NIHL Weekend Action

Shark attack shocks Stars as Solway triumph in North Cup

Solway Sharks     8

Billingham Stars  2

With every point closely contested by these two outfits in the past, both teams faced off with strong rosters, each icing an ex-EPL player in Shark James Hutchinson and Star Jack Watkins, as well as their two imports. Playing first choice shot stopper Kieran Hobbins between the pipes, Solway Sharks found themselves up against backup netminder Mark Watson who was again selected to start for Billingham in the side’s cup encounter. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Going into this game with a great deal of momentum from last weekend’s victories over Blackburn Hawks and Telford Tigers, it was the Stars who got off to the better start in the opening minutes to take the lead against Solway on 6:02, Chris Sykes lighting the lamp following build up play from player-coach Michael Bowman and Michael Elder. Working hard to recover from this early concession, Solway then equalised four minutes later as youngster Daniel Abercrombie set his team back on the right track courtesy of forward Connor Henderson and skilful left winger Steven Moore. Shortly afterwards, Solway’s Finnish import Kim Miettinen incurred a two minute boarding penalty to hand Billingham a power play but the Stars’ failure to capitalise would be one they would regret as the Sharks returned to full strength, only for captain Struan Tonnar to find himself on the scoresheet with support from two-way player Ben Edmonds and hardworking forward Marc Fowley. The score line 2-1, matters were made worse when the Stars found themselves on the penalty kill as captain Richie Thornton headed to the sin bin to serve two minutes for hooking. Try as they might, Solway failed to grab a third before the break as Billingham’s defence remained strong under pressure. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Restored to five men with nineteen seconds of the middle stanza played, the Stars were eager to battle for an equaliser but Martin Grubb’s side managed to control the puck beyond their power play and eventually slotted home on 22:43 as Duncan Speirs achieved his second cup goal of his campaign, assisted by enforcer Ross Murray and defenceman Stuart Andrews. As the Sharks began to take the upper hand in the game, Billingham found it increasingly difficult to test sturdy netminder Hobbins and it was not long before the scoreboard read 4-1 in Solway’s favour, alternate captain Murray on hand once more to successfully send blue liner Miettinen through on goal. Realising that they must respond to their growing deficit to gain a foothold in the game, the Stars reduced the gap separating the two sides soon after as Callum Davies found the back of the net following a pass from Jack Davies on 32:56. Less than four minutes later, the game became heated as import Daniel Palmebjörk returned Murray’s slash with a crosscheck which rapidly spiralled into the two dropping the gloves. As a result, referee Steven Wardell handed the duo penalties of 2+2+2 for their antics which ran over into the final instalment of the game. 

The score line 4-2, the Sharks were aware that they must continue to work hard in order to triumph over Billingham who had not yet given up on the prospect of cup points. With power and pace, Solway punished their visitors in the second minute of the third period, Henderson teaming up with Miettinen to set Moore on course to earn their side a fifth. Feeling that the game was beginning to slip from their grasp, the Stars attempted to find a goal of their own but, struggling to contend with the Sharks’ sturdy defence, not to mention netminder Hobbins, Billingham found themselves punished further as Speirs collected his second goal of the evening with help from fellow forward Joe Coulter. Stunned by this deficit, the Stars aimed to get back to their best but fell short of the mark on several occasions before Solway retaliated with just over fifty minutes of the game played, this time Andrews on target following linkup play between Coulter and two-way player Jordan Buesa. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Less than three minutes later, Tonnar snatched another to make it 8-2 and to put the outcome of the game beyond doubt. The Stars were offered a little hope just over a minute later however, when Buesa made way for clipping on 54:25 to hand the visitors a power play but Billingham remained six goals adrift as the Sharks were restored to five men. Fifteen seconds later, another opportunity was handed to the Stars when blue liner Juraj Senko was found guilty of hooking to hand Terry Ward’s men a penalty shot but, try as he might, Palmebjörk was unable to make it count, leaving the score line unchanged. In the dying minutes of the game, Jack Davies earned a slashing penalty whilst Speirs and Hutchinson earned two minutes each for a crosscheck and unsportsmanlike behaviour respectively. These penalties running into the last minute of the period, there was little time for either side to make an impact in front of goal and the final buzzer sounded to confirm the 8-2 score line.

As a result, Solway now return to the top of the NIHL North Cup table with nine points whilst Billingham Stars sit just two points behind them in second place. Speaking after the game, Head Coach Martin Grubb shared his views with NIHL Northern Trio: “I thought we started the game a little slow and turned over too many pucks but we did well to come from behind to lead after the first. We changed the way we played a little at the end of the period and the next forty minutes was as good as we have played as a team this season. We are a young team who are full of skill and energy and it was pleasing to see us create lots of chances and finish them. We knew it would be a tough game and we would need to take our chances. We did that and now we need to do that consistently and continue improving.” 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Meanwhile, Chris Sykes added: “Sunday was a tough game for us. We went there wanting to get the cup points and we went up 1-0 and we felt good, then it went downhill for the last forty minutes of the game. We had three ‘D’ men missing, two forwards out injured, one got injured in the game. It’s not an excuse but we played seven forwards for forty minutes, chopping and changing the lines to make sure we had the right guys on. It was a tough game and it just didn’t go our way. Solway finished their chances so they took the win. Sometimes that’s the way it goes but we will pick our team mates up and ourselves together and make sure we are ready for the double header cup weekend coming up.”

