By Olivia Hooper

The Bristol Honda Pitbulls hit the road to take on the Tigers, in which they secured the two points in a 5-3 victory!

Going into this match, the Pitbulls were without defenceman Tanner Butler after receiving a 2-game ban and continued to be without Ewan Hill due to illness.

The first period saw both teams in a tough end-to-end battle to try and secure a lead early on in the match. The first ten minutes into the period saw nothing but shots being fired on both netminders, who made incredible saves to keep the puck out of the net. It wasn’t until Tigers player James Smith found himself with a two-minute penalty at 9:49 for interference that the Pitbulls were given a high chance of sneaking the puck past Bradley Day to open the scoring. Fortunately for the Tigers, Day was able to stop the puck from crossing the line, and the Tigers returned to full strength. It’s the Tigers who fought to try and hold off the Pitbulls from scoring the first goal, but it wasn’t enough to stop them when Nick Pryce made the pass to Bayley Harewood, who didn’t think twice before shooting the puck to the back of the net, securing the lead for the Pitbulls. It was time for the first period break for both teams to discuss their strategies, and the Pitbulls headed into the changing room with a one-goal lead.

The second period started in almost the worst way for the Pitbulls, with Harry Ferguson slipping the puck past Tommy Nappier, which scored the equaliser and put the Tigers back in the game. Unfortunately for the Tigers, their hope was short-lived when Nick Pryce flipped the puck over the pad of Day, leaving the puck to roll over the line, which put the Pitbulls back in the lead. This led to another Tigers penalty when Rhodes Mitchell-King was sent to the box to sit a two-minute minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct at 23.06 after the goal was scored, which gave the Pitbulls another chance to score a power play goal. Day managed to keep the puck out of the net during the Pitbulls power play, and the Tigers soon returned to full strength, leaving the Pitbulls still yet to take advantage while on the power play. At 26.43, Jay King was given a penalty for holding; however, this saw the Tigers rewarded with a penalty shot instead of King sitting two minutes in the box. It was up to Nappier to stop the puck from crossing the line for the Pitbulls to stay in the lead. It’s Eric Henderson who stood up to take the shot, but he couldn’t get it past the pad of Nappier, and the Pitbulls continued to stay in the lead.

It wasn’t long before Ferguson found himself with the puck and passed it to Devon Skoleski, who was in perfect position to slapshot it to the back of the net, scoring another equalising goal for the Tigers at 28.55. At 29:40, Joseph Aston was sent to the box for a two-minute roughing penalty, which gave the Pitbulls another advantage to score and put them back in the lead. Pitbulls take this opportunity as Jay King takes his chance and fires the puck towards the net, where Day is unable to make the save, giving Pitbulls their first power play goal of the night. This goal didn’t stop the Tigers from pushing back when Vladimir Luka shot it past Nappier, which scored another equaliser for the Tigers. A chance was given to the Tigers to take the lead when Harewood was sent to the box for a two-minute tripping penalty and was also given a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. However, with Pitbulls strong defensive team and some unbelievable saves from Nappier, the Tigers were unable to make this a successful power play, and the second period ended with both teams equal with three goals each.

The battle was on in the third period to see who could take the two points and end the 2024 year with a win. A power play chance came up for the Tigers when a bench penalty was called on the Pitbulls for having too many men on the ice at 42.31, but their chances were put to a stop when Adam Harding made his way to the penalty box for a two-minute penalty for hooking, making both teams equal. Both sides returned to full strength, and the battle continued with end-to-end action, but it was Pryce who got the breakaway and hit it topshelf to gain the lead back for the Pitbulls. It wasn’t over for the Tigers yet, as Sam Smith was put in the penalty box for a two-minute penalty for cross-checking at 55.11, but for the Tigers, this power play was once again put to a stop when Day received a two-minute penalty for tripping, which was sat by Luka. The time on both penalties was up, and the Tigers kept the fight up until the final minute when Harewood shot the puck down the ice and into the empty net, scoring the fifth and final goal for the Pitbulls and securing the two points.

Taking home man of the match for the Pitbulls was Nick Pryce, who also reached his fifty points during this match.