Weekend Teaser: Bees look to maintain the momentum after last Sunday's win

   

 What does weekend eleven have in store for the Bees?

Season weekend ten review 

It was a weekend of highs and lows. On Saturday evening the Bees travelled to Leeds to take on the league leaders. Travelling with just 14 skaters the team knew this would be a struggle but it was an opportunity to give Dean Skinns some valuable ice time. The Knights ended the evening with an 8-2 win, Bees goals came from Vanya Antonov and Dominik Gabaj.

Bees welcomed the Swindon Wildcats in Slough on the Sunday. This was the Wildcats third game in three days but they were buoyant having picked up 4 points in the first two games. This game was dominated by some first class netminding by both teams. The second period was the only period in regulation to see any goals. The Wildcats took a 2 goal lead before the Bees got on the scoresheet with a powerplay goal scored by Will Stead. This was followed by an even handed goal scored by Dominik Gabaj just 70 seconds later. With a 2-2 scoreline at the end of regulation, an exciting 5 minutes of overtime followed. Josh Kelly had the best opportunity to score with a shot that was cleared from the Swindon crease. With no overtime goals the inevitable penalty shots followed. Swindon failed to score on their first four shots and it looked like Bees were following suit until Will Stead stepped up to take bees fourth shot. He made no mistake and put the Bees in the driving seat, meaning that Tomasz Malasinski needed to score to prevent Bees from winning. Max Wright was steadfast in the goal and Malasinski wasn't a match for him and Bees were victorious. Max finished the evening with a 96.72 save percentage after facing 61 shots and Renny Marr with 92.59% after facing 27 shots. 
   
My opinion - Bees definitely played the right tactics all weekend. They prioritised the Sunday fixture knowing they would have a couple of extra skaters thanks to Streatham not playing on that night. They knew three games in three days would affect the Wildcats and an outstanding performance from Max and a brilliant penalty shot by Will Stead ensured the game plan worked. A personal highlight for me came in the second period when I saw the Bees heading over the blue line towards the Wildcats goal. I saw a confidence and determination in the move that had maybe been lacking in previous weeks as the shorthanded roster took its toll on the team. This continued for the rest of the game and I felt a corner had been turned.

Player of the Weekend Result

Congratulations to Max Wright who is the player of the weekend, he wins thanks to your votes on Twitter with 56% of the vote. Will Stead gave him a good fight coming in second place with 44%. You know you have had two outstanding performances when the other nominees don't get a single vote.

Next: Away to the Pitbulls before the Lightning head to Slough

Bees visit the Pitbulls in Bristol on Saturday to face the team who sit one place above them in the league. The Pitbulls have not had the best start to the season but of recent they have been involved in some very close scorelines so they have proved they can be a match for many teams in the league. Their import goalie Tommy Napier has a .8908 save percentage to date and their top scorers are imports Nick Pryce and Tanner Butler, and former Bee Bayley Harewood. We'll bring you updates from rink side on Saturday evening after a cheeky Nandos! 
Sunday sees second in the league MK Lightning take on the Bees. The Lightning last visited Slough on 28th September where they left with a 6-3 win. The Lightning currently have 11 players who have scored 10 or more points so far this season with Ross Venus and Jordan Cownie topping the list. Interestingly their Brits are outperforming their imports and the teams relies on its scoring power to get results as they have scored more goals than other team in the league. 
With Slough playing on Saturday night and both Streatham and Slough playing on Sunday evening, the Bees access to two-way players will be limited again. The Cardiff Canucks play on Sunday but hopefully we may see Josh Poole and Sam Davies in the line up on Saturday night.

All that is left to say is safe travels to the Bees team and fans travelling to Bristol on Saturday and to the Lightning and their travelling fans heading to Slough on Sunday.

Come on you Bees!

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