Siege Mentality Sees the Seahawks Sting the Bees
Hull Reckitt Seahawks v Berkshire Bees – 23/02/2025
“We’ll brush it off, keep winning games and go into the playoffs with a little bit of spite in our game,” said a bullish Matty Davies.
It has been a difficult week for the Hull Reckitt Seahawks, who went into the weekend chronically short-benched and feeling more than slightly aggrieved by recent league decisions that saw the suspension of Lee Bonner for four games, for what was adjudged to be an illegal check to the head or neck during the match with the Sheffield Steeldogs as well as the deduction of two points and the award of a 5-0 victory to Peterborough Phantoms after the team fielded an ineligible coach, after exceeding 50 team penalty points, during the Seahawks win down in Cambridgeshire earlier this month.
Despite the adversity, the Seahawks secured back-to-back victories against the Berkshire Bees, with Davies forced to watch his team from the media gantry on Sunday, as his team followed up a 4-1 win on the road with a 6-2 triumph at Hull Arena.
“When you feel that the everyone is against you, it is best to channel those thoughts positively into your performances on the ice. We did that this weekend and I’d like to think that, maybe, good things will come for us as we head towards the end of the campaign and into the post-season for all the times when we might have been a little bit hard done by,” said Davies.
On Saturday, a depleted Hull Seahawks made the journey to Slough Ice Arena to face the Bees.
Just 15 players made the trip, as several players couldn’t travel for a variety of reasons. Bonner was joined in suspension by Captain Bobby Chamberlain and Jordan Fisher, Jamie Chilcott, Kohen Taylor and Tommy Spraggon were unavailable. Dave Phillips, James Spurr and Tom Stubley sat the match out due to injury.
The Bees took an early lead in the first period through William Stead, who poked the puck home, assisted by Marcel Balaz and Dominik Gabaj, on 06:12, for the only goal of the opening stanza.
However, a commanding second 20 minutes saw the Seahawks turn the game around.
Firstly, the equaliser was scored on 23:47 thanks to Jason Hewitt, assisted by Owen Bruton, and then Hull capitalised on two powerplay opportunities to take the lead.
Emil Svec scored the go-ahead goal on 35 minutes, assisted by Hewitt and Declan Balmer, after Dan Rose was called for slashing, and a further marker was scored by Owen Sobchak, assisted by Svec and Balmer, as the period entered its final minute, with Ralfs Circenis sitting a two-minute penalty, for the Bees, also for slashing.
Into the final period and Circenis, not content with the slashing call earlier in the match decided to add abuse of officials to his charge sheet, at 44:50, allowing Hewitt to score his second of the night, on the powerplay for Hull, assisted by Sobchak and Svec, at 46:15, to round out a comfortable 4-1 success.
Sunday saw the pressure on Hull’s battered and bruised roster ease slightly with the return of Jordan Fisher and Bobby Chamberlain to the match-night team.
The first period started in dominant fashion for the Seahawks and was rewarded at 04:06 with an Emil Svec goal from in front of the net, assisted by Chamberlain.
However, the Bees were desperate to avoid another beating and rallied to score a leveller, on 07:36, through Marcel Balaz and the take the game into the first intermission at 1-1.
The second period saw a season-defining moment for Canadian forward Owen Sobchak as he became the first NIHL player to rack up 100 points this season when he scored an unassisted effort at 25:08.
Then, with two seconds left to go in the second period, Hull made the Bees pay for another moment of lax discipline when Jonny Corneil netted the team’s third goal of the game, on the powerplay, with William Stead in the penalty box for tripping.
Keen to put the game to bed, the Seahawks scored goals four and five during a two-minute window in the third period.
The first, on 51:10, came from the stick of Jason Hewitt, as the former GB veteran finished off a neat bit of play, assisted by Josh Hodgkinson and Corneil, and then, at 52:31, Svec scored his second of the night thanks to good link-up play with Sobchak and Chamberlain.
Berkshire did pull one back, unassisted through Stuart Mogg, but it was nothing more than a consolation, especially when Svec scored his hattrick goal after linking up again with Sobchak and Chamberlain to end the game 6-2 to Hull.
“This weekend is a job well done. We needed two wins and, given that the boys had to play both matches short benched, it becomes a very good weekend,” said Davies.
“They [Berkshire] came here tonight and tried hard to get at us. I thought Max Wright was outstanding in goal for them.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s away fixture against table-topping Milton Keynes Lightning, Davies remained upbeat despite the struggles his beleaguered side continue to face.
“We’re going to be short again, but we are playing some really good stuff at the moment.
“We have been on a really good run at the moment and we have given Milton Keynes a good game the last two times we have played them.
“We’ll go there with confidence, despite the injuries and suspensions, but we cannot afford to be complacent. Milton Keynes are a top team and are very difficult to beat on their home ice.”
By Mark Bateman
