Weekend Teaser: Bees are out of the playoffs but still mean business

  Bees are out of the playoffs but still mean business

Bees played brilliantly for 5 periods last weekend

Bees were on the road on Saturday visiting the Steeldogs in Sheffield. Bees were the better team for the first two periods, period 1 ended 2-1 in Bees favour with Bees goals coming from Dom and JJ. Steeldogs clawed their way back into the game but were still struggling with the Bees game plan, the second period finishing with the teams tying 3-3 and Bees goal scored by Dom was honestly one of the best shots you will see. Shortly into the third period Juha was on target to put the Bees 4-3 ahead but then Steeldogs began an onslaught scoring 6 unanswered goals leaving the final score at 9-4 which did not reflect the flow of the game or the Bees performance.
Sunday night Bees welcomed the MK Lightning to Slough, a dominant team and deserving of their second place in the league. Matt Smital was in the net against his former team and Bees, without any of their two way deal players and Alan Lack (out for the remainder of the season), called on James Galazzi to add strength to the team. The first period saw Bees take a 2-1 lead courtesy of goals from Will and Juha despite Lightning being all over them. The second period saw each team add a further goal to their tallies, Bees goal coming from Coach Dom. Bees extended their lead in the third with a goal from Captain Moggy with Lightning reducing the lead by a well executed goal but no sooner said than done Dan Rose gave Bees the two goal cushion back. MKL were not giving up easily and a Sarkanis breakaway saw him brought down before he could make the shot and the crowd were treated to a penalty shot. Sarkanis looked like he was going to step up to take the shot, and perhaps in hindsight he should have, as former NHLer Tim Wallace asked him to step aside so he could have a chance. Smital made a great save and denied the goal we all expected to go in. Bees then successfully killed a powerplay awarded to MKL at 50.45. MKL then threw everything at the Bees and put some serious pressure on the guys when pulling Hedley with two minutes left in regulation. Unfortunately for MKL Griffin then found himself in the penalty box which put an end to any comeback for them and Bees came out victorious with a 5-3 score line.  
Sunday nights game was, without a doubt, one of the best performances of the team all season. Each and every player doing exactly what we knew they could do and Dom's gameplan worked to perfection.  Blighted with injuries and bad luck all season sealed the team's fate to the lower half of the table but they proved they are a much better team than their league position suggests.

Player of the Weekend Results

Congratulations to Matt Smital  who with 67% of the vote is this week's player of the weekend  Who will be up for the vote next?

You can view all our player of the weekend winners from the last 2 seasons here: Bees IHC Fans Database

James Galazzi announces his retirement

Gazza is hanging up his skates at the end of the season having been a dedicated member of the Bees for the last 13 seasons. A much loved player by the Bees supporters and a player the away supporters love to hate, Gazza will be missed by all. We wish James all the very best and hope to give him the best send off on his last game on April 2nd against the Wildcats. 

Coach Gabaj starts looking at his roster for 23/24

Bees IHC have confirmed that head coach Dominik Gabaj has started looking at the team roster as he heads into his third year of his three year contract with the Bees. Dom didn't have the easiest start to his role as due to a 10 match suspension he was unable to be on the bench which must have been frustrating. Since then we have began to see what the team is capable of when they are at full strength (which has been another struggle due to the number of injuries) under Dom's leadership. Hopefully Dom will be able to put his stamp on the roster and get the injured players back on the ice ready for September. 

Coming up the Bees are away at MKL before welcoming the Pitbulls to Slough

Bees head to MKL on Saturday night hoping to move themselves above Hull Seahawks in the league. It is never easy getting a win in Milton Keynes and after last weeks win over them in Slough, MKL will be desperate for revenge. 
Sunday sees the Pitbulls head up the M4 to Slough, both teams have had the better of each other this season with some games coming down to penalty shots. Let's hope Bees have something left in the tank after their visit to MKL.
We will bring you updates from both games this weekend, MKL updates may be limited due to poor signal but we will do our best. 


 

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