NIHL Weekend Action

Shooting Stars hit Hawks hard to top NIHL North Cup

Blackburn Hawks 2

Billingham Stars   4

With the prospect of topping the NIHL North Cup table available to hosts Blackburn Hawks and defending champions Billingham Stars, both teams took to the ice with eighteen skaters in a bid to claim a regulation win and consequently, pole position in the competition.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Starting with backup netminder Mark Watson between the pipes, Billingham Stars set out to test Hawks’ shot stopper Niks Trapans from the outset and were successful in their attempts to take the lead, scoring with just 1:16 on the clock as James Moss received the puck from Swedish import Dennis Boström to grab the first goal of the game. Working hard to control possession following this goal, Billingham were quick to double their lead, achieving their second when forward Michael Elder slotted home with almost six minutes played courtesy of line mates Chris Sykes and Callum Davies. Accomplishing a two goal cushion in these early moments, the Stars endeavoured to stun the Hawks further but it was not long before the two sides clashed; Davies earning two minutes for a trip against Swedish import Patrik Nyman who was simultaneously side-lined for holding. Both teams losing a player, it was not long before the visitors suffered a further disadvantage as blue liner Ben Davison was also made to serve two minutes for tripping to give Blackburn a power play. Despite several attempts on Billingham’s net, Watson successfully prevented the Hawks from gaining a foothold in the game and, returning to full strength, the Stars continued to see a great deal of possession to finally claim a third goal early in the last minute of the period, this time Jack Watkins linking up with Swede Daniel Palmebjörk to send unlikely scorer Scott Ward through on goal. Whilst many may have thought this to be the last of the action in the first period, there was still time for Hawk Reece Cairney-Witter to earn a minor penalty for roughing in the last second of the stanza before the sides filed from the ice.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

With the remaining one minute, fifty nine seconds of this penalty running into the middle section of the game, Blackburn Hawks were aware that they would have much work to do to reduce the deficit as they began the period on the penalty kill. Matters were only made worse for Matt Darlow’s men however, as the side incurred a bench penalty for too many men which meant the Stars were then handed a minute-long, five-on-three situation. Try as they might, Billingham were unable to capitalise on the advantage and watched on as the home side were restored to full strength to signal the missed opportunity. Though almost matching the Stars’ shot count in this period, the Hawks could not find the back of the net until 32:53 when alternate captain Bobby Caunce and hardworking forward James Riddoch teamed up to support Nyman’s effort on Billingham’s net, the Swede marking his last game for the Lancashire outfit with a goal. Less than two minutes later, defenceman Nick Oliver headed to the sin bin following a holding call but, once again, Blackburn rose to the challenge of the penalty kill to ensure the Stars could not creep even further ahead. Serving this penalty, Oliver made his return to the ice only to receive a minor for roughing alongside Nyman as the pair clashed with Davies and Palmebjörk, both of whom endured the same punishment with less than four minutes of the period remaining. The score line unchanged at 3-1, these penalties disrupted the momentum of the game but further ignited the desire of both teams heading into the final third.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Hoping to cement their victory in the final period, Billingham Stars were eager to snatch a fourth goal and did so in the forty first minute as Boström assisted Moss for a second time in the game. Shortly afterwards, Cairney-Witter was shown to the sin bin to serve a minor for boarding which saw the Teessiders claim a power play. This was merely another failed opportunity for the Stars, as the side found it difficult to find a way past Blackburn’s defence with the additional man. Successfully killing the penalty, the Hawks returned to full strength to score their second of the game when Star Ben Davison helped the puck into the back of Watson’s net to unintentionally make it 4-2; Tom Parkinson claiming the goal as the last Hawk to have made contact with the puck. With over ten minutes of the period played and Billingham’s two goal cushion still intact, the Stars found themselves on the wrong end of a minor due to forward Jack Davies delaying the game. It was after the concession of this penalty that both sides began to lose discipline, with Cairney-Witter side-lined for the remainder of the game following a 2+10 for elbowing. This call was made just one minute before teammate Ollie Lomax boarded Stars’ player-coach Michael Bowman who swiftly dropped the gloves with the blue liner to earn himself 2+2 for roughing whilst the Hawks’ captain received an additional two minutes for boarding. These penalties causing great disruption to the flow of the game, Billingham conceded a final minor as Palmebjörk was sinbinned for diving. As a result, both sides found it difficult to add to the scoreboard further which allowed the Stars to claim a regulation win to move from third place to first in the NIHL North Cup standings this weekend.

