NIHL Weekend Action

Sharks strike twice against Spartans to go sixth

Sheffield Spartans 1

Solway Sharks       2

With three consecutive league wins under their belt, and Sheffield going into this fixture on the back of defeat, Solway Sharks were determined to snatch two points from the Spartans to continue their gradual but progressive climb of the NIHL table.

In the opening minutes of the first period, there was little between the two sides, Martin Grubb’s players dealing with everything that the Spartans could throw at them whilst, at the other end of the ice, Martin White’s defence dealt with Sharks’ attempts, resulting in a stalemate. With neither team finding the back of the net, an opportunity arose for Solway in the form of a Danny Mawer penalty, called by referee Andrew Miller for delaying the game on 5:40. With the advantage of an extra man, the Sharks tried to plough forwards, making an effort to get in on goal, but to no avail.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Running down the clock, the Spartans’ defiance was rewarded as White found his side restored to five men without the concession of a goal. Having allowed six unanswered goals past Stones last weekend after conceding in the first two minutes of play to Whitley Warriors, it was to Sheffield’s credit that Solway only managed to find a way through their resilient defence on 16:27 to open the scoring. Achieving his second goal in nine games for the Sharks, Stephen Adams lit the lamp courtesy of forward Marc Fowley and junior Stuart Kerr.

Having fired fourteen shots on Stones’ net to Spartans’ eleven, Solway went in at the break with a narrow lead to hold onto and returned with a view to double it. This aim quickly became a reality, the Sharks making it 2-0 in less than four minutes as some creative play between Steven Moore and Michael Corbett resulted in a neat set up, allowing captain Struan Tonnar to make his mark on the game. 

A little under two minutes later, Spartans placed Solway on the power play once again, Miller finding Elliot Knell guilty of slashing. Sheffield’s impeccable defending prevented a third goal from the Sharks and, approximately two minutes after returning to full strength, the home side found themselves enjoying the advantage of an additional man as Fowley was made to serve two minutes for holding. In the same way that Grubb’s side frittered away the opportunity to increase their lead, Sheffield were unable to break down Sharks’ defence to scrub Hobbins’ clean sheet.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

With time ticking by, and neither team making the most of their possession, Spartans inhibited their ability to get anything out of the game by going a man down yet again, this time Chris Wilcox warming a seat in the sin bin for delaying the game which saw him miss the opening minute of the third stanza. All was not lost for White’s team however, as the versatile Shaun Wild and junior Cole Shudra worked hard to send player-assistant coach Stuart Brittle in on Solway’s goal to make it 2-1. With Sharks’ lead looking fragile, the Spartans’ confidence grew and the side began to move forward swiftly to challenge Hobbins in Sharks’ net. With forty two penalty minutes to his name before the game, it was little surprise when Ross Murray was directed to the sin bin for interference on 53:18. Having served his two minutes with no additional goals from either side, Murray was restored to the ice for just twenty six seconds as he incurred a ten minute misconduct penalty to rule him out for the remainder of the game.

Soon after, Spartans’ attempts to find an equaliser were hindered by a tripping penalty called on defenceman Ross Jordan which saw the game end in much the same way it had started; a stalemate between two sides who were evenly matched throughout. Collecting two points from the 2-1 victory, Grubb will be relieved that his team showed enough steel to hold onto their lead throughout and, after what was a shaky start to Solway’s season, the Sharks appear to be back on track. Now sitting in sixth before their game against Sutton Sting, Solway are able to add pressure to Billingham Stars who are now only one point ahead, having played the same amount of games. Sheffield, on the other hand, sink to seventh with fourteen games under their belt but look forward to a second consecutive encounter against Whitley Warriors on home ice in the hope of at least one victory this weekend.

