WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 9th September 2017
Blackburn
Hawks vs. Billingham Stars (National Cup)
Solway
Sharks vs. Whitley Warriors
Sunday
10th September 2017
Whitley Warriors vs. Blackburn Hawks
Billingham Stars vs. Solway Sharks
(National Cup)
Fixture:
Blackburn Hawks vs. Billingham Stars
Date: 9th September 2017
Venue: Blackburn Ice Arena
Faceoff: 5:45pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Preparing to play their first NIHL National Cup
fixture of their 2017-18 season against Blackburn Hawks, Billingham Stars will
make the trip to Lancashire on Saturday with hopes to atone for last weekend’s
3-2 league loss to Steven Duncombe’s men. Though Stars’ forward and alternate
captain Chris Sykes was able to score a brace in this contest, Blackburn twice
snatched the Teessiders’ lead from them and then hit home a third to take
both points and a hard-fought victory in front of a home crowd. However, whilst the Hawks will certainly be buoyed
by their success against the Stars, fresh in the side’s mind will also be their
8-5 defeat to Solway Sharks in the cup competition last Saturday; this
encounter saw Blackburn go ahead by three goals before the Sharks embarked on a
comeback to claim two points in what was a challenging clash for both teams.
Standing out for the Stars in their opening weekend, forward Chris Sykes tallied a goal and three assists against The
Dragons on home ice, prior to scoring the two previously mentioned against the Hawks, player-coach
Michael Bowman achieved a hat trick against Scott McKenzie’s team on Saturday
and Latvian imports Artūrs Ozols and Deniss Baškatovs also shone, both scoring
their first goals for the Teesside outfit. By comparison, forward Rick Bentham
had an excellent start to his 2017-18 season, chipping in with an unassisted
effort against Solway Sharks on Saturday and then notching a game-winning goal
against Billingham after opening his side’s account early in the second
period. Set to be another close contest as the Stars and the Hawks go
head-to-head once more, this is not a game to be missed.
Speaking to NIHL Northern Trio, Blackburn’s player-coach Steven
Duncombe took time to discuss this cup fixture as he looked ahead to the Hawks’ weekend:
“I believe both games are winnable but it will be very challenging at the same time.
Billingham played really well last weekend and kept us fighting all the way
until the end. I believe the Hawks have much more to offer and will go from
strength to strength the further we get into the season. We are still getting
to know one another and get a feel for where everyone will be on the ice. I am
hoping to get the first win of the cup under our belt this Saturday at home.”
Fixture: Solway Sharks vs. Whitley Warriors
Date: 9th September 2017
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Playing host to Whitley Warriors in their first
league encounter on home ice this season, Solway Sharks will be hoping to add a
second win to their record after defeating The Dragons by thirteen goals to two
last weekend, whereas David Longstaff’s line-up will be eager to get their
2017-18 campaign underway having completed their pre-season schedule on
Sunday. Going head-to-head with the Sharks last season, Whitley Warriors opened
with a crushing 9-2 home defeat before losing out twice to the side at the
Dumfries Ice Bowl. Events took an unexpected turn however, when Solway returned
to Hillheads in February as the Warriors battled throughout to take a league point from Martin Grubb’s team; forwards Jordan Barnes, Dean Holland
and Callum Watson with goals for the home side whilst Sharks Jordan Buesa and
Daniel Abercrombie found the net for the visitors.
This time around though, the Hillheads outfit will
need to be particularly cautious of returning Shark Iain Bowie who has so far
wreaked havoc for Solway, accumulating seven goals and six assists in just two
games across all competitions. Likewise, alternate captain Ross Murray will
also pose a threat in front of the net, having racked up three goals and four assists last weekend. Further to this, Murray is likely to utilise the physical
aspect of his game to his advantage, having gone toe-to-toe with both Jordan Barnes
and Shaun Kippin last season, meaning this encounter might pack a punch in more
ways than one. The Warriors, meanwhile, will hope to take to the ice with
Canadian import Philip Edgar at their disposal, the forward shining during
Whitley’s pre-season games, showing his speed and skill to total five goals and
eight assists, whilst the return of the side’s most senior forwards will also be
welcomed as the team prepare to make use of their experience to cause problems
for their opposition this season.
Looking forward to this fixture, Sharks Head Coach Martin Grubb shared:
“Games against Whitley are always tough and we will need to be better
defensively this week as I wasn’t overly happy with last Saturday. We know the
way they try to play and they have added an import which I’m sure will help
them so it will be about us sticking to our system and playing how we can for
sixty minutes. This league is very competitive and we look forward to testing
ourselves against the Warriors.”
Also speaking to NIHL Northern Trio,
player-coach David Longstaff noted:
“It’ll be another tough weekend, just like last season.
We’ll be missing five of our top players so some fringe players will get a
chance to play.”
Fixture: Whitley Warriors vs. Blackburn Hawks
Date: 10th September 2017
Venue: Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Faceoff: 5:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
After their road trip to Dumfries on Saturday,
Whitley Warriors will then return to Hillheads for their first home game of
their 2017-18 NIHL North campaign, aiming to entertain against Blackburn Hawks
in front of a home crowd on Sunday whilst firmly setting their sights on
victory. When playing the Hawks mid-September last season, the Warriors
recorded an excruciatingly narrow 2-1 league loss on the road
before edging a 3-2 victory of their own in a second road trip to Blackburn Ice
Arena. This proved to be a huge turning point for the Warriors
as the outfit overwhelmed Blackburn at Hillheads seven days later by six goals
to nil, a result which prompted the departure of Head Coach Matt Darlow and saw
the appointment of Steven Duncombe as player-coach. Playing their fourth and final league game against the Hawks at the end of October in their 2016-17 campaign, the Warriors recorded a
third win against the Lancashire-based team, this time achieving an 8-2 score line. Whitley’s form against the Hawks was impressive last season and, as such, the home
team will be hoping for more of the same, starting with their encounter against
the side on Sunday.
