Invicta Dynamos coach Karl Lennon was devastated to see Saturday’s game abandoned against the Slough Jets because of malfunctioning ice machinery.

The club issued a statement apologising to fans after the Mos’ game against the Jets was abandoned following the second of three periods when an ice resurfacer got stuck in the middle of the rink.

Slough were leading 4-2 at the time but Invicta’s management were as frustrated as the opposition, feeling there was every chance to get back into the NIHL South Division 1 match.

Lennon said: “We came in during the break thinking we could get back on track, because we had done it the week before, and then the Zamboni (resurfacer) broke down!

“It was a bit of a disaster. I don’t know what the result of that will be, we will be at the mercy of the EIHA (Ice Hockey Association) to see if the result will be awarded to them or if it will be replayed.”

An Invicta statement said: “Kevin, Sarah (Parrish, club owners) and Karl and the entire team would like to offer out sincerest apologies to everyone attending the game as well as Lukas Smital (head coach) and the Slough team.

“We are beyond disappointed, hugely frustrated and so very sorry to each and everyone of you that were there. While the situation was completely outside of our control, as a club this is not a position we ever want to find ourselves in and it is certainly not a reflection of how much we value our very loyal and very important supporters.

“We would like to thank everyone for their understanding in what was a very challenging situation. We will be doing all we can in the coming days to liaise with the EIHA and Planet Ice [the company that run the venue] to reach a conclusion on the way forwards.

“The team were gutted they weren’t able to take to the ice for the final period in a game that was all to play for. We are so very sorry and we hope to see you all back at the rink next weekend when we face Chelmsford at home.”

The visiting side were sympathetic on social media following the abandonment and Lennon said: “It was a situation out of our control completely, we were devastated for the fans who had come to the building, they were expecting that third-period rally from us that they had seen the week before, it was two goals, not an insurmountable lead that we couldn’t get, it was devastating and irritating because we felt like we would have done well in that third period.”

It's believed the ice resurfacer ran out of gas and the starter motor failed, leaving it stranded in the middle of the rink at the end of the second period. The machine's blade, which sits on the surface and collects the cut ice and water, then penetrated a hole which went down to the concrete. It left the rink's surface unplayable.

The Mos were back in action the following day, on the road against the Chelmsford Chieftains in the NIHL Southern Cup, registering a 12-3 win. Tom Long bagged a hat-trick while Louis Colvin, Tom Davis and Tom Soar grabbed braces and there were also goals from Richard Harris, Stanislav Lascek and Juraj Huska, who has reached 400 points for the Dynamos.