Sharing his thoughts on the game with NIHL Northern Trio, Star Chris Sykes observed: “The Stars’ train is well and truly rolling right now and we’ve found a bit of good form and good fortune. We are beginning to get into a really good run. Me and all the boys feel positive every game and are ready for battles every weekend which we know we have to win to come out on top. It’s only early in the season but a good run at this time will be good for us. On Saturday, we went into Blackburn for the cup game and we knew we could turn them over if we got the puck behind them and worked in the corners and that’s exactly what we did and it worked for us. We came away with the points and a good cup away win.”

Hard fought battle sees Warriors claim first league victory over defending champions

Blackburn Hawks  2

Whitley Warriors    3

Travelling to Blackburn Ice Arena for the second time this campaign, Whitley Warriors hit the road with hopes of achieving their first league victory of the season, despite making the trip to Lancashire without forward Ben Richards and blue liners Dan Pye, Josh Maddock and Niall Simpson. By comparison, Matt Darlow iced an almost full strength line-up, which included new signing Rick Bentham, as his team approached this game on the back of Saturday’s cup loss to Billingham Stars.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

With the first faceoff over, both teams immediately began battling for the puck in what was an intense period from the outset with rivals Andre Payette and Reece Cairney-Witter starting the game on the first line. Playing with the same level of pace and power as shown in their cup win against local rivals Billingham Stars last weekend, the Warriors made the best of their build up play to take the lead with just over seven minutes played; young defenceman Craig Johnson finding experienced player-coach David Longstaff who hit the puck past shot stopper Stuart Ashton to trouble the Hawks early on. However, the Warriors’ celebrations proved to be short-lived as Darlow’s men worked hard to get back on level terms and managed to do so on 11:14 through returnee Bentham whose unassisted effort zipped past netminder Richie Lawson. This goal demonstrating just how quickly a lead can be snatched away in the Moralee Conference, the Warriors did not relent in offence, outshooting the Hawks by ten shots to five in a bid to claw back their narrow lead. The game still a very close affair, it was a relief to the visitors when power forward Jordan Barnes tipped the puck into the net to achieve Whitley’s second goal, assisted by skilled defenceman Harry Harley and former recreational forward Liam Brown in the last two minutes of the period.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Taking to the ice for the second period, both teams were aware that the score line could be easily swayed in their favour with just one goal separating the two sides. Conscious that they needed to up their game, the Hawks began to see their fair share of possession to pressure Whitley’s defence which was matched by the Warriors’ own attempts to gain a two goal cushion. With thirty five minutes of the game played, this offensive play was then halted when Warrior Callum Watson clashed with Blackburn’s alternate captain Chris Butler, each earning 2+2 for fighting. These the first penalties of the game, it was not long before another followed, this time Johnson picking up a minor for tripping less than two minutes later to give the Hawks a power play. Despite Blackburn working hard in Whitley’s defence, the Warriors successfully killed the penalty to prevent the home side from equalising on this occasion, Payette digging in deep to clear the puck from his own zone. Shortly afterwards, Butler and Watson were restored to the ice as the teams continued to test one another but, despite the best efforts of Bentham, Butler and alternate captain Steven Duncombe, who laboured in their attempts to go level with Whitley, the score line remained 2-1 ahead of the final period.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

With the points still very much hanging in the balance, the Warriors returned for the last instalment of the game, mindful of the fact that they had already lost out to the Hawks earlier in the season, having led for a considerable length of time. This awareness was not enough to prevent Longstaff’s line-up from losing Liam Smedley to the sin bin however, as the ‘D’ man made way just three minutes in to hand Blackburn the advantage. Though piling the pressure onto Whitley’s defence, Darlow’s team were unable to capitalise against the organised Warriors. Almost ten minutes later, the Warriors found themselves shorthanded once more, as forward Shaun Kippin made way following a call for high sticks but again Blackburn were unable to make the power play count. As both teams battled away in the minutes that followed, it was the Hawks who were next to score as Bentham found the target approximately ten minutes later with support from Bobby Caunce and James Riddoch. If this goal was not enough to ensure that the final moments of the game would be tense for the visitors, Darlow called a timeout immediately after this equaliser in the hope that they could snatch the lead for the first time in the game to claim a league victory. Two minutes later though, Blackburn found themselves on the wrong end of a hooking call to hand Whitley Warriors their first power play of the game. Calling a timeout just forty two seconds later, Longstaff and his men returned to the ice prepared to find the game-winning goal which was swiftly delivered by Kippin in conjunction with Whitley’s first league win of the season; this goal was not without its controversy however as, just minutes before lighting the lamp, Bentham’s own attempt was deemed offside by officials. Reflecting on the game, Longstaff noted: “We played well, I thought we had a lot of chances to put the game away but Blackburn kept coming and I think it was a great game for the fans to watch.”

