ALTRINCHAM ACES 9-2 BLACKBURN HAWKS 27 OCTOBER 2002

Aces were home to Blackburn for the second time this season, this time for League points. Aces were without the injured Kevin Cassidy and Phil Keelan.

Brian Worrall forced the first good save of the match with a sharply taken shot and Aces took the lead in the fifth minute with Billy Price crisply putting away a pass from the left. Phil Verstappen stopped Craig Corner Swerve Sharman on a powerplay break but Aces were on top and finished the game off in a 47 second period. Jason Hewitt got the puck, turned into space and fired home. Nineteen seconds later, a passing move from Jason to Billy to Greg Allen left Greg in space on the left and he made no mistake in beating Colin Downie with a shot into the top corner. Soon after, the second line got in on the act with Steve Daly latching onto a loose puck and putting it in. With the game now all but dead, Hawks did pull one back when the Aces missed two challenges on Wayne Slater before he shot in.

Russ Richardson was on target early on in the second beating Colin Downie with a low shot that Russ will have enjoyed after recent meetings with CD and which goes to prove that Russ can get the odd shot on target. 5-1 became 6-1 after Billy netted a rebound. Despite 32 SOG in the period, this still wasn't much of a contest although we did get two more goals just before the interval. Jason beat Gordon Whyte for speed on a break and took time in beating Downie for a shorthanded goal and then the Aces conceded one as a speculative shot from David Sheffield on the point seemed to creep inside Phil's far post.

The traditional scrap in these matches arrived at 46.12. Billy Price retaliated and then got caught up in a tussle with Chris Black, Billy getting a 5+ Game for butt ending and a Match for fighting (the Match probably for continuing the fight after being told to stop). Black also exited along with Gordon Whyte for a Third Man In after pointlessly wrestling Greg Allen to the ground. With the Match carrying another 5 minute penalty, that left Aces shorthanded for 5 minutes but that was played off. Two late goals took Aces' tally to 9. Brian Worrall slid in a slow shot on 55.36 and Jason Hewitt got Downie to commit before passing for Allen to score into the empty net. Steve Michie got his first point for the Aces with the second assist.

1-0 04.51 Price from R Richardson
2-0 13.51 Hewitt from Worrall
3-0 14.10 Allen from Price and Hewitt
4-0 14.38 Daly from R Richardson
4-1 15.15 Slater from Black
5-1 20.28 R Richardson from Hewitt
6-1 23.54 Price from R Richardson
7-1 38.32 Hewitt SHG
7-2 39.02 D Sheffield from Norgate PPG
8-2 55.36 Worrall
9-2 59.51 Allen from Hewitt and Michie PPG

ACES

Greg Allen 2+0,Russ Richardson 1+3, Steve Michie 0+1, Brian Worrall 1+1,
Nick Crawley, Jason Hewitt 2+3, Simon Mills, Arran Richardson, Stephen Elliott,
Luke Stretton, Steve Daly 1+0, Billy Price 2+1,
Phil Verstappen (37s, 2g, 94.59%) (MoM), Danny Higgin

SOG 37-37 Pens 78-77