Barringer at this point being boarded from behind and just
holding himself together as he threw his lid and gloves on the ice
and skated to the bench in frustration with the play. The nerves of the
Bracknell B52s were being pushed to the limit as Invicta Knights clearly had
no intention of easing the pressure. Then at 27:10 Invicta Knights took the lead again
from (18 Gruber), now 3 - 2 to the Knights. The B52s continued their efforts with just
Mark (gibbo) Gibson, Allan Watson and Neil (colgate) Porter doing a great job between them in
defence with captain (gibbo) holding out for some 12 minutes on ice without a change. Mark
Hopkins, Russ Harman and Arron Barringer all rotating extra man duties to make up the 3rd line, all played
out of their skin to contain the opposition whilst having to double shift. Nicholson, Litwin and Ewins were also
holding their own to keep this game in the balance. The two new guys Tom Revans & Rob Anderson both showing
their value to the team with some solid hockey from both players as they worked hard all night putting pressure on
Invicta. With legs now hurting, but too much at stake, Bracknell continued to look for scoring chances and work the puck
well. At 37:00 Nicholson was to get the loose puck at centre ice and fire in a slap shot from the blueline which sneaked under
the Invicta Knights netminder, assisted by Pete Litwin and Mark Gibson. Bracknell had pulled it back to 3 – 3. This was to inject
another boost for the team, now feeling we were still in this game. Then, from the faceoff, the puck was knocked forward to the
Invicta knights goal and Nicholson was to pull the puck inside the slot and squeeze the puck in the top corner to take the lead again just 7
seconds later at 37:07! The score was now 4 -3 Bracknell with the B52's winning the period 2-1.

The ice being flooded allowed Bracknell a 15min break in the dressing room and to reflect on our efforts. We came out for the final period
determined not to falter after the combined efforts of the team. The final 20min seemed to go on for ever as Invicta were still playing good positional
hockey and Bracknell still struggled at times as they tried to contain the Knights and keep them at bay. Barringer being knocked from pillar to post, just
could not be stopped by the Invicta Knights as he continued to harass them in the corners, Robbie Birch having a great game in the Bracknell goal as he saved shot after shot, at times keeping us in the game. At 42:25 Invicta finally levelled the game 4 – 4 with 18 Gruber completing his hat-trick. A final assault from both teams saw chances go unrewarded and it was now anyones game as the final minutes ran down, with everything to play for. The final
minute of the game and still holding on, Invicta got the puck at centre ice and pushed forward to get behind the B52s defence and a 1 on 1 play was on, only to see Robbie Birch dash out from between the pipes and beat the Invicta player to the loose puck. This saved the day for Bracknell as the puck went safe, only to see Nicholson now take advantage of a breakaway shot for Bracknell with just seconds on the clock the long shot went past the goalie
only to hit the bar. The last few seconds of the game ran out and a rewarding 4 - 4 draw was the final score. A great team effort from the B52s who
had to dig deep to match Invicta Knights who always play a tough game. This was a hard but enjoyable, competitive hockey game that went right
down to the wire. No doubt the return game at Bracknell next month will be a big clash …………
MOM for Invicta Knights…. ………… # 18 Chris Gruber MOM for Bracknell B52s……………... # 31 Robbie (silver) Birch