THE Gillingham-based Invicta Dynamos squad begin the defence of their English National Hockey League crown on Sunday against the Slough Hawks at the Ice Bowl.

It will be an important game for 16-year-old James Fraser, who makes his senior debut because forwards Grant Baxter and Kevin Lake are suspended and unavailable respectively.

There will also be league debuts for exciting new forward Mike Allaby and defencemen Alex Shaw and Anthony Lennon.

Bench coach Kevin Parrish said: “Allaby will go in our second line alongside AJ Smith and fellow new boy Andy Smith, while Shaw and Lennon will be defensive partners, probably in our third line.”

Hawks finished bottom last season with just two wins, and Parrish is looking for a winning start from the hosts.

He said: “We expect this to be one of our easier games, but are mindful that Slough were one of our bogey teams last year.

“They never beat us, but while other teams were killing them and scoring 15 or 16 against them we only beat them 3-0 in one game.”