Ace Aaaron Denies Cardiff Fire Between The Pipes

Teenager Aaron Burton stood tall to deny Cardiff Fire in their opening National Ice Hockey League match of the season.

Basingstoke Buffalo goalie Burton, aged 19, is fresh from playing for Daytona Racers in America and produced a first class performance to deny Fire.

Buffalo won 4-3 in a closely fought match against Fire and it was Burton who made the difference.

He played for Bristol before closure of their rink meant he switched to Oxford. Now is the main man for Basingstoke in NIHL South Two.

Josh Haslam in action for Cardiff Fire.

Coach Simon Beere’s reflection on the game was: “A great way to start the season. The guys have worked hard in the off season to develop and make improvements on last year’s campaign and deserved the win.”

Fire attracted healthy attendance for their clash with Buffalo and many of those supporters will return when Slough Jets visit Ice Arena Wales next Sunday (6pm).

This was an intense, competitive match which Cardiff Fire could easily have won, but they were edged out by a talented Buffalo team.

Starting goalie Lewis Davies was pulled with 44 seconds left as Fire threw everything they had at Buffalo, but the visitors held own under massive pressure.

Head coach Douglas will take heart from the opening performance of his team as they prepare for next Sunday’s clash with Slough Jets.

Cardiff Fire’s Tamas Elias

Match stats: 

Scorers, Fire: Tamas Elias 2+0,  Sam Bryant 1+0, Ross Wilkinson 0+2, Alan Armour 0+1, Jordan Powell 0+1, Viktor Langseth 0+1, Jackson Price 0+1.

Buffalo: Liam Coleman 3+0, Mark Austin 1+0, Oscar Evans 0+2, Cameron Buckle 0+3, Sam Dollin 0+1, Thomas Banner 0+1

Period scores (Fire first): 1-1; 1-1 (2-2); 1-2 (3-4).

Shots on goal: Fire 41, Buffalo 37.

Penalties in minutes: Fire 24, Buffalo 14.

Fire roster: Lewis Davies (nm), Chris Douglas (nm), James Whiting, Joe Morris, Ben Smith, Stephen Deacon, Tom Smith, Alan Armour, Jordan Powell, Elliot Carter, Tamas Elis, Lewis Stevens, Phil Manny, Ross Wilkinson, Sam Bryant, Morgan Evans, Iwan Davies, Jackson Price, Viktor Langseth,  Josh Haslam, Andre Norris, Elias Sheppard.

Referee: Nathan Ormond.