Tag: East London

Lions Earn First Win in Slough Battle

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Almost 30 years on from the first meeting between the two sides. That game in 1986 resulted in a 10-8 win for the Lions in the old British Division 1, this time Lee Valley were looking to kick-start their season in NIHL 2 South East with a first win. The Lions travelled along the M4 to face the Jets in what would temporarily be the last game at the their Absolutely Ice home.

Making his debut for the Lions was former junior Ronnie O’Connor, with Robin Young returning after missing the last game through illness.
Missing from the line up were Chris Fox, Ben Duffy, Joe Weare & Ben Gillingham.

Since the previous meeting with, the Jets had added former Lion Mark Saunders and Nathan Darmanin to their side.

1st Period: The game got off to a scrappy start, with three penalties called in the first two minutes. Two of them fell to the Lions, but they were able to kill off the 4-on-3, then 5-on-3 advantage. However they struggled to clear the puck from their own zone and this resulted in Slough’s first goal when a scramble in front of net allowed Ashley West (7:11, assist Chandler) to poke the puck past James Andrew. Lee Valley needed to respond quickly and they did when Nick Alley (10:50, unassisted) raced clear on a break-away to tie the game. The pressure on the Jets continued and forty one seconds later, the Lions had the lead through James Hepburn (11:31, assists Young, Matt Hepburn) after good work in the Slough zone. The game continued back and forth but Lee Valley held out until the end of the period.

2nd Period: Lions were out of the blocks quickly this period and piled the pressure on Slough. After a period of possession in the Jets’ zone, in his first shift of the game Simon Geldart (24:31, unassisted) pick-pocketed a Slough defender and found the net, this having only arrived at the rink at the end of the first period. Lions then trebled their lead through Matt Hepburn (25:56, assists Alley, Young) after continued pressure. Slough pulled Robert Warrington and replaced him with Chris Douglas. This spurred the Jets into a strong response, and they scored soon-after through Kirkland Rhys-Evans (28:47, assist Saunders). Lions’ discipline started to fail them as Slough continued to crash the net, a penalty to Robin Young gave the Jets the advantage they needed and Luke Martin-Digby (PPG 31:32, assist Dobbins) reduced the lead to one. George Alley then called a time-out to try and stem the flow of Slough’s attack. The breather seemed to settle the Lions and when Christopher Hocquigny was penalised for slashing, Lee Valley made short use of the power-play and broke up the ice quickly and Ross Sin-Hidge (35:35, assist Aiken) rifled a wrist shot past Douglas for his first Lions’ goal, giving the Lions a two goal cushion going into the third.

3rd Period: Lee Valley needed to hold their nerve and did so in a composed fashion that had been absent in crucial moments in games so far. The Lions reduced Slough to only 7 shots and with the Jets sitting a string of penalties early on in the period, Lee Valley maintained good control and continued to rain shots in on Douglas. A strong penalty kill from the Lions, sent them back on the offensive but they couldn’t find a way past the veteran goalie. A late tripping call on Robin Young saw Slough call a timeout, but they couldn’t convert the resulting power-play and Lee Valley closed out the game for their first win of the season.

GAME STATS – (Please note, our stats differ slightly from the official game sheet)

Final Score: Slough Jets 3-5 Lee Valley Lions
Period Scores: 1-2/2-3/0-0
Shots on Goal: Slough 32-66 Lee Valley (12-12/13-17/7-33)
Penalties: Slough 20-18 Lee Valley
Scorers: Lee Valley – Nick Alley & Matt Hepburn (1+1),Robin Young (0+2), Simon Geldart, James Hepburn & Ross Sin-Hidge) (1+0), Henry Aiken (0+1)
Slough – Luke Martin-Digby, Kirkland Rhys-Evans & Ashley West (1+0), Mark Saunders, Charlie Dobbins & Jamie Chandler)
Goaltending: Lee Valley – James Andrew 32 shots/3 goals, 90.63%
Slough – Robert Warrington 18 shots/4 goals, 77.78%, Chris Douglas 44 shots/1 goal, 97.93%

Man of the match: Simon Jones

The Lions take on Invicta Mustangs today in our second match of the weekend.
Face off against the Mustangs is at 5:30pm.

Ticket and travel information can be found in the ‘Game Day’section of our website.

You can follow the Lions on Facebook & Twitter with #LeeValleyLions for up to date news and live scores.

