Chelmsford Chieftains can officially continue to call themselves NIHL Division One South Champions after they secured their fifth successive league championships on Sunday.
Chelmsford Chieftains can officially continue to call themselves NIHL Division One South Champions after they secured their fifth successive league championships on Sunday.
A tough weekend was on the cards but they put on two performances – a 9-3 win at Invicta and 6-3 win over Streatham –that would prove that they are worthy champions once again.
From the first puck drop at Invicta it was apparent that the Chieftains were looking for a fast start and things couldn’t have started in a better fashion as with just over a minute on the game clock as Grant Bartlett netted.
There were further strikes for Lukas Zatopek, Cameron Bartlett, Jake Sylvester, Juraj Huska (3) and Grant Bartlett (2) as the Essex side ran out convincing winners.
On Sunday the Chieftains faced Streatham Redhawks at Riverside, the only team who could now come between the Chieftains and the league title.
The way the Chieftains played in the opening period was like they still had their minds on the previous night. Streatham coach Jeremy Cornish obviously had his men up for the job as they stormed into a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
But two minutes into the second period and the Redhawks didn’t know what hit them as three goals within a minute from Jake Sylvester, Ollie Baldock and Liam Chong set the ball rolling.
Cameron Bartlett extended the lead to 4-2 at the 30 minute mark. Two further strikes in the final period from Darren Brown and a consolation from Streatham’s Liam Rasmussen gave the Chieftains a 6-3 victory.
This put the Chieftains on 40 points, out of range of the chasing pack with six games still remaining, the first of which is this Sunday against the London Raiders, a rehearsal for the NIHL Cup Semi-Final that takes place at the end of the month.
- Chieftains game with London at Riverside this Sunday faces-off at 6.30pm.
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