Thanks to Bobblehat for this report. Read more of his opinions in Bobblehat's Bit.
Yes that is the scoreline - Bees 6 Cobras 2. and a thoroughly deserved win for the Bees that performed to the best standard that I have ever seen from a Bees side. Our problem may now be to stop ourselves (the fans) from being overconfident for it may be that the Cobras had a truly off night - equally though it may be that the Bees prevented the Cobras from performing.
No changes to the Bees side from the team that beat the Bison last week, and the Cobras were without La Scala and Trumbley. Bernard in goal for the Bees and Cowley in for the Cobras. Reggie Crawford back in defence for the Bees now that Tom Gomes has arrived to bolster the forwards after my erroneous description of him last week calling him a defenceman!!!
A fairly even first few minutes with both sides attacking fast on the break but equally both defences breaking up the attacks with some ease. Then at 2mins 39 secs Rob Stewart was penalised for slashing at when the Cobras were almost through, but the Bees killed the powerplay with some good defensive work. The Bees launched another attack and at 5mins 18secs the first goal with new man Tom Gomes firing the puck home after good work from Pellerin and Matt Cote - the final drop back to Gomes fooling the Cobras defence, and Tom made no mistake with his first goal for the Bees. The Bees were looking very impressive going forward with a lot of off puck movement and a fast and accurate interchange of passes - something that we have not really witnessed from a Bees team for some time. The Cobras were still in the game however and Bernie made several important saves and had an eyeball confrontation with the Cobras captain Vani who had had the temerity to encroach into the crease!! At 8mins 40 secs the Bees were gifted a 5 on 3 when Cobra's Brett Stewart received a misconduct call after Randy Smith was called for holding the stick. Cobras defence held sound however and the Bees powerplay looked a bit suspect with no-one apparently willing to take on the Cobras defence. The 5 on 3 was neutralised somewhat when Shayne McCosh was penalised for interference at 10mins 20 secs when the Cobras looked likely to get a breakaway shorthanded goal. The Bees appeared to be doing most of the attacking and their persistence was rewarded at 14mins 29 secs when our "stay at home" defender Todd Kelman neatly tucked the puck passed Cowley's stick side with assists going to Reggie Crawford and Dale Junkin. 15mins 17 secs Greg Burke was called for interference after the ref Kirkham had blown for offside. Greg had been going for a check and could not stop in time - a very strange call. However the Cobra's powerplay was short-lived as at 15mins 53secs Roy Mitchell received an interference penalty as the Bees made a breakaway attempt. There then followed a rather quiet period in the game as both sides regrouped, but the Cobras were beginning to look a little ragged and the Bees eased up as the end of the period approached. They learned that this was not the best policy as, after some good approach work the Cobras fired in a shot on Bernie who could only parry the puck out, and there was Justin Duberman waiting to pounce at 19mins 14 secs. First period score 2-1.
The second period opened with the Bees very much on the attack, and there followed a period of sustained pressure on the Cobras defence. At 23mins Jeff Johnstone got the puck on the Bees left and with excellent stick handling got past two Cobras only to see his final shot just go past Cowley's left hand post. At 25 mins. some good interchanging between the Bees forwards was met with some resolute Cobras defence and another chance went. At 27 mins Chris Brant was clear on the Bees left and we expected the Chief to fire in one of his slapshots, but he passed across goal and the Cobras cleared. At 28 mins Cowley made a superb save from Dave Whistle. 30 mins and Dale Junkin and the Chief have broken out and are 2 on 1. "Oh dear, what a shame, if only you had passed to me instead of trying to score" (that's an edited version of what the Chief said to Dale!!!) At this stage Cobras attacks were few and far between and the Bees defence more than adequate to hold them, with Bernie sound at the back. More pressure on the Cobras goal and at 34mins 5 secs it finally paid off as Wayde Bucsis passed to Tom Gomes out in front and he needed no prompting as he shot the puck high over Cowley's left shoulder. From the face off the Bees resumed their pressure on the Cobra's net and at 36mins 22 secs. Wayde Bucsis looked up to see an empty net as Cowley had been drawn to his left post by Chris Brant - a pass from the Chief to Wayde and it was 4-1. 2 minutes later and the best move of the evening resulted in the Bees fifth goal. Jeff Johnstone, after some good stick work passed to Dale Junkin on the Bees left. Dale beat a Cobra's defenceman and passed across the goal to where Dennis Burke was steaming in from the right wing, and his first timer found the bottom right-hand corner of the net. 5-1 and the Bees fans can hardly believe what is happening. The Bees eased up again but this time the rest of the period saw no real Cobra's threat and the period ended with the score 5-1 and Joe Ferraccioli in the bin for tripping. That second period was in my opinion the best period of sustained pressure I have seen from ANY side at the hive, and the Cobras did well to only let in 3 goals (but then as I've said before I'm a biased Bees supporter!!)
The third period was a bit of an anticlimax, although an early breakthrough for the Bees saw Tom Gomes notch up his hat trick at 42mins 11 secs as Dave Whistle fed him in front of the Cobra's net, and again he made no mistake. Brian Pellerin recorded the other assist. The Bees were still buzzing and showing good passing and movement, whilst the Cobras were pulling themselves together a bit and were beginning to play hockey. At 43 mins Bernie was out of his net to try to get the puck behind the goal - he missed and the puck was fed back in front. No one in the net and 2 Cobras advancing, but somehow heroics in the Bees defence saw the puck out of the Blue line. At 45 Mins the Cobras thought they had scored, but Kirkham had seen the illegal hand putting the puck in the net. In the resulting Cobra's protest Ross Lambert found himself on his back side on the ice - did he fall or was he pushed??? The Cobras did not give up entirely and at 50mins 45 secs they were rewarded with their second goal when Brett Stewart forced the puck past Bernie after some very good work from Vani who was credited with the assist. The Cobra's fans broke into a rousing chorus of Hallelujah!!!!!!! Vani was in the bin at 57mins 38 secs for holding but again the Bees could not capitalise on the powerplay and the game finished with the scoreline: Bees 6 Cobras 2.
Tom Gomes MOM for the Bees with his hat trick and all round performance, Brett Stewart a well deserved MOM for the Cobras for he seemed to be the only Cobra who brought any real threat to the Bees defence. SOG - 41 on the Bees: 48 on the Cobras. (What constitutes a SOG? I find these statistics very hard to believe as although Bernie did make some excellent saves, the Cobras did not seem to have had half that number of shots)
Much to be pleased about in the Bees camp. Tom Gomes looks the find of the season with his tireless tackling, harrying, persistence and scoring ability - Dennis Burke is fast, positionally very astute and put in at least one forecheck that the Cobra who received it will remember - Jeff Johnstone has improved in leaps and bounds and showed some excellent stick handling and pace, and with his extra size is very difficult to shift off the puck - Todd Kelman another excellent game and continues to impress with his defensive work and quick breakouts. Overall the team showed good movement off the puck, excellent passing and an awareness of where team-mates are. However our powerplays are not clicking and as I think this will be where matches are won and lost in the Superleague and we must take our chances. Neither Rob Stewart or Matt Cote our two stalwarts in defence had good games, so it says much for the remaining defenders that despite this the Cobra's offence was well and truly nullified. This Bees performance gives us - the supporters - a bit of hope that this year we will be competing more competitively. For the Cobras, maybe they really did have an off night, maybe they have yet to get their act together, but even Randy Smith was a spectator for much of the game even when he was on the ice.
Let's hope we can keep up the standard throughout the season, and all credit to Jim for once again putting together a competitive side on a shoestring budget!!!!