Acknowledgements

THANK YOU!

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

With the ice hockey season now well and truly over, I would just like to take this time to thank all those who have supported NIHL Northern Trio since its creation back in September, without whom this blog would not have been possible.

Firstly, I would like to thank Colin Lawson of IceHockeyMedia for his continual supply of superb photographs throughout the season and for his unrelenting support. Thanks also go to Colin for his fantastic interview, ‘A View through the Lens’ which provided a great insight into his role as Team GB’s official photographer.

Next, I would like to recognise the hard work of Whitley Warriors’ player-coach David Longstaff, Solway Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb and Billingham Stars’ Chris Sykes who have provided swift but detailed previews and reflections on a weekly basis without fail, often feeding back additional pieces of information to assist with the writing of my match reports.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

In addition to these contributions, there are many players across the Northern Trio who have taken part in ‘Team Talk’ interviews this season. These players are: Whitley Warriors’ netminder Richie Lawson, Canadian import Andre Payette, winger Dean Holland, forward Shaun Kippin and long-serving Warrior DJ Good; Solway Sharks’ captain Struan Tonnar, alternate captain Ross Murray, forwards Stevie Adams and Marc Fowley and Irish winger Stevie Balmer; Billingham Stars’ Chris Sykes, second choice shot stopper Mark Watson, defenceman Ben Davison and Swedish import Dennis Boström. A big thank you to all who took the time to be interviewed, and to Sheffield Senator Mark Hartley who also took part; your efforts are very much appreciated. Thanks also to Craig Simpson and Mark Paterson for supplying me with the photo of Stevie Balmer which was then used in his ‘Team Talk’ interview.

Further to this, I would like to thank Blackburn’s Reece Cairney-Witter, Warrior Josh Maddock, Solihull player-coach Perry Doyle, Shark Kieran Hobbins, Dragons’ captain Marc Lovell, Widnes player-coach Scott McKenzie, Lions’ alternate captain Adz Andrews and Eagles’ player-coach Scott Barnett for taking the time to share their views ahead of playoff weekend.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Thanks also go to Rob Eley for his input in a recent article which was centred on his highly successful ‘19for19’ campaign and for taking the time to provide an insight into his testimonial season with Solihull Barons.

In relation to work published on Ice Nation UK, I would like to express thanks to Anthony Lowe who provided me with the stats I needed to write ‘Life on the Blue Line: The NIHL Defenceman’ and to David Longstaff for his contribution to ‘Great Brits Abroad’.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank all those who have taken the time to read any of my blog posts over the course of the season, and to all those who have chosen to retweet or share the link to my blog with others. Thanks for everyone’s contribution this season and for all of the positive feedback which was most unexpected.

I look forward to posting again in September but don’t forget, you can catch up with the latest signing news from Whitley Warriors, Solway Sharks and Billingham Stars over the summer months here too!

NIHL Northern Trio

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