NIHL Weekend Preview

WEEKEND

PREVIEW

NIHL NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE

Saturday 5th November 2016

Telford Tigers vs. Billingham Stars

Sunday 6th November 2016

Blackburn Hawks vs. Billingham Stars

The Dragons vs. Whitley Warriors

Following a busy period of ice hockey for the Northern Trio, this weekend sees Solway Sharks take a break from the action as Billingham Stars look to better their league position against Telford Tigers and Blackburn Hawks, whilst Whitley Warriors hit the road for their first encounter with The Dragons this season.

  

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

First to face off this weekend will be Billingham Stars who are set to make the long trip to Telford Ice Rink to take on Daniel MacKriel’s Tigers, having already defeated the side in an 8-4 home clash at The Forum mid-October. Though the Stars recorded a comfortable score line against the Shropshire outfit, this game was far from one-sided with Telford matching Billingham up until the early stages of the third period, at which point the Teessiders claimed a shorthanded goal through forward Jack Watkins who then lit the lamp minutes later on the power play. Icing a depleted team due to absent defencemen, Telford battled as best they could and only struggled as the game headed towards its conclusion, conceding four goals in less than five minutes. As a result, the Stars will be under no illusion as to the challenge they face when they take to the ice on Saturday and will aim for no less than two points to make amends for last weekend’s double defeat in the NIHL North Cup competition. Making a great start to their league campaign with four wins from a possible six, Billingham have suffered a slight dip in form over their last three cup games with injuries to key players, particularly ‘D’ men, hindering the Stars’ performances of late. Consequently, Terry Ward will hope that Saturday’s final buzzer will seal a positive result for his team, especially if the Teessiders continue the hard work they have produced in recent games in which Billingham have laboured for victory with very little reward. Meanwhile, the Tigers will equally require two points on Saturday as a win may allow the team to begin their climb from the foot of the table, having found themselves falling behind last weekend due to the success of Whitley Warriors against Blackburn Hawks. Claiming only one league win to date over Simon Butterworth’s Sutton Sting, Telford will be aware that they have much work to do to get back on track but can also take heart from the closely contested nature of the league, with any outfit able to contend in the highly competitive atmosphere of the Moralee Conference.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Following this fixture, the Stars will then travel to Blackburn Ice Arena for a clash with Steven Duncombe’s Hawks, having just faced the side last weekend in a North Cup encounter. Losing out by seven goals to four last Saturday, Billingham will go into this game aware of the threat that Blackburn pose but will equally feel that victory is possible due to their triumphs over the Lancashire outfit this season which include a league win on home ice and a 4-2 cup success on the road. Bearing the brunt of Duncombe’s determination for maximum points in his first game as player-coach, the Stars were stunned by three quick goals from the Hawks in the second period of their clash with the Lancashire outfit. This rapid turn of events provided the home side with a 4-1 advantage which the Stars struggled to find a way back from. It would therefore appear that Billingham need to seek out goals in the early stages of the game or risk being punished by the defending champions who must claw their way back from sixth place to recover from last Sunday’s 8-2 defeat to Whitley Warriors. With both Hawk Aaron Davies and Star Dennis Boström hitting home hat tricks in last weekend’s meeting between the two sides, this game will be the source of much entertainment as the sides look set to battle it out for an all-important victory. Speaking ahead of Billingham’s double header, Star Chris Sykes stated: “It’s a big weekend in the league for the Stars! On Saturday we are off to Telford for the first time this season. We’ve played them at home and we managed to get the points with a good display, and the same again on Saturday. Hopefully that will mean two points in the league for us and maybe some of the lads will be able to come back from injury. I’m unsure who yet but hopefully some lads can! Then Sunday is another trip to Blackburn, this time in the league, so we want to make sure we win that one too; a four point weekend is our aim!”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Ian Hanlon

Last but not least, Whitley Warriors will make the trip to Deeside on Sunday where the side will take on Scott McKenzie’s Dragons when the two outfits clash for the first time this season. Improving with every performance, David Longstaff’s Whitley Warriors have so far taken points from four of the eight league games they have played to date, achieving their first point against Telford Tigers in September and recording three league wins against Blackburn Hawks to move into the playoff places last weekend. With this a great accomplishment for a team who have struggled through the early stages of their campaign, the Warriors will meet their match on Sunday as The Dragons have also fought valiantly this season to claim seven points from eight games, having won three, drawn one and lost four. Hoping to go ahead of their mid-table rivals, the Warriors will seek out another two points on Sunday but must apply the intensity they have exhibited in recent games to succeed against The Dragons who have several goal scorers in their midst, having lit the lamp thirty two times this season. As this is The Dragons’ first campaign in the Moralee Conference, the newly promoted side will be out to succeed against one of the league’s greatest competitors and will no doubt demonstrate their goal scoring prowess through the firepower of player-coach McKenzie, Finnish import Markus Kankaanranta and captain James Parsons to name but a few. As the league remains so close at present, a win for either side could make a great difference in the coming weeks with both teams facing busy schedules. Considering Sunday’s game against The Dragons, player-coach David Longstaff told NIHL Northern Trio: “It looks like we’ll be missing [Harry] Harley and [Joe] Stamp so we’ll be short in defence again. It’s probably a 50/50 game. I know The Dragons are on the verge of signing a player who won the league last season so that will give them a boost but we’re playing pretty well at the minute so it should be a good game.”

For those fans hoping to attend a game this weekend, Billingham Stars are set to face off at Telford Ice Rink from 5:30pm against the Tigers on Saturday before a 5:45pm clash with the Hawks at Blackburn Ice Arena on Sunday. Meanwhile, Whitley Warriors are also set to face off at 5:45pm against The Dragons on Sunday as they make the trip to Deeside. Can’t make it to a game? Fear not! Below are the listening details for NIHL Radio. 

NIHL Radio Weekend Listings

Sunday 6th November 2016

5:45pm on NIHL Radio 1

Blackburn Hawks vs Billingham Stars

5:45pm on NIHL Radio 2

The Dragons vs. Whitley Warriors

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

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