Superb Sharks scoop four point weekend to go fifth

Sutton Sting     2

Solway Sharks 4

Following Solway Sharks’ jubilation at their victory over Sheffield Spartans on Saturday, Martin Grubb’s side took to the ice for their second away game of the weekend, this time encountering the steadfast Sutton Sting at Ice Sheffield. Starting the first period with netminder Kieran Hobbins between the pipes, the Sharks were without club captain Alan Crane, defencemen Frazer Goldie, Stuart Andrews and Craig Mitchell, juniors Tom Watson and Scott Henderson and, of course, the injured Martin Cingel, though two way player Jamie Scott was able to join up with Solway to make the starting line-up. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Both teams made a strong start in the first period, so much so that there was little between the two sides as they each tried their utmost to be the first to score, Martin Grubb’s side matching Sting’s eleven shots on Hobbins’ net with eleven of their own. A strong display as ever from Russian netminder Dmitri Zimozdra prevented the Sharks from edging ahead and, equally, Solway’s defence did everything it could to keep Sutton at bay despite the absence of Goldie, Andrews and Mitchell. 

After a fairly disciplined opening period, Sting defenceman Scott Glover was ordered to the sin bin by two-man system Anthony Boynton and Stuart Smith for boarding on 18:15, meaning his side would only be restored to five men fifteen seconds into the middle section. 

The first period over and neither side conceding a goal, play resumed with both teams desperate to find an opener but it was Sutton who were the first to score, James Smith lighting the lamp on 26:31 and Glover redeeming his earlier misdemeanour with an assist. Less than four minutes later though, John Ross’ Sting found themselves at a disadvantage once again as Dean Smith’s hooking offence reduced Sutton to four men, allowing Solway to attack on the power play. It took all of four seconds for the Sharks to punish their opposition, Marc Fowley and Steven Moore combining to set up Solway’s skilful Slovakian import Juraj Senko.

Though Sutton were returned to full strength, it was not long before Ross’ side showed a lack of discipline once more, captain Simon Offord the guilty party on this occasion. Solway continued to apply pressure to Zimozdra and the Sharks’ persistence paid off again as Senko swooped on the puck to hit home an unassisted second to wrap up the action for the middle stanza.

Returning to the ice, Sharks’ left winger Steven Moore was the next to serve time for a trip just eighteen seconds into the final period but, despite going a man down, Solway threw everything into the defence of their lead and Sutton were unable to equalise. This spurred the visitors on and, with approximately four minutes played, Marc Fowley slotted the puck past Zimozdra after some strong build up play from Stephen Adams and junior Stuart Kerr to make it 3-1.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Though Solway were enthused by their two goal cushion, it lasted all of three minutes, fifty four seconds as Matt Jeffcock worked with defenceman Stephen Bingham and experienced forward Jon Woolhouse to get his team back in the game. The score 3-2, Sutton’s prospects looked to be improving as Sharks conceded yet another minor penalty, this time Kerr made to sit out for hooking. Contrary to expectation, this penalty only made the Sharks bounce back the stronger of the two teams and, successfully defending Sutton’s power play, Grubb’s side went on to attack the Sting’s defence, Steven Moore and Michael Corbett setting up trouble maker Ross Murray who concentrated his efforts on burying the puck in Zimozdra’s net to make it 4-2. Failing to contribute further to this score line, Sutton watched their chances fade and, as the final buzzer sounded, Solway were more than happy to take away two points from the game after a lucrative weekend in Sheffield.

Scrambling up the table, Solway now sit in fifth after Billingham’s loss to Solihull Barons saw the Teesiders slip into seventh place, though the Stars are only a single point behind the Spartans and the Sharks. There is no doubt though that Grubb will be delighted with Sharks’ four point weekend as his team have shown resilience and determination to find themselves just outside the playoff places, having lost as many games as they have won. Solway will now look ahead to next weekend which will see Grubb’s side play host to the Spartans on Saturday before making the trip to The Forum where the Sharks will take on league rivals Billingham Stars.

  

Brilliant Barons outshine Stars in 6-3 thriller

Solihull Barons    6

Billingham Stars  3

With Billingham going into this game on the back of two successive victories over John Ross’ Sutton Sting, and Solihull suffering a zero point weekend against Solway Sharks and Telford Tigers last week, many would have expected Terry Ward’s Stars to have the momentum going into this fixture. However, pre-match complications caught the team off guard as player-assistant coach Richie Thornton was unable to make the game having been delayed by traffic. As a result, the Stars were without the required number of Level 2 qualified coaches on the bench and had no choice but to look to the Barons for support. Generous hosts, the home side willingly provided their visitors with a bench coach which, in turn, allowed Michael Bowman to ice.

