WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE
Saturday 6th February 2016
Telford Tigers vs.
Solway Sharks
Sunday 7th February 2016
Whitley Warriors vs. Sutton Sting
Solihull Barons vs. Solway Sharks
As
another weekend of NIHL action dawns, Billingham Stars are set to sit this one out
as Martin Grubb’s Solway Sharks endure a double header of away games to Telford
Tigers and Solihull Barons whilst Whitley Warriors have a single home encounter
against the perpetually testing Sutton Sting.
In
their quest to climb into a playoff spot, Solway have the opportunity to bag
four points this weekend which would allow the side to leap over Sheffield
Spartans and Telford Tigers to displace rivals Billingham Stars from fourth
position. To stand any chance of doing so, the Sharks must first triumph over
the Tigers on away ice which will be no easy task. Jason Parry’s team have
impressed this season following their promotion to Division One and just
recently slipped from a playoff spot, meaning the Shropshire outfit will also
be hunting down two points to reclaim their former position.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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If
recent results are anything to go by, the momentum will be with the Sharks who
go into this fixture having won four of their last five games with superb victories
over Sheffield Senators, Blackburn Hawks and Billingham Stars to aid the side’s
point accumulation. Currently in seventh place, the Sharks are now just a win
away from Telford whose excellent form at the beginning of the season has
tailed off, the Tigers losing out in their last four consecutive games, of
which three were on away ice and the other a 7-1 loss to league leaders
Blackburn Hawks. Should the side fail to win on Saturday in their clash with
the Dumfries outfit, Jason Parry will see Solway go level on points with his
side as the Sharks edge within touching distance of a much-desired playoff
spot. Equally, should the Tigers go all out for the win, Telford would head
back into fourth, incidentally pushing Billingham Stars out of the playoff
spots whilst leaving the Sharks four points adrift of their target for a top
four finish.
Though
the Tigers have not fared as well since the turn of the year, it is clear that
they have a lot of talent which has enabled the side to compete to a very high
standard this season against the tough opposition in the Moralee Conference. So
far, forward James Smith, alternate captain Callum Bowley and Slovakian right
winger Karol Jets have contributed massively to their team’s success, with a
total of one hundred and four player points collectively tallied by the trio. Resourceful
and resilient, the Tigers have clawed their way through some fantastic battles
this season to come out on top and it is this ability which may be enough to
see them through against Solway. However, as the Sharks are no stranger to a scrap
themselves, this game will make for interesting viewing as the formidable
forces go head to head in their first contest since Solway’s 6-3 loss to the side
back in September. It was during this game that the Sharks conceded four goals
to the unstoppable Smith whilst Steven Moore, Marc Fowley and Iain Bowie were
all on the scoresheet for the Dumfries outfit. As a shift in form for both
sides suggests that Saturday’s game will be very different to the one played
almost six months ago, the only element currently certain is that the final
result will have a great impact on the league standings, with the NIHL now
closer than ever before.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Win,
lose or draw, Solway will follow up their result against the Tigers with an
encounter against Solihull Barons at Hobs Moat Road on Sunday. Taking on the
might of Perry Doyle’s impressive line-up, the Sharks know that they will be
forced into a powerful battle which will be compounded by the visitors’
previous encounter against Telford Tigers whereas the Barons can go into their
single home game against the Sharks feeling re-energised from last weekend’s
break from NIHL action.
Much
like Telford Tigers, Solihull Barons have also shown some mettle this season to
make it into the playoff places. Currently in third place, Doyle’s men will go
into this game not only well-rested, but buoyed by their latest win in which
they claimed a colossal 8-4 victory over Blackburn Hawks. This success
highlights the unpredictability of the Moralee Conference this season with any
team able to defeat any other. As a result, anything will be possible on Sunday
and the Barons will most definitely put Grubb’s men to the test, with forwards
Thomas Soar, Josh Bruce and Edward Eaton all proving to be highly influential
against their opposition this season whilst player-coach Doyle remains to be a
powerful presence week in, week out. In addition to these players, the skill of
versatile Swedish import Niklas Ottosson should not be overlooked as the
forward’s creative play has contributed sixteen goals and eleven assists to the
Barons’ 2015-16 campaign. Having suffered a 5-4 defeat to Doyle’s line up on
away ice back in September, before a 6-4 victory at the Dumfries Ice Bowl, the
Sharks will be hoping that their own close knit unit of players can pull
together to rob the Barons of two important points in their anticipated ascension
of the NIHL.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Sharing
his thoughts ahead of Solway’s weekend, Head Coach Martin Grubb told NIHL
Northern Trio: “This weekend is a huge weekend for us and one we will need to
be on top form for if we are to get anything from two tough road games. We are
facing two very tough teams and both of them are above us in the scrap for a
playoff spot so it is key that we take something from the two games. We go into
the weekend with confidence as we are playing pretty well right now and we know
we will need to execute our systems and take our scoring chances, as well as
playing a solid road game, to give ourselves a chance to win. Telford deserved
to beat us the last time we visited them so we are desperate to show that we
are better than that game and Perry Doyle has Solihull playing very well, and
they are very good at home, so we will give both teams respect but we will be
going for four very valuable points.”
Also
taking to the ice this weekend are Whitley Warriors who are set to face a home
encounter against John Ross’ Sutton Sting, having just played the line-up at
Ice Sheffield last weekend. Whilst the Hillheads outfit have been playing to a
very high standard this campaign, the depth of the team’s strength will be contested
on Sunday as the side will be without blue liners Harry Harley, Joe Stamp and
Liam Smedley as well as forward Ben Richards. Despite this, the Warriors’
line-up is still set to display much talent on Sunday, with Dean Holland, Shaun
Kippin and Callum Queenan working hard to show their skill in recent fixtures.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Though
the Warriors have won seventeen games out of the twenty four they have played,
Longstaff’s line-up have been challenged by the Sting this season with each clash
between the sides ending in a close result. Whitley have so far picked up six
points against the South Yorkshire outfit but this far from reflects the full
story. When the two sides met at Whitley Bay Ice Rink back in September, the
Sting matched the Warriors goal for goal to make it 3-3 in the closing stages
of the third period but two goals in the last two minutes of the game saw the
home team claim the points. In the weekend that followed, Whitley made the trip
to Ice Sheffield to attain a narrow 3-2 victory over the Sting and, just last
weekend, Ross’ men hit home three goals against the Hillheads club to make it a
tense finish which saw the Warriors edge ahead in the end. Carl Ashton and
Vjaceslavs Movko both managed to get on the score sheet alongside their
player-coach whilst Whitley forwards Kippin and Holland added to the two scored
by Longstaff to ensure their side’s continued progression in the NIHL.
Sitting
on thirty seven points, the Warriors remain five away from league leaders
Blackburn Hawks which is likely to increase to at least seven if the reigning
champions defeat Sheffield Senators in a double header this weekend. Meanwhile,
should Sutton win on Saturday against Sheffield Spartans, and also triumph over
the Warriors on Sunday, they will leap up to twenty one points to go level with
Martin White’s men; a massive achievement for a team who have found it
difficult to find form this season. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game, Longstaff
noted: “Sutton will be a very hard game on Sunday. We’re missing three regular
defencemen so the team won’t be as strong as normal but we’ll still be aiming
to keep our winning streak going.”
For
those hoping to attend these games, Solway face off against Telford Tigers from
5:30pm on away ice before travelling to Hobs Moat Road for an encounter with Solihull
Barons at 6:00pm whilst Whitley Warriors host Sutton Sting from 5:00pm.
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