Wight Sound Hearing Vectis Warriors roller hockey team saw mixed results during their first games of the season.
The Warriors were only able to return home with half the points available despite 2 good performances at Bordon Roller rink on Sunday 17th September.
The first competitive game for an Island-based inline hockey team in almost 10 years saw 2 teams new to the league facing off. The Warriors came up against Slough-based Windsor Knights and were quick to get out of the blocks putting pressure on the opposition.
The first goal came quick for the Warriors courtesy of Ben Thomas-Hart. The good start continued with the Warriors continuing to put pressure on the Knights defence and were rewarded with a score line of 10-0 by the end of the first half with goals coming from Alan Jones, James Eklund (2), Rowan Salter, Dave Downer, Paul Hart, Ricky Attrill and Damon Larter (2). Michael Treadwell in the Warriors net saw little action in the first only facing 1 shot.
Pressure continued and more goals were the reward. Warriors finished the first game of the day with a commanding result of 26-0. A result that will make other teams in the league stand up and take note of the new boys to town.
The final face off of the weekend featured the Warriors and last year’s league runners up Furndown Falcons, with the Falcons coming from a loss to a strong Kings side and the Warriors hoping to continue their spree of goals – sadly this was not to be the case.
Both teams started strong with an end to end game that the spectators were sure to have enjoyed but only 1 goal was the result of the first periods battles. The Goal came for the Falcons but both teams very much still in the game.
The pressure raised in the second period with the Falcons scoring 2 goals in quick succession taking a 3-0 lead against the Warriors. Not to be deterred, the Warriors hit back with Larter scoring to close the gap. This was soon cancelled out by another from the Falcons ending the second period 4-1.
The first day of games seemed at this point to take its toll on the Warriors as they took 2 penalties that were jumped upon by the Falcons, resulting in the Warriors being on the losing end of a 3-1 period.
The last period started with the Falcons in a commanding position 7-2 in the lead. 4 more goals from the Falcons sealed the result in the final period with the Island side not managing to get themselves on the score sheet again with the game ended 11-2.
Player-Coach James Eklund was pleased with the performance of the team:
“We played well as a team and fitness seemed to be the only thing that let us down, this will only improve over the season. Things are looking very positive for the season and going forward. We have a good range of players in our squad that all contribute in different ways, it’s a really good mix.”
