WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 1st September 2018
Hull
Pirates
vs. Whitley Warriors
Billingham
Stars vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Sunday 2nd September 2018
Whitley Warriors vs. Telford Tigers
Solihull
Barons vs. Billingham Stars
Fixture:
Hull Pirates vs.
Whitley Warriors
Date: 1st September 2018
Venue: Hull Arena
Faceoff: 6:00pm
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| /Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
The first game of their
2018-19 season a road trip to Hull Arena, Whitley Warriors will head out with
the knowledge that they face a tough test against Jason Hewitt’s men, having
endured four gruelling battles against the Pirates last season. First achieving
a point from a 4-3 overtime loss on home ice last November, the Warriors then
suffered an excruciating 11-0 defeat on the road one month later in which both
right winger Bobby Chamberlain and left winger Matty Davies accomplished hat
tricks. Keen to avoid a repeat of this encounter, which also saw Warriors
Callum Watson and Ryan Sample punished for fighting, Whitley returned to Hull
in January and competed closely with the Pirates to lose out narrowly by four
goals to three. The Hillheads outfit then found themselves on the wrong side of
another 4-3 score line the following evening, though this time the Warriors
reaped the rewards of their hard work on home ice to force the Pirates into
overtime, picking up a point for their efforts as a result. In consequence of
this, Whitley will look to make their efforts count on Saturday, knowing that
they have what it takes to at least challenge the Pirates as demonstrated in
these previous close encounters with the side.
Having maintained most of
last season’s roster, Hull Pirates have also acquired the services of Czech
netminder Tomas Fucik and former Warrior Harry Harley who will surely
set out to find the back of the net against his former club. Following these
additions to what was an already incredibly strong squad, the Pirates will
certainly be a force to be reckoned with as they set out on their quest for
silverware following last season’s second place finish. Re-signing top points
scorers Davies, Chamberlain and forward Lee Bonner over the summer, the trio
having collectively achieved 226 points last season, Hull head out onto the ice
with an abundance of firepower and will undoubtedly make life difficult for Whitley’s blue line on Saturday as a result. The
Warriors, meanwhile, will aim to employ the skill of returning left winger Ben
Campbell who brings Elite League experience to the team after playing for
Newcastle Vipers and more recently, Guildford Flames. Also important for the
Warriors will be Player-Coach David Longstaff who finished last season as
Whitley’s top points scorer with 45 points from 35 league games whilst hardworking
on ice leaders Dean Holland, Jordan Barnes and Sam Zajac will also strive to be extremely
influential this weekend.
Whilst victory for the
Pirates would see the outfit make a strong start to their league campaign as
they look to contend with defending champions Sheffield Steeldogs and title contenders Telford
Tigers for silverware this season, Whitley will be
extremely pleased to take something from this encounter, knowing the difficult
contest that lies ahead on Sunday evening.
Fixture:
Billingham
Stars vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Date: 1st September 2018
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 6:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia – Ian Hanlon
|
After the disappointment
of last season’s eighth place finish, Billingham Stars will set out to make
amends in the first game of their 2018-19 campaign with a positive
performance against Sheffield Steeldogs on Saturday. Set to take on Ben
Morgan’s side for the first time this season, Billingham will aim to test the
former EPL outfit having managed to achieve a point in overtime against Sheffield last season. Losing all four of their fixtures against the Steeldogs in
their previous campaign, the Stars endured a 7-3 road defeat last September in which Sheffield’s Thomas Relf was ejected for
elbowing. Two weeks later, Morgan’s men again triumphed over the Stars at Ice
Sheffield, this time by seven goals to four; Billingham’s Alternate Captain
Chris Sykes and Steeldogs’ Slovakian import Milan Kolena each scoring a brace.
Shortly after this fixture, the Stars bounced back to prove difficult
competition for Sheffield at home and were able to claw a
point from a 4-3 overtime loss in a hotly contested game which saw the sides
collectively accrue 160 penalty minutes between them. Disappointed to lose out
to Kolena’s overtime winner, the Stars then sought to achieve their first
victory over the Steeldogs in February but instead found themselves on the
wrong end of a 5-1 score line with Player-Coach Michael Bowman the only man
finding the target for the Teessiders. As such, Billingham will head out onto
the ice on Saturday with the objective to achieve their first win over the
Steeldogs having come so close to doing so in their previous campaign.
Re-signing the majority
of their 2017-18 roster, with top points scorers Chris Sykes, Michael Elder and
James Moss returning to play another season at the club after collectively
notching 71 goals and 72 assists in their previous league campaign, the Stars
will strive to cause problems for Sheffield’s defence, which includes Player-Coach
Morgan, former Bracknell Bee ‘D’ man Relf, Captain Lewis Bell and blue liner
Thomas Barry. Also looking to prove troublesome for their opposition will be new
defenceman Edgar Protčenko who will work hard to dismantle Sheffield’s
offensive play. Setting out to sabotage Billingham’s attempts to claim a
victory, the defending champions will do all they can to ensure they maintain
their excellent record against the Stars and, whilst Morgan’s men know that it
will not be an easy trip to The Forum, the side will surely be disappointed
with anything less than maximum points from this road trip.
Aiming for a victory to
build their confidence, Billingham will seek to cause an upset in their search
for two points whilst the Steeldogs will look to showcase their ability to
challenge for the silverware from the first faceoff.
