Tigers
knocked for six as Tonnar steals show
Telford Tigers
1
Solway Sharks 6
Travelling
to Shropshire to face Daniel MacKriel’s eighth placed Telford Tigers, Solway
Sharks made the trip without forward Marc Fowley, defenceman James Wallace and
netminder Kieran Hobbins who were sidelined through injury. Not all was bad for the Dumfries outfit though as blue liner Stuart Andrews
and two-way player Jordan Buesa were available for this game to ensure that Solway
lined up with the same number of skaters as that of their opposition; the Tigers’ absentee list including forwards Matt Viney, Ben Simister and Owen Bennett.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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The
two teams finding themselves quite evenly matched in the opening stages of the
game, a stalemate developed and neither side, despite their many chances, could
find a way through on goal; Brittle brothers, Luke and Adam working hard for
the home team alongside Slovakian import Karol Jets and forward James Smith. Meanwhile, Sharks’ captain Struan Tonnar fought his way through Telford’s defence,
linking up with Buesa and ‘D’man Juraj Senko to challenge netminder Daniel
Brittle at the other end of the ice. Though the score line remained 0-0, with
both sides failing to make the most of their chances in the early stages of the game, an interference penalty
against Jets handed the visitors the advantage on 9:02. Unable to capitalise
with the additional man, Solway went on to open the scoring soon after the
Tigers were restored to full strength as left winger Steven Moore and skilled
forward Duncan Speirs played the puck to alternate captain Ross Murray who went
on to achieve his first league goal of the season. Having waited so long for
the sides to open the scoring, the Sharks were able to add another just over two
minutes later when Tonnar tapped the puck into the net courtesy of line mates
Senko and Buesa. Buoyed by their two-goal lead, Solway were quick to punish the
Tigers for a third time as Senko and Buesa linked up once more to find Tonnar
who rocketed a shot beyond Brittle to make it 3-0 on 16:39. With Telford’s
deficit growing rather rapidly, mainly due to defensive error, MacKriel’s men
were eager to get back on track but were unable to do so before the interval.
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Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Despite
their efforts, the Tigers did not have the best start to middle section of the
game as forward Callum Griffin conceded a minor penalty for tripping with just
over three minutes played. On the power play, Solway attempted to extend their
lead further but again found themselves unable to score until their opposition
were at full strength; Tonnar claiming his hat trick with less than half of the
game played whilst Buesa and Finnish import Kim Miettinen were on hand to grab
assists. Shortly afterwards, Murray warmed a seat in the sin bin for elbowing
to provide the Tigers with their first power play of the game but Telford’s
efforts were not enough to snatch a goal against young shot stopper Calum
Hepburn. With opportunities missed at both ends of the ice, it was MacKriel’s
men who were made to regret their inability to score when Buesa teamed up with
fellow two-way player Ben Edmonds to provide Tonnar with a chance to grab his
fourth goal of the game which he took with just under five minutes remaining.
Sixteen seconds later, Smith headed to the sin bin for a boarding offence to
present the Sharks with a power play and this time the visitors were able to slot
home on the advantage, Tonnar again with the finishing touches to find the
target on 37:14.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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The
score line 6-0 heading into the third stanza, the Tigers were eager to find a
goal in the hope that they could gain a foothold in the game and the perfect opportunity
arose with over five and half minutes of the period played as a roughing
penalty for Tonnar presented Telford with a power play which was swiftly
converted into a goal; Smith making his mark on the game with help from Jets
and defenceman Simon Harrison. With the deficit ever so slightly reduced,
Telford were eager to grab another and were able to put Hepburn under pressure
to force some excellent saves from the netminder but the side failed to double
their tally. It was not long after this that the Tigers’ fight led to a clash;
Tonnar checking Luke Brittle which quickly resulted in a scrap between the two.
