Telford Tigers hit six of the best to see off Raiders

After a disappointing first leg National Cup semi-final defeat to Milton Keynes, Tigers returned to league in style by beating Raiders 6-2.

Swindon Wildcats had won against Basingstoke Bison the previous evening to draw level on points with Telford, albeit having played two games more than Tigers.

Thomas McKinnon, Jack Watkins and Sam Watkins were all still unavailable to play and were joined on the sidelines by Ross Connolly.

Tigers’ win, coupled with Swindon’s defeat in Milton Keynes, left them two points clear at the top of the table with two games in hand.

And Tigers’ head coach Tom Watkins, admitted it was a key victory.

“It was an important two points against a hardworking Raiders team who were dominant in the first period,” said Watkins.

“We struggled to execute and exit transition situations and I felt we gave up a lot of shots but managed to win the period 2-1.

“We took a period to get going but I think the second period must have been one of the best this season –except for taking three back-to-back minor penalties, but the penalty kill was solid.”

Raiders made a strong start to the game, dominated the opening stages and struck first in the third minute. A breakdown in the neutral zone allowed Jake Sylvester to find when Erik Piatak shot low past Brad Day.

As the period progressed, Tigers improved and equalised. Vladimir Luka was clear on goal and was hooked by a Raiders’ defender as he was about to shoot and the officials awarded a penalty shot. Luka skated in on goal, slowed down and then sent a low shot past Michael Gray in the Raiders’ goal to draw the sides level.

Shortly after, Telford took the lead. Nick Oliver sent a pass to Joe Aston, who skated in on goal unopposed and sent a low shot past Gray.

Day was needed on a couple of occasions to make saves, including a terrific point blank save from Sylvester.

Telford made the perfect start to the second period, scoring in the opening minute courtesy of a long range shot from Jake Price.

Jason Silverthorn then made it 4-1 while Tigers were short-handed before Raiders scored a second late in the period with a huge slice of fortune. A puck was dumped into the Tigers’ defensive zone to allow Raiders to change lines but the puck bounced off the boards behind the goal and bounced towards the net, hitting Day’s skate and going in. The goal was credited to Jacob Ranson who was the last Raiders’ player to touch the puck.

Tigers started the third period with an early goal from Mckenzie and Fin Howells added a sixth.