Milton Keynes Storm Under 18s (Division 1 South) 16th January 2010
MK Storm 2 v Chelmsford Mohawks 3
(1-1, 1-0, 0-2)

Milton Keynes Storm suffered their first defeat of the season against a powerful and committed Chelmsford team, able for once to field their strongest side. In contrast MK were without key players, and with at least one injured during the match, they should not be too downcast by the final result.
Defeat seemed most unlikely during the early shifts of the match, with MK dominating possession and creating numerous half chances. Nevertheless Chelmsford’s strength is in their fast breaking forwards, and MK were caught cold with the visitors’ opener (04:30). MK responded typically with a series of lengthy attacks, and they looked sure to score. However when the goal came, it surprisingly started in defence. Nidal Philips (10:51) swept out from in front of his own goal, passed three players with ease along the boards and then fired a rocket from close range that all but lifted the goal off its moorings. Confidence soared through the hosts and they dominated the remainder of the period with any number of chances, foiled only by the obdurate Brummitt between the visitors’ posts.

MK had all the possession, but when Chelmsford did get some time on the puck they attacked dangerously and netminder Jake Scriven was needed on a number of occasions. MK upped the tempo in the second period and Chelmsford were forced to defend in numbers. Plenty of movement on and off the puck and patience in the opposition defensive zone was a real feature of MK’s play, and slowly they broke down the visiting defence.

After yet another lengthy period of play around the Chelmsford nets, Connor Goode made the killer pass into the Chelmsford goalmouth, where Josh Nicklin (35:44) was on hand to tip the puck home. It seemed a crucial goal and although the visitors hit back hard, Scriven was in no mood to hand them an equalizer.
MK started the final period sluggishly, and the visitors needed no extra invitation to level the scores (43:09). The huge physical effort MK had made in the first two periods started to tell, and tired legs handed Chelmsford the initiative. The visitors’ third goal (48:35) was a cracker, and it knocked the stuffing out of the hosts. They rallied late in the period, and threatened to score right up to the final buzzer, but with Brummitt seemingly impregnable in the Chelmsford nets, it was a question of too little too late for MK.