Dishing out penalties to both players, referee Roy Hamilton gave 2+2+10 to
Brittle for fighting whilst Tonnar received and additional two minutes for
checking from behind. With neither player able to return before the final buzzer, the sides continued to battle through the remaining seven minutes but
neither team could find the net as the clock ran down, the gap between Telford
and Solway proving too great for the home side to overturn. Reflecting
on this game, Solway Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb shared: “We knew we were going to play a strong Telford team
and that we would need to be solid in defence and take our chances. We got off
to a good start and played at both ends of the ice to limit their scoring
chances and it helped when Struan scored five straight goals in a great night
for him. We were a little slack in the third but we done the job.”
Last minute winner for Warriors sees
battling Blackburn lose out
Whitley Warriors 7
Blackburn Hawks 6
With
Whitley Warriors gaining the upper hand in recent contests between these two
outfits, it appeared that Steven Duncombe’s Blackburn Hawks were going to have a
challenge on their hands if they were to achieve maximum points. Whilst
Whitley’s absentee list included forward Jordan Barnes, blue liner Harry Harley
and netminder Richie Lawson, the Hawks travelled with a strong line-up, with only Tom Parkinson unable to ice.
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Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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The game got off to a flying start as young Hawk James Royds made way
for tripping with only twenty five seconds played to hand the Warriors a power
play which they immediately took advantage of; Shaun Kippin sweeping the puck
into the net following snappy build up play from enforcer Andre Payette and
player-coach David Longstaff. With this one goal advantage, the Warriors had
their eye on a second but Blackburn were also able to move into Whitley’s
defensive zone as ‘D’ man Nick Oliver and forward Philip Mulcahy attempted to
surpass Longstaff’s blue liners. With both teams clearly up for the contest, it
was not long before the first penalties of the game were dished out as Payette
and Mulcahy incurred two minutes for holding and slashing respectively. As these
penalties were served with no further addition to the score line, the Warriors
continued to pressure Blackburn’s backup netminder Niks Trapans and it was not
long before they reaped the rewards as Callum Watson played the puck to captain
Dean Holland who lit the lamp to double his team’s lead. With the Hawks stunned
by their early concession, Blackburn were further perplexed when Holland and
Watson linked up to assist DJ Good. Shortly after this goal, the Lancashire outfit conceded
yet another penalty as captain Ollie Lomax received 2+10 for holding. Just
over one minute into their power play, Whitley’s Ben Richards then incurred a
minor for high sticks to give the advantage to Blackburn for almost a minute
and a half after the Hawks’ fifth man was restored to the ice. Unable to act on this short advantage, Duncombe’s men then went shorthanded for a fourth time as Oliver found himself side
lined for boarding but the reaction of Kippin also saw the Warrior receive a
ten minute misconduct penalty. Icing five men against Blackburn’s four as
a result, there was a shift in power play as Whitley gained the advantage
to hammer home their fourth goal of the game on 18:13 as Richards made amends
for his earlier misdemeanour with support from Dan Pye. Just twenty nine
seconds later, Hawks’ defenceman Chris Butler earned himself a 2+10 for a check from
behind which only added to his team’s difficulties ahead of the first interval.
