Streatham beat Solent & Gosport Devils 10-5 on the South Coast as they avenged the defeat they suffered there earlier in the season.
In what was one of the Devils last chances to pull nearer to Milton Keynes Thunder and avoid relegation, the home side were clearly confident of turning over the Redskins with a big crowd in attendance.
The game could not have started better for Streatham as Joe Allen’s long shot after only thirty seconds was spilled by Devils goalie Christian Cole and Jakub Klima showed composure to round him and fire the puck into the net.
Streatham eased into a 2-0 lead seven minutes later as Klima found Dom Hopkins on the point and the defenseman’s slap shot flew into the top corner of the net.
The noisy band of travelling Streatham fans upped their drumming but the Devils composed themselves and began to test Will Sanderson in the Streatham goal.
With ten minutes on the clock the home fans got something to cheer about as Greg Wyatt was left all alone in front of goal and made no mistake from a Kris Abbott pass on the powerplay.
A minute later, the impressive Abbott set up Wyatt again and the Devils number six fired home from close range.
The scene was set for the Devils to push on and get more goals but they were hit by a sucker punch just twenty seconds from the restart. The lively Joe Allen pea rolling the puck over the line after Joe Johnston’s shot wasn’t gathered by Cole.
The Devils began to look shaky at the back and then Klima latched onto a Hopkins pass and finished calmly to make it 4-2 and assert the Redskins authority.
Tempers flared towards the buzzer as Streatham’s Jamie McIlroy gave Mitchell Murray a big slash by the barrier, but then was taken out from behind by Gyorgy Kovacs with both players given penalties by referee Matthews.
The second period started strongly for Streatham as Klima broke free on the left wing and then unselfishly switched the puck to the wide open Hopkins on the far post who shot the puck into the net.
Hard hitting Devils forward Kev Tanner then courted controversy with five minutes gone as he sat in the penalty box to serve a 2+2 penalty for boarding and charging. Whilst referee Matthews was informing the DJ of the penalties he had assessed McIlroy went to have words with the helmetless Devils player through the protective netting and was head butted by Tanner (wearing no protection).
Thankfully for the helmeted Scot, there was no impact however this incident would set the scene for later in the game.
Joe Johnston got on the score sheet with a neatly taken goal with five minutes remaining and then Michal Oravec made it 7-2 as he scrambled the puck over the line as the Devils defence disappeared.
There was time for the Devils to pull another goal back before the end of the second as Kovacs rounded Sanderson to make it 7-3
The third period saw the visitors come out of the blocks hard with Sanderson having to be on fine form to stop Kent Johnson and then Richard Nembhard in quick succession. The Redskins goalie could do nothing about the Devils fourth goal though as Murray pounced on a defensive error to give the Streatham powerplay unit red faces.
With ten minutes left there was another flurry of goals. Streatham scored two quick goals as Klima finished his hat trick and then Stewart Tait rolled back the years to score a fine solo effort on the powerplay.
A lapse in concentration allowed the Devils to get their fifth as George Norcliffe finished smartly from a Kovacs pass but then tempers boiled over from the restart.
McIlroy and Tanner tangled in the corner and then went toe to toe behind the net, and then shortly afterwards Manny took exception to Abbott and hauled the Devils skipper to the floor before pushing him down into the ice for added effect.
Devils Andrew Goddard came to the aid of his captain but appeared to trip on his approach to the awaiting Manny and was unable to exact revenge on the Welshman, who ended up taking an early shower for his actions.
The six minutes of minors added to Manny’s penalty meant Streatham saw out the rest of the game shorthanded but Liam Rasmussen was able to get the tenth as he screeched clear before roofing the puck past Cole.
Devils Player Coach Will Francis and Stewart Tait both jostled in the final minutes however it was Streatham that skated off with the 10-5 win.
