By Tom Pink
This fixture rarely fails to deliver.
Saturday was a stone-cold classic of the genre, and if you ever wanted an advert for South 2 hockey, you could do worse than picking any match-up between the Huskies and Mustangs over the last few years.
It was brilliant, and in terms of pure spectacle and entertainment value, that might be the best game at the Palace so far this year.
Home and away these are two of my favourite games to watch, in any season. It has everything; intensity, goals, drama. But more than that, it has the people. The fans make the difference, and we got to see that on Saturday night.
The tribute to Glenn Appleby was incredibly moving, and I think Lee Mercer was spot on in his Coach’s Corner. I only spoke to Glenn a handful of times, mostly about hockey, always about the Huskies, but he was always warm and generous with his time, gracious with someone who didn’t know much about either. The depth of feeling from everyone at the Palace was palpable, and that tells you a lot about how well he was thought of by fans of all stripes.
There’s big milestones for Bryn Griffiths and Stuart Appleby, who reach 150 and 200 games in the black and white. That’s some achievement. Stalwarts of Haringey both, and there’s not many others that are so synonymous with the club.
It’s a classic Haringey/Invicta start. Plenty of energy and physicality.
Bradley Hildreth is called in action early on, once making a block at the crease and then a goal-line clearance at the back post. Great awareness of his own goal.
Invicta are comfortable on the puck and command centre ice early on, Haringey finding it tough to get out and get possession.
It takes four and a half minutes for Haringey to break the deadlock. A shot from Matt Ganas goes wide, but Benet Beldecos is there to pick up the rebound off the backboard and score from the right. A great first period from him, and he could have bagged a hat trick.
Soon after his goal, he gains the zone, crashes the net and I’m thinking it’s 2-0 from where I’m sat, but it’s given as a penalty shot instead. He starts slowly along the left, cutting into the slot but it’s shutout at the crease.
He’s at it again five minutes later though, with the puck behind the Invicta net he finds Courtney Grant who roofs it from the right hash marks. Huskies 2-0 up and looking good value.
Matt France and Conner Smith have a couple of shots go wide, and Benet almost sets up Courtney again, but his backhander whistles wide of the post. Stu drops it off to Marton Szasz on the right but his shot’s gloved.
Dylan is kept very busy early on in the second. There’s a couple of big saves to keep the Mustangs out, one at the backdoor in particular was ridiculous.
Bryn almost sees his slapshot find the net from the point but a deflection sends it wide. No anniversary goal tonight!
Benet plays it across centre ice and finds Conner who heads to the net. His first shot is saved but he hits home on the second time of asking and Haringey extend their lead to 3-0.
And it’s almost four as Robert Rejna plays in Ryan Payne at the backdoor whose shot is saved from absolutely nowhere. An amazing bit of netminding from Keiran Wyatt, sliding across the goal line to pluck the puck out of the air.
There’s further chances for Haringey to keep lighting the lamp, with Conner, Bradley, James Hepburn and Matt Ganas all going close, but they can’t make it stick.
Invicta come out swinging in the third. Five minutes in, top goal scorer Sam Oliver skates across both lines, heads straight to the net and backhands the puck into the goal from the left. Purpose, power, drive. 3-1.
Dylan makes another monstrous save from the slot off a 1-on-1 chance, but he can’t keep out Sam Oliver’s second of the night, a wrister from the blue line beats him for speed. A one-goal game with 13 left on the clock.
Marton, Rob, Matt Ganas all have decent opportunities. Matt Ganas almost scores from centre ice with an audacious shot from distance. But it’s Invicta who score next. On the breakaway, shorthanded, Aaron Ferris drives to the net and gives Dylan no chance from close. 3-3.
It’s another one of those games. Another of those Haringey/Invicta blood pressure wreckers. My mind instantly casting back to the 5-6 S/O win last year in Gillingham, or the quarter final of the Wilkinson Cup last year. Take your pick.
Haringey call the timeout straight afterwards to get some instructions across and shore up. Dylan is there again at the crease with possibly the save of the night with the game so finely balanced.
But it’s Haringey who seize the initiative. Conner races down the left wing and puts it on the tape for Matt Ganas in the slot, waiting to blam a one-timer into the goal. Absolutely incredible scenes.
Invicta step it up a notch looking for the equaliser. They call timeout and pull the netminder with a minute left.
Leo has the opportunity to kill the game off with the empty net. Twice he has the puck in centre ice but can’t find the goal each time. It doesn’t matter.
Haringey hold on and hold on to all three points. What a game.
If it hadn’t been for the Mustangs’ late resurgence and Dylan Phillips’ heroics between the pipes, I think Benet would have been getting Player of the Match. He was everywhere in those first two periods. But it goes to Dylan, thoroughly deserved.
The next game for Haringey is Chelmsford in the Eddie Joseph Memorial Cup. The last game in the competition for us and unfortunately a dead rubber. It’s not until March that we play again, with our three remaining league games coming in quick succession.
It’s a bizarre situation league-wise. By the beginning of February we have one team that has played all 18 of their games, while others have five, six, even seven left. It must be torture for Peterborough, knowing they’ve done all they can but having to wait potentially until the end of March to discover their fate.
For us, it’s two big wins against Bristol and Invicta, and two more steps along the road to the playoffs. Win the next three and we’ll have put ourselves in the best position possible.
Let’s Go Huskies.
