Isle Of Wight Ice Hockey - Fan's Forum

[Geoffdo]

This was the last league game of the season for the Thunder team. The game was due to be played in May but was postponed due to Peterborough having other commitments. Peterborough did offer a 5-0 win to the thunder but after asking all the players it was decided to play the game anyway. After all the juniors only have between 12 and 18 games a year and if we want to develop the players then the best way to do this is to play games. A game should only be cancelled or awarded as a 5-0 as a very last resort.

The day was eventful to say the least!!!

We arrived at the Fishbourne terminal for the 11a.m. ferry with a coach loaded with over 30 players and parents, and were then told by the terminal staff that we were not booked on the ferry ,and as they were fully booked would not be able to get on for at least several hours. With a 5.45 face off we had to get on this boat. After several phone calls and a slight panic, Kerry Jackson from Wightlink pulled out all the stops and got us on the ferry at the very last minute.

We were on our way and heading off to Peterborough on a scorching day. All was going well and to plan until we were 40 miles from the rink when the gear box on the coach suddenly decided to call it a day. The coach limped into the nearest service station at Baldock and after a few minutes of assessing the situation the drivers realised the coach was not going to get us any further. We were now stranded 40 miles from Peterborough with only 2 hours until face off. Our only chance of progressing was to ask another coach driver who was at the services on his break if he could take us. After 20 mins of discussions and phone calls he duly obliged and we were once again on our way.
After getting slightly lost on the outskirts of Peterborough we did eventually arrive with 45 minutes to go before face off time. A huge thankyou must go to the driver who ensured that our day was not a total disaster.

Having beaten the hosts earlier in the season the boys were confident of a similar outcome. However, the Peterborough team was vastly different to the one that played against us on the Island earlier in the season. This time they used several of their A league U14 players who got to the national finals and also boasted two England players. We also had a vastly different team with just 8 U16 players and the rest also made up from our U14s.
The early exchanges were all in Peterboroughs favour and after just 3 minutes the Thunder were behind and looking very tired from the long trip. However, an instant reply was called for and came just thirty seconds after the hosts goal. However, once again Peterborough doubled their score and added another to go into the period break with a three goals to one lead.

The second period was far better for the Thunder and they scored immediately to cut the deficit down to one. Half way through the period they pulled the game level only for Peterborough to once again take the lead. Both teams did score before the end of the period once more each, to go into the final period with a slender five goals to four to the hosts.

The final period was end to end stuff with both teams going for the win. The Thunder pulled the game level but then Peterborough scored two quick fire goals to all but end the fight of the Thunder team. The boys did pull a late goal back which was unfortunately not enough. A draw would of been a fair result to this game but unfortunately the Thunder lost out by just the one goal with a final score of seven goals to six.

Special mention must go to the whole team for their never say die attitude in the game. The team had many U14s and U16 rookie players but they certainly all came away from the game with more experience under their belts. As I said earlier it is only through playing games against good quality opposition that both our individuals and teams can improve.

Just so you all know, we did get home safely on another coach that had to come up from Portsmouth. We all got on the last catamaran as foot passengers after once again, Kerry Jackson pulling out all the stops to get us on the boat.

Overall, a long day and not the desired result. But after a long hard season every player should be proud of how they have performed for their team. They finished third in the league and will take many positives and good experiences from the season. I wish all the luck in the world to the players who are moving to the U18s next season and remind them all to keep the good habbits and gamesmanship they have had over the last few seasons, and I would like to welcome all the new players to the U16s for next season. Both the coaches and management of the U16s are hoping to challenge for the league title next year so watch this space!!!



Points: Aidan Doughty 5+1, Luke Bontoft 1+0, Andrew McCloskey 0+1, Aaron Craft 0+1, Liam Denness 0+1

Team: Hannah Bowkis (NM), Dylan Ronald U14, Sean Skinner U14, Andrew McCloskey U14, Ollie Bennett U14, Ben Thomas-Hart, Aaron Craft U14, Jordan Jacobs U14, Liam Denness, Daniel Bennett, Luke Bontoft, Archie Bicknell, Connor Price, Aidan Doughty