NIHL Weekend Action

Spartans spear Sharks as Solway slip back into sixth

Solway Sharks        1

Sheffield Spartans  5

Having defeated Sheffield Spartans just last Saturday in a closely contested 2-1 victory, Solway Sharks were not about to underestimate the Yorkshire outfit who had already bounced back from a 6-0 defeat against Whitley Warriors to win on home ice against the Hillheads side. With that in mind, the first line of both teams took to centre ice for yet another tough clash, shot stopper Kieran Hobbins starting in net for his fifth consecutive game whilst Spartan Brandon Stones took to the pipes at the other end of the ice. Although, two-way player Adam Robinson, who shares his time between Belfast’s Under 20s squad and the Sharks, featured in Martin Grubb’s line up for the first time in five games, Solway were without defencemen Craig Mitchell, Frazer Goldie, Stuart Andrews and Alan Crane as well as junior forwards Scott Henderson and Tom Watson. Likewise, in addition to the absence of forwards Will Barron and Tom Parkinson, Martin White’s Spartans made the trip to Dumfries without junior Cole Shudra, the versatile Andrew Turner and defenders Danny Mawer and Douglas Jordan.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

With the first period underway, both sides had their fair share of opportunities but it was Solway who edged ahead on shots, hitting sixteen at Stones in comparison to the eleven fired at Hobbins. With David Emmerson overseeing proceedings, there was little for the referee to police, the first and only penalty of the period dished out on 12:31 to Slovakian import Maros Stefanco for a tripping offence. The Sharks continued to press on the power play but, despite several efforts from Grubb’s side, Solway could not find a way through Sheffield’s defence and, much to the Spartans delight, the score line remained a 0-0 stalemate. This status quo did not last much longer though as, approximately five minutes later, Slovakian defenceman Juraj Senko threaded a pass through to Marc Fowley who calmly slotted the puck past Stones to make it 1-0. Any joy displayed in Solway’s celebrations was cut short just thirty eight seconds later when long-serving Spartan Chris Wilcox and top points scorer Nicholas Manning worked in unison to set up Stefanco who made amends for his earlier transgression with an equaliser. The remaining twenty nine seconds of the period played out before both sides headed in at the break; Solway dismayed to have lost their lead so quickly and Sheffield relieved to be back on level terms.

Whatever White’s words were at the end of the first period clearly resonated within his team and, returning for the middle stanza, the Spartans went all out to shock the Sharks, snapping up a goal with less than a minute and a half played. This time, Manning was on hand to make it 2-1 when David Pyatt and Scott Morris broke through Solway’s defence to put the home side under pressure. Trying to get themselves back in the game, the Sharks failed in their efforts to light the lamp, their shots either wide of the mark or saved comfortably by Stones. Likewise, the Spartans also had several chances to extend their lead so there was little wonder when Sheffield bagged a two goal cushion on 28:16 courtesy of captain Ollie Barron; Manning and Stefanco with the assists on this occasion.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

The downbeat Sharks began to feel the game slip away from them and, for all their attempts, they found themselves 4-1 down just over four minutes later when Ollie Barron turned provider, allowing Shaun Wild to send player-assistant coach Stuart Brittle in on goal. Not one to miss, Brittle turned the puck into the back of Hobbins’ net to make Spartans’ trip well and truly worthwhile. Unable to find a reply, the stunned Sharks went in at the end of the second period with much work left to do if they were to stand any chance of taking two points from the game. 

Both sides returned to the ice for the final stanza, looking to add to their goal tally. Once again, the two teams applied pressure but simply cancelled each other out, Spartans unable to find another goal and Solway powerless against sturdy netminder Stones. However, events took a turn when Sharks’ captain Struan Tonnar found himself sin binned for a slashing incident, placing the visitors on the power play. The Sharks fought hard in defence to ensure the gap between themselves and the Spartans did not increase but, cruelly, with just one second of the power play left, Brittle and Barron went on the attack to facilitate a goal scoring opportunity for Wild who quickly capitalised on 51:36. With time ticking away and Sheffield holding on to their 5-1 lead, Solway showed no signs of producing a turnaround, instead defending their four goal deficit to prevent Sheffield from leaving with more goals than they were due.

In consequence, Solway remain one point ahead of Billingham before their trip to Teesside and must bounce back if they are to take any points away from The Forum. Already the Sharks have shown that they have much fortitude in their ranks this season, picking themselves up from eighth place to begin their gradual climb of the NIHL table. The fact that Grubb’s side are now contending with mid-table sides Billingham Stars and Sheffield Spartans is a credit to his team but the Sharks should continue to pick up points from those all-important home fixtures if they are to get back to their very best.

