SKATER HOCKEY: Flames are on fire in double victory
6:00am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in Latest News
SWINDON Flames Juniors got their SASH Skater Hockey season off to the perfect start with two comfortable victories in Farnborough.
Despite being short on players with only one netminder and six outfield options, the youngsters pulled together to first produce a 10-1 win over Banbury Bulldogs which was followed by a 4-1 success over Ash Avalanche.
The Flames made a confident start against Banbury as two goals in the opening two minutes put them firmly in control of the contest. Jack Townsend fed Bernadette Wagerfield for the first before Ryan Couling-King doubled the lead 30 seconds later.
The game settled down for a while before Will Harding played in Couling-King for his second before Banbury pulled a goal back with just over four minutes of the first period remaining, but Townsend extended the lead to leave the Flames with a 4-1 interval advantage.
In the second period netminder Liam McGuire was again relatively untroubled as the Swindon side rattled up a further six goals coming from Will Harding (2), Oliver Thompson (2) Townsend and Couling-King who completed his hat-trick.
The Flames second game of the day saw them face an Ash Avalanche side boasting a full bench of 16 players and including a number of new recruits, and the Surrey side seized the initiative early on with a number of shots which found McGuire in good form.
Swindon stuck to their task well and gave a disciplined performance against a physical Ash side, and midway through the first period Oliver Thompson gave Swindon the lead.
Ash made the most of a minor penalty to level the game but inside the final two minutes of the first period Alex Baker again put the Flames in front.
The pattern was repeated in the second period as the Flames controlled the game for long periods before Thompson received a pass from Townsend to extend the lead. With a two goal cushion the Swindon side settled down to keep possession but with Ash running into penalty trouble Baker settled matters with a goal two minutes from the end to cap a successful opening day.
