NIHL Weekend Action

Sharks demolish Senators in 14 goal thriller

Solway Sharks      14

Sheffield Senators  0

With the return of Slovakian goal scorer Martin Cingel and Stuart Andrews to their line-up, and the signing of Elite League defenceman James Wallace, Solway Sharks went into this game knowing that the two points were there for the taking against the short benched Sheffield Senators who, failing to pick up a single point to date, travelled with a little over two lines and started with junior netminder Angus Laing in goal. Requiring two points to edge ever closer to the Stars, the Sharks were most definitely out to put on a display for their first game of 2016 whilst the Senators were hoping to challenge the Dumfries outfit in a bid to make life difficult for their opposition.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

As a result, both teams took to the ice with a will to win, the Senators giving their all to match Solway’s pace and power in the opening stages of the game whilst Solway applied early pressure to Andrew Chapman’s defence. It was therefore to Senators’ credit that the home side were only able to open the scoring in the tenth minute, Juraj Senko the first to light the lamp on 9:14 on the power play. A little over four minutes later, the Sharks found their lead doubled by one Ross Murray who achieved his sixth goal of the season courtesy of some strong link up play which sent the forward through on Laing’s net. Unable to organise an immediate response to this deficit, the Senators watched as Solway’s captain Struan Tonnar then slotted the puck past their defence to make it 3-0.

Going in at the break with a three goal cushion, Solway took to the second period with even more fervour than the first, and it was not long before new signing Wallace got in on the action, scoring on 24:12 to extend his team’s lead further. Less than two minutes later, the Senators were stunned by a quick fire goal from youngster Duncan Speirs who made it five to significantly reduce the visitors’ chances of carving a way back into the game. Some excellent build up play from the home side saw the Sharks find the back of the net again on 29:57, Andrews firing the puck past Laing on this occasion. This was shortly followed by Aidan Fulton’s first goal of his 2015-16 campaign, the versatile defenceman skimming the puck over the red line to make it 7-0 three minutes after the half-way point of the period.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Trying their utmost under pressure, the Senators managed to keep the Sharks at bay for over five minutes but, with the clock counting down, there was still time for Murray to find the net again to make it eight for Solway before the interval. With the despondent Senators left with no choice but to defend their current deficit and search for a consolation goal, the visitors took to the ice for the third period, but the first face off had scarcely taken place before Laing was again picking the puck from his net, Senko scoring with only fifty four seconds played.

More than six minutes of the period had passed by before the Sharks again lit the lamp to take their lead into double figures, this time Cingel making his return from injury in style with a tenth goal for Solway. One minute and eight seconds later, Senko secured his hat trick with a superb effort to earn himself Man of the Match at the end of the fixture. The punishing Sharks were not about to show mercy however, and Speirs soon grabbed his second, followed by a well-executed effort from Michael Corbett on 57:01. In the midst of this fast paced final instalment, Senator Paul Lofthouse took a swing at Corbett and both subsequently dropped the gloves to incur 2+2 fighting penalties, with Lofthouse receiving an additional two minutes for roughing. This merely made matters worse for the Senators and, with just over a minute left of the game, Cingel had the last say to hammer home Sheffield’s heaviest defeat this season.

Solway now remain in seventh but the Sharks have increased their points tally to fourteen, meaning they continue to pile the pressure onto Sheffield Spartans and Billingham Stars who are just five points ahead having played considerably more games than the Dumfries outfit. His team next in action against league leaders Blackburn Hawks, Head Coach Martin Grubb shared his views with NIHL Northern Trio: “I was happy with how we played after a slow first period but that’s understandable after such a long break. It was good to get Martin Cingel and Stuart Andrews back from injury as well. The Senators never stopped working but we moved the puck well and were patient all night so, although we know next week is completely different, we are happy with how we’ve started the second half of the season.”

Warrior woes as Whitley narrowly lose out to Hawks

Blackburn Hawks 4

Whitley Warriors   3

It was a fixture that Whitley Warriors really needed to win if they were to stand any chance of competing with league leaders Blackburn for top spot, the Hawks having reclaimed poll position over the Christmas period.

