This past week in the IIHL and IIHL Recreational Division saw 5 games scheduled but only 4 games take place unfortunately.
DkIT Ravens v Dundalk Bulls Ladies (IIHL RD)
First up was Tuesday night action as the DkIT Ravens hosted the Dundalk Bulls Ladies. The Ravens would reclaim top spot in the standings with a win and they controlled the game from the start scoring after 19 seconds. Jason Monahan scored with Blaine Rennicks picking up the assist. Monahan got his second 7 minutes later and this gave the Ravens a 2 goal lead going into the second. Jodi Plocher, in nets for the Ladies, stopped 6 of the 8 shots she faced while Micéal O’Neill, in net for the Ravens, stopped the 1 shot he faced. The Ravens added 2 more goals in the second period with both Rennicks and Michael Rogan putting the puck in the back of the net. The Ravens then got a further 4 goals in the final period with Stephen Hayes, Robert Flanagan and Monahan all scoring. The game finished 8-0 to the Ravens and they are now firmly atop the standings. Jodi Plocher stopped 28 shots while O’Neill stopped all 8 shots he faced for the shutout.
Dublin Wolves v Drogheda Ice Breakers 2 (IIHL RD)
The next game of the week was again in the IIHL Recreational Division with the Dublin Wolves hosting the Drogheda Ice Breakers 2 on Saturday evening. Neither team has had a great season this year having each only secured one win so far. Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the first period and the score at the end of the first was 0-0. The Ice Breakers 2 outshot the Wolves 10-4 in that period. They got their reward 5 minutes into the second period when Armands Paudrups scored with Normunds Norvelis picking up the assist, They then added a second early in the third period with Janis Binders getting the goal. However, the Wolves pulled one back a few minutes later with Stephen Gamble getting the goal. This lead to a one goal game and in the remaining 10 minutes the Wolves had several breakaways but they just couldn’t put the biscuit in the basket. While the Ice Breakers 2 even hit the post after the Wolves had pulled their goalkeeper. The final score was 2-1 to the Ice Breakers 2. They also outshot the Wolves 26-13 but also lead in the penalty department with 18 PIM to the Wolves’ 4 PIM.
Flyers I.H.C. v Hawks B (IIHL RD)
The next game of the weekend was scheduled for after this game between the Dundalk Bulls and Belfast Giants in the IIHL. However, the Giants forfeited the game before the weekend. Therefore, next up was Sunday’s double header between the Flyers and Hawks. In the IIHL Recreational Division, the Flyers hosted the Hawks B in what was anticipated to be an excellent game. It didn’t disappoint either as the first period was end to end and both keepers stood strong. Both Dowling, in net for the Flyers, and Strazds, in net for the Hawks B, stopped 7 shots each. The score at the end of the first period was 0-0. The Hawks B broke the deadlock 5 minutes into the seconds period with Guntars Bleiks slotting the puck past Dowling. The score at the end of the second was 1-0 to the Hawks B. The third period was even more livelier with the Hawks adding 3 more goals to give them a 4 goal lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. Vasilijs Prjalkins, Renars Petrovskis and Martins Vitols all scored. However, the Flyers pulled 2 back to make the Hawks sweat it out. First up was Will Fitzgerald who scored from the halfway mark with a slap shot. After that, the Hawks B were penalised for too many men on the ice in the last 2 minutes of the game which means that the non offending team are awarded a penalty shot. Alan McEvoy stepped up and scored past Szabolcs Flekenstein. The final score was 4-2 to the Hawks B in what was an excellent game.
Flyers I.H.C. v Hawks (IIHL)
The final game of the week saw the Flyers host the Hawks in the IIHL. The game started off with the Hawks dominating possession and finding a way to break down the Flyers defence. They did after 7 minutes through Dmitrijs Fjodorovs with Viktors Serdjukovs and Aleks Fjodorovs both picking up assists. Serdjukovs made it 2-0 30 seconds later with Sergejs Selenkovs getting the assist. The Flyers responded with 2 goals in the final 10 minutes of the period with both Rich DePalma and Barry Higgins scoring to tie the game going into the second. The Hawks scored 6 unanswered goals in the second period with Jozef Hruska, Serdjukovs, Steven Balmer, Selenkovs and Dmitrijs Fjodorovs all scoring. The score at the end of the second period was 8-2 to the Hawks with Seanna Conway, in net for the Flyers, facing 26 shots after 40 minutes. It was much the same in the third period as the Hawks scored another 4 goals while the Flyers pulled one back through Higgins. The final score was 13-3 to the Hawks.