Youngster Dominic Jolly turned in a man of the match performance as a depleted Deeside Dragons salvaged a creditable 3-3 draw at Coventry Blaze on Sunday.
Without six of their key players, including senior netminders Matty Compton and Dave Clancy, the Dragons fought back from 3-1 down to earn a share of the spoils against their hosts thanks to a brace from Christopher Jones and one from James Parsons.
The absence of Compton and Clancy led to player-coach Steve Fellows giving a first start to teenage youth team netminder Jolly who put in an impressive display between the sticks to deny the Blaze a victory that had seemed on the cards early on.
With Mike Jones, Mike Roden, Andy Chappell and Marc Lovell joining Clancy and Compton absentees, Fellows’ men were down to the bare bones heading in the clash, but the Dragons player-coach was delighted with the way his side went about their business.
“Before the puck dropped it was a case of seeing what we had an just making sure we got through the game,” he said.
“We had some of our senior and most key players out and we were down to the bare bones, so to battle back from 3-1 down and get a draw from a long away trip is really pleasing.
“Dominic Jolly came in for his first-ever start and he did really well for us and made some important saves. He deserved his man of the match award.
“But there were good performances all over the ice and Chris Jones and James Parsons took their goals really well which was great to see.”
The Dragons, who had been without a game for two weeks following their 11-0 win over Bradford Bulldogs on December 14, had their preparations for the game thrown into disarray when heavy traffic on the M6 saw them arrive late and miss out on valuable warm-up time on the ice.
In Coventry, Fellows’ men were facing a squad with a strong rotation, filled with a number of young, energetic skaters, something which made life difficult for the Dragons according to Fellows.
“They had a team full of young, energetic skaters and they made life difficult for us as they were everywhere in the early stages,” he said.
“We have a lot more senior players and guys in their 30s and it was difficult to keep pace with them but we battled through and matched them in the end.
“Coventry had a strong squad to choose from. They were due to play Telford the night before but the game was called off as they said they couldn’t put out a side, so their squad was fresh to face us.
“All things considered, the draw felt like a win with what we had to go through. Christmas is difficult as you miss out on practice sessions and you can over indulge a bit, but we’re pleased with how we did.”
The Dragons are back on the road on Sunday, January 4, when they face a trip to Nottingham Lions in the Laidler Conference (7.30pm).
