Invicta Dynamos bounced back from a nightmare Saturday with a perfect response.

A 6-2 loss against the Slough Jets was a blow to their hopes of finishing the season with a top-three finish but joy returned at Planet Ice, Gillingham on Sunday as the Mos beat Chelmsford Chieftains 6-3.

The game against Slough was a big one in the quest for third place in NIHL South Division 1 and it was the home side who won it, beating an out-of-sorts Invicta. Mos’ win over the Chiefs the following day put them back into third at the end of the weekend but the Jets have two games in hand and sit two points behind in fourth.

Coach Karl Lennon said: “A game like that presented us with an opportunity to keep that push for third spot in our own hands but now it’s not, it’s in theirs, it is what it is, we have to deal with it. It was a tremendous shame and a missed opportunity.

“We had nightmare really and it was probably the worst we have played, most definitely since Christmas and maybe all season really quite honestly, it was a performance where we never really adapted to the situation, despite knowing all of their strengths, we didn’t execute our game plan at all an they were good for their win, fantastic.

“I have seen a lot of comments from their side saying it was the best they have played all season and they probably met us on a day we played at our worst.

“We knew what we were walking into, what to expect, despite that we didn’t match their effort and ultimately if you don’t do that you won’t be successful.

“They are a very young side, high energy, they put you under pressure and that forces you into mistakes and we made so many individual errors, at vital points of the game and we got found out which was a real shame because we hadn’t been doing that recently, we had been very prepared and very solid with how we execute game plans, it just didn’t work out for us.”

Mos’ goals at the Slough Ice Arena were scored by Juraj Huska and Tom Long.

A busy home rink greeted the Mos and their old rivals Chelmsford on Sunday - the penultimate meeting between the sides ahead of their eagerly anticipated Southern Cup final.

Lennon’s men - with Stanislav Lascek back in the side after illness ruled him out on the Saturday - bounced back with a win.

Lascek marked his return with a quality opener and also bagged Mos’ second but the Chiefs twice levelled. Second period goals from Richard Harris and Ruskin Springer-Hughes helped the hosts to a 4-3 lead before Tom Davis and Huska scored in the third.

“We changed the lines slightly,” said the coach. “I felt like I needed to spark a reaction out of the team and it had the desired effect. They were fantastic from the first drop to the last whistle. I couldn’t have asked for more effort.

“The game was very close, the teams were evenly matched, there was a lot of back and forth in the second period and thankfully going into the third we had a lead and kept hold of it.

“I was very happy with the performance and for the boys because you have setbacks in sport and life and it is how you come back, they addressed it perfectly, it wasn’t our best game by a long stretch but it was a dogged performance and as a coach very encouraging to see.”