NIHL Weekend Preview

WEEKEND

PREVIEW

NIHL NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE

Saturday 27th February 2016

Telford Tigers vs. Billingham Stars

Solway Sharks vs. Solihull Barons

Sunday 28th  February 2016

Whitley Warriors vs. Solihull Barons

Billingham Stars vs. Sheffield Spartans

Subsequent to the unexpected twists and turns of last weekend, more are surely set to follow as our NIHL Northern Trio prepare to face another tough schedule, with both Solway Sharks and Billingham Stars still fighting for a playoff place.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Set to make the long trip down to Telford Ice Rink on Saturday, Billingham Stars will be eager to recover from last week’s zero point weekend with a win over the fourth placed Tigers. Back-to-back defeats to Solway Sharks and Sutton Sting saw the Stars struggle to hide their disappointment as they failed to take a single point from a possible four, making the side’s quest for a playoff spot increasingly difficult, though not impossible. With Stars’ forward Dennis Boström accumulating twenty four goals and eleven assists in twenty four games, the Swedish import is by far Billingham’s strongest player but, unable to print his name on the score sheet last weekend, the Teesiders will require their top points scorer to be back to his goal scoring best once again to facilitate success for the Stars this weekend. From the twenty four games the Stars have played to date, Boström has scored in fourteen of those fixtures, in nine of which Billingham went on to claim a victory. With most teams contending for every single point, it is crucial that Billingham leave with a win from this game to prevent the Tigers from further adding to the distance between themselves and the Stars.

Having performed to such a high standard this season, the recently promoted Shropshire outfit will be fierce contenders as the Tigers look to secure their current league place with aspirations of a playoff semi-final in April.  Also going into this game on the back of defeat, the Tigers will be hoping to bounce back with the help of their strong forwards. Already, Karol Jets, Callum Bowley and Adam Taylor have contributed massively to the side’s success with one hundred and fourteen player points between them and, whilst prospect James Smith has been unavailable in recent games, Telford continue to display a great deal of quality out on the ice each week to compete with the NIHL’s finest. With close competitors Solway Sharks, Sutton Sting and Sheffield Spartans also hot on the heels of both Billingham and Telford, the importance of this game is enhanced further; the smallest slip up likely to have a huge impact on league standings.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Taking the time to talk to NIHL Northern Trio, Star Chris Sykes had the following to say: “On Saturday we have Telford away and it’s a team which has surprised a few. They’ve beaten us both times we’ve played them this year by a single goal and they have been good games. They have a few good players and, from what I remember, the goalie stood on his head last time we played. We are going to take a hard hitting game to them and hopefully go a few goals up early on and build on that.” 

Also taking place on Saturday, Solway Sharks prepare for a home clash against Solihull Barons as the Dumfries outfit look to employ the momentum gained against Billingham Stars last Saturday to build up another good run of form now that the season is entering its home stretch.

In recent games, the Sharks have pulled together to keep their playoff hopes alive, Slovakian imports Juraj Senko and Martin Cingel working with local talent to propel the side onwards and upwards in the league table. Moving from seventh place to sixth last weekend, Solway’s progress continues to be gradual but, with two double points games in March and several games in hand, the side have this slight advantage over their opposition.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Preparing to host Solihull Barons on Saturday, the Sharks will recognise that the team pose a threat to the side’s playoff hopes with player-coach Perry Doyle likely to utilise his might this weekend in complementation of skilled forwards Thomas Soar, Niklas Ottosson and Josh Bruce. Whilst the Barons appear strong in front of goal, Doyle’s team is one of fortitude, resilience and determination, qualities which are somewhat reflected in the number of penalty minutes accumulated by the side this season. Five hundred and seventy one minutes of ice time expended in the sin bin by the Barons since September, Solihull have paid a heavy price for their lack of discipline in certain games, amassing ninety nine minutes alone when they played Solway three weeks ago. With the last-minute fracas still fresh in everyone’s minds, it may be that events take a similar turn but, with so much at stake, neither side can afford to lose valuable players to the sin bin, particularly if the punishment entails a ban.

Sharing his views ahead of Saturday’s game, coach Martin Grubb noted: “This weekend we will face another huge game against Solihull Barons. It is another team who are above us and a team we need to be looking to take the points from in our quest for the playoffs. We have played Solihull three times before and the home team has won every game. We hope that this trend will continue. Perry has his team playing well and has improved their overall play at both ends of the ice so we know we will have to battle and be at our best to win the game. Last Saturday was a big game and we showed that we have the stomach for a fight and the patience to stay in tight games and get the win, and I see this game as being similar to last weekend. We will need to stay patient and disciplined and take our chances when they come along. The boys are confident and we know that every game is an important one now. We can’t afford any poor games so we will be ready to play and get the important result. It will be a strange one for me as I will be in Colorado at the Stadium Series game between Detroit and Colorado but I will be keeping up with the game and a Wings and Sharks double will be a perfect weekend.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

