BILLINGHAM EAGLES v ALTRINCHAM ACES
ENGLISH CUP GAME
27th October 2001
Saturday the 29th October saw the Eagles open their home campaign. The Eagles were still without Brian Perry.
1st Period.
The game opened with some strong positive end to end hockey. Eagles were unlucky when, Paul Windridge broke away, the resulting rebound from his shot falling to Andy Thornton whose back hand lift only just went wide. However it was to be Altrincham who were first to find the back of the net. At 11:59 Altrinchams Billy Price beat Snook with a low shot to the left. Scott Ward also collected a 2 min slashing penalty. Eagles played it off without loss. More penalties for Eagles at 14:20 when Andy Fletcher collected a 2 minute slashing call. With the power play played off Eagles Andy Thornton was again unlucky when a well taken shot just went wide of the bottom of the post. With 2 min left on the clock Eagles Ian Richardson took a puck to the face, true to form Winny played on. The first closed Eagles 0 : Aces 1
2nd Period.
Only 2 minutes into the second saw the Aces net their second with a well taken shot from Tim Dempsey, Aces found themselves short handed at 31:33 when Rob Young was called for a tripping call, then Billy Price was callled for a hooking call, then Eagles Paul Windridge picked up a 2 minute high sticking call, also called was Aces Tim Dempsey who picked up a 10 minute misconduct penalty. Play continued with the Eagles enjoying a 4 on 3 advantage, Eagles then collected another 2 minute penalty when Martin Lewis took a 2 minute sit for roughing. The Aces turned the resulting power play to their advantage and Greg Allen forced home from a tight angle to stretch the Aces lead. As play resumed Andy Fletcher found himself clear going 1 on 1 with Aces netminder Ricky Ashton, as he closed in and picked his spot a trip from behind resulted in Ref Dave Metcalfe signaling a penalty shot. Andy Fletcher v Ricky Ashton, Fletcher moved from the centre spot increasing his speed and drifted right before releasing a shot that Ashton got a leg to.Three minutes later the Eagles were off the mark when Andy Fletcher again skateing onto Ashton released a shot, the resulting rebound falling to Martin Lewis who lifted it over Ashton to open the Eagles account at 38:40. The second closed Eagles 1 : Aces 3
3rd Period.
The 3rd opened with Aces Jason Hewitt collecting a 2 min sit for tripping. This was played of by the Aces without loss, then as the Eagles looked forward to a power play they were themselves called for a 2 minute roughing call for David Flett. Five minutes later the Eagles were again short handed when Andrew Bennett collected a 2 minute interference call, just over a minute into the Aces power play Billinghams Andy Fletcher was called for a tripping penalty, as he was called Fletcher blew a fuse and lashed out at the back of an aces helmet in frustration, resulting in a 2 min call for the trip and a 5 minute plus inevitable game call for the afters. At 50:54 the Aces put the result beyond the Eagles when they stretched their lead with a power play goal scored by Simon Mills assisted by Russell Richardson. Three minutes later the Aces again found the back of the Eagles net when Steve Elliot and Rob Young combined to net the aces 5th of the night. Eagles second goal came when Martin Lewis made something from nothing as he nipped in behind the Altrincham net and stole the puck, the resulting pass from behind the net was buried by Paul Windridge. Final Score Billingham Eagles 2 : Altrincham Aces 5.
PERIOD SCORES
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | FINAL | |
| BILLINGHAM | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| ALTRINCHAM | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
PENALTIES
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | TOTAL | |
| BILLINGHAM | 4 | 4 | 31 | 39 |
| ALTRINCHAM | 0 | 16 | 2 | 18 |
SHOTS ON GOAL
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | TOTAL | |
| SNOOK | 17 | 17 | 17 | 51 |
| ASHTON | 5 | 12 | 2 | 19 |
HOME STATS PLAYER