Comets Vs Cambridge (away): A tough gritty win on the road against a strong opponent.
Cardiff Comets were on the road again this weekend. This was our first game against Cambridge who joined the league this season having put together a strong roster containing skilled hard working players with speed and good hockey IQ.
The first shift saw a fast opposition with attacking approach on the rush, and Comets opened the goal tally at 4 mins 38 with a beautiful goal from Maddie Davies who found the net in an unassisted goal from the slot. Maddie opened the goal tally in what was going to prove to be a tight score-lined game with both teams attacking and defending hard.
However the 1-0 scoreline soon saw a response from Cambridge at 6 mins 9 with a shot from Anderson which evened the tally at 1 -1.
This was to be the only goal from Cambridge in a game where Kenzie stood on her head for us in goal with her characteristically solid work rate and made some impressive saves in the 34 shots on goal, keeping the scoreline at 1-1 until well into the third period against a team who know how to move the puck around in the zone.
Towards the end of the first period Comets came close to a second goal with a shot from Defenseman Meg Lawrence who rifled the puck from just inside the blue line only to have it hit the post but unfortunately bounce the wrong way in what could easily have been our second goal of the game.
It was good to see a physical game played with passion, with both teams battling hard for the full 60 minutes. It meant some inevitable visits to the penalty box for minor penalties, and during the second period Comets found themselves down to 3 players. Cambridge took the opportunity to test our PK, however Comets continued to hold off a strong attack with a strong defensive effort and Kenzie once again putting in a stellar performance for us between the pipes.
Towards the end of the second period the Comets net front presence paid off as we saw Liv Taylor attack from behind the net making a strong backhand shot over the goaltenders shoulder to rifle the puck into the top shelf.
The third period saw no slowing down in intensity with Cambridge determined to even the scoreboard and Comets equally determined to deny them. It was an end to end performance with high work rate and intensity from both teams which could have seen a different result, however Comets stayed the course and closed out the period at 2-1 final score.
In a game where Comets characteristically play for each other and leave it all on the ice saw some notable performances, however the coaches Most Valued Player was rightly awarded to Beth Walden, our youngest signing, a skilled player and valued team mate highly respected within both the team and coaching team for her work ethic skill and consistency. Beth stepped up all over the ice and deserved to take away the reward.
With 8 players unavailable to travel, Jen and Louann on a 2 way from the rec development team both had great games with Jen picking up one of the 3 stars of the game along with Maddie Edwards for a solid performance and Kenzie MacNamara in net.
With 6 wins from 6, the Comets have a couple of weekends off until our next home game 2nd March against Chelmsford Pythons. We will continue taking one game at a time one shift at a time as we head towards the busiest part of the season.