Fixture:
Whitley
Warriors vs. Telford Tigers
Date: 2nd September 2018
Venue: Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Faceoff: 5:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
After
their first road trip to Hull Arena on Saturday evening, Whitley Warriors will
return to Hillheads on Sunday to take on Telford Tigers. Despite putting up a
strong fight against Jason Silverthorn’s men last season, the Warriors have yet
to record a win against the Shropshire side and will therefore face a great
challenge in the first home contest of their campaign. In their initial encounter
with the Tigers last October, the Warriors were able to shock the side with
two goals from forward Ryan Sample, the first of which was scored in the second
minute of the game. However, as Whitley’s discipline began to waver, their
visitors were able to make the most of their power plays to claim both points with a 6-3 victory. Heavier road defeats of 7-0 and 8-0 then
followed this result but the Warriors were again able to make life difficult
for the Tigers in front of a home crowd; Whitley levelled the scoring after
battling from 2-0 down before Telford’s winger Warren Tait fired home with just sixty
eight seconds remaining in February’s meeting between the outfits. These games, together with Whitley’s 5-2 playoff loss
to Telford at Hillheads, suggest that the Warriors will once again have to be
prepared for a difficult clash, although David Longstaff’s men will also know
that they have what it takes to test their visitors, having demonstrated their determination
to challenge their opposition last season.
Once
again, the Tigers boast a strong roster after re-signing several of last
season’s squad over the summer, with outstanding netminder Denis Bell, experienced
defenceman Jonathan Weaver and skilled forwards Scott McKenzie and Rick Plant amongst
those returning to the club. With Telford’s average age currently twenty five
years, Silverthorn has looked to once again establish a balance of youth and
experience, with the former arising through youngsters Joseph Hazeldine, Jed
Moreland and Brodie Jesson whilst the latter will be exhibited through the
presence of Silverthorn, Weaver, Plant, McKenzie and of course, former Elite
League left winger Doug Clarkson. Notably, Weaver returns to the club for a
fifth consecutive campaign having accumulated 45 points in 23 games for Telford
last season, a fantastic feat when taking into consideration his eleven-game
ban following an incident in a cup fixture against Swindon Wildcats in
September. Whilst Weaver will undoubtedly bring his strength and skill to Telford’s
blue line, Whitley will also look to new signings Ben Campbell and Ross
Connolly to make an impact whilst seeking the experience of long-serving
Warriors DJ Good, Callum Watson and Martin Crammond for creativity and skill in
front of the net. Collectively playing forty five seasons for their club, the
trio continue to be highly effective and will no doubt demonstrate
their ability this season.
With
this game expected to be another captivating clash at Hillheads, the Warriors
will head out with their sights set on their first victory against the former
EPL outfit. Whilst a win for Longstaff’s line-up on Sunday would be an outstanding
achievement, Telford will certainly set out to jeopardise any chance of
success for the Warriors as they prepare to give everything in their quest for
silverware this season.
Fixture:
Solihull
Barons vs. Billingham Stars
Date: 2nd September 2018
Venue: Hobs Moat Road
Faceoff: 6:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Visiting Hobs Moat Road for the first time this campaign, Billingham
Stars will prepare for a challenge when they take on Daniel Brittle’s organised
outfit on Sunday, having claimed just one point against the side last season.
Playing the Barons on the road last December, Billingham found themselves two
goals down ten minutes after faceoff and were unable to turn the tables on Solihull
as a result, eventually losing 7-4. Striving to avenge
this defeat against Brittle’s men in January, the
Stars first played the side on home ice and gave their all after taking the
lead just nineteen seconds into the game through forward James Moss but, in the
end, the clash was pushed into overtime by the Barons who snatched a winner to
ensure Billingham did not gain more than a single point. Following this game,
the Stars travelled to Hobs Moat Road for a consecutive fixture against
Brittle’s men but suffered a 5-1 defeat despite numerous power play
opportunities. In consequence, Solihull were able to complete their four-game
series against Billingham with a fourth victory, winning 8-5 at The Forum in spite of their poor discipline. Often a fiery contest, this one saw
Solihull rack up 51 penalty minutes, with defenceman Dave Rogers punished for
his fight with Stars’ forward Jack Emerson and netminder Josh Nicholls ejected
from the game for a purported high sticks offence. With the Barons utilising
their strength as well as their skill, these games proved difficult for the
Stars and as such, the Teessiders must match the firepower and grit of their
opposition if they are to succeed on Sunday evening.
Heading into this game, Billingham will deploy their usual points
scoring forwards Chris Sykes, Michael Elder, James Moss and Callum Davies and,
as the side will be without Canadian Kevin Boyd who will link up with the team at a later date, the outfit will hope that Lithuanian import Edgar Protčenko can shine instead. Likewise, the Stars will rely on experienced defenceman
Richie Thornton, blue liner Ben Davison and young ‘D’ man James Hellens to remain
strong and skilled to allow Billingham the best chance of success
in this encounter. Similarly, Solihull will look to the core of last season’s roster to create problems for Billingham’s defensive unit with skilful
Swedish import Niklas Ottosson, left winger Josh Bruce and experienced forward
Joe Henry amongst some of the Barons’ greatest offensive threats.
Often hard fought and fierce, this fixture is likely to be another
fantastic contest which will allow Billingham the chance of redemption against
a side they struggled against last season.
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