Pitbulls Take Points in Cup Loss

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Looking to get over the disappointment of the previous week’s derby loss to Haringey. Lee Valley welcomed Bristol Pitbulls to Lea Bridge Road for the first time in two years, in the NIHL 2 Cup.

Lions welcomed back Jordan Turner, who was returning from injury. Absent for the Lions were Robin Young, Ben Duffy & Ben Gillingham.

Bristol arrived with a full squad of 22 players including former London Racer & Swindon Wildcat Richie Hargreaves.

1st Period: Bristol started the stronger of the two sides, punishing loose passes from the home side and keeping them pinned down in their own zone. After a spell of pressure Giovanni Rafaelli (6:01 assist Giacomo Rafaelli), found space in the Lions’ slot to score. Just a couple of minutes later and Christopher Moore (9:20, assist Zach Dolphin) had doubled the Pitbulls’ lead. This spurred the Lions into action, the line of James & Matt Hepburn and Jordan Turner were starting to create chances. In the latter stages of the period, Nick Alley sent a long pass to Ross Sin-Hidge, who drew two defenders and found Matt Hepburn (16:37, assists Sin-Hidge, Alley). A couple of minutes later and the Lions were even, A loose shot from Simon Geldart (18:32, assists Glover, Aiken) trickled through Andy Leckie to close the period 2-2.

2nd Period: Lee Valley begun the period with much more urgency, taking more time to control the puck in Bristol’s zone. After creating a host of rebound opportunities, Chris Fox (27:26, unassisted) pounced on a loose puck to give the Lions the lead. Lee Valley continued with their pressure but when they were penalised for Too Many Men on the Ice, Bristol capitalised with a long shot from Giovanni Rafaelli (PP goal 34:35, assists Mcfarlane, R Hargreaves) beating James Andrew, keeping the score tied going into the third.

3rd Period: This was a much tighter affair, both teams were having spells of dominance but early on, with Matthew Hepburn sitting for High Sticks, Grant Richardson (PP goal 43:47, assists Giocomo Rafaelli, Moore) walked out of the corner and pinged a shot in off of James Andrew’s helmet. Both teams were pressing for a crucial goal but a turnover at the Bristol blue line allowed Ryan Mcfarlane (53:38, assist R Hargreaves) to break free to double the Pitbulls’ lead. Lee Valley came close on several occasions to pulling one back. A powerplay opportunity late in the game gave the Lions a chance, they pulled Andrew in the last 30 seconds but to no avail and Bristol left East London with two points.

Final Score:
Lions 3-5 Bristol.

GAME STATS

Period Scores: 2-2/1-1/0-2
Shots on Goal: Lions 33-46 Bristol (15-20/8-15/10-11)
Penalties in Minutes: Lions 6-6 Bristol
Scorers: Lee Valley – Chris Fox, Matthew Hepburn & Simon Geldart (1+0), Henry Aiken, Oliver Glover, Nick Alley & Ross Sin-Hidge (0+1)
Bristol – Giovanni Rafaelli (2+0), Ryan Mcfarlane & Christopher Moore (1+1), Giacomo Rafaelli & Richard Hargreaves (0+2), Grant Richardson (1+0), Zach Dolphin (0+1)
Goaltending: Lee Valley – James Andrew 46 shots/5 goals 89.13%
Bristol – Andrwe Leckie 33 shots/3 goals 90.91%

Lee Valley now have a week off before a double header with Slough (away Saturday 22/10) and Invicta (home Sunday 23/10).

Face off against Invicta is at 5:30pm.

Ticket and travel information can be found in the ‘Game Day’ section of our website.

You can follow the Lions on Facebook & Twitter with #LeeValleyLions for up to date news and live scores.

Lions Open Weekend with Warriors Loss

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After a week’s break, Lee Valley faced a double header against last season’s double winners Chelmsford Warriors, followed by a trip to Alexandra Palace to play against local rivals Haringey Racers.

Last season’s champions Chelmsford, were yet to win a game after two defeats to Peterborough.

The Lions entered the game with the returning Oskar Horter making his first appearance of the season, along with returns for Ollie Glover, Ben Gillingham & James Gosling. Missing from the Lions squad were Ben Duffy, Joe Weare, Sam Awoyemi & Jordan Turner.

With their parent side the Chieftains not playing, the Warriors arrived on Lea Bridge Road featuring young Chieftains Jake Sylvester, Ollie Baldock, Brandon Ayliffe and goaltender Sonny Phillips. Also playing were former Lions TJ Fillery & Ashlee Cave.