Strong-willed Warriors bag win against helpless Hawks

Whitley Warriors   6

Blackburn Hawks  0

With the struggles of Whitley Warriors and Blackburn Hawks well-documented in the early stages of the 2016-17 campaign, this combined league and NIHL North Cup fixture was expected to be a close encounter as the Hillheads outfit prepared to take on Matt Darlow’s men on home ice for the first time this season. Missing goal scorer Rick Bentham, forward Jacob Corson-Heron and tough guy Reece Cairney-Witter, the Hawks iced their depleted roster against Whitley’s almost full strength line-up; the Warriors only missing defenceman Joe Stamp and forward Alan Yarrow.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Ian Hanlon

Rushing at the puck from the first faceoff, both sides were eager to make an impression in the early stages of the game but it was Whitley who managed to opening the scoring with just fifty one seconds played as player-coach David Longstaff raced into Blackburn’s defensive zone to make a pass to forward Shaun Kippin which, helped on to Callum Watson, was then coolly slotted home. In the moments that followed, Whitley dominated possession to challenge Stuart Ashton whilst Warriors’ netminder Richie Lawson had little to contend with at the other end of the ice, dealing calmly with the shots that occasionally fell his way. Continuing to pile the pressure onto the Hawks, Whitley Warriors then doubled their lead on 7:01 as power forward Jordan Barnes received the puck from Martin Crammond to pick out Harry Harley on the blue line, allowing the ‘D’ man to fire the puck past Ashton. Just over one minute later, the Warriors were able to add to their tally, Watson printing his name on the scoresheet for a second time when assisted by Kippin and defenceman Dan Pye. Whilst the best of Blackburn’s chances originated from swift play from Philip Mulcahy, who snaked his way into Whitley’s defensive zone on more than one occasion, and a towering Steven Duncombe, the Hawks found themselves up against a strong defence, not to mention the quick reflexes of shot stopper Lawson. With over fifteen minutes played in the period, Warrior Dean Holland incurred the first penalty of the game for hooking which handed Darlow’s men the advantage. Though on the penalty kill, Whitley’s defence saw off the Hawks’ attempts to chip away at their deficit and the Warriors returned to five men unscathed to go in at the break with a three-goal lead.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Ian Hanlon

Returning to the ice for the middle stanza, Whitley Warriors were aware that they must maintain the pace of their first period to ensure that the visitors could not establish a foothold in the game whereas the Lancashire outfit were eager to snatch a goal in a bid to ignite a comeback. As the pace of the game slackened though, and the Hawks could still not construct a significant attack, it was almost thirteen minutes after the interval that the next goal was scored; Whitley’s Dean Holland lighting the lamp following a pass from fellow forward Liam Brown. Soon after, the Warriors made it 5-0 as DJ Good and Andre Payette played the puck across the ice to Watson who halted for a moment when faced with Blackburn’s defence before swivelling around to unleash the shot which would complete his hat trick. Whilst the Hawks were unable to respond to this goal, recording only four shots against Lawson in comparison to Whitley’s sixteen against Ashton, Warrior Craig Johnson found himself sinbinned for slashing in the last second of the period to hand Blackburn a power play.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Ian Hanlon

Beginning the third and final stanza with just four men as a consequence, the Warriors found themselves repeatedly alleviating the pressure placed upon them by Blackburn who had opted to switch netminder Ashton for Niks Trapans at the start of the period. The visitors gradually increasing their attack in this period, Lawson found himself called upon more regularly, pulling off some outstanding saves to maintain his shutout. It was with almost ten minutes of the period played that Watson picked up a minor for holding to place the Hawks on another power play. Though the side could not capitalise, the introduction of youngster Kyle Haslam sparked some offensive play for Blackburn but, just seconds after Whitley’s return to full strength, the game became incredibly heated as the Hawks’ alternate captain Steven Duncombe decided to take on Warrior Andre Payette. Consequently, both players earned 2+2 for fighting and, whilst Payette picked up an additional match penalty for leaving Whitley’s bench, Barnes received a two minute misconduct penalty. Struggling on with three players, the Warriors were able to see off Blackburn’s attempts to creep back into the game, continuing to be effective on the penalty kill. Having served his time, Barnes then returned to the ice to target unsuspecting Hawks’ captain Ollie Lomax before eclaiming his place in the sin bin to serve 2+2+10 for fighting. Shorthanded once again, Longstaff’s line up battled on to see out the victory and a final unassisted effort from former recreational player Lawson Glasby saw the score line altered to 6-0, the defenceman having raced the length of the ice to hit home with five seconds remaining before celebrating in spectacular style. Due to this triumph, Whitley Warriors have moved out of the automatic relegation spot in the Moralee Conference, as well as claiming another three points for their regulation win in the NIHL North Cup. Reflecting on his team’s victory, player-coach David Longstaff observed: “We’re obviously pleased with the game, and to win convincingly. It was great to see our younger players, especially two sixteen year olds, nearly get on the scoresheet.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Ian Hanlon

Subsequent to this result, the departure of Head Coach Matt Darlow has since been announced as alternate captain Steven Duncombe prepares to take over as player-coach. NIHL Northern Trio would like to take this time to thank Matt for sharing his views over the summer and to wish him all the best for the future.

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