WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE
Saturday
22nd October 2016
Solway Sharks vs. Billingham Stars
Sunday
23rd October 2016
Whitley Warriors vs. Blackburn Hawks
Having missed out altogether last weekend, Martin Grubb’s
Solway Sharks find themselves back in the thick of the action on Saturday when
the Dumfries outfit host close rivals Billingham Stars in their second cup
encounter against the Teessiders this campaign. Following this fixture, Whitley Warriors will take to the ice for their
fifth home game of the season in a combined league and cup fixture
against Blackburn Hawks on Sunday, having recorded a win against the side just last weekend.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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First to ice on Saturday, Solway Sharks prepare for
a cup clash against Billingham Stars, subsequent to their 6-5 overtime victory
against the Teessiders at the end of last month. Though trailing by three goals
at the midpoint of this game, the Sharks made a spectacular comeback against the Stars to accomplish two cup points and to remain at the top of the North Cup standings prior to Billingham’s contest with Blackburn. Not about to give up their NIHL North Cup title
lightly, Terry Ward’s men fought audaciously against Matt Darlow’s Blackburn
Hawks last weekend to shoot into pole position, displacing Solway Sharks in the process. The knowledge that
Solway are just one point behind them, with a game in hand, may instil some
caution in the Stars as they approach this fixture but the Teessiders’ desire to
avenge their previous cup defeat will no doubt spur the outfit on on Saturday. With
eleven goals scored collectively by the two sides in their previous encounter,
Billingham’s imports Dennis Boström and Daniel Palmebjörk were highly influential
against the Sharks and now find themselves leading the way as the top points
scorers of the cup contest at present. Collectively, the duo have tallied six
goals and seven assists in the NIHL North Cup competition to find themselves respectively
ranked in first and second, ahead of team mates Chris Sykes and Callum Davies. By
comparison, it was Solway’s home-grown talent who were instrumental in the
Sharks’ comeback against the Stars, particularly youngster Duncan Speirs who
achieved two assists and a game winning goal in overtime to bag his side a
victory. Also recording a 3-1 league win against Billingham in the opening game
of their campaign, Solway have had the upper hand in both competitions so far
this season, though only by a narrow margin. As a result, both teams must give their
all to secure maximum points in what will be the only fixture for the two
outfits this weekend. However, only time will tell as to whether or not the momentum
gained by the Stars in their double header last weekend will provide them with
an edge over the Sharks on Saturday.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Returning
from a successful trip in Slovakia with GB Under 18s, Head Coach Martin Grubb
kindly took the time to reflect on this cup encounter against Billingham Stars:
“We come into this weekend after a weekend off and we need to make sure we are
ready to start well against a Billingham team who will be high on confidence
after a good run of results and who have some momentum now. We know we will be
facing a good team with lots of depth but we will go into the game focusing on
our own game and working hard at both ends of the ice to ensure we give
ourselves a chance to win. We have started the season well and we don’t want
the weekend off to effect what we have done so far so we will be ready to battle
for sixty minutes, possibly more if needed, and look to keep our form going
into the cup.” Additionally, Star Chris Sykes informed NIHL Northern Trio: “This
is another cup game for the Stars away against Solway. They’ve just lost Rick
Bentham and we know we can beat them. We lost in overtime last time in the cup
at home. We would like a bit of revenge and to get those two points back. The lads
are all fired up for this after a brilliant five point weekend for us last
week; everyone is chipping in and doing their bit so we are hoping that
continues into this weekend. It’s just the one game for us and a
nice round of golf on Sunday to relax!”
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Meanwhile, Whitley Warriors are set to host Blackburn Hawks
for the first time this season, having only just defeated the side in a 3-2
road victory last Sunday. Earning their first league win of their 2016-17
campaign against the defending champions, Whitley fought hard to claim two
points against Matt Darlow’s Hawks in their previous meeting with the side, having lost their lead twice in the game
before finally hitting home a third goal in the last minute to leave
the Lancashire outfit disappointed. With six points and a game in hand, Blackburn
are situated in fifth place having undergone great changes over the summer and,
with the addition of former Shark Richard Bentham and the departure of Patrik
Nyman, the Hawks are still developing their cohesion as a unit. This is evidenced
by the team’s fluctuating form of late which consists of three wins and three
losses, recording only one road victory in six league games.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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By comparison, the Warriors sit at the foot of the NIHL table. Improving with each performance, David Longstaff’s team can only hope to achieve their first victory in front of a home crowd on Sunday to both build on their recent win and to snatch the points up for grabs in this combined NIHL North Cup and Moralee Conference fixture. Drawing against Telford Tigers at Hillheads on the 25th September, the
Warriors went on to concede a cup loss to Billingham Stars at home before
avenging this defeat at The Forum one week later which was quickly followed up by last Sunday’s away win at Blackburn. As the Warriors gain
confidence, every performance is an improvement on their last and the team will
aim to continue this trend to pull themselves up from the depths of eighth place.
With Bentham grabbing both goals for the Hawks last weekend, the forward could
be just as influential for this road trip whilst Longstaff will aim to get his name on the scoresheet for a second consecutive week, having scored on Sunday alongside fellow forwards
Shaun Kippin and Jordan Barnes. As ever, Dean Holland continues to be highly
influential as captain and, though unable to light the lamp against the Hawks
last weekend, the forward notched an assist to support Kippin’s effort on
goal. Both teams exhibiting quality across all areas of the ice, this clash
will no doubt be a close one to call and, with more than two points up for
grabs, not to mention last season’s fiery encounters between enforcer Andre
Payette and Hawk Reece Cairney-Witter, this game is sure to be an entertaining one,
if not fast and fierce. Preparing for this game, player-coach David Longstaff
shared: “Sunday will be difficult as Blackburn lost two home games last weekend
and will be looking to bounce back to winning ways. They have a very good team
so it’s likely it’s just a dip in form.”
For anyone hoping to attend these
fixtures over the weekend, Solway Sharks faceoff against Billingham Stars at
the Dumfries Ice Bowl from 7:00pm on Saturday whilst Whitley Warriors host
Blackburn Hawks from 5:00pm at Whitley Bay Ice Rink on Sunday. Can’t make it to
a game? Fear not! The listening details for NIHL Radio are listed below.
NIHL Radio Weekend Listings
Sunday 23rd October 2016
5:00pm
on NIHL Radio 1
Whitley Warriors vs.
Click on the link to listen: http://tunein.com/.
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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