Success for Juniors at BiSHA Nationals

 Swindon Juniors 2010

Swindon Juniors claimed the runners-up spot at the BiSHA Nationals, securing the right the represent Great Britain at the 2011 IISHF European Cup.

In a great final, the Flames narrowly lost out the becoming Champions to West Coast Wasps, going down 6-3(3-1)(1-2)(2-0)

Swindon flames Junior National Finals write-up

Swindon flames junior team reached the National Cup final on Sunday. They travelled to Lord Roberts Centre, Bisley, to face the top 2 teams from the other BiSHA regions (BiSHA North, SASH, LESHA and SESHA). After finishing second in the SASH  league they were drawn against Norton, Borehamwood and Hustlers for the Nationals. The other group had West Coast Wasps, Oxford, London and Brighton. The team had to face the strong Northern team Norton Cyclones in the group stages in which they came second, and faced Oxford in the semi-final, who they have never beaten. After this excellent win they eventually lost out the top spot to West Coast Wasps in a thrilling final.  

Match reports follow below.

Flames now wait to see if they are selected to go through to the European Championships. 

Team Manager Chris Rose said, “This is an excellent achievement for the club to make the final. The team have progressed to the top with hard work and effort. Each game was treated as a separate issue and the coach explained tactics of using different players for different opposition, which the team responded well to, resulting in a well disciplined and focussed team. Every player can look with pride at the position and results achieved.” 

Competing were:- Matt Baxter(C), Jamie Baker (a), Adam Rose (N/M), Bernadette Wagerfield, Dave Wood, John Spence, Hannah Archer, James Townsend, Rob Webster, Alex Baker.

Flames 1 v Norton Cyclones 6

The team started their group stage against the team who went on to end 3^rd. the northern teams are always hard games to overturn but coach Derrick Woods went with the full 9 players to test the play.  Norton opened their scoring through a tap in past the post and goalie Adam Rose’s legs within the first 2 minutes. Flames held off the Norton offence until 8.18 when Norton increased through a 2-on-1 breakout and again at 13.30 through a rebound off the back wall falling in front of goal and sneaked in. After the break and a couple of penalties for both sides Swindon broke the Norton shut out through Captain Matt Baxter at 7.41. This was to be the only strike for Swindon as Norton broke through 3 more times to complete the scoring 1-6 with 2 minutes on the clock. Swindon knew they had their work cut out to progress and a win in the next game would be needed.

New to Junior Nationals players Bernadette Wagerfield, Alex Baker and Rob Webster were able to get good experience of the increased tempo of these games.

Scoring :- Baxter 1+0 

Flames 9 v Borehamwood Kings 0 

A change of tactics for the game saw Flames stamp their mark on the game and show they were a team to not take easily. The reduced lines chosen tightened up the game and Swindon were the first to score at 2.41 through Dave Wood set up by GB player John Spence. This was added to 5 minutes later when John set up Matt for the second goal and end of the half. In the second half more players were added to the mix to allow fresh legs. Matt scored again at 1.26, set up by GB player Jamie Baker, who then went on himself to score unassisted at 7.52. Matt was able to score another 4 times with an assist from Dave to finish the 9 goals. At the other end of the rink the defence of Hannah Archer, Alex Baker and James Townsend were able to hold up any attacks by the Borehamwood offence and take control of the ball, while Adam pulled off some good saves to hold the shutout. There were no penalties in the game. A win in the bag meant they stood a good chance of second in the group. 

Scoring :- Baxter 6+0, Spence 1+2, Wood 1+1, J.Baker 0+1

 

Flames 2 v Hustlers 1 

Swindon went into the game knowing they have virtually qualified for second place in the group. Thanks to Norton beating Borehamwood the previous evening Hustlers would need to beat them by 10 goals to put Flames in third. Knowing they had bogey team Oxford to play in the semi-final, Derrick rested some players and went out for the ‘just win’ to conserve energy. Hustlers got their only goal after 58 seconds but the Swindon players denied them any more. Swindon scored after 10.28 through Rob assisted by Matt to equalise going into the break. In the second period after a couple of penalty killings Flames scored at 8.05 through Dave assisted by Alex. This had given the win and meant Swindon had to just hold the game for 6 minutes to win. This they did successfully to reach the semi-final. 

Scoring :- Webster 1+0, Wood 1+0, Baxter 0+1, A.Baker 0+1

 

Semi-final – Flames 2 v Oxford Hurricanes 1 

This was to be the biggest game for Swindon juniors. Progressing to the final would mean defeating a team they had never beaten in league or competition at that age group. Oxford were not going to think they had the easy ride though as Reading had pulled of a surprise win last year and pushed Oxford out of the top four. (Reading went on to beat Swindon in the semi).

Both teams came out up for the win. Derrick had again arranged lines to face Oxford. The scoring was opened by Oxford after 4.47 when an Oxford player was left to breakaway. The shot rebounded off Adam’s pads only to be restruck by the Oxford player into the net. After a quick rallying the defensive combination of James, Alex and Dave held off the Oxford forwards while up front Matt, Jamie and John pressured the Oxford goalie after breaking through their line. With 6.54 left in the first half Dave struck home on the Oxford net to give the much needed draw. This raised the spirits as they saw Oxford were beatable. In the second half the sides battled to dominate the game. Swindon scored half way through to take the lead through John assisted by Alex while Adam continued to block the Oxford shots. In the last 6 minutes Flames held possession of the ball for as long as possible while Oxford appeared to have no response. Oxford made a last ditch attempt at the draw by pulling the goalie and putting the extra attacker on but  it was too late as Swindon were desperate to make their first final. 

Scoring :- Spence 1+0, Wood 1+0, A. Baker 0+1

 

Final    Flames 3 v West Coast Wasps 6 

After defeating Oxford the team entered the final with high spirits and seemed less pressured. Flames had beaten Wasps in the 3^rd place play-off last year. This led to an early breakaway goal at 0.34 for Wasps and a second at 5.15. Coach Wood called time out and refocused the team. This paid dividends as soon after Matt scored to take it to 1-2. An unfortunate own goal with 1 minute left in the first period put Wasps 2 goals clear going into the break.  The second period started and the tempo was raised. The Wasps became a bit frustrated and incurred 6 minutes of penalties. With a 4 on 2 situation James scored to put the game back on track and 2-3. A minute later and still on the powerplay, John scored to level things up. Wasps were not going to let up though and soon retaliated with a goal to maintain a 1 goal lead into the second break at 3-4. Flames came out into the third determined they could overcome the Wasps.

This was not to be as Wasps scored again with 10 minutes left to make it 3-5. Derrick shortened the lines in an attempt to pull back the game and Bernadette stuck to the goalie waiting for the chip-in, but 2 goals scored on the wide pass took the result to 3-6 and out of time for the Flames. 

Scoring :- Baxter 1+0, Spence 1+0, Townsend 1+0