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Invicta Dynamos beat Chelmsford Chieftains to win the NIHL Southern Cup in their 25th anniversary season.
Last year’s runners-up made sure they lifted the trophy this time, winning the two-legged final 9-4 on aggregate.
A 6-3 victory at Planet Ice on Saturday night put Mos in control and they finished the job with a 3-1 success in Sunday’s away leg.
It was the club’s 20th title since they replaced the old Medway Bears in 1997 and their first since their 20th anniversary campaign of 2017/18.
Mos’ run to the final captured the imagination of the Medway public, with the home leg attracting a sellout crowd of almost 1,100.
Karl Lennon’s side didn’t disappoint, with doubles for Owen Dell and Juraj Huska, while Stanislav Lascek and Louis Colvin were also on target.
Huska, Dell and Richard Harris struck in the second leg as the Dynamos banished the memories of last year’s aggregate 23-2 thumping by Streatham.
Chelsea legend Petr Cech was in the Chelmsford squad but didn’t feature in either game.
“It was a big occasion for the guys and they were a little nervous before the first leg, especially with the size of the crowd,” said coach Lennon.
“There were nearly 1,100 there on Saturday, which is our best attendance in recent years.
“We pre-sold a huge amount of tickets and on the night it was quite intense in terms of the atmosphere in the building.
“We were 2-0 up after the first period but Chelmsford came back and it was 2-2 after the second.
“I could sense the guys were a little bit overawed with the situation maybe and I just said to them we’re in the game, you rarely get to play in front of this many people, now try and enjoy it and make the most of it.
“The third period, we were excellent and we went 6-2 up before they got one back.
“I’d have preferred 6-2 to make it more comfortable on the Sunday but 6-3 was still a good result.
“The way I looked at Sunday was, with a three-goal lead, if we won two periods of hockey we’d probably be champions.
“That would give us at least an extra two goals and then it’s asking them to overturn five goals in the third period.
“I asked the boys to try and win the first two periods.
“We ended up drawing them - 0-0 after the first and 1-1 after the second - and by then I knew Chelmsford had a lot of work to do.
“They had to take more chances in the third period and we picked them off with two goals on the break.
“We were good on the night but a lot of praise goes to Owen Ryder, the goalkeeper, who was phenomenal across the weekend but especially on Sunday.”
Dynamos enjoyed their celebrations after marking their anniversary season with another trophy.
“We had a horrendous Final last year, so it was good to get another chance this year,” said Lennon.
“The last time we won a trophy was during our 20th anniversary season five years ago, so it was special to win another one in our 25th anniversary season.
“We had special jerseys made for the final which listed the 19 trophies the club had won since 1997 and I said, ‘Let’s make sure we’re No.20’.
“To win 20 in 25 years since the club became Invicta Dynamos is very good. We’re very happy with that.
“We’re still work in progress but we’re going in the right direction.”
Dynamos meet Chelmsford again this weekend, this time in the end-of-season play-offs. The away leg is on Saturday (6pm), with the return at Planet Ice on Sunday (7.15pm).
The winners progress to finals weekend at Milton Keynes on April 9-10.