Lee Valley 3 Invicta Mustangs 5

Lee Valley Lions came up short against Invicta, despite a final-period rally in east London.

Despite being buoyed by their first win of the season at Slough the previous night, Lions fell behind after only 29 seconds as Jake Luton fired the visitors ahead.

Lions took time to settle after that early setback, but they did eventually find their rhythm, without making it count.

And they conceded a second goal with three minutes left in the opening period as Jake Stedman netted on assists from Kwame Holt and Jamie Smith.

Stedman went from hero to villain just before the break as he picked up a tripping penalty for a challenge on James Hepburn, who was hoping for more severe punishment.

But Lions, despite 92 seconds with a man advantage at the start of the middle session, could not make any inroads and appeared laboured after their win at Slough the night before.

Errors continued to creep into their play and the home side fell 3-0 down in the 28th minute when Thomas Dennis found the net.

And Danny Terry then made it 4-0 on a Mustangs powerplay as the visitors edged the shot count 17-12 in the period to leave Lions with a mountain to climb.

Lee Valley captain Nick Alley opened their account early in the final session, assisted by Simon Jones and Oskar Horter, but Terry restored Invicta’s four-goal cushion soon after with his second goal of the night.

An Invicta bench minor penalty for having too many men on the ice gave Lions the chance to net their second goal of the evening on the powerplay, with Matthew Hepburn finding the net.

And Chris Fox fired home Lee Valley’s third with 2:43 left on the clock to give them a faint glimmer of hope of salvaging something from the match. But it was not to be as Invicta held on for the points.

Scorers, Lions: Chris Fox 1, Matthew Hepburn 1, Nick Alley 1, Simon Geldart 0+2, James Hepburn 0+1, Simon Jones 0+1, Oskar Horter 0+1.

Mustangs: Danny terry 2, Thomas Dennis 1+2, Jake Luton 1+1, Jake Stedman 1, Aaron Ferris 0+2, Michael Stokes 0+2, Kwame Holt 0+1, Jamie Smith 0+1.

Penalty minutes: Lee Valley 4 Invicta 12.

Shots faced: James Andrew (LV) 8-17-12=37-5 Matthew Passmore (I) 8-12-14=34-3.