By Tom Pink
What a weekend.
Different competitions, different games, different results.
It’s played two, lost two for Haringey in the EJMC (Eddie Joseph Memorial Cup).
I’m a bit torn on this one, because although there were several things I didn’t like about Saturday, I still thought we mostly played well and there’s some really hard lines for the Huskies.
I think a large part of the defeat boils down to this: Peterborough are just very good. We came up against a side that is mercilessly clinical in front of net, and who have now added the best netminder in the league to their defence.
There are similarities though with our last outing in the EJMC against Lee Valley; many chances created, many shots on net, but too few converted.
We outshoot Peterborough 60 to 34 on the night, but scoring looked like the hardest thing to do in the world for Haringey, whilst the Phantoms made it look so, so simple at times.
Haringey are 0-1 down after 30 seconds. Peterborough should make it 0-2 a couple of minutes later. They find a teammate wide open at the back door, but they fluff the shot. The Huskies really struggle for a foothold early in the game, and the Phantoms give them no time on the puck.
Leo De Souza Saoncella marks his 100th game in the black and white. There are many reasons why the Haringey fans will take you into their hearts, and consistently leaving it all out on the ice is as good as any. Every shift Leo gives 100%, he works so hard and you can see how much he wants to contribute to the team. The chants of “Leo! Leo!” from the stands tell you how much he’s loved here at Haringey.
To be able to mark the occasion with a goal of that quality is the stuff of dreams. On the breakaway, faces up his old teammate and shoots straight through him, under the blocker for 1-1.
Goals two and five for Peterborough are fairly similar, and it’s that pesky back door again. In both instances the puck is around the D or the hashmarks, everyone in black and white is drawn across to it, and it’s a simple pass across the slot to the player waiting with the goal at their mercy. Straightforward for Peterborough.
Goals three and four are frustrating, in that it’s always frustrating to concede straight after just conceding, with 12 seconds between each goal. Dylan Phillips makes a decent save with his skate at the post to deny the wraparound from Nathan Pollard, and Haringey finish the first strongly with a flurry of chances in a scramble at the Peterborough net.
In the third, our inability to score on the power play was infuriating, particularly when it was 5-on-3 on more than one occasion for sustained periods. Amongst all of this though, is a plethora of Haringey chances and shots on net and some really nice play. You just pencil it down as one of those.
From what I understand, the top two teams in the EJMC mini-league progress to the final. Peterborough are confirmed, having won all four of their games. The other place is still up for grabs. It’s not mathematically impossible for the Huskies, but it depends upon results outside of our control. We’ll definitely need to beat the Invicta Mustangs on December 15th to even stand a chance (and possibly in regulation) or face elimination from the cup.
Sunday is just glorious fun.
For large parts it’s like a basketball game; you attack we attack, you attack we attack. Very open, little in the way of control, but heavy on entertainment value.
Robert Rejna is increasingly a very good watch. He gains the zone a couple of times but can’t find a pass. Great hands, great speed. Audible gasps from the Haringey fans when Ben Beldecos tries the Michigan, only to be blocked by the Lee Valley netminder. Some goal that would have been.
Matt Hepburn receives the puck in the slot, spins and has his shot blocked onto the crossbar and over.
It’s a very feisty game with big hits being thrown by both sides. Bradley Hildreth and Ryan Payne I thought were exceptional and loved making their presence felt. I though James Hepburn was very good throughout.
In the second, Haringey make the breakthrough. After pressure on the Lee Valley net, the puck pops out to Conner Smith at the back post, who takes his time before sending it into the side netting. Cool as you like.
There’s carnage at both ends as Dylan loses his stick, and Robert makes it 0-2 for the Huskies with a great wraparound goal. Stephen Woodford, Stuart Appleby, Joe Tearall, Marton Szasz, Pete Toth, all have looks but none can find twine at the end of the second.
The Lions make it 1-2 at the start of the third. After a couple of chances at the crease, it bounces out to Matt Ganas at the back post who converts.
By my count we hit the iron six times during the game, with the sixth attempt being Conner’s second goal and Haringey’s third. He turns from the right and fires across goal, off the post, but this time into the back of the net.
It’s a wild, frantic end to the game. With two minutes left on the clock, the Lions make it 2-3 with a shot from miles out that finds itself through traffic and into the bottom corner. With seconds remaining on the clock, Lee Valley pull the goalie and it makes for quite a nervous end to what had been at times a comfortable game. Joe Tearall could seal it at the end but shoots wide on the breakaway.
Haringey see it out and Conner gets Player of the Match for another high calibre performance.
The Color of Hockey blog did a great piece on Eddie Joseph for the NHL website which is well worth a look and very interesting if, like me, you didn’t know much about his legacy in Lee Valley, British hockey and beyond. Really great stuff.
It’s back to the Palace this Saturday against the Solent Junior Devils.
We beat them 1-4 in October, and they’ve had a bit of a streaky start to the season but you can expect a tough game. November is awash with them, with league games against Guildford and Peterborough still to come.
You feel there’s still more to come from this Haringey team, and it would be very good to have a strong finish to November. If we can continue to create as much as we already are, something will click and we’ll score a hatful. Let’s hope it starts this weekend. See you then.
Let’s Go Huskies.
Photos by Phil Hutchinson (@77phil77sports)
