WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE
Saturday
7th January 2017
Solway Sharks vs. Whitley Warriors
Sunday
8th January 2017
Whitley Warriors vs. Billingham Stars
Sutton Sting vs. Solway Sharks
After
a well-deserved break from the ice, this weekend sees the NIHL’s Moralee Conference outfits
face their first game of 2017 and it is set to be another action-packed
schedule for the Northern Trio. Preparing to host Whitley Warriors after a three-week
period away from the ice, Solway Sharks will play the Hillheads club before taking on
Simon Butterworth’s Sutton Sting on Sunday. Meanwhile, David Longstaff’s men
will then travel back from the Ice Bowl ahead of a highly anticipated Tyne-Tees
derby in which the side will compete with local rivals Billingham Stars in a
combined league and cup fixture.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Currently
six points ahead at the top of the table, Solway Sharks go into this fixture against Whitley Warriors with the aim to increase the gap between themselves and close title contenders
Billingham Stars. Recording a 9-2 victory over Longstaff’s lineup at
Hillheads in September, besides a far more closely contested 6-3 home win one month later, the Sharks will be out to triumph for a third time against
the Warriors. Whilst player-coach Longstaff returns to the side after a
two-game suspension, the New Year also sees forwards Duncan Speirs, Jordan
Buesa and Connor Henderson resume their season with Solway after missing out
on their side’s latest double header due to international duties with Team GB.
As a result, both teams will have more players at their disposal than they have in recent games which will be of particular benefit to the visitors who missed the presence and experience of their player-coach before Christmas after a rather controversial
encounter with Telford Tigers last month. Whilst Whitley will be looking to put
this form behind them, the Sharks, on the other hand, will be aiming to pull
off yet another win at the Ice Bowl; the side have won all of their league games on home
ice so far this season, their only loss in Dumfries a 5-3 NIHL North Cup defeat
to Blackburn in September. When Whitley
last paid the side a visit, Martin Grubb’s men took the lead in the early
stages of the game but soon found themselves battling to show their edge when
the Warriors drew level. Though the Sharks’ perseverance prevailed on
this occasion, the game was by no means a one-sided affair as both teams
demonstrated their skill and strength in an attempt to claim maximum points. Further to this action, power forwards Ross Murray and Jordan Barnes dropped the gloves on two
occasions to add to the entertainment. Now that the competition in the league is arguably closer than ever before, especially
for the NIHL’s mid-table teams, the Warriors will be striving to counter the
Sharks to ensure they remain ahead of
Sutton Sting and within the playoff places. Always entertaining, and with so
much to play for, this game will certainly be one to watch as the two seek the
best possible start to 2017. Speaking to NIHL Northern Trio ahead of this fixture, Head Coach Martin Grubb had the following to say: “We
come into this weekend after a long break and it will be important that we find
our rhythm quickly to allow us to get into the game against a tough Warriors’
team. The last time we played, it was a tight game and we only pulled away in
the third period. David will have his team ready so we need to be focused and
ready to battle for every puck to get the win.”
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| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
Following
this clash, Solway Sharks will then make the trip to Ice Sheffield on Sunday
where they will take on Simon Butterworth’s Sutton Sting for one last time this
season. Already the Sharks have recorded three victories against the side but that is not to say that the Sting have not proved tricky contenders for the Dumfries outfit who have
been unable to score more than five past the side on any one occasion, largely
due to Sutton’s exceptional defensive efforts and superb netminding from shot
stoppers Dmitri Zimozdra and Zack Brown. With the leadership of alternate
captains James Goodman and Ryan Johnson on the blue line, the Sting never fail
to pull off impressive performances in defence and Butterworth’s recruitment of
ex-EPL player Lloyd Gibson has also paid off this season as the forward
combines with the offensive abilities of captain James Spurr and youngster Joe
Colton. Currently the side’s top three points scorers, the trio have tallied
twenty seven goals and thirty five assists collectively. Meanwhile, though Solway’s
firepower appears to have faltered when confronted with Sutton this season, one
Shark who has been particularly successful against the Sting is none other than young prospect Daniel Abercrombie who scored two goals against Butterworth’s
men on home ice in September before claiming another against the side less than
a month later. The only other player to contend with Abercrombie’s points production against the Sting was
ironically loaned forward Nathan Britton who, taking his place in the Sharks’ line
up due to the team’s lengthy absentee list, claimed a hat trick to ensure a
positive end to Solway’s 2016. With this Sutton’s only game of the weekend, the
Sting will be out for revenge against the
league leaders on Sunday as two points could see the Sheffield-based outfit climb into fourth place
should Whitley Warriors lose out in their double header. However, this will not
be without its difficulties as the Sharks fully intend to make a snappy return
to the ice and are under no illusions as to the challenge ahead. Adding to his
earlier comments, Grubb shared: “Sutton games are always tight as they are a
solid team who have a good system and are backed by solid goaltending. We again
need to get our legs going quickly and play smart to ensure we compete all over
the ice. We will be looking to start 2017 as we finished 2016.”