As well as an encounter with Solway Sharks, Solihull Barons will also make the trip to Hillheads this weekend as Whitley Warriors brace themselves for the return of the strong contenders who make life difficult for their opposition. With Whitley in second place and the Barons in third, thirteen points currently separate the two teams but, in their aim for a playoff place, Solihull will not give up the points easily. Though losing twice to the Warriors back in September, Doyle’s teammates made it far from a comfortable affair when they last played at Hillheads. Winning only by two goals to one, David Longstaff’s men took the lead in the fourth minute of play before the Barons equalised on 17:48. A goal at the half way point of the game for long-serving Warrior Callum Watson was enough to secure a win for Whitley but the closely contested game was not without its difficulties for the hosts.

Going into this game on the back of eight consecutive victories, the Warriors do have better form than the Barons in recent fixtures, though Solihull have not lost in their last four games. Form will of course be cast aside on Sunday as the sides go head to head, the close competition in the league at present a reminder that no point is guaranteed. Overshadowing the clash is the reunion of Doyle and Whitley enforcer Andre Payette who fought at Hobs Moat Road earlier this season. Whilst the fight was not necessarily the great battle that most thought it would be, it was certainly highly anticipated and all eyes will be watching closely on Sunday to see if a rematch materialises.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Away from the sin bin, David Longstaff continues to produce goals and assist the offensive opportunities of his teammates, thereby remaining the Warriors’ strongest player this campaign with forty two points in twenty five games. As Longstaff coached from the bench last weekend, ten goals against the Senators highlighted that Whitley do have other offensive options; Callum Watson found himself on the score sheet twice last weekend whilst DJ Good, Shaun Kippin and blue liner Harry Harley have also racked up the points in recent games, and all four were on the score sheet in Whitley’s 9-1 win over Telford Tigers mid-January. Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, David Longstaff told NIHL Northern that the Warriors fixture against the Barons would be: “a very difficult game but a chance to really push second place and play a team we’re probably going to play in the playoffs semi-final. We’ll be looking at different lines to see what works against them.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Last to take to the ice on Sunday are Billingham Stars, the Teesiders hosting Martin White’s Sheffield Spartans at The Forum. With the Yorkshire outfit now second from bottom following the Spartans’ recent bad form, and the improved form of Sutton Sting and Solway Sharks, the Sheffield side have a relegation battle to contend with at the foot of the table as the Stars aim for the heights of the NIHL. Depending on Billingham’s result against Telford Tigers on Saturday, the home side could find themselves on twenty seven points on Sunday evening to creep ahead of Jason Parry’s team and into that fourth, much-coveted playoff spot. Subsequent to their 10-2 loss to Sutton Sting four weeks ago, the Spartans failed to recover against Whitley Warriors, though the side were able to stay in the game right to the very end, eventually conceding a 2-1 defeat to the Hillheads outfit. Whilst forward Nicholas Manning, captain Ollie Barron and player-assistant coach Stuart Brittle remain to be the Spartans’ top points scorers, amassing ninety points collectively, the Stars also have several standout players, Chris Sykes, Michael Elder and James Moss amongst them. So far, Billingham have won two games out of a possible three against the Spartans, triumphing 4-0 over the side in their second game of the season. However, the Stars also lost 6-4 to the Sheffield side in October and an upset could easily be on the cards again this weekend now that league places in the NIHL have become so closely contested.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Displaying their unpredictability of late, the Spartans will ice with the aim of taking two points from the game and, should they do so, they could go level with Sutton Sting, Solway Sharks and even Billingham depending on this weekend’s results. Sykes added: “On Sunday we have a massive night in Billingham which is the ‘Swedish Night’ and it would be great to see the rink packed to the rafters to make The Forum rock! We are up for the game and we know we can beat the Spartans. They bring a lot and they are fighting to stay out of the relegation playoffs so they’ll be ready but hopefully we play to the occasion and win the game. I’d like a four point weekend; that’s what we want but last weekend went pear-shaped so hopefully this one will be better.”

Also releasing information about an imminent venture, Sykes revealed his plans to broadcast Q and A sessions via his personal YouTube channel with the help of some special guests. To subscribe, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6mmqkwaWU-ddtpnnWcjYFw.

For those fans hoping to make any of these fixtures over the weekend, Billingham Stars travel to Telford Ice Rink for a 5:30pm encounter with the Tigers whilst Solway Sharks face off against Solihull Barons from 7:00pm at the Dumfries Ice Bowl. On Sunday, Whitley Warriors host the Barons from 5:00pm and the Stars ice on ‘Swedish Night’ from 6:30pm as the Spartans visit Teesside.

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