CHELMSFORD Chieftains player-coach Gary Clarke was thrilled after his side ended their 25th Anniversary season in style at the weekend by securing the 2012/13 play-off championships.
They beat Wightlink Raiders 7-6 on aggregate over two legs to conclude a fantastic season for the team who have already been crowned league champions.
Clarke told the Chronicle: "It's a good feeling.
"It's a great way to finish off a successful year. You expect the play-offs to be tight.
"Over two legs anything can happen. It's always going to be tight. It's a bit like football and the FA Cup Final – it's never going to be the best football and that's because people don't want to make mistakes and it's the same in the play-offs."
Wightlink had finished second in the regular season so it was fitting that they were the opponents for the play-off final.
The Chieftains headed to the Isle of Wight first and the small Ryde rink which has been a fortress for the home team – and where Chieftains had lost on their last two trips.
And the home side took the lead within two minutes – a lead they held until two seconds of the first period remaining when Ross Brears netted in a powerplay.
But it took just 19 seconds in the second half for the visitors to go in front when Brears doubled his tally.
The third period started with Chelmsford defending a powerplay with Tibor Schneider serving a hooking penalty.
Danny Wright then found Clarke, who slotted past the Raiders' netminder to make it 3-1 with a short-handed goal.
The home side hit back with two goals to level the score, but with 50 minutes on the clock, Raider Nathan Taylor was handed a two minute hooking penalty and Chieftains' Slovakian forward, Julius Sinkovic, punished him with a powerplay goal, which proved to be the final score.
On Sunday, the atmosphere was electric in the packed Riverside rink.
The game started with both teams going end-to-end as in the previous evening's encounter.
It was the Chieftains who opened the scoring with a little over ten minutes gone when Clarke slotted a pass to Sinkovic to finish past the stranded Matt Colclough. But Raiders would not lie down and with netminder Ryan Bainborough being called into action more than once to keep the puck out, a defensive error gave the puck to James Smith in front of the Chieftains net and he made it 1-1 .
But the travelling fans' cheers were halted when Clarke and Sinkovic again proved what a lethal partnership they have been all season, with the Slovakian scoring his second of the night.
The travelling Raiders made it a tied game once again with just seconds of the second period remaining, Smith again finding the back of the net.
The third period was all set to be a dramatic end to the game and to the season. And once again it was the Chieftains who took advantage of a powerplay. Schneider hit one of his trademark blue line slapshots and it was diverted by Darren Brown past a wrong-footed Colclough.
Still, Raiders kept pressuring the Chieftains' net and with a little over eight minutes left on the clock, their pressure was rewarded with Robbie Brown finding the roof of the net through a crowded area in front of the home net. It was 3-3 on the night with the visitors needing a goal to bring the aggregate scores level and take the game to overtime.
With less than two minutes remaining, Wightlink coach called a time-out to try and rally his team for one final push. As expected the final throw of the dice came when Colclough was pulled to give the Raiders an extra forward and more pressure on the Chieftains.
The puck was dropped numerous times in the Chieftains' zone in a final minute that felt like an eternity. But Chieftains held firm and the final buzzer of the season was the signal for the Chieftain's celebrations to begin.
Clarke added: "There was an awesome atmosphere. We played really well on the Saturday, we got the one-goal lead we needed but we weren't complacent - it was always going to be a tough game, but the fans were amazing, they stuck with us and helped spur us on to get that result.
"We've now got a well-earned rest for all the guys. If they are feeling like I do they'll be in complete agony. I feel battered.
"I'm looking forward to the rest. I need to start looking to next year though, but it's nice to be off the ice and recover a bit."
