NIHL Weekend Preview

WEEKEND

PREVIEW

NIHL NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)

Saturday 2nd September 2017

Billingham Stars vs. The Dragons

Solway Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks (National Cup)

Sunday 3rd September 2017

Blackburn Hawks vs. Billingham Stars

The Dragons vs. Solway Sharks

Fixture:   Billingham Stars vs. The Dragons

Date:       Saturday 2nd September 2017

Venue:    The Forum

Faceoff:  5:30pm

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Set to play host to The Dragons in the first game of their 2017-18 season, Billingham Stars will be hoping to bounce back from their pre-season defeats to Telford Tigers with a victory over Scott McKenzie’s men. Winning four games from four against the Welsh outfit last season, the Stars achieved an 8-1 road victory over the side in September which was backed up with respective home and away wins of 8-2 and 9-3 before the Dragons lost out once more, conceding six goals to Billingham’s three. However, with both teams strengthening over the summer in conjunction with changes to British ice hockey, the outcome of this game could be very different.

During the off-season, Billingham Stars have acquired the services of former Steeldog Callum Pattison, defenceman Dave Thomas and youngster Darren Stattersfield, not to mention Latvian imports Artūrs Ozols and Deniss Baškatovs, as they look to develop a physical edge to their game whilst replacing the skill sets of Swedish forwards Dennis Boström and Daniel Palmebjörk. The Dragons, meanwhile, have added French right winger Mickaël Brodin who joins the club as player-assistant coach whilst former Eagles’ defenceman Craig Lutkevitch and experienced forwards Brian Worrall, Steven Hetherington and Chris Jones are set to enhance what is an already incredibly experienced outfit. 

Speaking to NIHL Northern Trio, Stars’ forward Chris Sykes kindly shared his thoughts ahead of the game:

“It’s that time of year again for the season to begin and we start exactly as we did last season against The Dragons. We’ve seen the scores they’ve had for pre-season and we had a good run out against Telford so this game should be a great way to start the season at home. We are hoping for a good showing and a win, then we head to Blackburn away on Sunday which will be a test. They’ve recruited well this off-season and we will go there and try our best for the two points up for grabs.”

Meanwhile, Dragons’ player-coach Scott McKenzie also took time to consider the clash:

What did you learn from your pre-season schedule and how has it prepared your team?

Pre-season gave us a really good look at the new players and what they are going to bring to the squad. Also, it helps us not only gain a little bit of match fitness but to learn about our weaknesses before the league campaign. Results aren’t that important but one thing we have found out is that we can score goals, something we struggled with last season. We have a great atmosphere amongst the lads and pre-season has brought us closer together and allowed us to welcome the new lads.

It’s a new season and a very different league. What are The Dragons’ aims this time around?

Our aim really is to make the playoffs. We have enough in our locker room to do that this year. There were games last year that we felt slipped through our fingers. We learnt from those losses and really got rid of that fear factor that perhaps a few of the lads had as an NIHL 2 team moving up a division. We have a lot more depth this year which should guarantee us nine forwards and six defenceman, fifteen good players at every game, which makes us a much different team to play against. When we travelled North last season, we travelled light a few times and that really had an effect on our league position come the end of the year.

Your first fixture is a road trip to The Forum. How will your team approach this game and is there anything you can build on from last season which will help you to compete with the Stars?

Billingham really had our number last year. They came at us hard in every game and again we learnt a lot about what we need to do to compete against them this year. We have a plan for Saturday and we will do our best to get the points. To start the season by playing the teams that finished second and first last season, it’s not going to be easy but we have no pressure on us and we will really have a go at both teams and see where we end up come Sunday evening.

Fixture:    Solway Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks

Date:        Saturday 2nd September 2017

Venue:     Dumfries Ice Bowl

Faceoff:   7:00pm

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

After losing 5-3 to Blackburn Hawks in the NIHL North Cup competition early last season, Solway Sharks will be hoping for a better start to their cup campaign as the treble-winners head into their first NIHL National Cup fixture against the Lancashire outfit on Saturday. Winning three of their four cup games against Steven Duncombe’s team last season, the Sharks’ scored twelve cup goals against Blackburn when on the road before enjoying a 10-0 victory on home ice in March.

With a new season and a fresh start, anything is possible as the two sides go head-to-head, with many changes made to their teams over the summer months. Whilst Solway Sharks have confirmed the moves of young prospect Duncan Speirs, forward Marc Fowley and defenceman Darren Stattersfield, the side have also added experienced ‘D’ man Kyle Horne, Czech blue liner Marek Charvat and returning Shark Iain Bowie to their line-up. Further to these signings, the Dumfries club will again benefit from their partnership with Braehead Clan, with Jordan Buesa and Josh Grieveson available to ice with the Sharks on two-way contracts. By comparison, Duncombe has also strengthened his squad this summer, signing forward Matt Viney and former EPL players Stephen Fone, Luke Boothroyd, James Neil and Lewis Baldwin to counter the departures of skilled forward Philip Mulcahy, young forward Corey Stones and tough guy Reece Cairney-Witter.

