NIHL Weekend Preview

WEEKEND

PREVIEW

NIHL NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE

Saturday 24th September 2016

Solway Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks

Sunday 25th September 2016

Whitley Warriors vs. Telford Tigers

Billingham Stars vs. Solway Sharks

Though there are only two league games set to take place in the Moralee Conference this weekend, including an encounter between Whitley Warriors and Daniel MacKriel’s Telford Tigers, Solway Sharks will prepare for a busy weekend in the NIHL North Cup, first taking on Blackburn Hawks on home ice before making the trip to The Forum where they will clash with close rivals, Billingham Stars.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Following last weekend’s 4-1 league win against Sutton Sting, Solway Sharks will be hoping to build on their recent successes with a North Cup victory over Blackburn Hawks. So far, Solway’s performances appear to be an improvement on those of last season. The Sharks have already recorded a league win against Billingham Stars on home ice and went on to execute Martin Grubb’s game plan in a combined league and cup encounter at Hillheads. Taking on the defending champions for the first time this campaign, the skill of Grubb’s men will be tested by a much changed Hawks side. Struggling to contend with Blackburn in all competitions last season, Solway took just two points from four league games against the outfit in their previous outing; their heaviest loss a 7-0 defeat at Blackburn Ice Arena in March. However, there were some positives to be taken from the Sharks’ encounters with the Hawks last season, none more so than their accomplishment of a favourable 5-3 score line prior to this loss. 

Exhibiting glimpses of their pace and power in their 2015-16 campaign, Solway have enhanced their roster further over the summer and now boast a sturdy defence and a great deal of quality in front of goal. This will enable the side to challenge their opposition this weekend as they look to retain their place at the top of the NIHL North Cup standings. With both Solway and Blackburn triumphing over Whitley Warriors, the sides sit in first and second place respectively, the Sharks finding themselves in poll position due to a better goal difference than that of the Hawks. Heading into this game on the back of a league loss to Billingham Stars, Blackburn will no doubt battle to make amends for this defeat whilst ensuring former team members Richard Bentham and Kim Miettinen are on the losing side, the duo having parted company with the Lancashire outfit to join the Sharks over the summer. Besides this, the Hawks will also be out to avenge their loss of silverware in the North Cup, having been pipped at the post by Billingham Stars last season. As a result, the side will be aiming for no less than top spot when they ice against the Sharks on Saturday. Speaking ahead of this fixture, Head Coach Martin Grubb stated: “This weekend’s cup games will be two extremely difficult games against two quality teams and we are going into them looking to maintain our consistency and our unbeaten run. We know that Blackburn are a good team and, even though there has been a turnover of players there, Matt [Darlow] has put together a good team who will be well organised and will compete all over the ice so we will need to make sure we are solid and take our chances.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

With this fixture played, Solway will then travel to The Forum for their second North Cup fixture of the weekend as they prepare to face off against last season’s cup winners, Billingham Stars. Aiming to defend their title this season, the Teessiders will take to the ice for their first encounter in the competition, endeavouring to place points on the board whilst avenging their 3-1 league defeat to Solway Sharks. The home team will be offensively strong heading into this clash with top goal scorers Chris Sykes and Dennis Boström likely to make an impact alongside forwards Jack Watkins, Michael Elder and Callum Davies. Aware that they need to be at their best to match the quality of the Stars, Solway Sharks have several players who could equally cause damage to Billingham’s blue line. In particular, forward Joe Coulter has contributed five assists and a goal to become one of Solway’s most influential players in recent games whilst new signings Connor Henderson and Richard Bentham have also made a great contribution to the side’s offensive efforts. If Solway go into this game having triumphed over the Hawks on Saturday, two points against the Stars could provide the Dumfries outfit with a considerable lead in the contest. However, victory for Billingham would make the competition more of a level playing field, with Whitley Warriors the only side yet to claim a point should this be the outcome. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Whatever the score line, this will be a tough test for both sides and no doubt a closely contested game if previous encounters between these two clubs are anything to go by. Considering the clash, Head Coach Martin Grubb kindly expressed his views: “Sunday will be another tough game as Billingham will be confident after last week’s home win and they are a team with lots of offence so it will be about us executing our game plan and shutting them down. We will need to ensure we are good in our zone and use our speed and skill to take the game to them when we can and, again, we will go looking for maximum points. It’s arguably as tough a weekend as you can get in this league but we will be ready to play and to do what’s needed to win.” Meanwhile, Star Chris Sykes added, “It’s a big weekend for the Stars! First cup game of the season at home and we are ready to defend what we worked hard for last season. We have a good week of practice behind us and we know what Solway are bringing. They sometimes travel short on numbers so, if they do, we will be looking to take advantage but, as always, it will be a tough game.” 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Last, but not least, Whitley Warriors will play host to Telford Tigers on Sunday as the Hillheads team take to the ice in search of their first league win, having conceded a heavy loss to Solway Sharks on the opening day of the season, as well as defeats to Blackburn Hawks and Solihull Barons. Playing far better in their last two fixtures than in their first game, the Warriors are continuing to battle back to their best and provided fans with a glimpse of the team they were against Perry Doyle’s line up on Sunday; Dean Holland fired two goals beyond netminder Josh Nicholls whilst forwards Jordan Barnes and Ben Richards also played to a very high standard from the first faceoff to the final buzzer. Icing against Daniel MacKriel’s Telford Tigers, who currently sit in sixth position of the Moralee Conference with three points from three games, this game is likely to be an unpredictable one against the Shropshire side who are a very different team to last season. Now boasting the talent of top points scorer Adam Brittle, netminder Daniel Brittle and forwards Matt Viney and Ben Simister alongside the goal scoring prowess of James Smith, Callum Bowley and Slovakian import Karol Jets, the Tigers will no doubt present themselves as a force to be reckoned with as they look to build some good form in the league, having recorded their first win against Sutton Sting last weekend. With a draw and a loss to add to this victory, Telford have so far experienced mixed results and MacKriel will expect better from his side when they clash with the Warriors on Sunday. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Also likely to generate much discussion ahead of this game is the return of Tiger Owen Bennett to Hillheads, with the enforcer-like player set to encounter Andre Payette yet again in his career. The two having met in the EPL in recent seasons, Bennett and Payette have fought each other on several occasions and their reunion will surely provide a talking point, particularly if they choose to drop the gloves. Prepared to engage in battle this weekend, a home win will be crucial for the Warriors as they aim to recover lost ground in the Moralee Conference. Looking ahead to this game, player-coach David Longstaff noted: “This will be another tough home game with a team who has upped their budget this season. We’re trying to improve every week and it’s another test for our team.”

For those fans hoping to attend one of these fixtures, Solway Sharks host Blackburn Hawks in the NIHL North Cup from 7:00pm at the Dumfries Ice Bowl on Saturday before travelling to The Forum on Sunday for a 6:30pm face off against Billingham Stars. Further to this, Whitley Warriors continue with their league campaign on home ice this weekend, preparing for a 5:00pm league clash against Telford Tigers on Sunday. Can’t make it to a game? Fear not! Below are the listening details for NIHL Radio. 

NIHL Radio Weekend Listings

Saturday 24th September

7:00pm on NIHL Radio 1

Solway Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks

Sunday 25th September

6:30pm on NIHL Radio 1

Billingham Stars vs. Solway Sharks

Click on the link to listen: http://tunein.com/. 

Also, for further media insight and player interviews, catch up with Episode 3 of ‘Stars Talk’ courtesy of Billingham Stars TV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBZFhcy0zVA.

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