Romford Buccaneers head coach Jason Buckman said he had great pride in his side, after their National League play-off defeat against Slough Jets.

Buccaneers claimed a 5-4 win in the first leg at Romford's Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre on Saturday, but saw them beaten 6-1 in the return the following night.

And Buckman felt there were lots of encouraging signs for the future.

"I felt we were the better over the six periods of hockey," he said.

"It was a great weekend of play-off hockey, two really competitive ties played out and unfortunately we didn’t do enough to get through to Ally Pally.

"But I really couldn’t be prouder of my young squad.

"The young guys, some in their first full season, Brynley, Joe, Arts, Megas, have had a real breakout year.

"We had our ups and downs in the season, like every team, but the way we showed class and handled ourselves this weekend up against what we saw, I can’t thank our guys enough.

"We have some fantastic foundations for the future."

Sam Robinson opened the scoring in the quarter-final tie, but Slough hit back with a brace in the middle period.

Brynley Capps levelled on the powerplay, with just one second left on the clock, then cancelled out Slough's third goal early in the final session.

And after the visitors moved 4-3 up, Nathan Long converted another powerplay and Donald Campbell netted a late winner.

Jets soared into a 3-0 lead early in the second period on Sunday, though, and Ewan Hill's reply was little consolation as the hosts added three more to their tally as the encounter ended with a host of penalties.

And Buckman was left frustrated by some of the officiating, adding: "Saturday's game we dominated large parts and with that Slough resulted to their usual ways.

"It’s unfortunate, as I said last week, I really hope we get a strong referee who understands the game, and understands hockey and how teams play, that’s been the same all year with them.

"Particularly Sunday in Slough he lost complete control of the game, and when the tie is close and a team is trying to push it to the end you just don’t get that opportunity when cheap plays get rewarded with non-calls."