Cobras came into this game keen to extinguish the memory of their early season defeat at the hands of this evening's visitors, Invicta Dynamics. They came out of their starting blocks at a very impressive pace, and spent the best part of the first five minutes camped in Invicta's defensive zone.
Having put their visitors under intense pressure, Chelmsford eventually broke through, with Katy Allen on hand to finish the move created by Rachel Kearn and Marianne Wright. Less than thirty seconds had elapsed when Emma Stott combined with Jen Stedman to double the Cobras lead.
Invicta then started to retaliate, and having killed a minor penalty, they had their fair share of chances, with Cobras player of the game, Carly Davis, coming up big a number of times, and turning aside all 11 shots she faced.
The second period saw the Cobras eager to make more of their pressure, and again spent the opening five minutes camped in the Dynamics' end. This time, the shots were on target. Chelmsford recorded 9 shots on goal in the first five minutes, three more than in the whole of the first period. Goals came from Caroline Jackson, her first for the Cobras, Stacey Wood, a deflected goal shot from behind the goal line, and Carmel Buttimer, after a scramble in front of the goal, to give the Cobras a 5-0 lead. This also signalled a change of netminder for Invicta, with Sarah Vik replacing Alissa Dennis.
Cobras kept up the pressure, attempting to unnerve the new goalie, but despite their efforts they were unable to add to their lead. Invicta again regained their composure, and managed to create an overlap into the Cobras zone, and Heidi Korff was on hand to open the Dynamics account.
The final period again saw the Cobras start out on fire, and within 23 seconds Katy Allen had again stretched the lead to five, with another goal which seemed to take an odd deflection into the net. Chelmsford had by now worked out that it would take more than a simple shot to beat the replacement goalie and they were working some impressive looking moves together. This frustrated Invicta, and when Robyn Mapp took a tripping minor, Katy Allen was able to take advantage to complete her hat trick, and the scoring.
The game ended with both teams taking penalties, as both teams tired. Cobras outshot their visitors 31-18, and Invicta's "Player of the game" was Karen Thompson.
The next game for the Cobras sees the visit of Oxford City Zodiacs to Riverside, on March 4th. Face-off is at 17:15. All supporters are welcome to see the Cobras attempt to keep up their recent run of form.
Chelmsford: Katy Allen 3+0(2), Caroline Jackson 1+0(0), Emma Stott 1+0(0), Stacey Wood 1+0(0), Carmel Buttimer 1+0(0), Jen Stedman 0+2(2), Rachel Kearn 0+1(0), Marianne Wright 0+1(2).
Invicta: Heidi Korff 1+0(0), Robyn Mapp 0+0(2), Tracey Gough 0+0(2), Jenny Vik 0+0(2).