WEEKEND PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE
Saturday 3rd October 2015
Sheffield
Spartans vs. Billingham Stars
Sunday 4th October 2015
Whitley
Warriors vs. Sutton Sting
Billingham
Stars vs. Telford Tigers
After
last weekend’s respite from the NIHL, Billingham Stars are set to return to the
ice on Saturday to take on Sheffield Spartans for the second time this season.
This time the Stars will find themselves the visitors as they make the trip to
Ice Sheffield for an early 1:30pm face off and they are set to be in for a
challenge against the unpredictable South Yorkshire outfit.
Thus
far, the Spartans have encountered their sister club Sheffield Senators twice,
defeating their rivals 7-1 in both fixtures, but they have failed to win on the
road to Billingham Stars and Sutton Sting, though they triumphed over the
latter club by one goal to nil in their home rink. Billingham head coach Terry
Ward will take heart from Stars’ last contest against the Spartans which
resulted in the team’s first home win of their 2015-16 campaign and a shut out
for netminder James Flavell.
Currently,
the Spartans sit above Billingham in the NIHL Moralee Conference league table
which adds to the significance of this clash; a Stars’ victory would tie the
teams on six points with Billingham looking ahead to Sunday’s game against
Telford Tigers and Sheffield facing a tougher test at the Blackburn Ice Arena.
However, if Billingham lose out on the points, they have two games in hand
which could be utilised to their advantage, though they could easily be
challenged for fourth place by Telford Tigers who are creeping up the table and
are scheduled to face the Stars on Sunday evening at The Forum.
Despite
the Spartans’ form being slightly shaky of late, Head Coach Martin White
continues to ice a strong side with the goal scoring Barron brothers featuring
again this season alongside imports Martin Finkes and Marcos Stefanco, both of
whom are new additions to the Spartans line up and are able to enhance the team
defensively and in front of goal.
Win,
draw or lose, Billingham then play host to Telford Tigers who have proved to be
stubborn opponents of late. Last weekend the Tigers defeated Solway Sharks and
made a comeback from 3-0 down against Whitley Warriors, only losing out on a
point in the final minutes of the game. With in form James Smith, alternate
captain Callum Bowley and Slovakian right winger Karol Jets working cohesively
to make an impact this season, Jason Parry’s side are more than in with a
chance against the Stars as they continue to test the best teams in the NIHL
Moralee Conference.
On
the other hand, Billingham have a good home record against Telford, formerly
known as Titans, defeating the side 15-1 in September 2013 and 9-1 in the
January of the following year. The Stars also have the experience and
leadership of Richie Thornton, Michael Bowman and Paul Windridge in their
favour, not to mention the dexterity of import Dennis Boström who scored twice
in Stars’ last encounter with the Spartans. However, Head Coach Terry Ward will
take nothing for granted this weekend as Telford are a far cry from the short
benched side they once were and appear to be a real threat following their
decision to rebrand.
However,
Billingham are not the only Northern team in action this weekend as Whitley
Warriors take on John Ross’s Sutton Sting at Hillheads in what will be the
side’s third consecutive home fixture. Player/Coach David Longstaff and
Assistant Coach Dave Holland will be more than happy with Warriors strong start.
Last weekend, the club retained top spot and secured a late victory against
Telford Tigers who could have easily shared the points after a third period
revival.
Sutton’s
2015-16 campaign faced off on the 20th September, a whole two weeks later
than some NIHL Moralee Conference teams, and they have so far won one out of
three, losing to Blackburn Hawks in their first home game of the season and
narrowly missing out to Sheffield Spartans. Last Season, the Sting failed to
better their performance from the previous season and finished fifth place, disappointing
for a team which successfully claimed a playoff spot following their promotion
in 2012.
Sutton
return this season in the hope that they can get back to their best with Head
Coach Ross managing to hold onto Simon Offord who steps into the captaincy role
at the club, whilst Russian netminder Dmitri Zimozdra looks set to be Sutton’s top
shot stopper once again, always proving a challenge for forwards and continuing
to be a real asset to the Sting line up. Despite this, Whitley have a strong
team of their own and, though their potential is as yet unknown, they have been
able to cause problems for their opposition so far. Though an assessment of
Alex Lawson’s knee injury is on-going, and the Warriors are without skilful right
winger Dean Holland, David Longstaff’s side have been able to overcome injury
woes to exhibit some strong, resolute performances on the ice.
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| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
If
the result of this game goes in Whitley’s favour, the Warriors will find
themselves on 11 points and edging ever so slightly away from the Hawks who
will be stalking first place this season in an attempt to retain the NIHL
title. However, should Warriors lose and Sutton take both points, Offord and
his men could create a four point gap between themselves and the bottom placed
Senators. In short, both sides could widen the gap between themselves and their
rivals or miss the opportunity altogether and face losing out later in the
season.
Whatever
the outcome, fans are surely in for another thrilling weekend of ice hockey. For
those who would like to catch a game, Billingham face off at 1:30pm and the
Supporter’s bus will be leaving the Forum car park at 11:00am on Saturday 3rd
October. Following this fixture, the Stars are in action at the Forum on Sunday
from 6:30pm and Whitley Warrior’s home clash against Sutton Sting will take
place on the same day at Hillheads with a face off of 5:00pm.
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