With Adam Reynolds making his first appearance for Whitley following his return to the club last week, David Longstaff’s men made a great start to the first period and, despite some early efforts from the Hawks, it was the visitors who went in front, taking the lead through captain Jamie Tinsley on 5:40. In the aftermath of this goal, enforcer Andre Payette clashed with Reece Cairney-Witter who provoked the Warrior to drop his gloves in a clever ploy to have Payette sin binned. Though Referee Steve Brown was not fooled by this trickery, any reprieve the Warriors might have enjoyed was short lived as Jordan Barnes was soon directed to the penalty box to serve two minutes for hooking. Unsurprisingly, the Hawks took full advantage, Richard Bentham working hard to find Matt Viney who pressured netminder Richie Lawson and subsequently lit the lamp for his side.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Just over a minute later, the lead was again with Whitley as Longstaff set up youngster Callum Queenan for his tenth goal of the season. Having had little joy from his earlier deception, Cairney-Witter soon turned his attention to Barnes who was also misled by the Hawk’s deception. However, the Warrior did not let this pass without going toe to toe with Cairney-Witter first before heading to the sin bin where both players were made to serve 2+2+10 for fighting. 

If the Hawks felt that their start to the game had been eventful, it was only about to get worse, Warriors extending their lead further when Payette fed the puck through to Martin Crammond who buried his effort in the back of Daniel Brittle’s net two minutes before the break.

Returning for the second period, the Warriors were aware that their lead was a fragile one, even with a two goal cushion to their advantage, as the Hawks returned with a renewed energy to take the points. A minor hooking penalty for Payette saw Whitley reduced to four men and defending well on the penalty kill but, despite Blackburn’s failure to capitalise, they soon pulled a goal back on 30:47 through Canadian import RJ Berra who hit home courtesy of hard work from Lee Pollitt and Adam Brittle. Six minutes later, the Warriors were given the chance to add to their lead when a slashing offence from Bentham placed the Hillheads outfit on the power play but Blackburn saw off Whitley’s attack without conceding and, with the home side putting on a better display than in the first, Daniel MacKriel’s side went in at the break the happier of the two teams.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Taking to the ice for the final period, the Hawks continued from where they left off in the middle section, scoring with almost three minutes played, this time Tom King ensuring his name was printed on the score sheet by making the most of support from Aaron Davies and Bentham to equalise. The teams now level at 3-3, it was the Hawks who had the upper hand and it showed as Callum Watson was sin binned for a slashing offence on 46:43 to present the home side with yet another power play. Creating several chances but failing to make a single one count, the Hawks continued to search for a game winning goal and an opportunity arose on 54:54 when referee Brown sent Adam Reynolds to the sin bin for a trip. With just thirty six seconds of the power play left to kill, the Warriors conceded, Chris Arnone and Adam Brittle finding goal scoring threat Berra from the faceoff, the import quickly accomplishing his forty eighth player point of the season. A holding penalty on Bentham, called for pulling down Longstaff, made for a nerve-wracking finish as the Warriors requesting a time out on 59:56.  This effort was all in vain however, the two points remaining firmly with the Hawks who are now nine points ahead of their title rivals after a highly successful four point weekend.

When asked for his views by NIHL Northern Trio, Longstaff said:“We’ve had four really good games against them, all very even, which is a big boost for our team and it looks like we’re the only team that can get close to them. [Adam Reynolds] was ahead of where I thought he would be and I probably gave him a little bit too much ice time for his first game back bit it’ll help him to get to where he needs to be. He’s a natural centre man and that's probably where we’ll look to play him. We struggled last night on face-offs and that made us chase the game too much; that’s somewhere we need to improve on and hopefully he can do that.”

Whitley’s next fixture is against Telford Tigers in Sunday the 10th January at Hillheads where the side will hope to achieve their first victory of 2016 to bounce back from their defeat to Blackburn Hawks, the side having won one, drawn one and lost two against the league leaders who were previously eighteen months unbeaten before they encountered the Warriors. 

Stars outshine Barons to claim victory

Solihull Barons   4

Billingham Stars 6

After last weekend’s entertaining clash between Billingham Stars and Solihull Barons, this fixture bore great expectation, with the Teesiders requiring a victory to move ahead of Sheffield Spartans whilst the Barons also needed two points to reclaim third place from Telford Tigers.

