NIHL
News
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Billingham Stars have
announced the return of backup netminder Mark Watson who is set for his eighth
consecutive season at the Teesside club after achieving a save percentage of
88.7% in seventeen games last season. Having played ice hockey for both
Newcastle Vipers’ and Whitley Warriors’ junior setups, Watson then went on to
divide his 2010-11 campaign between Whitley Braves and the Northern Stars prior
to the side’s merger with Billingham in the season that followed. Sharing
netminding duties with fellow shot stopper James Flavell during the Stars’
league campaign and icing in the NIHL National Cup last season,
Watson will continue to be an important part of Billingham’s roster when he
takes his place between the pipes in his upcoming campaign.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Likewise, Solway Sharks
have re-signed experienced defenceman and on-ice leader James Hutchinson who
heads into his third consecutive season with the Dumfries outfit, having first iced
for the side during their 2016-17 treble-winning campaign. Though playing just
seventeen games for the Sharks last season through injury, alternate captain Hutchinson was still
able to contribute five goals and seven assists to Solway’s league campaign.
With a wealth of experience having played in both the Elite League and the EPL
prior to signing for Solway in 2016, Hutchinson will again bring calm, composure and
consistency to the Sharks’ blue line when he returns to the ice next month.
Further to re-signing
Hutchinson, Solway have also confirmed the return of forward Rick Bentham who
joins their roster from Blackburn Hawks. Having previously iced with the Sharks
in their 2014-15 campaign, Bentham achieved forty nine points in twenty four
league games to finish the season as the team’s top points scorer. The forward then signed for the Hawks in what was an
extremely successful season for Blackburn in which they were crowned NIHL North
league and playoff champions. Returning to the Dumfries outfit in 2016, Bentham
played three league games and two cup games for the Sharks, notching a total of
five goals and two assists in that time, but he then switched back to the Hawks
where he was able to achieve forty seven points in twenty league fixtures. Finishing
as Blackburn’s top points scorer for two consecutive seasons, Bentham will add
even more firepower to the Sharks’ line-up which is certainly shaping up to be formidable.
 |
| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
No comments:
Post a Comment