Telford Tigers roar back with a victory after 11 months away

Tigers were back at Telford Ice Rink after 11 long months away on Saturday evening, getting their Spring Cup campaign under way with a 3-2 win over Raiders.

Cole Shudra, David Clements and Kieran Brown were the scorers for the hosts, with the match played behind closed doors but streamed live to fans.

“I’m pleased to get that one under our belts,” said Watkins.

“It was great to be back on the ice and I can’t fault the work ethic or commitment from either team. The Raiders never quit, they kept working which gave us a nervy finish.

“We never got into the groove and weren’t able to roll lines the way we hoped but there were glimpses of what we can do.”

Having played their last game against Romford side Raiders last March, before the pandemic took hold, Tigers welcomed a number of new players for their first game of the Spring Cup – designed as a stepping stone in the return to competitive ice hockey and featuring five teams from the National League.

Austin Mitchell-King, Ash Calvert, Clements, Sam Jones, Shudra, Brown, Jordan Hedley and Robert Lachowicz made their debuts while Ross Venus returned, having iced for Tigers back in 2012.

Tigers had two early power play opportunities but, with the power play unit a work in progress after such limited training time, it was Raiders who went closest with a breakaway chance for Glen Billing which was well saved by Brad Day.

Tigers cashed in on their third power play of the period soon after and opened their account for the season. Scott McKenzie found the unmarked Shudra in front of goal, to send a back-handed wrist shot over the pads of Ethan James and into the net.

A late Brown kneeing penalty meant that Tigers would start the second period short-handed but a good solid penalty kill to open the period saw Tigers maintain their lead.

Early in the second period the hosts added a second goal. Clement sent a speculative shot from the blue line in on goal hoping for a deflection but with James screened by a Tigers’ forward, he could not stop it going into the net.

Raiders fired back with a power play goal after Jones was called for a cross check. Harry Gulliver halved the deficit.

Tigers responded within two minutes to regain their two-goal lead, though. Jason Silverthorn fought to win the puck on the Raiders’ blue line and passed to Calvert behind the goal. He slid the puck to Brown, who hammered a first-time shot into the corner.

Once again, Tigers ended the period giving away a needless penalty when Dan Mitchell was called for hooking.

Tigers killed off the penalty but the third period proved to be a scrappy one with their players taking numerous trips to the penalty box. Mitchell-King received a five-minute penalty for boarding which saw him ejected from the game.

As the penalty expired, Raiders scored through Billing from close range.

A frantic final minute saw Raiders pull James from the goal to add an extra attacker but some resolute defending kept the puck away from goal and allowed Tigers to record their first victory of the competition.

“It is still very early days, we are integrating a lot of new players and in a very different environment from what we are used to,” added Watkins.

“We took a lot of penalties which was frustrating but equally, by that token, I thought our penalty kill was excellent.

“Brad Day was a huge part of that, he played really solid like he’d never had a break. A win is a win.”