By Xanthe Boursier-Gazzard

The Bristol Honda Pitbulls faced a 4-1 loss to the Telford Tigers last night, with the visitors taking an early lead that continued to build over the evening.

The home side was without Bobby Ragan through injury but saw the return of both imports Tanner Butler and Mitch Walinski into the lineup for the evening.

Ewan Hill took an early shot to the pads of Brad Day before the puck was circulated into the Tigers offensive zone, where they retained possession in the opening minutes. Scott McKenzie opened the scoring off the back of this pressure, launching the puck bar down past Tommy Nappier. This was chased minutes later by Devon Skoleski, who was able to double their lead by lighting the lamp and cutting a shot to the back of the net. Both teams had chances on the power play in the remainder of the period; however, no chances could be finished, leaving the Tigers with the two-goal advantage.

The home team retaliated within the following five minutes with Mitch Walinski breaking away to score his debut goal on home ice, getting the Pitbulls onto the board. The Tigers continued to be persistent, however, with shots coming from Ross Connolly and McKenzie throughout the rest of the period before James Smith could make the finish, swerving the puck backdoor behind Nappier’s skate to regain their two-goal cushion.

The Pitbulls were looking for a push back going into the third with shots from Reece Cochrane, Sam Smith, and Rhys Smetham, who took the rebound and attempted to flick the puck high past Day, who denied the shot with his glove. The home side called a timeout from here, making the decision to pull Nappier from the net with just under four minutes remaining; however, the one-man advantage couldn’t create a result for the Pitbulls, with Skoleski pushing the puck over the line into the empty net, leaving the scoreboard at 4-1 as the game came to an end.

Man of the Match for the visitors went to netminder Brad Day and to Mason Lipsey for the home team.

 

Image : Pete Fears

 

Xanthe