1st Period: Both teams started the game very quickly with the play going back and forth in the early exchanges. Chelmsford’s attempts to stretch the game were being stifled by the Lions’ pressure, and it paid off when a turnover saw Chris Fox (7:28, assists Alley, Sin-Hidge) alone in front of net to give the Lions the lead. The visitors were quick to respond and put a lot more pressure on Lee Valley in the neutral zone and, when the Lions failed to get the puck out of their own zone, the resulting pressure allowed Brandon Ayliffe (10:09, assists Sylvester, Cave) to blast a shot past James Andrew. Chelmsford grew into the game from there and despite Oskar Horter being penalised for intereference, the Lions held out going into the close of the period.

2nd Period: The Lions killed the penalty and gained much more of a foot-hold in the Chelmsford zone, with several near chances on Sonny Phillips’ net. With Lee Valley unable to convert though, a spell of Chelmsford pressure saw a deflected pass clip off of Ashlee Cave (29:57, assists Polston, Brown) and trickle past Andrew to give the Warriors the lead. The game was still end to end and both sides created very good chances, but the Warriors were starting to control the game as the period drew to a close, missing two open nets as the score remained close at 2-1. As the Lions dumped the puck on net, they were caught making a slow line change and the result was another penalty to end the period, this time for too many men.

3rd period: Chelmsford took their opportunity quickly as Ayliffe (PP goal 40:35, assists Baldock, Morgan) converted in the slot to double the Warriors’ lead. The game was still being played at a high tempo, with both goalies being kept busy but it was Chelmsford who were next to score. Jake Sylvester (50:00, assist Morgan) added a fourth, which was proceeded by two more goals in a minute. First Ollie Baldock (52:32, assist Ayliffe) and despite a timeout, Ricky Mills (53:21, assist Fillery) was left alone after a face-off to make it six.
Lions rallied with two goals eleven seconds apart, James Hepburn (PP goal 55:25, assists Glover, Matt Hepburn) and Nick Alley (55:36, unassisted) halving Chelmsford’s lead.
With ten seconds left in the game, and Chris Fox and Will Polston both sat for roughing, the resulting face-off and some lax play from Lee Valley saw Thomas Wilson (59:58, unassisted) break away to bag a seventh for the visitors

GAME STATS

Period Scores: 1-1/0-1/2-5
Shots on Goal: Lions 36-45 Chelmsford (8-13/15-16/13-16)
Penalties in Minutes: Lions 6-6 Chelmsford
Scorers: Lions – Nick Alley (1+1), James Hepburn & Chris Fox (1+0), Ross Sin-Hidge, Matt Hepburn & Ollie Glover (0+1)
Chelmsford – Brandon Ayliffe (2+1), Jake Sylvester, Ashlee Cave & Ollie Baldock (1+1), Ryan Morgan (0+2), Thomas Wilson & Ricky Mills (1+0), TJ Fillery, Will Polston & Gary Brown (0+1)
Goaltending: Lions – James Andrew 45 shots/7 goals 84.44%
Chelmsford – Sonny Phillips 36 shots/3 goals 91.67%

The Lions will look to end their skid with a derby win roday (02/10) at Haringey.

You can follow the Lions on Facebook & Twitter with #LeeValleyLions for up to date news and live scores.

Lions Welcome Back Horter

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The Lee Valley Lions are pleased to welcome back French utility player Oskar Horter, who will make his return to the team in this weekend’s double header with Chelmsford and Haringey.

Oskar first joined the Lions last season from Strasbourg, and as a forward he picked up 5 points in 14 games but coach George Alley has different plans for the young Frenchman.

“We weren’t sure what Oskar’s plans were for the start of the year but we’re glad that he’s back with us this season.

He’s a very smooth skater and puck handler and he sees the game very well, so my plan is to use these abilities from defence where he has played before in France. 

What’s good is that if we do fall short in any position Oskar will be able to pick it up quite easily”

You can view Oskar’s stats in the link below.

Oskar Horter Stats

The Lions take on Chelmsford Warriors on Saturday 01/10/2016 at Lee Valley Ice Centre, before travelling up the road for the second London derby of the season at Haringey on Sunday.

You can find information for all Lions games in the Game Day section of our website.

You can follow the Lions on Facebook & Twitter with #LeeValleyLions for up to date news and live scores.