Bracknell

Bracknell Bees ....................5 Solihull Barons ....................1

Bracknell Bees player-coach Mike Ellis blasted Solihull goal-tender Arunas Aleinikovas for starting a mass brawl which saw 13 players sent to the sinbin last weekend.

The Lithuanian stopper hit out at 16-year-old Bracknell forward Bradley Watchorn towards the end of the second period to trig-ger a spectacular brawl which continued for several minutes in front of a packed out Hive on Sunday night.

Ellis fumed: "Their goal tender should know better to be honest.

"One, you don't punch players without expecting to get something back, and two, he went and picked on one of our young guys.

"When you do something like that in a team game like ice hockey then it is going to erupt just like it did."

When the brawl finally settled down Aleinikovas was ejected with a game penalty for excessive foul play and his Solihull teammates Nick Whyatt, Rhys McWilliams, Colm Cannon, Mindaugas Kieras and Dean Mills all received two minute roughing penalties.

For Bracknell, Nicky Chinn was dismissed with a game misconduct and five-minute roughing penalty and youngster Watchorn, as well as Ryan Aldridge, Joe Baird, Adam Greener, Jamie Line and Danny Meyers, were handed two minutes in the sin bin for roughing.

The brawl aside it was quite a comfortable night for the Bracknell Bees who came onto the ice determined to make up for their previous night's defeat and scored twice within the first three minutes.

Lukas Smital opened the scoring on 44 seconds and his fellow Czech countryman, Jan Meilchar, hit a second two minutes later.

That early blitz was the only goal action of the first period but the visitors came out strongly after the break and pulled one back through Sarunas Kuliesius.

That seemed to wake up the home side and Ellis continued his fine goalscoring form with a third soon after.

The Bracknell Bees re-grouped well after the second period bust-up and added a fourth, again from Ellis, on 38.44.

There was only one goal in the final period but it will be one that 15-year-old Jamie Line will long remember.

The youngster banged home his first for the club on 42.40 to seal the win and leave the visitors without a league win in 15 attempts this season.

Ellis said: "As a team we played well but to be fair they weren't the best opposition.

"It was a good chance to work on a lot of our plays and to give a lot of youngsters a go.

"I was really pleased for Jamie, he impresses me more every time he plays."

Telford Tigers ........................7 Bracknell Bees ....................5

A SPIRITED second period fightback was not enough to save Bracknell from a disappointing defeat at Telford last Saturday.

Coach Mike Ellis had said before the game that nothing else than a win would do but that was quickly made to look unlikely when the Bracknell Bees conceded four goals in the first period.

It wasn't the start that netminder Dean Skinns was looking for as he tried to stake his claim for the first choice goalie spot vacated by Stephen Wall who was released last week.

A shocked Mike Ellis said: "It was very disappointing not to get the points and I'm pretty sure it's going to come back and bite me at the end of the season.

"Conceding so many goals in one game is hard to take but it was just one of those days, every time they had an opportunity they scored."

Despite an early goal from Ellis, the home side responded with a brace from Joe Miller,

and one apiece from Paul Graham and Stuart Bates to give themselves a huge advantage.

Lukas Smital pulled one back before the first break but further goals from Martin Zemla and Miller saw the hosts 6-2 in front midway through the second period.

The Bracknell Bees then started to claw themselves back with Ellis, Smital and Adam Bicknell making it a one-goal game. But Telford sealed the win when Karol Jets added a seventh on a powerplay at 48.16.

* BRACKNELL Queen Bees returned to winning ways on Saturday when they beat Kingston Diamonds 8-2.

Sam Bidmead led the way with four goals while Natalie Aldridge (2), Amanda Carr and Claire Fay completed the scoring.

Nov 3 2005 ~ ic Berkshire