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Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Returning
for the second period, Blackburn switched Trapans for first choice short
stopper Stuart Ashton whilst Longstaff opted to coach his players from the
bench with the gap between the two teams so great. The Warriors were quick to
extend their lead as Watson collected a pass from Martin Crammond to make it
five with just thirty two seconds played; Pye with the additional assist. It
was in the aftermath of this goal that tough guy Reece Cairney-Witter received
two minutes for interference to spark an episode of ill-discipline in the game
which saw both teams collectively rack up an astounding sixty eight penalty
minutes from this moment onwards; Whitley
‘D’ man Josh Maddock heading to the sin bin for interference whilst Hawks’
player-coach Duncombe served two minutes for roughing on 22:16. These penalties
not yet over, referee Scott Brown stopped the game to dish out a tripping
penalty to blue liner Joe Stamp, a 2+2 for Lomax,
another minor for Cairney-Witter and a call for high sticks against skilled
forward Mulcahy. Concurrent to these disruptive stoppages, the Hawks began to
increase their momentum in the game and it was not long before they were able
to punish the home side as sharp forward Aaron Davies buried his unassisted
effort beyond Boyle. Subsequent to this goal, Payette clashed with Duncombe’s new
signing Corey Stones and both players were side lined for roughing. It was during this time that Cairney-Witter made his feelings clear towards Payette, invading the sin bin to find himself ejected from the game. With
Blackburn appearing more dangerous by the minute, Payette and Stones were
restored to the ice and it was clear that both players were eager to pick up
from where they left off; Stones landing several heavy punches to knock the
Warrior to the ice but a quick recovery from Payette saw the Hawk tied up and the
fairly even contest over with. Calls for fighting against both earned the
contenders four minutes in the sin bin but it was to be to the Warriors’
detriment as forward Rick Bentham made his mark to add another to his team’s
tally courtesy of fellow forward Bobby Caunce. However, Bentham’s celebrations
were cut short as the Hawk remonstrated about a crosschecking call to receive
an additional ten minutes whilst Whitley’s persevering forward Lawson Glasby
also picked up a minor in the same instance which ran into the third period.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Resuming
play for the final instalment of the game, Longstaff chose to dress for the
third stanza, sensing that game was far from over. Just nine seconds in, Lomax
was the first to incur further punishment; kneeing his offence on this
occasion. It was shortly after this incident that Pye was made to join Glasby
in the sin bin. With Blackburn increasing in confidence as the game progressed,
it was little surprise when Finnish import Mikko Sierman hit home following a pass
from Oliver to make it 5-3. Trying to recover the ground that Blackburn were
very evidently claiming back, the Warriors struggled to challenge Ashton and a
tripping penalty for Crammond hindered the flow of their game further. Building
up possession on the power play, the Hawks broke down Whitley’s defence to
reduce their deficit to a single goal as Sierman and Davies set up Butler.
Unnerved by Blackburn’s comeback, Whitley fought for offensive opportunities
and were finally able to create some breathing space between themselves and
their visitors as Kippin sent young defenceman Liam Smedley weaving through the crowd to integrate Holland who flicked the puck into the net. The
Warriors’ joy was short-lived however as Davies claimed his second unassisted
effort just over a minute later to transfer the pressure onto the home side
once more. A few near misses from the Hawks saw Whitley’s defence tested on
more than one occasion but Boyle remained strong in goal, pulling off some excellent saves to keep the Warriors ahead. Seeing a lot more of the puck in
this late stage of the game, the Hawks decided to call a timeout with less than
five minutes remaining in the period but it was not until 59:47 that Blackburn could execute their game plan, Bentham the man to hit the target with help from
team mates Oliver and Davies. The scoreboard now reading 6-6, many might have
thought this goal would take the game to overtime but, with just thirteen
seconds remaining, the Warriors found themselves awarded a penalty shot
following the Hawks’ attempts to prevent their attack and, as Holland rose to
the challenge, the captain lead by example to seal his hat trick and to subsequently earn himself Man of the Match.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Speaking
to NIHL Northern Trio, player-coach David Longstaff looked back on the Warriors’
latest game against the Hawks: “The result was
a good one but we were pretty poor overall. I’m sure the fans enjoyed it but
from a coach’s point of view it was a nightmare, seeing mistake after mistake.
Our face offs were terrible; losing them at crucial times in our zone resulted
in two goals in the third period. I thought [Lawson] Glasby, [Liam] Brown and [Dean]
Holland were our best players. We have one or two players who are really under
performing at the minute so we’ll probably look to shake up our lines over the
coming weeks.”
Sharp Sharks attack Barons to remain
undefeated
Solihull Barons 1
Solway Sharks 4
Having
collected maximum points from the nine games played prior to this fixture,
Solway Sharks made the trip to Hobs Moat Road with another victory in their
sights as they lined up against Perry Doyle’s steely Solihull Barons. Aiming to
go at least four points ahead of close rivals Billingham Stars who were facing
Sutton Sting on the same evening, the Dumfries outfit were aware that the game
would be no mean feat; the Barons typically proving to be difficult opposition
since their promotion to Division One in 2015.
