AIB MK Lightning made their first trip to the new Bristol rink to face the Bristol Pitbulls in their inaugural Planet Ice NIHL National Division meeting.  It took a last minute winner from in-form Liam Stewart to take the win for Lightning against a motivated Pitbulls side.  Bristol were fresh after a Saturday night off, and were highly motivated looking for their first league home win.

Lightning were missing 5 players, and it took until the mid-point of the first period before the deadlock was broken.  Pitbull’s defenceman Ed Bradley received 2+2 for High Sticks and 90 seconds later Liam Stewart grabbed the opener on the PowerPlay, assisted by Sean Norris and Bobby Chamberlain.  Shortly after this the game was interrupted with some ongoing ice issues around the goal crease.  A couple more penalties for Callum Field (Delay of the Game) and Sam Talbot (Tripping) saw out the period which ended with Lightning leading 0-1.

With the second period delayed for more ice issues, eventually it got underway and 

James Griffin immediately picked up a slashing penalty.  Despite a successful penalty kill, 15 seconds after it ended, Pitbulls grabbed the equaliser when 20 year old Mason Lipsey fired the puck home.

Seven minutes later Lightning restored their lead, as Bobby Chamberlain scored, assisted by Sean Norris.  Just over 30 mins gone and Lightning were now 1-2 up.  The lead did not last long as Pitbulls grabbed the equaliser just 3 minutes later through Hungarian born Tamás Éliás, who is a product of the Cardiff junior system.

Just over a minute later, tempers flared after a solid hit on Milique Martelly caused an altercation.  Hallden Barnes-Garner received 5 plus game for resisting the officials,  and Sam Smith received 5 minutes for Boarding for the Pitbulls.  Another couple of unsportsmanlike penalties took the teams down to 4 men each, but the period ended without any further score at 2-2.

The third period was littered with penalties, with three minors given to each side over the next few minutes, offering Pitbulls a couple of PowerPlays which they were not able to convert.  It fell to Liam Stewart, grabbing his 9th goal in 4 games, assisted by Adam Laishram, to grab the winner at 59:07, breaking hearts in the Pitbull’s crowd.  Bristol pulled their netminder Will Kerlin who had been strong all night, but could not force the game to overtime.  Final score, Bristol Pitbulls 2-3 AIB MK Lightning.

Lightning have one game this weekend, with Hull Seahawks in Milton Keynes on Saturday, 7pm faceoff.  Grab your tickets now here.

Man of the Match: Liam Stewart