Wightlink Raiders showed true championship form at the weekend with an emphatic win over title rivals Chelmsford in front of a huge crowd at Ryde Arena on Saturday.
They then made it 12 games unbeaten with a hard fought road win at Milton Keynes last night.
A shell shocked Chieftains were destroyed in two periods on Saturday by some of the best attacking hockey Raiders fans have ever seen at home as Jeremy Cornish’s men stormed into an 8-0 lead by the end of the second period.
Jason Gorrie hit a hat trick with Richard Facey, Robbie Brown, Richard Bentham, Damon Larter and Steve Gosset contributing the other goals.
A third period rally from Chelmsford helped keep the scoreline respectable but the damage had been done and an 8-3 win over one of their main title rivals helped the Raiders extend their lead to 5 points at the top of the table.
On Sunday the Raiders raced into an early 2-0 lead at Milton Keynes before the home team pegged them back three times to tie the game up at 4-4 before Robbie Brown hit the game winning goal six minutes from the end. Jason Gorrie (2), Jeremy Cornish and Richard Facey were the other scorers.
Dynamos return to Ryde this weekend
The league table now shows the Raiders top on 41 points, five clear of their reigning champions Invicta Dynamos.
The Dynamos were the last team to beat the Island team and are the visitors to Ryde Arena this Saturday for a game which could go a long way to deciding the outcome of this year’s league title. Face off is 6pm.
