Romford Raiders get their 2026-27 National League campaign underway with a double-header against Bristol this weekend.
Raiders head west for the season opener on Saturday(September 12), looking to tame the Pitbulls in their own back yard. And they will be hoping to put on a show in front of their own fans back at Romford's Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre in a return meeting on Sunday (September 13) (5.15pm).
Having beaten league rivals Peterborough in both of their challenge matches to start pre-season, Raiders welcomed Division One South side Streatham last Saturday. And the visitors made the first of several trips to the penalty box with only 38 seconds on the clock, in what turned into a feisty contest.
A high-sticking call against former Raider JJ Pitchley allowed Louie White to put the hosts ahead on a powerplay in the ninth minute, but Streatham answered back through another ex-Romford player, Alan Lack, before the break.
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The middle session was only 17 seconds old when Barrett Kirwin restored Raiders lead with a shorthanded goal and Spencer Yardy made it 3-1 less than a minute later. Ed Lane replied, but Sylvester quickly restored the two-goal cushion before Yardy tussled with reknowned agitator Ryan Watt.
Michael Power picked up a 2+10 penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct at the same time and Leo Bacallao netted a fifth Raiders goal as the teams skated 4-on-4 after the dust settled.
American Bacallao struck only six seconds into another powerplay at the start of the final period, after a slashing penalty against Lack, who promptly picked up an additional unsportsmanlike conduct.
But the hosts could not convert on three more opportunities, before Lack and Tjay Anderson were handed coincidental roughing minors. A holding penalty against Pitchley allowed Stanley Johnston to put Raiders 7-2 up on the man advantage and Dawson Osborn completed the scoring just 19 seconds later.
Former Romford goalie Max van Mullem was kept busy as Raiders dominated the shot count 38-16, while Streatham took 45 minutes in penalties to the home side's 13.
And Raiders rested all five of their imports for the return in south London on Sunday, to avoid injury, which ended in a 4-3 defeat.
Yardy's powerplay goal opened the scoring midway through the first period, with Sylvester doubling the advantage 20 seconds into the middle stanza.
And although Streatham halved the deficit, Tommy Huggett put Raiders 3-1 ahead early in the final period.
The hosts rallied to score three times in just over three minutes of action, though, to turn the game on its head and force Sean Easton to call a timeout. And Raiders could not find a way past Brett Shepherd in the home net in the final 10 minutes as the shots ended all square at 32-32 and the penalty minute count finished much lower at 14-4.
Raiders have announced a testimonial game in honour of Jake Sylvester's 10 years of service to the club will take place on May 1, 2027. A full line-up of players will be revealed in the coming months, but merchandise to mark the occasion is already available on game nights.
Sylvester is the fourth highest scoring player in club history with 513 points (286 goals, 227 assists) and his 445 appearances are the sixth most all time.
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