OF COURSE, it was disappointing last week to lose to Peterborough in the semi-final of the cup, but our performances that evening and again at the weekend away to Milton Keynes were impressive.
I thought we played the best 40 minutes of hockey of the season as we tried to recover from a three-goal deficit in the first leg.
But even when you are playing well, your opponents can capitalise on an unlucky bounce. Peterborough stretched their three-goal advantage in the first period, but the team showed real grit and determination as they fought back.
That’s why they were applauded off the ice at the end of the game by a large, excited crowd. We know that next season we must not concede so many goals in the first leg.
We travelled up to Milton Keynes on Sunday with a very short bench. We were missing four players through suspension, Josh Martin was injured and I was happy for young Zack Milton to ice for his Under Eighteen team in an important game in their season.
This meant that we played with a three-man defence and ran three forward lines. The guys knew that they would all have to step up to come away with a win.
It was all the more impressive that they won after going in at the end of the first period losing by three goals.
We’ll be missing players again this weekend against Streatham. We also wish Vanya Antonov every success as he represents the British Universities in an international competition.
All the top teams meet each other again in March. When the season started, we hoped that our fans would enjoy watching a team that was competing hard for success.
We look forward to seeing you all at the Hive to continue your support for the Bracknell Bees.
- Meanwhile, Sheppard will once again watch on from a distance for Saturday’s clash with Streatham.
Following the cup semi-final defeat to Peterborough Phantoms, chaos ensued at The Hive which has landed a host of Bees in trouble.
After the final buzzer a total of 198 penalty minutes were handed out in ugly scenes with Ryan Watt taking the brunt of the punishment for fighting with Peterborough players.
The forward has subsequently been banned for 21 matches, which sees him out for the remainder of the season having also “physically engaged with a spectator” and totted up penalty points over the season.
Meanwhile Baird brothers Brendan and Joe are also ruled out for fighting until mid-March while Ben Paynter is banned for two games under the totting up process.
On top of that, head coach Sheppard was handed a suspension from bench duties for the following two games, which started on Sunday at Milton Keynes Thunder, due to Bees’ overall season penalty trouble passing 50 points.
Scott Spearing and Adrian Worship will share bench-running duties until Sheppard returns next week.
The only Peterborough penalty came in the form of a one-game ban for their equipment manager.
“We have a lot of depth this season,” said Sheppard ahead of the Streatham clash.
“Even with six players missing, we still have a chance of beating anyone.
“We will have to play a smart game and make sure we do a good job managing the puck.”