After this slight hitch, both sides raced at each other from the first face off, entertaining fans with fast paced, end to end ice hockey. In spite of this evenly matched performance, Billingham were the first to bag a goal when captain Paul Windridge threaded a pass through to Luke Brown whose saved shot rebounded to Jack Davies, presenting the forward with an opportunity to slip the puck past Barons’ netminder Sam Hewitt. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

The score 1-0 after only two and a half minutes of the first period played, Perry Doyle’s side were far from down and out and Edward Eaton pressured shot stopper James Flavell on 4:35 to level the scoring after a neat pass from the NIHL’s top points scorer Thomas Soar. Less than a minute later, Billingham were reduced to four men as Callum Davies was directed to the sin bin by referee Juris Susters for holding. What should have been an advantage for the Barons was soon squandered.  Just eleven seconds into the power play, alternate captain Phil Knight was sent to serve two minutes for interference and, once again even handed, the Stars went ahead for a second time as defenceman Ben Davison dashed past three Solihull players to beat Hewitt in style.

This lead lasted all of fifty five seconds, Slovakian import Tomas Janak and creative left winger Joe Henry setting up Josh Bruce. Billingham returned to full strength, only for the home side to surprise their visitors with a shorthanded goal as Niklas Ottosson’s unassisted effort zipped past Flavell to make it 3-2. Though Hewitt came under fire in the aftermath of this goal, making save after save to ensure his side’s lead remained intact, it was Barons’ captain Rob Eley who contributed a goal, making it four for Solihull from a Charlie Hammerton assist. Guilty of charging, Janak was next to find himself in the sin bin and was shortly followed by Callum Davies as the power play shifted from the Stars to the Barons.

Despite further efforts from both sides, Doyle’s side went in at the break with a two goal cushion between themselves and their visitors and returned to the ice for the middle stanza, aiming to secure the two points. With the pressure on Billingham to diminish the deficit, their chances were hindered by the concession of a two minute slashing penalty called on Andy Munroe but the Barons could not capitalise. Further opportunity arose on 32:53 when Michael Elder made way for high sticks but again Solihull did not do enough to score. Failing to learn from their mistakes, the Stars were forced to endure yet another minor penalty, this time Jack Davies guilty of tripping. Whilst a second interference call on Knight may have provided Billingham with some temporary relief, a defensive error on Stars’ part saw Bruce earn his second of the game with a simple tap-in set up for him by forward Dave Rogers to increase the gap, and the visitors’ work load, for the third period.

As the sides faced off in the final instalment of the game, Barons tried their utmost to generate goals, with Soar and Knight causing trouble for Flavell but neither could make their attempts count. Likewise, Barons’ netminder Hewitt was forced to save both James Moss’ and Andy Finn’s early efforts to keep the score at 5-2. In the fiftieth minute, the Stars managed to call into question the security of Barons’ lead with a power play goal from Thomas Keeley just eight seconds after Janak had been sent to the sin bin for tripping.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Once again the Stars nullified their good work by placing Solihull on the power play due to a high sticks offence from Callum Davies, his third minor penalty of the evening. Hammering home their determination not to be defeated, the Barons raced up the ice, Ryan Selwood’s bid to make it six seemingly striking both posts before Flavell could cover. Though the goal judge behind the net did not light the lamp, Susters felt that the puck had crossed the line to restore Barons’ three goal advantage. With successive hooking penalties from Rogers and Doyle, the disheartened Stars were placed on the power play but, as time ran out, there was nothing Ward’s side could do to improve the 6-3 score line. Sinking to seventh, the Stars are in no danger of being caught up by Sutton Sting just yet and Ward will no doubt encourage his team to look ahead to next weekend’s home fixture against league rivals Solway Sharks who are just one point in front of Billingham, though the two sides are also separated by Sheffield Spartans whom Solway encounter at home before their trip to The Forum on Sunday.

