Streatham made it two wins in a row as they beat Bracknell Hornets 5-2 in a convincing display in Brixton.
Handing a debut to returning forward Gennadi Yufit the Redskins were once again without Joe Allen and Tyrone Miller through injury.
Bracknell had beaten Streatham in the last game between the pair back in October however the Londoners came into the game full of confidence after a morale boosting victory over Milton Keynes the previous weekend.
This confidence was well founded as Streatham took the lead with under a minute played. Jakub Klima slid the puck across to Joe Johnston stood slightly to the left of the slot and the local boy fired high into the far top corner of the net past a stranded George Stafford-Webb.
Despite this good start and some real pressure by the Redskins it was Bracknell who got the equaliser with ten minutes played as Peter Jasik latched onto a mistake on the blue line by Streatham and skated down one on one with Redskins goalie Stefan Nubert.
Nubert made the first save but Jasik finished his own rebound to make it 1-1 at the end of the first period.
The second period saw Bracknell start the stronger as they exerted pressure on the Redskins defence. They got their reward with three minutes gone as Ryan Webb passed the puck to Danny Hughes on the left wing and his slapshot zipped past Nubert and into the top corner of the net.
It was harsh on Streatham but the home side didn’t crumble. Dom Hopkins and Adam Mahoney both went close to getting a goal back straight away but both were denied by some last ditch defending by the Hornets rearguard.
The breakthrough came shortly afterwards as a pass from Dave Carr was tipped on by Stevie Balmer to the speedy Liam Rasmussen, and he skated hard down the right wing and behind the Hornets defence before calmly slotting home.
Eight minutes later Streatham took the lead as Johnston got his second of the night poking home a loose puck on the powerplay to send the home fans into raptures.
The game began to get a bit feisty with Bracknell’s Richard Wojciack and Streatham’s Jamie McIlroy both given ten minute misconduct calls by referee Blaine Evans.
The third period was finely balanced with Streatham holding a 3-2 lead but thankfully for the nerves of the home support, the Redskins got some breathing space as Klima and Johnston linked up beautifully before the latter skated through and fired past Stafford-Webb.
This early goal sucked the wind out of the Hornets and seven minutes later Johnston turned provider to Klima and the Czech made sure of the points as he rounded the Hornets goalie and finished into the empty net.
The 5-2 scoreline gave Streatham a much needed two points in the league and man of the match was awarded to Streatham’s Johnston for an excellent hat trick.
Photos by Rick Webb
