April 10th 1999, Women's League Division One - South
Cobras entered this game playing for pride rather than trophies, but looking to put a dent in Cardiff's 100% record, and were soon piling the pressure onto the Comets net. About a quarter of the way through the period, Cardiff opened the scoring, as Helen Wilson slid the puck into a corner of the Cobras net, but only two minutes before the scores were tied again, as Jen Stedman was on hand in front of the net to finish off a well aimed pass from Rachael Mockler.
Following a skirmish in front of the Cardiff net, Emma Stott was dispatched to the penalty box along with Sue Lowrey of Cardiff, and when they were followed by Katy Allen a minute later, the teams were skating 4 on 3, and there was a lot of space on the ice, which resulted in Comet's player of the game, Sarah Audsley, being left unmarked in front of the Cobras net, and able to slot the puck into the goal. Cardiff appeared to take control after 15 minutes of the period, when Elaine Whitney was able to score to give the Comets a 2 goal cushion, however, they hadn't accounted for Cobras player of the game, Rachel Kearn, who was able to skate onto a pass from Rachael Mockler, and neatly loft the puck into the top corner of the net over the shoulder of the Cardiff goalie.
Into the second period and Chelmsford were soon on the powerplay, as Lorraine McMullen took a tripping minor. A minor scare followed as Cardiff won the face off, and shot on net, only to see the puck skid through the pads of Cobras goalie Carly Davis and off the post, although this was soon forgotten as Katy Allen skated the length of the ice, only for her shot to ricochet off the pads of Rachel Gilvear in the Cardiff net and lie agonisingly in the crease - fortunately for Chelmsford, Jen Stedman was first on the scene to poke the puck into the now unguarded net and tie the scores at 3-3, equalling the total goals scored against Cardiff at the Wales National Ice Rink in four games this season.
Both teams now realised they were in a tight game, and the scoring chances were at a premium. Chelmsford goalie Carly Davis turned away a good few shots in the next few minutes, until at about the midway point of the match, Cardiff had a golden spell and notched 3 goals without reply in two and a half minutes - and it looked as if Cardiff were going to runaway with the game until Rachel Kearn was able to stop the rot with another breakaway goal, this time on the feed from Jen Stedman.
As this game was being played with the longer than normal 20-minute periods, both teams were showing signs of fatigue, and the pace of the game dropped. Cardiff grabbed their seventh goal though Helen Wilson unassisted about two minutes into the period, and in the last seven minutes of the game the scoring was finished as both Helen Wilson and Lorraine McMullen completed their hat tricks.
Next Cobras game is Saturday 24th April, at Riverside, starting at 5:15pm, against Oxford University Blues.
Scoring:
Cardiff: Lorraine McMullen 3+3(2), Helen Wilson 3+2(0), Elaine Whitney 2+2(0), Sarah Audsley 1+0(0), Becci Hargreaves 0+1(0), Katherine Bryce 0+0(2), Sue Lowrey 0+0(12).
Chelmsford: Jen Stedman 2+1(0), Rachel Kearn 2+0(0), Rachael Mockler 0+2(0), Katy Allen 0+1(4), Emma Stott 0+0(12).