BRACKNELL Bees missed one opportunity, but another awaits as they slug it out with Raiders for what is expected to be the final place in the National Division play-offs, writes Dave Wright.
Bees lost twice to them last weekend, although they did earn a point in their 4-3 overtime defeat on Sunday and this leaves them trailing their Romford rivals by two points with a total of eight games remaining in the regular season.
It means there will be extra pressure on Doug Sheppard's men when they face Raiders again, on March 7 at The Hive, and away the following week.
And they can now be labelled 'must-win games' if Bees hope to finish the season in the top eight.
Having completed a quick double over league leaders Telford Tigers the previous week, Bracknell were fully expected to win at least one of their vital games with fellow-strugglers Raiders, but it didn't go to plan.
Their shock 2-0 defeat on Saturday was the first time this season they had failed to score in front of their own fans.
Despite a disciplined performance – only two penalty minutes against them – they failed to hit the target from 33 shots.
With netminder Adam Goss producing another man-of-the-match display, Bees also defended well, and it wasn't until the 49th minute when Aaron Connolly broke the deadlock to put Raiders ahead.
Going into the final half-minute, Sheppard gambled by taking off Goss, only for Sean Barry to quickly take advantage by stroking the puck into an empty net to seal the game, much to the delight of the visiting supporters.
Bracknell were hungry for revenge the following evening and they got the boost of an unassisted goal from Dominik Gabaj at 15.10 giving them a lead, which they held for more than 32 minutes.
A hotly-contested middle period – which brought a scuffle between James Galazzi and Raiders' Mason Webster – failed to produce a goal, and it wasn’t until 47.19 when Erik Piatak brought the scores level. And he then netted again with a powerplay goal at 49.37 to make it 2-1.
Bees had the puck in the net with eight minutes remaining, only for the officials to disallow it for high sticks, and it got worse for the visitors when Lukas Sladovsky made it 3-1 with 1.24 left to play.
For the second evening running, Sheppard pulled Goss to go with an extra skater and this time it paid dividends. Josh Ealey-Newman scored at 59.31 before Gabaj levelled matters with just 13 seconds left in regulation time to force overtime.
The momentum seemed to be with the Bees, but the extra point went Romford's way thanks to another Sladovsky goal in the second minute of the additional period.
Bracknell will be hoping to return to winning ways this weekend when they travel to bottom side Leeds Chiefs on Saturday (7pm) before hosting third-placed Peterborough Phantoms on Sunday (5.30pm).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here