edge for a Streatham defender left Connor Redmond in alone on net and he fired past Milton.

Former Streatham player Brandon Miles was ejected from the game on a five-minute and game misconduct for a fighting penalty after jumping JJ Pitchley, who had poked at a loose puck by goalie Matt Smital. Streatham converted the resulting powerplay at 36 minutes. Aidan Doughty stuffed the puck between the post and Smital’s pad.

Despite a lot of pressure by the Jets in the third period, a solid rearguard effort saw RedHawks successfully park the bus.

The result moved Streatham top before the Swindon match nearly proved a banana skin for coach Ben Paynter’s team the next night.

They went 2-0 up in the second period through Beesley before a Wildcats fightback with goals from Jay Warren, Ben Nethersell and Tom Ashmore.

Streatham fought back in the third as Pitchley bagged the equaliser. Ingoldsby scored the fourth before sealing things with an empty-netter to make it 5-3.

Paynter said: “We knew it was a must-win game on Saturday, to keep our foot on the gas for the league title, and we managed the game perfectly.

“Everyone bought in to how we wanted to play and it took everyone to do their bit, a complete team performance. Moving on to Sunday, we were maybe a bit tired from the night before. It wasn’t our best performance of the year, but we got it done with a strong third period.”

Every game remaining for Streatham is crucial, as the new format handing three points for a win makes any potential loss a chance for Jets to regain top spot.