For those fans making the trip, this game was not about to disappoint as the Stars got off to a flying start, scoring on 4:40 when Swedish import Dennis Boström was set up superbly by forward James Moss to allow the Teesiders to take the lead. Dominating in offence, it was little surprise when the Stars doubled their lead almost four minutes later, Chris Sykes and Callum Davies working in unison to set up forward Michael Elder who waited for the perfect moment to fire his shot into the back of Josh Nicholls’ net.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Twenty six seconds later, the home side were stunned further when Elder snatched a second with assists from Sykes and Davies once again. This third goal prompted a change of netminder for the Barons, Nicholls swiftly replaced by shot stopper Sam Hewitt, and also a change in approach, the home side delivering their first goal of the game less than half a minute later when creative two-way player Thomas Soar and the sprightly Niklas Ottosson aided alternate captain Josh Bruce in his effort to make it 3-1. In a rapid response from the home side, a second soon followed courtesy of an unassisted effort from Soar and, less than two minutes later, the Barons secured an equaliser, versatile Slovakian import Tomas Janak working hard to set up left winger Joe Henry.

With the Stars’ three goal cushion destroyed in a matter of minutes, the visitors found themselves trying to get ahead in the game once again. However, on 14:48, both Henry and Moss were called to the sin bin by referee David Nutt for cross checks, meaning both sides were reduced to four men. Less than a minute after the teams were restored to full strength, minor roughing penalties were dished out to Barons’ captain Rob Eley and Stars’ forward Moss, this further disruption preventing either side from finding a goal before the break.

Back on the ice for the second period, Billingham were in search of a goal to take the lead and it arrived in the twenty fifth minute when a line change from the Barons meant that netminder James Flavell could hit the puck down the left wing to Callum Davies without interception from Solihull. In turn, Davies ensured the puck found Boström who did not miss his mark.

A little over three minutes later, the puck was in the back of the net again for the Stars, this time Sykes setting up Callum Davies for a deserved goal subsequent to his three consecutive assists. Though the score line was 5-3 in Stars’ favour, the Barons were not about to give up on the points and, just over a minute later, Flavell came under pressure when defenceman Ryan Selwood and forward Joe Henry advanced on his net, a rebounded shot eventually finding its way to Bruce who hit home to make it 5-4. Striking the post, Solihull looked set for a similar comeback to that of the first period but a slashing penalty on Janak gave Billingham the advantage of an additional man and the visitors made it count. Made captain in the absence of Paul Windridge, Andy Munroe threaded the puck to Boström who confirmed his hat trick with a quick-fire shot over Hewitt approximately four minutes from the end of the second period.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

The final instalment of the game saw the Barons return to the ice with the aim of snatching an equaliser at the very least but, in the fourth minute of the period, Bruce was directed to the sin bin for an interference penalty which saw the visitors on the power play once again. Unable to extend their lead further, Billingham were presented with a second opportunity, this time Richard Crowe serving a minor roughing penalty. Again, the visitors could do little to add to their tally, though they came close to scoring in the fifty fourth minute when a blue line shot from Andy Finn was turned away by Hewitt following the sin binning of Selwood for a cross check. The score line still 6-4 as the game drew to a close, the Stars were more than happy to take two much needed points from the game which sees the side move into fifth place ahead of Sheffield Spartans.

Speaking after the game, Chris Sykes told NIHL Northern Trio: “The game was a battle and when we went up by three goals early in the first, we couldn’t believe our luck that we’d scored three goals in two shifts. It was a very fast pace for the first period, and then Solihull woke up and realised what had happened and we decided to nod off and they scored three; before anyone knew it, it was the end of the first and 3-3. So we went back into the dressing room and said it was a new game, 0-0 going into the second, and we knuckled down from then on, allowing them minimal good scoring chances and shutting down their key players. We had chances. I think we hit the post and the bar maybe three or four times in the game. We ground out a result and two points in Solihull is massive. Not many teams go in there and take a win so we were very happy to be taking the two points back home to Billingham and putting us two points closer to those all-important playoff spots. Me, Elder and Callum Davies are clicking so well. Things are going our way at the minute and we are capitalising on that to make sure we can push this until the end of the season. But, all in all, a four point weekend is good for us. Yeah, two were in the cup against a good Widnes team but two wins, four points, and we push on to next week away at Sutton, back to my old club! Should be interesting…”

As Sykes mentioned, Billingham now face Sutton Sting on Saturday 16^th January before travelling back to The Forum to take on the struggling Sheffield Senators as they look to climb the NIHL league table in the coming months.

For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.