Thank to Bobblehat for this report....
Bees looked to be icing 17 players and a Panda - hold on a sec... its the Chief sporting the most delightful pair of black eyes courtesy of that naughty Mr Trumbley. He sustained a severely fractured nose and will be icing with a faceguard for several weeks.
New ref Mr Smart, who I believe is over here on secondment from Canada, and sporting a badge that shows, I think, he reffed in the World Championship. Let's hope he keeps the game flowing. (I'm told that Mr Smart is in fact actually working in the UK at the moment and has not been seconded, and the badge on his arm showed he comes from Ontario. My apologies for the duff info. Just goes to show that you should always check out the things you are told before passing them on;-( )
First period - very much toing and froing with neither side gaining the upperhand, although in the early moments the Bees were just about on top. Panthers looked very sluggish up front and it was a long time before they registered a shot on goal with the Bees' defence holding firm. Similarly at the other end the Bees' attack was finding it very hard to penetrate a solid Panthers' defence. At 9mins. Tom Gomes was through on a 1 on 1 with Robins who stood his ground and made an excellent save. It looked like it was going to be a night of low scoring. 2 minutes later and another Bees' attack looked like it had broken down on the Bees' right as the Panthers defence looked to have killed the puck on the boards. However somehow a shot squirted out from the ruck of players and Robins batted it out only to see Jeff Johnstone pick up the rebound and as he skated across the front of the goal we thought he had missed his chance. However Robins had committed himself and a neat back hand flick from Jeff as he skated away to the right of Robins found the back of the net. Excellent stick handling and at 11mins. 16 secs. The Bees were 1 up. Panthers responded with some good attacking play and Bernie had to be sharp smothering on several occasions. At 14 min. 20 secs. a great pass from the right found the chief coming in at high speed from the left, and only a great stop by Robins kept the score down. Robins was having an excellent game and we wondered if he was to be beaten again. The first period ended with no penalties called, although there were several incidents which looked to be deserving of penalties on both sides - particularly a nasty looking slash by a Bees player after he took exception from a Panther holding his stick. However, Mr Smart allowed the game to flow and there was never any danger of the game boiling over as it was being played in a good sportsmanlike manner. At the end of the period Mr Smart had a word with both coaches, and maybe said something like "OK I know I've let things go, but don't let it get worse or I will be calling in the second period." (Or it might have been "That's how Reffing should be!!").
Second period and we were expecting the Panthers to up the pace a bit, and sure enough they came out hungry for the equaliser. At 21min 03secs a particularly fast and furious attack by the Panthers ended up with Bernie deposited in the goal which spun around trapping him inside. A great chorus of Goal! arose from the fans from both sides. At 22min 25 secs. Denis Burke was through on a 1 on 1 with Robins who again kept his feet and made a great save. At 23min 22 secs Wayde Bucsis was alone in front but again Robins did enough to deny a goal. Then, at 25 min 16 secs Mr Smart called his first penalty when Steve Carpenter, who was having a rather quiet game for him, was given 2min for tripping and was lucky not to have got an unsportsmanlike as he argued with the ref all the way to the box. 29 min saw Scott Campbell take a nasty hit on the wrist and left the ice, and I don't remember him returning for the rest of the period. Panthers were also putting together some good looking attacks, but they all seemed to be breaking down around the goal area, and those that got through found Bernie equal to them. At 33min 41secs, Mr Smart evened up the penalties when he called Greg Burke for slashing, but as in the Bees powerplay earlier the Panthers' forwards could find no way through a sound defence. The tempo was gradually increasing from the Panthers until the moment came at 38min 18 secs when during a great goalmouth scramble Blake Knox slid one under an unsighted Bernie for the equaliser. Derek Laxdal and Marty Dallman were credited with assists. Us Block 5ers thought hello this is where the floodgates open and we get overrun. However there was no real further excitement for the rest of the period which ended with the scores1-1.
The third period saw the Bees on the attack, and at 40min 29 secs an interference penalty was given on Derek Laxdal. The Bees' powerplay was looking as ineffective as on the previous powerplay, but with only 27 seconds remaining on the powerplay Wayde Bucsis finished off the best move of the evening as the puck reached him in acres of space in front of goal to give Robins no chance. The puck had been passed out of defence by rob Stewart to Brian Pellerin whose first timer to Wayde had caught the Panthers defence flat footed. The game was now on in earnest and at 44min 32secs following a goal mouth scramble, us Block 5ers thought we had scored again, but it was waved away, and thankyou to the Panthers (?) fan who put up a sign saying "No Goal";-)). Panthers were really putting on the pressure and at 50mins Brent Bobyk flicked the puck back across the Bees' goal mouth and it was only by luck that it did not get deflected into the net via any of the bodies of the 3 or 4 skaters who were around at the time. As the game wore on us Bees' fans were looking at an unexpected victory following the drubbing we had received when we last met the Panthers. Panthers called a time out at 58min 17secs and we knew that at some stage Robins was to be pulled. A face off was called in the Bees Zone with 27 secs to go and sure enough Robins was pulled. At the same time Blazer called for a stick measure on Bernies stick. If this was found to be faulty then it would be 6 on 4. The crowd were very unhappy at this and when the stick was indeed found to be illegal (don't know why, but the measure was used) a great deal of booing broke out. At this point can I apologise to the Panthers for this, Blazer was perfectly within his rights to ask for a stick measure, and as the stick was found to be faulty was justified in his request. 1-2 down with under 30 secs on the clock, your goalie pulled and a chance to reduce the opposition numbers - who wouldn't try the call. If it was wrong then OK you get reduced by one and you've probably lost the game, but if its right and the opposition are down a man 1-2 can easily become 2-2 and that could become 2-3 in overtime and a win rather than a loss. So sorry for the booing Panthers, I'm sure it came due to over excitement and in the heat of the moment, but it wasn't very nice. However the plan sort of back fired as there just seemed to be too many Panthers going for the puck at the same time, and with about 8secs to go the puck somehow found its way out to Reggie Crawford on the Bees' left and from just outside the Bees Blue line he shot for the empty net. As the puck crossed the Panthers Blue line the whole of Block 5 rose and blew the puck over the line. A shorthanded empty net goal and the roof came down. 3-1 to the Bees and 2 precious points.
The Panthers had what was really an off night for them, but all credit to the Bees - perhaps it was their constant harrying and pressure that did not allow the Panthers to play the flowing hockey for which they are known. A great advert for the game, and its a pity that Sky are coming to the hive next week and missed this game. Bees have never won on televised games;-((
Mr Smart had an excellent game, allowing the game to flow, and if all refs were like him players would know exactly what would be allowed and what wouldn't and inconsistency would be a thing of the past.
The Hive has brought a new Zambonie, a new forward flies in on Monday, we've got two more points, UKH is looking up, and alls well with the world (for the moment);-))