By Xanthe Boursier-Gazzard
The Bristol Honda Pitbulls suffered a 6-4 home loss on Saturday night after slipping away in the final period allowing the Hull Seahawks to take the two points.
The home sides line up saw the debut of Brennan Feasey in Pitbulls colours after receiving international clearance however were without two-ways Bobby Ragan, Christian Mohr and Luke Smital.
Prior to the game, a tribute was held in memory of Nottingham Panthers player #47 Adam Johnson who sadly lost his life during the Panthers game last Saturday, we would like to thank everyone who attended and paid their respects to Adam during last night’s game.
Period one started in favour of the Pitbulls with an early goal which was credited to Ralfs Circenis, upon review, Circenis’ shot from the slot was seen to bounce off the boards behind the Seahawks cage and off the back of Seahawks netminder Angus Laing causing it to cross the line. Bayley Harewood was credited with the second goal, he Adam Harding broke in two-on-one, Harewood passed to Harding who was superbly denied by Laing, but the puck squirted out and Harewood has the simple task of pushing the puck over the line.
Despite this early dominance, the play shifted from end to end with Bobby Chamberlain scoring off the back of assists from Bobby Young and Owen Bruton. This was followed by a powerplay opportunity for the away side allowing Chamberlain to fire in another shot into the top left corner, ending the period 2-2. The Pitbulls were aggrieved that a clock malfunction potentially cost them a go-ahead goal in the final moments as Ed Bradley ripped a shot into the net from a clean face-off win, but the officials simply couldn’t overturn the decision in the circumstances.
The Pitbulls started period two on the power play however it was just after returning to five-on-five that Circenis found the puck from a deflected shot and fired the rebound into the back of the net. Regardless of this, Hull regained the initiative and the scoreline became level once again after Sam Towner scored the final goal of the period.
Period three saw an unlucky turn for the home team as Hull conceded three goals within three minutes these were credited to Bruton, Towner and Ulrick who took his opportunity shorthanded. Bristol had one more in them for the evening as import Feasey scored his first goal for the Pitbulls, his original effort was saved but he batted the rebound out of the air and beyond Laing, the goal was original waved off but given after further review, ending the game 6-4 after a tough battle in the final period.
Man of the Match for the Hull Seahawks went to #17 Owen Bruton and #11 Sean Morris for the Bristol Pitbulls.