Woeful Warriors come off second best against Spartans

Sheffield Spartans 2

Whitley Warriors    1

As the sequel to last weekend’s fight between experienced Whitley Warrior Alan Yarrow and Sheffield Spartan Stephen Weeks was played out in the warm up, it was clear that this was going to be no easy contest for either side. Whitley were again without Dean Holland, who requires an operation to complete his recovery from injuries sustained in Warriors’ preseason fixture against Kirkcaldy Kestrels, as well as versatile player Alex Lawson and goal scorer Callum Watson. On the other hand, Josh Maddock, Scott Cooper and Kyle Hindmarsh-Ross made their return to Whitley’s squad, having missed out on Warriors’ home fixture against Sheffield Spartans.

David Longstaff’s side had not been on the ice two minutes when Spartans’ forward Ollie Barron opened the scoring with an unassisted effort which he fired into Richie Lawson’s goal. Stunned by this quick lead from a Sheffield outfit who were unable to light the lamp at Hillheads in the previous week, Whitley were handed a chance to equalise when two man system David Emmerson and David Farren made Weeks warm a seat in the sin bin for boarding. Applying pressure to Spartans’ netminder Andrew Bagshaw, the Warriors battled back from a goal down to level the scoring through captain Jamie Tinsley who, achieving his seventh goal of his 2015-16 campaign, did not miss his mark after some well worked play between defenceman Harry Harley and player-coach Longstaff.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Just over a minute after this goal, the Warriors found themselves shorthanded, Jordan Barnes made to serve two minutes for a cross check. Much to Whitley’s relief, Sheffield failed to make the most of this opportunity and, returning to full strength, the Warriors were able to create their own chances in a bid to compete with the home side. In the twelfth minute of play, Douglas Jordan’s holding offence reduced the Spartans to four men but the Warriors failed to get ahead in the game. Just twenty seven seconds later, it was Douglas Jordan’s brother Ross who was next to be ushered off the ice for a trip but, yet again, Whitley were incapable of scoring on the power play, though it was not for the want of trying; a total of nineteen shots were launched at Bagshaw in the first twenty minutes. The period almost over, experienced Warriors’ forward DJ Good found himself sin binned on 19:42 for hooking, a penalty which ran into the second stanza.

Resuming play after the break, Whitley desperately needed to shake up the close game but their failure to clear the puck from their own third, and disjointed passing from the Warriors, allowed the Spartans to heap the pressure onto their visitors. With Good’s penalty served, Tinsley swapped places with his team mate in the penalty box after a slashing penalty was called on the forward. Though the Spartans failed to make their extra man count, they soon punished Whitley when some neat work from Elliot Knell and Nicholas Manning presented Scott Morris with the chance to get his team ahead with almost thirty minutes played.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Whitley were once again on the power play when a hooking call was made on Ross Jordan but were unable to make the Spartans pay for their offence. The two minutes up, Sheffield returned to full strength only for Czech import Martin Finkes to board Warriors’ skilful youngster Callum Queenan. Perhaps avoiding confrontation from Whitley enforcer Andre Payette, Finkes swiftly headed to the sin bin without question before the second interval, but yet another poor display from the Warriors on the power play ensured the side were still trailing before the interval.

Both teams returned for the final period with a view to adding to the score line; the Spartans hoping to increase their tentative lead and the Warriors requiring at least one goal to get amongst the points. From the first face off, Harley attempted to find an equaliser, forcing Bagshaw to make the save. For the most part, the Warriors had the better share of possession which was reflected in their twelve shots to Sheffield’s five but still the visitors could not cause damage to Spartans 2-1 advantage. A final two minute penalty was served by the versatile Andrew Turner on 49:10 but, consistent with Whitley’s failure to capitalise on the power play, the Warriors could not take anything from the final stages of the game and left Ice Sheffield with a disappointing defeat under their belts.

Whilst Longstaff will likely be disappointed at this result, it is clear that netminder Richie Lawson put in a strong performance to earn his man of the match award and now the Warriors can put this game behind them to look ahead to next weekend which sees the second placed side take on Spartans’ sister club, Sheffield Senators, on home ice. Whitley may have some competition for their current league position however, as Telford Tigers are just one point behind the Hillheads outfit whilst a win could also boost Solihull Barons into second place if results go their way in the next few weeks. Consequently, the Warriors must emerge victorious from their imminent fixtures in order to hold onto their hard-earned league position. 

For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.