Invicta Dynamos’ Southern Cup match with Streatham abandoned over “player safety” after first period – teams return to Gillingham on Sunday for NIHL South Division 1 fixture

Invicta Dynamos’ cup match at Streatham was abandoned due to fears over player safety - but faced each other the following day in the league.

Mos’ head coach Karl Lennon admitted his team were unable to return to the ice on Saturday after a fraught first period which ended with ugly scenes as players from both sides scrapped it out.

The Mos were left with three players ejected and several more injured in the fracas. It was the first match of a double header over the weekend. They returned for an NIHL South Division 1 league match in Gillingham on Sunday and managed to complete the game with an 8-3 win for Streatham.

A response to Saturday’s incident after the match from the Gillingham side on social media stated that “player safety is paramount” and that “we will not put our players in dangerous situations.”

Streatham had stated that: “Following (the) conclusion of the first period, and the events after the buzzer, Invicta provided a statement to the referee that they would not be returning for the remainder of the game on safety grounds.”

The Mos are currently working with the English Ice Hockey League and Lennon has accepted the incident wasn’t a good look for either side. Footage has been widely shared on social media.

An official response from the Dynamos is expected to be released this week.

The tone for the weekend’s opening match was set early on when a Streatham player was ejected after just a minute for a check from behind.

The official Streatham X account stated that “there were a series of heavy hits and missed calls both ways near the end of the period.

“Post buzzer as both sides headed off words were exchanged which turned violent, fights broke out with combatants being separated and then others starting.”

Both teams can expect punishment from the league and Mos coach Lennon said: “We found ourselves at the end of that first period without enough players - either through injury or improper equipment with broken helmets or visors - that could fulfil the rest of the game.

“We had three players that left the game injured and three ejected from the game because of the incident, we were already short on bodies for the game.

“Could we satisfactorily finish off the game? No, absolutely not. Were the referees in control of the situation? No. Was it a hostile environment? Absolutely.

“My concern ultimately was the safety of players, not just from Invicta, but from both sides.

“We will own our part of it absolutely, it was a real dampener on our sport if I am honest. I felt it was wholly unprofessional and wholly unacceptable.”

Fights are common place in ice hockey but Saturday’s incident overstepped the line.

Lennon added: “I understand that is part and parcel of our game, that has always been a part of it, but there are incidents and there are excessive incidents, that was absolutely excessive.

“I am not saying we were without blame, we will take that onboard and deal with that internally and work closely with the league to get that done.”

The two teams had to face each other again 24 hours later for a South Division 1 fixture and Streatham - the current champions - claimed a win after dominating the opening two periods.

“It was quite a subdued fixture, a weird one,” said Lennon.

“We had to call in a couple of players that haven’t played for a few of weeks, because of injury or otherwise, and that has obviously meant that it was a challenge for us to get some momentum and rhythm going and there was a hangover from the day before.

“We started okay, we had a lot of chances, we just didn’t take them and very quickly they did and that left us behind and from our part at least, the first and second period, it was a bit of a non-event, we didn’t get going at all.

“The only solace for us was the third period that we won, which was good, to pull the score back a little bit but it was too little too late.

“I know that if both teams had their full complement it would have been much more of a spectacle. In the end it failed at least for our part on the Sunday to be that, because of the situation we found ourselves in.

“It was a disappointing result and one we will have to put behind us quickly and the incident we have to put behind us quickly and get on with it.”