Sharing his thoughts ahead of Solway’s first cup contest of the season, Head Coach Martin Grubb revealed:

“We are really looking forward to getting started this weekend in both the cup and the league after a good pre-season challenge versus the Steeldogs last weekend. These games were great for us to see where we were in terms of fitness and our team, and we know the areas we may need to strengthen and what work needs to be done. It’s always difficult to retain a team after you win everything as players then get offers to step up leagues and ultimately, that’s my job and the club’s job to get them there, so we expect that. We have the same targets as always but we are under no illusions of how difficult this new league will be. This weekend we face a very strong Blackburn team who have made some top signings and they will be very difficult to beat but we know what we have to do and we will be going all out for the points. It’s a cup game and both teams will want to start their season well. I’m sure this will be a great game. ”

Player-coach Steven Duncombe also took time to consider this weekend’s fixtures:

“After playing the games at the weekend, I know exactly what we need to work on in practice to be ready for the season. It didn’t help us being short either so I’m looking forward to having a full team for future games. It doesn’t matter to me who we play. We should have the same attitude and mentality going into every game. Solway are a well-drilled team but beatable as we proved last season. I’m looking forward to starting this season and seeing what other teams have to offer.”

Fixture:    Blackburn Hawks vs. Billingham Stars

Date:        Sunday 3rd September 2017

Venue:      Blackburn Ice Arena

Faceoff:  5:45pm

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Following their first home game against The Dragons on Saturday, the Stars will then travel to Lancashire to take on Blackburn Hawks. Winning five of eight contests against Steven Duncombe’s men last season, the Stars started with a 5-2 away league loss mid-September before bouncing back to a 3-2 home victory one week later. With some mixed results against the Hawks in their 2016-17 campaign, including a narrow 4-3 win and a 7-4 defeat in the NIHL North cup competition, the Teessiders will certainly be aware of the potential damage the Hawks could cause on Sunday, not least because their most recent fixture against the outfit ended in a 5-3 home loss. Whilst Duncombe hopes for more than the seven forwards and seven defencemen he had at his disposal during the Hawks’ pre-season, Billingham’s Head Coach Terry Ward has so far signed twelve forwards, nine defencemen and two netminders which should give the Stars strength in depth when they take to the ice on Sunday.

Fixture:    The Dragons vs. Solway Sharks

Date:        Sunday 3rd September 2017

Venue:     Deeside Leisure Centre

Faceoff:  5:45pm

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

After playing host to Blackburn Hawks in the cup competition on Saturday evening, the Sharks will then travel to Deeside ahead of their first league fixture against The Dragons. Having won three of their four games against the Welsh outfit in their title-winning campaign, Solway will hope for a repeat of last season’s form against Scott McKenzie’s men which began with a 5-2 away victory over the side in November followed by a 3-1 home win almost one month later. Though the score lines between these two sides were fairly close in the opening stages of last season as the Dragons contended with the Sharks, McKenzie’s men suffered a 13-2 defeat in February, with youngster Daniel Abercrombie, defenceman James Hutchinson and captain Struan Tonnar amongst those on the scoresheet for Solway. Despite this, The Dragons did not lose heart and recovered in their final game of their 2016-17 campaign, coming back from 4-1 down to take a point from the Dumfries outfit. In effect, Solway’s hopes to build on their recent success and The Dragons’ determination to compete mean that this game will be a tough contest, particularly if some of the sides’ past encounters are anything to go by.

Adding to his earlier comments, Head Coach Martin Grubb revealed:

“Sunday will also be a tough encounter against an improved Dragons team who are always a threat. I like the way Scotty has them playing. We know they have great spirit and will be ready to come out flying in their home opener so, again, we need to play well and ensure we give ourselves a chance to win.”

Reflecting on his team’s previous performances against the Sharks, player-coach Scott McKenzie also shared his thoughts ahead of this encounter: 

“First of all, I’d like to say that Solway were definitely deserved champions last year. When we played them, we really had nothing to lose. We identified their best players, tried to play a solid defensive game and take our chances when they came. Sometimes when you play better teams, your players concentrate more and this can keep the score close. That game at the end of the season, to come back from 4-1 down, it would have been so easy for us to just give up and quit but that’s not what our guys are about. We fought all the way to the end and quite rightly stayed in the division for this season. I think we will be even more competitive but, with the new teams coming into the league from the EPL, there is going to be some really tough games for us this year.”

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