Ice-hockey: Streatham goalie King enjoys Palace visit
Streatham goalie Damien King praised his team-mates for getting the job done, after a comfortable 8-1 victory against north London rivals Haringey Huskies in the cup last weekend.
The RedHawks took an early lead and never looked back in the game at Alexandra Palace, against a Huskies side that compete in the league below, writes David Carr.
A brace each for man of the match Ziggy Beesley and fellow winger Brandon Miles, plus lone goals for James Warman, Adam Carr, Danny Ingoldsby and Michael Farn brought maximum points south of the river.
“The game went the way we kind of expected,” admitted King, now in his second full season with the club.
“There isn’t a lot of upside playing a team in the league below but the boys approached it the right way and got the job done. It was nice to play in a palace though, just a shame the Queen wasn’t in.”
King shared duties with Nate Gregory last weekend, but will start against his old club Invicta Dynamos tomorrow in SW16, the first of back-to-back fixtures against the Kent club.
The Mo’s were tipped to be title challengers this year alongside Streatham, but have had mixed results despite a strong-looking roster.
Mo’s coach Anthony Leone raised eyebrows last week when he added veteran defenseman and noted hard man Mark Williams to his roster after many years out of the British game, a point not lost on King.
“It should be a challenging weekend” admitted the stopper. “Invicta seem to have improved since we played them earlier in the year and it’s always a battle in their barn especially.
“They clearly felt they were bullied by us last time as they felt the need to bring Williams out of retirement to try and protect them. At 42 and after so long out, it will be tough for him to get back into league action. We should be fine.”
Streatham player-coach Carr is facing a selection headache. Star forward Vanya Antonov will be handed a multi-game suspension for abuse of an official, joining fellow goalscorer Ryan Watt on the sidelines.
An unspecified injury to Finnish import Jonathan Wallius also reduces player numbers.