WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE
Saturday 12th March 2016
Sheffield Spartans vs.
Solway Sharks
Sunday 13th March 2016
Sheffield Senators vs. Billingham Stars
Sutton Sting vs. Solway Sharks
Solihull Barons vs. Whitley Warriors
With
Whitley Warriors now only one point away from league leaders Blackburn Hawks,
and both Solway Sharks and Billingham Stars resuming their battle for a playoff
spot, this weekend promises to be an enthralling one in the Moralee Conference.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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First
to face off on Saturday are Martin Grubb’s Solway Sharks who will prepare for a
trip to Ice Sheffield to take on the Spartans in a reverse of last weekend’s
encounter. Notching a 6-2 victory over the Yorkshire outfit only last Saturday,
Solway will seek to repeat the feat as they aim to leapfrog league rivals
Billingham Stars in the NIHL table with only one point currently separating the
two sides. So
far this season, the Sharks have recorded two victories against the Spartans,
one of which was a 2-1 win at Ice Sheffield back in November. However, Solway
also lost out to Martin White’s line up in a 5-1 home defeat in the same month,
suggesting that a clash between the two sides will be unpredictable to say the
least.
One
factor which may well influence the game is the disparity between Solway’s form
and that of the Spartans in recent games. Whilst the Sharks have won on five
occasions, drawn once and lost out twice in their last eight games, the
Spartans have failed to pick up a single point since a mid-January fixture
against Solihull Barons and the team are now at serious risk of facing a league
placement playoff at the end of the season if they are unable to turn their
current form around.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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A
home win on Saturday would give the Spartans twenty three points to equal the
tally of seventh placed Sutton Sting. Ironically, the Spartans must also rely
on the Sharks claiming victory against Matt Darlow’s side on Sunday if they are
to stand any chance of survival in the Moralee Conference. With just one
fixture remaining subsequent to their game against the Sharks, the Spartans have
just four points available to them over the next couple of weeks, with a tricky
trip to Solihull set to round off their 2015-16 campaign.
Meanwhile,
two points for Solway would take the side into fourth place which was briefly
occupied by Grubb’s team last weekend following a victory over the Spartans. As
Billingham Stars face a cup tie against Blackburn Hawks on the same day, this
would be the perfect opportunity for the Sharks to go one point ahead of their
rivals in the NIHL, with both teams then facing off in league fixtures on
Sunday to persist in their battle for a playoff spot.
Taking
this weekend into consideration, Head Coach Martin Grubb told NIHL Northern
Trio: “We go into this weekend knowing we have two difficult games against two
teams who are very strong at home. We know the Spartans are needing the points
and they will want to reverse last Sunday’s result so we need to play well and
ensure we compete for every puck and play solid at both ends of the ice.”
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Following
the conclusion of this game, further Moralee action for our Northern Trio will take
place on Sunday, beginning with a game between Spartans’ sister club, Sheffield
Senators and Billingham Stars. Yet
to pick up a single point in twenty seven games, the Senators will host the
Stars on Sunday in their second consecutive home game of the weekend. Whilst
Billingham, like most other Division One sides, have recorded landslide
victories against the Senators throughout the season, their most recent was a far
narrower score line, the Stars triumphing over the Yorkshire outfit in a 5-3 home
win. Though the Senators’ standout players Nathan Parkes-Britton, Thomas
Humphries and Sergevs Jegorovs continue to accumulate points for their side, it
is apparent that the Yorkshire-based team will suffer relegation, having
occupied the bottom spot in the NIHL league standings since the very beginning
of the season. There are now only ten points available to the Sheffield side between
now and their final game of the season but, with the tricky fixtures that the
Senators are set to face, it remains unlikely that they will be able to break the
habit of losing with all other Moralee Conference teams still competing at such
a high standard to avoid losing out on those much-desired playoff places.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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The
Stars, on the other hand, are indeed one of those many teams contending for a
top four finish. Currently on twenty eight points, the Teesiders will be
searching for nothing less than a victory against the Senators in order to keep
abreast of Solway Sharks who are presently hot on their heels. James
Moss, Chris Sykes, Dennis Boström and Michael Elder all managed to find
themselves on the scoresheet last weekend and Billingham’s top four goal
scorers will need to repeat last Sunday’s efforts to secure the points against the
Senators. It is also crucial that the Stars avoid complacency against the Yorkshire
outfit as last time, Andrew Chapman’s team gained a two goal lead at The Forum
to surprise Head Coach Terry Ward and his line up in the early stages of their
encounter.