Winning Warriors vanquish short-benched Senators

Whitley Warriors   11

Sheffield Senators 1

Having snatched a 6-1 victory against bottom placed Sheffield Senators in their last meeting, Whitley Warriors would have been confident, though not complacent, to learn that the side were only travelling with nine skaters and two netminders. The Warriors, on the other hand, were without the injured Alex Lawson, Dean Holland and Ben Richards and in form shot stopper Richie Lawson was benched to allow backup netminders Mark Turnbull and Jordan Boyle to have an equal share of ice time. A shake up in the lines from player-coach David Longstaff also allowed some of Warriors’ youngest players to gain an increase in ice time whilst Senators were without eleven of their roster, including captain Andrew McEwan. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

From the first face off, energetic ice hockey ensued and, with only thirty seconds played, Warriors took the lead through Martin Crammond who was helped out by youngsters Kyle Hindmarsh-Ross and Liam Smedley. The opening stages of the game saw Andrew Chapman’s Senators have their fair share of the puck, though Whitley looked the more dangerous of the two sides, eventually doubling their lead on 8:16 in spite of Mark Hartley’s best efforts. This time it was Scott Cooper’s turn to find the back of the net, Warriors’ latest signing Phillip Pritchard and enforcer Andre Payette with the assists. The Senators failed to recover from this goal and soon found themselves under further attack from Whitley’s offensive endeavours so it was little surprise when a blue line shot from defenceman Josh Maddock ended up in the back of Hartley’s goal to make it 3-0 just over a minute later.

Warriors’ domination did not end there though, and some neat passing between DJ Good and Harry Harley saw forward Callum Watson achieve his ninth goal of the season. As Warriors tried to increase their lead further, and the Senators battled back, referee David Emmerson made his first call of the game with almost fifteen minutes played, Payette guilty of interference.  Though Senators were placed on the power play, Whitley continued to press the Sheffield outfit with the same fervour as before and the home side did not appear to be at any disadvantage whatsoever. Soon after, Senators’ defenceman Jordan Martin tangled with Smedley in a bid to prevent the junior’s attempt on goal. Lashing out, the youngster found himself ordered to the sin bin to serve a two minute roughing penalty whilst Martin was made to sit out for his holding offence; both players unleashed from their punishment with just thirteen seconds of the first period left to play.   

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Returning to the ice after the break, Whitley looked to continue where they left off but soon found their efforts stalled as Payette conceded a second penalty, this time for slashing. Once again though, Whitley ran down the clock and Senators failed to threaten Warriors’ netminder Turnbull at the other end of the ice. Restored to five men, Whitley wasted no time in slamming home a fifth, Harley working with Craig Johnson, another of Whitley’s up and coming prospects, to ensure Callum Queenan made it onto the score sheet. A second penalty for Martin soon interrupted play, the defenceman moving Hartley’s net to jeopardise Whitley’s attack. With Longstaff’s men on the power play, it was not long before the home side found the back of the net again as Queenan turned provider for Harley with some support from Good to make it 6-0. Under three minutes later, Johnson had increased Whitley’s lead to seven, firing a superb unassisted shot to leave the Senators’ netminder powerless before the second interval.

As the final instalment of the game began, a victory for Whitley Warriors was all but certain as the Senators continued to weary under the strain of two line hockey. However, the Warriors soon handed Sheffield a consolation goal when Joe Stamp received two minutes for hooking just eight seconds into the period. A double save from agile netminder Boyle was not enough to prevent Senators’ alternate captain Nathan Parkes-Britton from swiping Whitley’s clean sheet on the power play, the Warriors returning to five men as a consequence.

Despite their six goal lead, the Warriors continued their hunt for goals and they were rewarded on 53:09 when Alexander Harding made way for a minor hooking offence. With the advantage of an extra man, Longstaff and Queenan combined to set up captain Jamie Tinsley for his eighth goal of the season. Exactly one minute later, this was followed up with a second from Crammond to make it 9-0.

