Ice hockey: Streatham add third trophy to collection after securing Britton Cup

Streatham sealed a treble of trophies with a 10-1 victory over Oxford City Stars in the Britton Cup on Sunday, writes Christopher Beal.

With the Slough Jets defeating the Chelmsford Chieftains the night before, all Streatham needed was two points to secure the trophy.

The South Londoners were 5-0 up by the end of the first period.

Josh Martin sealed his return to home ice after his long suspension was overturned with the opening goal. Jared Lane, Ziggy Beesley, Ryan Watt and Ben Paynter added to the scoring.

Streatham would extend the lead in the second period as Watt scored his second with Luke Brittle, pictured inset, also on target.

Oxford pulled one back at the beginning of the third, Tom Stephens netted on a powerplay.

But Streatham fired back three more times as Ben Ealey-Newman and JJ Pitchley got on the board. Beesley added another to his tally.

He said: “It’s amazing to win trophies here, we’ve been fortunate over the last few years to win a few.

“Fair play to Oxford showing up short. It’s always tough when you’re  short, especially away from home and they may have had bus legs. But we kept it professional, took the chance to work on a few things and it helped us get the job done.”

Streatham head coach Ben Paynter added: “It’s always tough to play against a team that shows up with 12 skaters, but we were focused and took complete control. I was very pleased with how we dealt with it professionally.”

“It’s a difficult one having wrapped everything up – we don’t want anyone to be doing anything silly that gets them suspended.

“We play for pride, we play for the fans and we appreciate them – so we want to give them a show every week.  But it’s a great opportunity for us to work on some systems and towards getting back up to full strength heading into the play-offs.”

Martin hit the ground running on his return.

Paynter said: “Josh stuck with it in training, which is difficult when you have a long ban like that hanging over you. But he’s been training hard every week.

“He’s the sort of player who does what he does, and he does it well and he gets the job done. “

The evening before Streatham had sealed a 6-3 league win over Romford Buccaneers on the road. Paynter, Watt, Martin, Brittle and Brandon Miles all scored.

Streatham wrap up of their Britton Cup campaign as they welcome Chelmsford Chieftains to the High Road tomorrow before travelling to Oxford on Sunday.

PICTURES: MEL O’BRIEN/FUSIONAL