Lee valley Lions were defeat 9-2 by Guildford Phoenix at the weekend in their penultimate away game of the season.

Conner Smith and Richard Hodge were on the scoresheet for the Lions, while Guildford’s nine goals assured them of a fifth-placed finish in Wilkinson 2 South.

The East London side were able to welcome back several players that had missed games in recent weeks, but they were without top scorer Tom Hnilica.

The hosts dominated the early exchanges, out-shooting the Lions 26-5 and keeping netminder James Andrew busy.

One of those 26 shots, though, was able to get through as Luke Tull gave Guildford the lead, but the visitors held firm for the rest of the period.

Phoenix came out strong in the second period and two quick goals from Bailey Wootton and Andrew Hemmings solidified their lead before Smith reduced the deficit after being assisted by Simon Jones and Dexter Crawford.

Phoenix added a further goal just before the end of the period, Josh Abbott netting in the 37th minute to give them a 4-1 lead going into the final frame.

This lead was extended further shortly after the restart when Hemmings converted his second of the night, but the Lions bounced back again when Hodge netted his fourth of the season via an assist from Alex Clarke.

The home side proved far too strong in the closing stages and added a further four goals through Hemmings, who completed his hat-trick, Abbott, Tull and Jack Woodstock to seal the score at 9-2.

The Lions are next in action on Sunday, March 24 when they face Romford Raiders in their final home game of the season, with faceoff at 5.30pm.