Invicta Dynamos head coach Karl Lennon can't wait for capacity crowds to return to Planet Ice and boost the atmosphere
Published: 05:00, 28 October 2022
Updated: 18:26, 28 October 2022
Invicta Dynamos head coach Karl Lennon is looking forward to welcoming bigger home crowds to Planet Ice.
Mos' Gillingham rink has been operating at half-capacity while fire safety measures are implemented.
A reduced sell-out crowd of 500 turned out for Sunday's 5-2 defeat by Slough Jets in NIHL Division 1 South.
There's potential to double that once the arena is fully opened, which will only lift the atmosphere further.
Lennon understands the maintenance work has been completed, so Mos should get the green light any day, maybe even time for this Sunday's home game against Streatham (5.15pm).
"We have a funny situation at the moment, with one side of the rink closed," said Lennon.
"It was a complete sell-out on one side on Sunday, so 500-plus people, which is great, but it still doesn’t provide the same atmosphere the building used to provide when you have people all around the rink.
"I think there was some work that needed to be done around the fire exits, lighting and stuff like that, which I believe has been done and they’re just waiting on the fire service to come out and sign it off.
"Yes, 500 is a decent crowd, but with the performances we’ve been putting in I’d hope it would increase.
"The ambition is to grow that and we’ll do that by having young, local players, that people have a connection to, and growing with our performances.
"I think people realise chemistry and gelling takes time and the fans have been very supportive with me and the players.
"They can see we're trying to do something not for short-term gain but for a long-term sustainable goal."
Dynamos suffered back-to-back defeats last weekend, with the Slough reverse preceded by an 8-6 loss at Oxford Stars on Saturday night.
Lennon's side led 5-3 but returned to Medway empty-handed.
Arran Strawson (2), Juraj Huska, Stanislav Lascek and Tom Long were the scorers.
"When you're scoring six goals away from home and conceding eight to lose the game, that's incredibly frustrating," said Lennon.
"For spells we were quite dominant and got ourselves 5-3 up. We felt it was a game we should have got points from.
"It was a productive night offensively but we made a lot of errors that resulted in goals."
The performance in defeat of rookie netminder Harvey Bryden was a highlight of Mos' defeat by Slough, Lascek and Huska with the hosts' goals.
Lennon handed the 17-year-old his debut and the youngster didn't disappoint.
"It was his very first senior game, and he did fantastically well," said Lennon.
"I said when I took the job I'd give young players a chance and we were able to give him an opportunity. He coped really well.
"As for the game, I thought we were perhaps a little flat after the Saturday.
"Slough are a very good team, young and energetic and well-drilled, and they were on the front foot for most of the night."
Mos are looking forward to a quick return game against Slough, travelling to Berkshire this Saturday (6.30pm).
Lennon said: "Slough will be much as the same as Sunday, we'll have to be at our best to get anything. We'll make sure we're prepared and work on the things we noticed.
"Streatham will be another tough game. We lost 8-5 to them in their rink last week but played well.
"I'll be looking for a similar performance, if not better, given we're at home.
"They normally bring quite a large crowd with them so it the capacity restrictions are lifted, it'll be a lively night, I'd imagine."
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Craig Tucker