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The FireBees travelled to Chelmsford to face the Cobras for their 1st game of the season this past weekend, hoping for a better result than when the two teams met last season.
A disappointing first period for the FireBees saw the Cobra’s out shoot the FireBees 19-1 resulting in 6 goals. Cobras opened the scoring at 1:31 when Charmaine Easton scored her 1st of the match past FireBees' lone goalie, Nicky King. FireBees Jasmine Long was called for 2mins Holding and the FireBees' penalty kill was called into action, successfully managing to stave off the Cobras attack.
At 4:55 Cobras scored their second of the match, again from Easton, this time unassisted. Cobras scored a further 2 goals from Jirina Nerdova and Eleanor Paxman, before a delayed penalty on Firebees' Hannah Perkins (Hooking) resulted in Nerdova’s 2nd goal of the period. With 19 seconds remaining in the 1st Period Eleanor Paxman scored her 2nd putting the score to 6-0.
The 2nd period saw the FireBees return to the ice and looking much stronger. Although they we still out shot 16-3 a strong team effort from the Firebees saw only 2 goals from the Cobras, the first at 24:03, a power play goal from Paxman (her 3rd), after FireBees' Cathy Purse was given a 2 min tripping minor. The 2nd goal for Cobras came just over a minute later courtesy of Charmaine Easton.
Jasmine Long was given a 2 min Elbows penalty and the FireBees' penalty kill was again called into action. This time FireBees' Captain Karen Tulley managed to break free of her marker and had a shot on net, but it was no match for Cobra’s goalie Lucy Jarvis. Overall the FireBees gave the Cobras a good run for their money this period and created three opportunities, but they were unable to convert them.
Start of the 3rd period and the Cobras returned to the ice still on the powerplay and determined to take advantage. The FireBees penalty kill held firm but were unable to stop a shot by Donna Lewis (unassisted) just as Jasmine Long returned to the ice. A 32.23 penalty call by referee Dean Russell-Samways on both teams resulted in 2min cross checking minor to Tara North of the Cobra’s and
Fire Bees' Zuzanna Kent which resulted in 4on4. Strong effort by the FireBees saw no goals as the Cobras continued to pressure the Firebees' net.
FireBees' goalie Nicky King was now looking tired and was struggling to continue after aggravating a knee injury that had recently required surgery. Constant pressure from the Cobras resulted in 5 more goals, 3 from Eleanor Paxman (bringing her total to 6), 1 for Charmaine Easton (4) and 1 for Tara North, bringing the final score to 14-0.
A difficult game for the FireBees against a strong Cobras side showed that the FireBees still need to train hard, but that they have certainly improved since they played the Cobra’s last.
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