Post by 9ibrahim on Apr 4, 2006 12:23:00 GMT -2
Peterborough Rink Rats v Cardiff Titans
12th March 2006
The Titans made the long trip in the snow to Peterborough, looking to bounce back to winning ways after the previous night’s defeat to Eastern Stars. After a quick snowball fight at McDonalds the team set off in convoy, at least that is what we thought……….
Another bumper crowd of 28 people saw the game face off with the Titans missing Dan Self and Alex Williams, presumably abducted by aliens on the M42. The opening exchanges were fast and hard hitting with Jared Ali, making a number of fine saves in the Titans net. Captain John Paul Ibrahim opened the scoring with a slap shot to settle the Titans nerves. This fired up the home team who scored 3 quick goals, including a Powerplay goal with Andy Edwards sitting in the penalty box. The penalty was harsh to say the least. Edwards put a big hit on the Peterborough forward and sent him crashing into the boards, but the referees obviously saw something else. This was to be the story for much of the game. The Titans short bench was struggling but managed to dig deep and pull out two goals through Iwan Beynon and Britain’s hardest working player, Paul Malfatti. The frustrated home team tried roughing up the Titans but James Morgan and Matt Griffiths stood up to them, showing that we wouldn’t be intimidated.
The period break let the Titans re-charge their tired legs, and still minus two players, came out flying at the start of the 2nd period. Goals from Beynon, Malfatti and Ibrahim put the Titans in pole position. Jon McCarthy and Morgan went close several times and were taking hits for the Titans all night. This, together with the solid D being played by Griffiths, Edwards and Warren Clark meant the Titans were in full control of the game. Ali was coming up with big saves, including a great breakaway save to keep the Titans infront. A couple of concentration lapses allowed Peterborough to pull two goals back and for a while the Titans were hanging on. Peterborough increased their hitting but reinforcements came in the shape of Dan Self and Alex Williams. Our D put in some huge hits of their own, most notably Griffiths. After hitting one Peterborough player off the puck another Rink Rat came looking for some and the giant Titans D-Man laid a smack down on him too. A huge clean hit that sent a clear message to Peterborough. With the physical aspect gone from the game, the Titans could start playing with Skill and flare. Malfatti was flicking breakaway pass after breakaway pass out of The Titans defensive zone that fans will be talking about for years. Iain Wood, Beynon and McCarthy were starting to cut holes in the home defence and even the D-men were getting shots from the point.
Going into the third period it was case of consolidating the lead for the Titans. Ali and his troops took control of the defensive zone and all six forwards played more defensive, adopting a dump and chase game. The highlight of the third period was a bizarre piece of officiating. Firstly, a Peterborough forward skated through on a breakaway which Andy Edwards superbly caught up with and knocked off the puck. The whistle went and the referee signalled a penalty shot. A bizarre call which the Titans had to just laugh at. The resulting penalty shot saw a fantastic effort from Peterborough’s Buckman that Ali could do nothing about, right in the top corner. The referee washed it out as “the puck did not cross the line”. This decision meant it was game over, but not before Man of the match Malfatti scored to round off a fantastic performance from the Cardiff Titans. Final score Peterborough Rink Rats 7 – 10 Cardiff Titans
A great result considering the size of the bench and the fact we had a tough game the night before. There were great performances by everyone but particularly Ali, Griffiths, Edwards, McCarthy and Morgan. A great team performance and something the team can build on for next game.
Paul Malfatti 4+0
John Paul Ibrahim 3+3
Iwan Beynon 2+0
Iain Wood 1+0
Matt Griffiths 0+3
James Morgan 0+1
Jon McCarthy 0+1
12th March 2006
The Titans made the long trip in the snow to Peterborough, looking to bounce back to winning ways after the previous night’s defeat to Eastern Stars. After a quick snowball fight at McDonalds the team set off in convoy, at least that is what we thought……….
Another bumper crowd of 28 people saw the game face off with the Titans missing Dan Self and Alex Williams, presumably abducted by aliens on the M42. The opening exchanges were fast and hard hitting with Jared Ali, making a number of fine saves in the Titans net. Captain John Paul Ibrahim opened the scoring with a slap shot to settle the Titans nerves. This fired up the home team who scored 3 quick goals, including a Powerplay goal with Andy Edwards sitting in the penalty box. The penalty was harsh to say the least. Edwards put a big hit on the Peterborough forward and sent him crashing into the boards, but the referees obviously saw something else. This was to be the story for much of the game. The Titans short bench was struggling but managed to dig deep and pull out two goals through Iwan Beynon and Britain’s hardest working player, Paul Malfatti. The frustrated home team tried roughing up the Titans but James Morgan and Matt Griffiths stood up to them, showing that we wouldn’t be intimidated.
The period break let the Titans re-charge their tired legs, and still minus two players, came out flying at the start of the 2nd period. Goals from Beynon, Malfatti and Ibrahim put the Titans in pole position. Jon McCarthy and Morgan went close several times and were taking hits for the Titans all night. This, together with the solid D being played by Griffiths, Edwards and Warren Clark meant the Titans were in full control of the game. Ali was coming up with big saves, including a great breakaway save to keep the Titans infront. A couple of concentration lapses allowed Peterborough to pull two goals back and for a while the Titans were hanging on. Peterborough increased their hitting but reinforcements came in the shape of Dan Self and Alex Williams. Our D put in some huge hits of their own, most notably Griffiths. After hitting one Peterborough player off the puck another Rink Rat came looking for some and the giant Titans D-Man laid a smack down on him too. A huge clean hit that sent a clear message to Peterborough. With the physical aspect gone from the game, the Titans could start playing with Skill and flare. Malfatti was flicking breakaway pass after breakaway pass out of The Titans defensive zone that fans will be talking about for years. Iain Wood, Beynon and McCarthy were starting to cut holes in the home defence and even the D-men were getting shots from the point.
Going into the third period it was case of consolidating the lead for the Titans. Ali and his troops took control of the defensive zone and all six forwards played more defensive, adopting a dump and chase game. The highlight of the third period was a bizarre piece of officiating. Firstly, a Peterborough forward skated through on a breakaway which Andy Edwards superbly caught up with and knocked off the puck. The whistle went and the referee signalled a penalty shot. A bizarre call which the Titans had to just laugh at. The resulting penalty shot saw a fantastic effort from Peterborough’s Buckman that Ali could do nothing about, right in the top corner. The referee washed it out as “the puck did not cross the line”. This decision meant it was game over, but not before Man of the match Malfatti scored to round off a fantastic performance from the Cardiff Titans. Final score Peterborough Rink Rats 7 – 10 Cardiff Titans
A great result considering the size of the bench and the fact we had a tough game the night before. There were great performances by everyone but particularly Ali, Griffiths, Edwards, McCarthy and Morgan. A great team performance and something the team can build on for next game.
Paul Malfatti 4+0
John Paul Ibrahim 3+3
Iwan Beynon 2+0
Iain Wood 1+0
Matt Griffiths 0+3
James Morgan 0+1
Jon McCarthy 0+1