Lining up with fifteen skaters last weekend,
Blackburn Hawks’ squad included forwards Rick Bentham and Aaron Davies, both of whom found themselves on the scoresheet against the Warriors last season. Expecting his team to pose a threat at
Hillheads on Sunday, Duncombe will hope that his returning forwards, not to
mention new signings Luke Boothroyd and James Neil, can
cause problems for Whitley’s blue line to leave the North East with two
valuable points. However, the Warriors will not be short of offensive options with goal scorers Dean Holland, DJ Good and Jordan Barnes amongst those
taking to the ice this weekend alongside player-coach David Longstaff, import
Philip Edgar and returnee Kyle Ross, though Warrior Shaun Kippin will
miss out due to a two-game ban dished out against Solway at the end of last
season. On the whole, this game will prove an
interesting contest as the two outfits look set to continue their rivalry this
season.
Looking ahead to his NIHL debut with Whitley Warriors and the opening
games of his 2017-18 campaign, Canadian import Philip Edgar took time to
consider his team’s pre-season and what he is expecting when he takes to the
ice this weekend:
“I thought that
our play in both pre-season games was promising. We had a lot of offence which is a good sign but the pace that we played with was really our focus. It’s easy
to come out slow with pre-season games so we really hammered down the notion of
moving our feet and playing with speed right away. Although we won both
games, we are fully aware that the league will be much harder. We can’t expect
to walk over any team we play and so there will be no nights off this season. I
don’t know much about Solway or the Hawks to be honest. Having said that, I
think based on last year, we can expect a good game both nights. Similar to
pre-season, we will be looking to step onto the ice absolutely flying. We want
to be one of the toughest teams to play in the league this year and it starts
this weekend. I have been told that the Hawks games are somewhat of a rivalry
which I am excited to dive right into. I’m looking forward to this Sunday’s
game for sure and we will not disappoint. In the meantime, I am currently
seeking sponsors and also require employment so if anyone would like to discuss
sponsorship or an opportunity of employment, please feel free to get in touch,
either through the contact page on Whitley Warriors’ website or speak to me in
person. ”
Meanwhile, Duncombe also took time to consider Blackburn’s league
clash with Whitley Warriors on Sunday evening and what he expects from his
team’s encounter at Hillheads:
“Sunday will be a different story altogether as it is always hard going
to Whitley Bay because they have a knack for playing really well in their own barn
and know how to use their rink to get the win. With this in mind we are up for
the challenge as, last season, unfortunately, we never had a win up in Whitley.
However, we are hoping to turn this streak around this Sunday.”
Fixture: Billingham Stars vs. Solway Sharks
Date: 10th September 2017
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 6:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
After their trip to Lancashire on Saturday,
Billingham Stars will return to The Forum on Sunday for the second National Cup
fixture of their weekend, this time facing Martin Grubb’s Solway Sharks in what
is likely to be a fiercely contested game between two close rivals. Picking up a
point in a 6-5 overtime loss on home ice to the Sharks in the NIHL Northern Cup
competition last September, the Stars then suffered two further defeats in
October, losing out on the road by eight goals to two and then recording a 4-3
regulation loss one week later in Teesside before finding themselves on the
end of a hugely disappointing 8-1 score line at the Dumfries Ice Bowl in
January.
Joining the Sharks for this game will be new signing
and Czech defenceman Vaclav Kolarik who makes the switch from Czech 3 side HC
Risuty to ice with the outfit. Accumulating five goals and ten assists
in thirty one games for Risuty last season, Kolarik has only ever played ice hockey
in his home country. Starting out with Kladno’s Under 18s team in 2008, the
blue liner went on to play for the club’s Under 20s side before dividing his
time between junior ice hockey and the MHL’s Patriot Budapest. With spells in
Czech 2 and Czech 3 since then, Kolarik has had much experience in these
leagues and, as such, will make his debut in British ice hockey this weekend.
The Stars, meanwhile, have confirmed the restructuring of their on-ice
leadership team which will now be made up of captain Michael Elder, alternate
captains Chris Sykes and Callum Davies and last season’s player-coaches Michael
Bowman and Richie Thornton. With this structure in place, Billingham look set
to utilise their experience this campaign which may prove a test for Solway on
Sunday, with the quartet of Sykes, Bowman, Davies and Elder collectively contributing
eight of the Stars’ thirteen goals last weekend. As a result, this game will
certainly be one to watch, not least because the two sides have grown to be
close rivals in recent seasons.
Commenting ahead of this fixture,
Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb revealed his expectations of
Solway’s cup clash against the Stars on Sunday:
“Any time we face the Stars it seems to be a good game
and always very tight. I don’t see this game being any different. Both teams
have made changes to their rosters and it will be interesting to see where we
both are at this early stage in the season. We both scored a few goals last
weekend so it will be open hockey and it will be about us going there,
executing our game plan and trying to get the points but we know it won’t be
easy.”
Adding to this,
alternate captain Chris Sykes shared his thoughts ahead of Billingham’s upcoming
cup contests:
“It’s a double header for
the cup this weekend, a place where we can work on certain things and try to
give the youngsters some ice time to get everyone playing a part in these
games. We are away to Blackburn to start the weekend after a narrow loss last
weekend in the league but we will hopefully put it right through the season, starting on Saturday in the cup game and then on Sunday when we're back in The Forum for our
first test against last year’s title rivals, the Sharks. It should be a good
double cup weekend for the Stars!”
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