Stars strike two-line Tigers to go second

Billingham Stars 8

Telford Tigers     4

Following their cup success against Blackburn Hawks on Saturday, Billingham Stars took to the ice for a second time this weekend to ice in a league encounter against Daniel MacKriel’s short benched Telford Tigers; the Teessiders finding themselves in need of two points to climb the league table whilst their Shropshire visitors were hoping to end their recent run of bad form.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Facing each other for the first time this season, both teams took to the ice with great fervour but it was the Stars who managed to get off the mark quickest as forward Scott Ward snatched the opening goal of the game, and his second of the weekend, when Swedish import Dennis Boström linked up with James Moss to send him through on Daniel Brittle’s goal. Working hard to challenge the Tigers, who found themselves playing two-line hockey against Terry Ward’s strong line-up, Billingham came close to doubling their lead in the opening moments of the game but Telford were not without their own offensive as forwards Callum Bowley, Adam Brittle and Matt Viney looked to get their side back on level terms. Already at a disadvantage, MacKriel’s men then conceded a charging penalty through Joseph Aston to go on the penalty kill. The Tigers were successful in their defensive efforts however, though ‘D’ men Daniel Harrison, Corey Goodison, Conor Gordon and Simon Harrison were on the absentee list. Returning to full strength, Telford’s hard work was rewarded just twenty seven seconds later when Joshua Hustwick threaded a pass to last season’s top points scorer Adam Brittle who found Viney in good time to equalise. With both netminders under pressure, Telford’s Daniel Brittle and Star James Flavell saw off their fair share of shots for the remainder of the period as the Stars and their visitors headed in at the interval with one goal each.

Returning to the ice for the middle stanza, both sides were eager to add to the scoreboard but it was the Stars who were first to light the lamp for a second time as Boström accomplished his sixth league goal of the season, following a neat pass from fellow forward Jack Emerson. Just over a minute later, Billingham’s defenceman Ben Davison conceded a minor for delaying the game to hand Telford a power play. Careful not to let the opportunity slip by, MacKriel’s team saw several attempts go wide of their mark before finally hitting the target, this time captain Daniel Croft teaming up with Adam Brittle to assist assiduous forward Viney on 26:55. To make matters worse for the home side, the Tigers were then able to go ahead for the first time in the game just thirty six seconds later when skilled Slovakian import Karol Jets printed his name on the scoresheet, following neat linkup play between Callum Bowley and blue liner Bradley Betteridge. Telford’s celebrations proved to be incredibly short-lived however as, less than forty seconds later, the Stars raced up the ice to challenge shot stopper Brittle and subsequently found the back of the net when import Daniel Palmebjörk snapped up his first league goal of the season. The score line tied at 3-3, the Stars’ work was far from over in offence and the home side were zealous in their efforts to recover lost ground. It was this desire to reclaim their lead which saw Billingham go ahead with almost thirty four minutes played, this time alternate captain Callum Davies deservedly slotting home with assists arriving from ‘D’ man Tom Keeley and forward Chris Sykes. Though ending the period with this lead, the Stars suffered a slight setback going into the third stanza as youngster Josh Nertney was dealt a ten minute misconduct penalty subsequent to a clash with netminder Brittle ahead of the break.  

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Though beginning the third period with Nertney in the sin bin, the Stars sought another goal to place the points beyond the Tigers’ reach but MacKriel’s men again showed character to equalise as Bowley punished Billingham’s defence, following play between Matthew Price and Aston. Twenty seconds later, Ward headed to the sin bin for a crosscheck which placed his team on the back foot, yet the Stars showed a great deal of fortitude to claim a fifth goal as Watkins grabbed a shorthanded, unassisted effort to send Billingham back into the lead. This penalty over, it was the turn of the Tigers to be penalised by referee David Emmerson who ordered Viney to the penalty box for a crosscheck which placed the home side on the power play. Capitalising with a little over a minute of the advantage played, the Stars shot further into the lead as Watkins collected another. Restored to full strength as a result, Telford could barely recover themselves as Billingham rampaged to a seventh; Michael Elder getting in on the action via Callum Davies. An eighth added by Boström on 50:00 prompted a timeout for the visitors but it all proved to be too little, too late as the Stars continued their offensive to make life difficult for shot stopper Brittle, who faced a total of twenty shots in this period by comparison to the seven aimed at Stars’ netminder Flavell.

Speaking after this game, Sykes added, “Sunday saw the Tigers come into The Forum. We haven’t played them this season and they’ve not had the best of starts. They’ve added another Brittle to their roster but we shut them down at the end of the game and we had a really good third period to kill them off with three goals in two minutes. They just imploded. They’re a little short on guys but we weren’t taking it easy and we wanted to make sure we got the league points on home ice and we did just that. All in all, a five point weekend for the Stars!”

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