THE Medway-based ice hockey side Invicta Dynamos showed their class and desire to win at the Ice Bowl last night by beating England-Under 19s 12-2. The Mos, who had to win this game to keep their title challenge on track, never let up and played superbly as a team.

Player coach Andy Hannah, who weighed in with one goal and three assists, said: "It was a job well done. We worked hard in the first period, scoring seven times and that's where the game was won. We want to get these league games over with and want to finish with a flourish. We need to keep what we are building to take into the play-offs.

"As a squad we're as healthy as can be and are looking strong going into next weekend when a double win will see us top the league and cup group and that's what we're aiming for."

Elliott Andrews, who had a storming game, opened the scoring at 5.57 reacting first to a loose puck and flicking it into the roof of the net. Less than a minute later and the Mos were 3-0 up and scoring them quicker than the announcer could announce them. In this goal blitz captain Phil Chard and Hannah finished off fine moves at 6.33 and 6.50 respectively. Matt Van Der Velden then showed what a top netminder he is when he came up with an excellent smothering save to deny Joe Wightman after being a spectator for much of the first 10 minutes.

Up the other end only a last-ditch tackle from England's Matt Myers stopped Matt Beveridge from scoring but the determined Mos man soon had his goal at 13.41 sweetly nutmegging Rik Ashton. Every time Invicta went forward they looked like scoring and two minutes later the light went on again, this time man of the match Jake French linking up well with Hannah and Mikko Skinnari.

Playing the puck around with real confidence Beveridge hit the pipes and seconds later Duane Ward worked the puck home. The seventh goal was a real killer for England, and Ashton in particular, as the Mos played a patient build up game that left the young netminder confused and flat on his back. Beveridge shaped to shoot but instead chose to slip the puck wide to an unmarked Andrews who chipped it over the prone keeper. After the powerful first period display when the Mos outshot their opponents by 25-5 the second period was always going to struggle to be as exciting.

Adam Noctor came in for Van Der Velden and mix up between himself and Peter Korff allowed Wightman to nip in and poke the puck home at 27.14. Twice England showed their inexperience by picking up penalties for having too many men on the ice and from one of these Chard got the last touch in a good team goal, assisted by Hannah and Skinnari.

That was as much as Aston could take and he skated off dejectedly replaced by Dan Shea who was only on the ice 18 seconds before Skinnari got the goal his performance deserved. In the third period Andrews and Chard completed their hat-tricks and a jubilant Paul Hume scored his third senior goal, showing silky stick sticks to work the space to fire the puck home.

Dean Mills popped up four seconds before time and even the kind of desperate defending that left four Dynamos players flat out on the ice couldn't stop him having the last say.

Meanwhile, as the Dynamos go into the play-offs, the team has decided it's a good opportunity to raise some money for Demelza House, a hospice for terminally ill children based in Sittingbourne.

Carpenters in Maidstone will be dying Mike Kindred, Matt Van Der Velden and Kevin Parrish's hair red, white and blue respectively on February 28 in return for sponsorship, which can be pledged between periods at games.