Khokhlov makes 71 saves as Canucks fall at Chelmsford

A short-benched Cardiff side made the trip to Riverside on Saturday and stayed within a goal of Chelmsford until the final four seconds. That was when Ross Cowan found the empty Cardiff net. For much of the third period, a single shot could have brought the Canucks level. The problem was getting it past Aleksei Khokhlov.

Cardiff had done that once. The Canucks put 25 shots on goal in the first period, and Samuel Davies opened the scoring at 15:19 with assists from Lewis Stevens and Noah Betts. Cardiff took a 1–0 lead into the break.

Darcy Sullivan drew Chelmsford level just over five minutes after the restart, with Khokhlov credited with an assist. Then the penalties began to open up the game. Minors to Iwan Davies and Joe Morris left Cardiff defending a five-on-three for almost a minute. They got through it with the score still level, only for Matthew Tilbrook to put Chelmsford ahead at 33:38, eight seconds after Taylor Chard’s cross-checking penalty had left both sides skating four-on-four.

The Canucks had a five-on-three of their own before the second interval, after George Beckett and Lewis Shelton took minors just over a minute apart. Cardiff had 24 shots on goal in the period, but even with two extra skaters they couldn’t find a way past Khokhlov. Chelmsford took their 2–1 lead into the break.

Neither side scored on the power play. Chelmsford had another chance to extend their lead when they were awarded a penalty shot at 55:16, but it went unconverted. Cardiff called timeout with 1:28 left, then pulled Mackenzie Macnamara for an extra skater. When Chard went to the box again with 15 seconds remaining, the Canucks had one last power play and an empty net at the other end. Eleven seconds later, Cowan scored shorthanded to settle it.

Cardiff finished with 72 shots on goal to Chelmsford’s 25. Khokhlov stopped 71 of them, while Macnamara made 22 saves at the other end. The Canucks kept the game within a goal until the closing seconds, but Davies’s opener was the only shot they could turn into a goal.

The result leaves Cardiff with three points from three Memorial Cup games. The Canucks return to league action away to Milton Keynes Thunder on Saturday 14 November at 7pm, having won the home meeting 2–1 in September. After a trip to Haringey, they’re back at the Vindico Arena on Sunday 22 November to host Peterborough Phantoms 2 in the Memorial Cup at 6.30pm. Book tickets for the home game.