NIHL Weekend Action

Stars shoot down suffering Senators on away ice

Sheffield Senators 2

Billingham Stars    9

With Sheffield Senators so far struggling to step up to the differing standard of ice hockey in NIHL division one, it was always going to be highly likely that Billingham Stars would leave Ice Sheffield with the victory they so needed after two pointless outcomes last weekend.

The scoring was opened in the early stages of the first period when defenceman Thomas Keeley found the back of the net, via a double assist from Michael Bowman and young forward Jack Emerson, to put his side ahead. Though it may be expected that netminder Mark Hartley would have his work cut out for the remainder of the evening, the Stars did not find a second until 13:49 when a delayed penalty against Senator Sam Hurst put Stars at an advantage which they happily took, Chris Sykes slotting the puck into the Senators net to create a two goal gap between themselves and the home side.

Without giving the Senators a chance to recover, the visitors pursued a third and it arrived twenty six seconds later when James Moss achieved his first goal of the season courtesy of Callum Davies and team captain Paul Windridge. With a three goal cushion, the Stars’ confidence was continuing to grow and with no penalties on either side, the game was largely free-flowing. Billingham’s scoring was not over however, and the Senators looked on as Luke Brown lit the lamp just fifteen seconds from the first interval.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

As both teams returned to the ice, Andrew Chapman’s Sheffield outfit knew they had much to do to get back in the game but any hope of this was cut short twelve minutes into the middle stanza as Chris Sykes got his second of the game to take his tally up to five goals in five games. Seconds later, referee David Goodwin awarded two minutes each to Star James Moss and Senator Jonathan Bell for delaying the game. Both sides reduced to four men, Billingham continued to dominate, Callum Davies making it 6-0 on 32:58. Exactly two minutes later, with both teams now back to full strength, Swedish import Dennis Boström finally grabbed his own goal, having already assisted twice, to punish the home fans further. 

Shortly afterwards, both teams again conceded further penalties to round off the second period, Senator Alexander Harding being made to sit out for a cross check whilst Stars lost goal scorer Chris Sykes to the sin bin for a slashing penalty. Over a minute later, Sykes was joined by Andy Finn, putting the Senators on the power play. Failing to take advantage, the Senators failed to open their own scoring before the third period and went in at the break 7 goals down.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

As the teams returned for the final period, Stars switched James Flavell for their youngest netminder Ben Gill, confident that they had secured a win. Both teams had not been back on the ice two minutes in the third period when Dennis Boström earned himself a second with a single assist from experienced defenceman Andy Munroe. With nothing to lose, the Senators bounced back in the forty eighth minute of play, former Spartan Nathan Parkes-Britton linking up with youngster Jack Dransfield to get a consolation goal. The Senators, taking heart, fired another past Gill over four minutes later when Alexander Harding drove forward to snatch an unassisted goal against the opposition. In the last four minutes of the game, it the Stars had the final say, Boström hammering the final nail in the coffin to round off his first hat trick of the season.

As Sutton’s home clash against the Tigers also resulted in a win for the visitors, Billingham retain fifth place, only a point behind Telford and two ahead of the Sting. Their victory over Sheffield Senators is one that many would have expected but to take two points on the road is a welcome reprieve for Coach Terry Ward who last weekend watched his side come away with nothing as they suffered an away defeat to Sheffield Spartans and a disappointing home loss to Telford Tigers. Next weekend, Billingham Stars have a double header, making the lengthy trip to Telford on the Saturday before playing host to Solihull Barons on Sunday. Neither fixture will be an easy task for the Stars whose form has fluctuated in the early stages of the season, particularly as the Tigers and Barons have shown they can match the skill and ability of other sides in NIHL Division One in the early stages of the 2015-16 campaign.

  

Sharks lose bite as

Hawks fly high

Blackburn Hawks  5

Solway Sharks       1

With Hawks’ unbeaten record weighing heavy in many a mind, Solway Sharks travelled to the Blackburn Ice Arena aware that of the mountainous challenge awaiting their arrival. Always a feisty affair, the first face off was barely over when Chris Arnone was directed to the sin bin. The Sharks failing to grab a goal from this early advantage soon found one their own serving two minutes as Solway’s latest signing Frazer Goldie made his mark early in the game. Despite this, Martin Grubb’s side successfully ran down the clock to prevent a goal from Blackburn. The home side did, however, take the lead minutes later when long-serving Hawk David Meikle hit the puck past Sharks netminder Andrew Jaszczyk.

Before Solway could create a response, Aaron Davies made it two a little over thirty seconds later. The Sharks soon began to show their frustration which resulted in a second trip to the sin bin for Goldie and it was not long before pantomime villain Ross Murray followed him, prompting boos from a vexed Hawks crowd. Murray was soon joined by the home side’s alternate captain Adam Brittle. Just six seconds after Brittle made his return to the ice, Sharks had seemingly put themselves at a disadvantage, going down to four men again, this time Alan Crane the culprit. However, this hindrance only spurred on the visitors and Juraj Senko went on an unassisted shorthanded attack to reduce the deficit five seconds before the break.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

The score line still tight, despite Blackburn having 22 shots on goal to Solway’s 8, both teams were more than aware that the game could swing in favour of either side at the beginning of the second period. It was no surprise then that former Sharks’ player Richard Bentham swooped in to light the lamp on 21:03 to add to ensure Blackburn’s lead. Throwing everything into the game, Bentham was punished by referee Mark Whittle for a trip ten minutes after goal success. Though Blackburn continued to dominate, Sharks again began to create some forward play late in the period but this time failed to find the target. Instead, troublemaker Murray cross checked forward Tom King to earn himself yet another visit to the sin bin with only 22.9 left on the clock. 

Sharks, feeling that they could still take something from the clash, made an immediate impact in the opening minutes, becoming dangerous in front of goal and angering netminder Daniel Brittle who, not taking kindly to being bundled into his own net by a Shark, struggled to freeze the puck under pressure. In the events that followed, minor penalties were awarded to Arnone and Goldie but Sharks, returning to full strength two minutes later, found that they were only able to maintain five men on the ice for forty seconds, this time Goldie going toe to toe with Ollie Lomax. Whittle dished out a 2+2 to both players and they were forced to watch from the side lines as Davies achieved his second goal of the game, dashing Solway’s hopes of a third period revival. Despite Sharks’ last efforts, the game was clearly beyond Grubb’s side by this point and, inevitably, it was former Shark Bentham who rounded off the scoring on 57:58 to rub salt in Solway’s wounds.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Solway now look ahead to a second fixture against Blackburn Hawks next Saturday, though this time the Sharks will have a home advantage and they will then encounter Sheffield Senators away from home on Sunday evening. Grubb will be expecting at least another comfortable win against the bottom-placed Sheffield outfit next weekend, particularly as the previous game between the two sides ended 12-1 in Sharks’ favour. However, Solway are only two points from the foot of the table themselves and desperately need to gain points in the coming weeks or face their most disappointing season in the NIHL North Division One Moralee Conference to date.

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