Struggling, Sheffield found themselves defending deep in their own third, their fatigue showing as Payette skated past several Senators in style to accomplish a superb wrap around. Enthused by this achievement, Payette bagged himself another goal approximately two minutes later and the powerful import, trying to sneak some additional ice time in the hope of sealing a hat trick, was soon called back to the bench by his coach. As the final buzzer called time on the game, Whitley celebrated a landslide victory and two points to see the Hillheads outfit hang onto second.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

With one hundred and six shots on Mark Hartley’s goal, the Senators’ shot stopper was recognised for his effort in the man of the match awards. Meanwhile the same accolade fell to young Warrior Kyle Hindmarsh-Ross. David Longstaff’s aim to integrate Whitley’s youngest players into his line up, and to provide Whitley’s junior cohort with enough ice time to display their skill, certainly paid off with two goals and seven assists created by the club’s emerging prospects. This highlights just how important junior development is in the NIHL, the youngsters’ tenacity shining through. The Warriors now look ahead to a lengthy road trip to Telford Tigers on Saturday which should prove to be a tough test for Longstaff’s side before they trek to The Forum for a second highly anticipated derby game against Terry Ward’s Billingham Stars.

Stars snap up two points against Sharks to shoot into sixth

Billingham Stars 5

Solway Sharks    3

After Solway’s 5-1 defeat to Sheffield Spartans on Saturday, Billingham Stars went into their game against the Sharks feeling that the two points were there for the taking. This spurred the home side on to a fantastic start over their league rivals and Martin Grubb’s Solway soon began to feel the pressure as Marc Fowley’s attempts to slow down James Moss resulted in a hooking call against the forward. The Sharks reduced to four men, it was Moss who was appropriately on hand to hit the puck past netminder Kieran Hobbins from a Dennis Boström assist.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Minutes later, the Stars were next to incur a minor penalty, two-man system Steve Wardell and Kieran Wrench penalising Scott Ward for holding. This power play went unpunished by Solway and they were soon on the receiving end of Wardell’s officiating, this time Stephen Adams guilty of slashing. The Irish-born forward returned to the ice only to make amends for his wrongdoing with an equaliser for his team, courtesy of some rapid link up play between Steven Balmer and Fowley. Solway’s joy was to be short-lived as the Dumfries outfit only managed to stay on level terms for forty seconds before Stars’ second highest points scorer, Chris Sykes threaded a pass to Michael Elder who did not miss his mark. 

The score 2-1, the Sharks barely had time to respond before Hobbins was picking the puck from his net for a third time, Sykes setting up Elder with a further assist from Stars’ alternate captain Callum Davies. Billingham hanging onto this two goal cushion going into the first break, the Teesiders returned to the ice, hoping to resume play from where they left off. It was Solway who burst out onto the ice with a desire to get back into the game however, the side managing to grab a goal in the first five minutes of the second stanza when Ross Murray and skilful left winger Steven Moore worked together to set up forward Michael Corbett. Though protests from Billingham’s bench suggested that the puck had been kicked into the net, the goal stood and Wardell, unhappy at the manner of Stars’ complaints, saw fit to dish out a two minute bench penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Whilst Billingham went on to have their fair share of opportunities, with Moss striking the post and Hobbins making a double save to prevent Callum Davies and Sykes from lighting the lamp, long-serving Shark Iain Bowie thumped a shot against Flavell’s cross bar to unsettle the home side. Solway were again handed a power play as Jack Davies warmed a seat in the sin bin for a cross check but the visitors were unable to score and went into the break trailing Billingham by a single goal.

The points all to play for in the third period, Grubb appeared to instil an attacking mentality into his players and the Sharks managed to repeat their earlier feat. Solway scoring with less than five minutes of the section played, Corbett turned assist alongside Moore to ensure Murray’s name made it on to the score sheet. The score line levelled in spectacular fashion, the Stars desperately needed to find a way back and they did so on 48:54 through Swedish import Boström who hit the puck into the roof of Hobbins’ goal to make it 4-3, Billingham having failed to capitalise on a Juraj Senko slashing penalty just minutes before.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Following this goal, both teams found it difficult to break down the opposition’s defence and it was with less than three minutes left that Billingham managed to extend their lead to 5-3, snapping up both points to go ahead of the Sharks in the NIHL league table once again. As the game came to its conclusion, there was fight enough left in both sides, Jack Davies and Ross Murray unable to resist a battle with sixteen seconds of game play left. An evenly matched contest, Wardell delivered 2+2 to both players for fighting and the home side retreated from the ice the happier of the two teams with a win under their belt to bounce back from last weekend’s 6-3 defeat to Solihull Barons. Once again James Moss proved to be an asset to his club, the forward picking up Stars’ man of the match award, having scored twice in the match to add to his ever-growing points tally. 

With standout performances from several of his players, Ward will look ahead to next weekend in the hope that he can grab two points from league rivals Whitley Warriors at The Forum; a win from this fixture would allow the Stars to leapfrog the Spartans and subsequently challenge for fourth position should this scenario play out.

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