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Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Whilst
Solihull are known for their tendency to rack up penalty minutes as well as
their skill, it was perhaps ironic that Shark James Hutchinson was the first to
head to the sin bin with just over four minutes played to hand the home side
the advantage. Despite icing five men against Solway’s four, the Barons were
unable to open the scoring and the visitors returned to full strength only to
pile the pressure onto netminder Josh Nicholls who absorbed the Sharks’ attack
in the early stages of the period. With both sides scrapping for possession on
occasions, the Barons equally sought to test young shot stopper Calum Hepburn
but to no avail. As the nature of the game required both teams to dig in, it
was not long before two-way player Jordan Buesa found himself sinbinned for
boarding whilst Barons’ defenceman Dave Rogers made way for his retaliation to
the incident. Approximately two minutes after these penalties were served,
Solway’s efforts in front of goal eventually paid off as alternate captain Ross
Murray found the back of the net to catapult his team into the lead for a
second consecutive evening as forwards Joe Coulter and Duncan Speirs assisted. Shortly
after this goal, Solihull’s Matthew Maurice then incurred two minutes for
charging to leave his side shorthanded with 17:34 on the clock. Though on the
power play, Solway failed to double their tally and filed from the ice at the
break with a narrow 1-0 lead to their name.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Returning
for the second period, play continued in much the same vein as the first. Both sides enduring a battle for possession, the Sharks were able to make it 2-0 just over six minutes in as captain Struan Tonnar
lit the lamp to achieve his tenth league goal of the season, following passing
play from Coulter and strong defenceman Kim Miettinen. With both teams having
their fair share of shots on goal, it was clear that the Barons were still up
for the fight and it showed when a crosscheck from Buesa also resulted in roughing penalties for Solihull’s Maurice, Rogers and blue liner Richard Crowe, as well as Shark Scott Henderson. With only forty four seconds of
these penalties served, Barons’ forward Ed Eaton joined his teammates to see
Solway gain a slight advantage but it was not until three minutes later that
the Sharks were able to find the back of the net for a third time, Tonnar
setting up Buesa who did not miss his mark with just ten seconds of the period
remaining.
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Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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The
score line 3-0, Solihull were under no illusion as to the work required to
compete with Martin Grubb’s outfit and a fourth goal for the side, scored by an
unassisted Juraj Senko, on 44:48 only made matters worse for the Barons as they
desperately tried to get back on track. Less
than five minutes later however, the home side were able to grab a goal as
Elliot Farrell printed his name on the scoresheet following build up play from
former Dragon Paul Davies and forward Andrew Whitehouse. This goal arriving
just before the halfway point in the period, there was time enough for a
Barons’ comeback but with the game still closely contested, defenceman Dale
White picked up four minutes for holding and slashing on 53:43 which
saw the visitors enjoy a lengthy power play, though they could not creep
further ahead in the game. This penalty somewhat hindering Solihull’s chances
to chip away at their deficit, Solway saw out the remainder of the game with
the character and determination required to defeat Doyle’s men. Adding to his
earlier comments, Grubb stated: “We
knew this would be a tough game against a title contender and that we needed to
start well as they hadn’t played for a few weeks. I was pleased that we won the
battles needed and executed a gritty road game; this was a huge character win.
The boys have shown the ability and spirit we have and we now need to keep this
momentum going as long as we can.”
Stars fall short as Billingham stung by
Sutton
Sutton Sting 4
Billingham Stars 3
Travelling
to Ice Sheffield for their first game against Sutton Sting this season,
Billingham Stars were eager to continue their recent good form with a win
against Simon Butterworth’s men but were under no illusion as to how difficult
the game would be, Sutton having climbed the league table over the last few
weeks to contend with the tough opposition of the Moralee Conference.