Sharing
his thoughts on this weekend, which also sees Billingham ice against Blackburn
Hawks in an NIHL North Cup game on Saturday, Chris Sykes told NIHL Northern
Trio: “This weekend is another big weekend with the cup competition back in the
fixture list. We are at home to Blackburn on Saturday and I’m really looking forward
to this one as it’s two unbeaten teams in the cup competition and we want to
remain unbeaten. It will be a battle; they will be tough to beat, as they have
been all year but the boys can dig deep and hopefully continue our cup streak.
Sunday is back to the league and by no means a victory. Senators haven’t won all
year but work hard and are respected. We will go to Sheffield for an early
afternoon faceoff and hope we don’t struggle like we normally do on that ice! A
four point weekend across the cup and league will do nicely!”
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Facing
off two hours after this game, Sutton Sting play host to Solway Sharks who will
no doubt be tested in their second away game of the weekend, Matt Darlow’s men
looking to scramble from eighth place in the hope that they can evade a league
placement playoff at the end of their campaign. Now on twenty three points,
only a win separates the side from the Spartans who occupy the place below them.
Taking two points from the Sharks would also see the Sting close down the space
between themselves and sixth placed Telford Tigers who have fallen from the
playoff spots in recent weeks. Set
to play in a double point fixture next weekend, following the cancellation of their
encounter back in December, both Sutton and Solway will be aware that the
victor of this game will receive a huge confidence boost ahead of their crucial
clash.
With
so many strong and skilful players icing with the Sting this season, the side
were unlucky to endure such a poor start to their 2015-16 campaign, often
losing out on points by just one or two goals. Now that development coach Matt
Darlow has taken on a more active role at the club, Sutton have won six of
their last ten games in comparison to their first ten fixtures of the season in
which they claimed only two victories. Similarly, Solway Sharks have also won
six in their last ten games, losing three others and drawing once, which
suggests that this fixture will be an incredibly close one if both teams are
willing to contend in all areas of the ice for the full sixty minutes on
Sunday.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Highlighting
the difficulties of this fixture, Martin Grubb noted: “Sunday will see us play
a much improved Sutton team, and a team who play good offensive hockey, and we
will need to be ready to execute our systems and ensure we play with speed and
intensity in what will be an open game. These four points this weekend will be
massive in our season as we look to keep our playoff hopes in our own hands, so
we will be ready to do what we need to do and hope to take maximum points.”
Last
to take the ice this weekend will be Whitley Warriors who face a trip to Hobs
Moat Road on Sunday where they are to take on Perry Doyle’s seemingly irrepressible
and resilient Solihull Barons. In an encounter at Hillheads two weeks ago, the
Warriors and the Barons engaged in battle, Jordan Barnes dropping the gloves with
Stephen Heape before Barons’ player-coach Doyle and Whitley enforcer Andre
Payette went on to drop the gloves in three heated exchanges between the two
players. Whilst this game was an incredibly feisty affair before a serious
injury to Scott Cooper stopped both sides in their tracks, it is likely to be a
very different meeting this weekend with Whitley under pressure in the absence
of several key players through injury, work and family commitments. This
weekend Payette will be one of the many absentees as he serves a ban having
exceeded one hundred penalty minutes this season.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Speaking
ahead of Sunday’s trip to Hobs Moat Road, player-coach David Longstaff
admitted: “This will be a very difficult game. We’ll be missing nine players
for different reasons so we’ll be going there very short. That’s a massive amount
of players so we’ll be going there to try and keep our ten game winning streak
going but being very realistic in light of missing half our team.”
For
those fans hoping to make any of these fixtures, Solway Sharks take on Sheffield
Spartans from 3:45pm at Ice Sheffield on Saturday. Billingham Stars will then face
off against the Senators in the same ice rink on Sunday at 2:15pm followed by a
clash between the Sharks and Sutton Sting on Pad Two at 4:15pm. Meanwhile, at
Hobs Moat Road, Solihull Barons will play host to Whitley Warriors from the
later time of 6:00pm.
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia,
please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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