Dave De Prez shook off jet-lag to help East Grinstead into second place in the National Hockey League premier division.  The Grinstead forward scored twice in a tremendous 2-1 win at Cannock just hours after stepping off a plane from Florida.

Grinstead had never beaten Cannock previously and this win enabled them to leapfrog their rivals in the race for a European place.  Reading continue to lead the table by nine points but Grinstead now head a pack of five chasing clubs who are separated by just three points.

De Prez opened the scoring on 25 minutes from open play only for Simon Ramsden to level with a penalty stroke but De Prez's second of the game six minutes into the second half decided the issue.

Manager Matt Jones said: "Dave only landed back from Florida that morning and was severely jet-lagged, although you have to say the combined total yardage for his two goals was six yards!  "He is a very astute striker who puts himself in the right place but this performance wasn't about one man. From front to back they were excellent.  "We came out with a lot of intensity in the first half and a solid game plan put together by Mark Pearn (player-coach) which they stuck to.

"I had been sending Pearny emails last week about our record against Cannock. Although they were all losses we had been getting closer and I felt they were there for the taking.  "The win gives us three incredibly valuable points, which is the most important thing in terms of the league, but it also sends out another big signal to the hockey community about East Grinstead's capabilities and intent to try to qualify for European hockey next year."

By Howard Griggs