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Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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With
the game underway, Sutton’s desire was evident from the start and, though
netminder Dmitri Zimozdra was called into action by a quick-fire shot from
Swedish import Dennis Boström as play commenced, the Sting saw the best part of
the puck in the early stages to challenge shot stopper James Flavell at the
other end of the ice. Despite making a positive start to the game, Butterworth’s
team then incurred a minor penalty for holding which saw alternate captain
James Goodman warm a seat in the sin bin to hand the visitors the advantage. Though shorthanded, Sutton remained unscathed and were able
to find the target a little over two minutes later when captain James Spurr
played the puck to forward Lloyd Gibson who buried his shot to punish
Billingham’s listlessness. Having opened the scoring, it was not long before
the home side added to the Stars’ woes as Gibson snatched another on 15:29 to
establish a two-goal cushion when Spurr combined with young prospect Joseph
Colton to assist his teammate once more. Fifty four seconds later however,
Gibson’s good work was placed on the back burner as he found himself
sinbinned for hooking whilst blue liner Ryan Johnson conceded a ten minute
misconduct for voicing his despair at the decision. Again, the Stars
were unable to make the most of their possession with the additional man and
this was to be one wasted opportunity that the side would regret as
Gibson returned to the ice only to complete his hat trick twenty eight seconds
later.
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Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Heading
in with this three-goal lead at the first interval, the stunned Stars returned
for the second period with the knowledge that they must act fast to gain a
foothold in the game. A slashing penalty against Charlie Saunders on 22:11 saw
Billingham go on the power play but the chance did not last long as forward
Michael Elder then made way for hooking. Both sides eventually returned to full
strength to try their luck in front of goal but another holding penalty for
Goodman saw his side reduced to four men yet again. Though failing to light the lamp on
the power play, Boström managed to place the puck beyond Zimozdra but referee Deana
Cuglietta decided not to give the goal on finding that Scott Ward was offside. Failing to punish the
Sting for their misdemeanours, Billingham then found themselves serving a minor of their own as Ben Davison, making his return from injury, was found
guilty of high sticks. It was not long after this penalty was over that the Stars
were able to edge back into the game as forwards Chris Sykes and Callum Davies
linked up to allow line mate Elder to achieve his tenth goal of the season on
36:59. With renewed confidence, the Teessiders began to sense that the comeback
was not an impossibility and hit home less than two minutes later as Boström slipped
the rebounding puck past Zimozdra; Scott Ward and Matthew Campbell with the
assists. At the close of the period, a tripping call against Jack Davies saw
the Star receive 2+10 for his offence to place the Sting on the power play
going into the final instalment of the game.
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Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Heading into the third period with hopes of equalising at the very least, Terry Ward’s
men worked hard on the penalty kill before breaking into Sutton’s defensive
zone. Pressuring dexterous netminder Zimozdra, Billingham eventually reaped the
rewards of their perseverance when Boström grabbed his second goal of the game
with approximately forty seven minutes played to lift his team. Disappointed to
concede in this manner, the Sting were determined to regain their lead but suffered a setback as defenceman Chris Wilcox was side-lined around
the fifty minute mark to provide Billingham with yet another power play which
was unsurprisingly squandered, considering the side’s inability to capitalise
throughout the game. Killing the penalty effectively, the Sting continued to
labour for a goal and were soon rewarded as Gibson claimed his fourth of the
game in a bid to secure victory. Visibly unsettled by this goal, the Stars called
for a timeout in the latter stages of the period. Pulling netminder Flavell to ice an additional skater, the outfit
could not draw level, try as they might, to leave the score line 4-3 in
Sutton’s favour. Sharing his thoughts on
the game, forward Chris Sykes observed: “We had a bad day at the office against
Sutton. We always seem to struggle on the big ice in Sheffield and we ended up
3-0 down at the end of the first. We clawed our way back into the game and made
it 3-3 but, with around four minutes left, we conceded and we threw everything
at them but we just couldn’t get the puck in the net. We had a few disallowed
goals and a referee mistake cost us time in the attacking zone but we can’t win
them all, as they say! We are disappointed as, in my opinion, we should be
beating Sutton but they’ve got their game plan and it worked.”
NIHL Northern Trio would like to take this opportunity to pass on condolences to the family of Whitley Warriors' fan, Bobby Dixon who will be greatly missed.
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