DOUG SHEPPARD says his side “got away with it” as they came from behind to defeat Streatham at The Hive.
Bracknell trailed 1-0 heading into the third period, but late goals from Josh Smith, Shaun Thompson and Harvey Stead turned the clash on its head to earn a 3-2 win in the final seconds and preserve the winning start to the season.
“We have got to come out and play for a full 60 minutes,” said frustrated head coach Sheppard.
“We don’t have the kind of team that can wait around.
“We got away with it (against Streatham) but we have to put in three good periods every night.”
With no game on Saturday, Bees were fresh to face a Streatham side with one win and one defeat so far this campaign.
And the hosts carved out some early openings with James Galazzi’s wrist shot denied before Smith’s effort was deflected off target.
The first period turned into an end-to-end contest with Ryan Sutton calling Streatham netminder Damien King into two saves.
The visitors were also threatening and went closest to breaking the deadlock when Alex Roberts burst clear and fired a shot against the post.
Early pressure in the second from Bees looked to have given them the lead as Josh Martin and Joe Baird skated in, but King somehow smothered the puck.
Vanya Antonov then twice tried his luck before the first goal did arrive in the 28th minute. Streatham won the draw from a face off with Michael Farn shooting and while Skinns made the save, Adam Carr followed in to net on the rebound.
A stick save from King preserved the clean sheet and despite Bracknell pressure with Galazzi also going close, the visiting side led heading into the final stanza.
A vital save from Skinns early in the third kept the deficit at 1-0, which set the platform for a storming comeback.
The game was levelled with 15 minutes to play as Stead turned past King after collecting a Ben Paynter pass.
And within minutes, it was 2-1 to the Bees after a period of pressure eventually told with Smith finding Thompson to fire into the net.
But back came Streatham, equalising in the 54th minute with Rupert Quiney netting on a rebound.
The scoring was not done there in a frantic third period, netting with just 48 seconds to play as Sutton carried the puck behind the net before teeing up Smith to spark the goal light.
“It was another test of character for us but once again we came away with the important two points against a team that proves there’ll be no easy games this season,” said Sheppard.
“What’s important is we proved we will battle until the final buzzer and make sure teams know we’re up for the challenge every weekend.”
Bees remain top of the table with three wins from three ahead of two games this weekend. Bracknell host Invicta Dynamos on Saturday (6pm) before going to Streatham on Sunday evening (6.45pm).