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| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
Finally,
the weekend will be rounded off by one of the most highly anticipated games of
the season as Billingham Stars travel to Hillheads for a combined league and
NIHL North Cup fixture against Whitley Warriors as the two prepare to take to
the ice for their first Tyne-Tees derby of 2017. Having already encountered
each other twice this season in the NIHL North Cup competition, both sides have
recorded a victory against each other; the Teessiders claimed the bragging
rights with a 5-4 win at Whitley Bay Ice Rink in October before the Warriors
wreaked their revenge at The Forum to triumph by six goals to
five just one week later. Whilst these games allowed both sides a share of the bragging rights at
the beginning of the season, the two will have far more to play for on Sunday
with five points available to the triumphant team should the game be settled in
regulation time. If not, each outfit will add one point to their league and cup
tally if the game is tied on sixty minutes, before a period of
three-on-three ice hockey takes place to determine a winning side in the cup
competition. Should neither team score, the game will then be settled by penalties. Finding
themselves in second place at present in both the league and the cup, the Stars
will be eager to add to their tallies to ensure that they are still in with a
chance of achieving some silverware this season. Whilst retaining
the NIHL North Cup would be a great accomplishment, Billingham also have
their sights set on the league title but must continue their good form if they
are to compete with Solway Sharks this campaign. Meanwhile, these points would also be a
significant boost to Whitley Warriors who are clinging onto fourth place and
need to create a gap between themselves and close competition Sutton
Sting. As Billingham’s Swedish influence prepare to
show off their offensive abilities once more alongside top point scorers Chris Sykes, Callum Davies and Michael Elder, Whitley’s captain Dean Holland will look to
lead his men to a derby victory having already scored three goals against the Stars
this season. As ever though, the bragging rights will be just as important as
maximum points on the night, if not more so, when the two teams reunite. Commenting
prior to this fixture, Stars’ forward Chris Sykes told NIHL Northern Trio:
“We’re back to hockey now the Christmas break is over and what a way to start
away at Whitley Bay in a big derby as we begin the second half of our season.
We have training this week to get our legs going and hopefully feeling good for
Sunday. We will work on a few things and go to Whitley on Sunday to get two
massive points for the Stars. We’ll feel even better if we beat Whitley in
their own barn but it will be a tough one.” Also sharing his thoughts ahead of
the game, player-coach David Longstaff noted: “A double header against the top
two teams in the league is a great way to get our players back into the swing
of things.”
For
those fans wishing to attend any of these fixtures, Solway Sharks host Whitley
Warriors from 7:00pm at the Dumfries Ice Bowl on Saturday before making the
trip to Ice Sheffield on Sunday where the side will faceoff against Sutton
Sting from 4:15pm. Also playing on Sunday, Whitley Warriors take to the ice
against Billingham Stars from 5:00pm at Hillheads. Can’t make it to a
game? Fear not! Please find listening details for NIHL Radio
below.
NIHL
Radio Listings
Saturday
7th January
5:45pm
on NIHL Radio 1
Blackburn
Hawks vs. The Dragons
7:00pm
on NIHL Radio 2
Solway
Sharks vs. Whitley Warriors
Sunday
8th January
5:00pm
on NIHL Radio 1
Whitley
Warriors vs. Billingham Stars
5:45
pm on NIHL Radio 2
The
Dragons vs. Blackburn Hawks
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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