WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE
Saturday
12th November 2016
Billingham Stars vs. Blackburn Hawks
Solway Sharks vs. Telford Tigers
Sunday
13th November 2016
The Dragons vs. Solway Sharks
Whitley Warriors vs. Sutton Sting
Billingham Stars vs. Telford Tigers
Whilst last weekend saw
both Billingham Stars and Whitley Warriors take to the ice, a far busier
schedule lies ahead as the action resumes this Saturday. Double headers for
Terry Ward’s Teessiders and Martin Grubb’s Solway Sharks will be accompanied by
a single home clash for David Longstaff’s line-up who invite Sutton Sting to
Hillheads for the first time this campaign.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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First to ice on
Saturday, Billingham Stars will take on Blackburn Hawks in an NIHL North Cup
encounter, the sides having faced each other twice in the competition already.
Claiming a 4-2 regulation road victory over the Hawks last month, the Stars
have since lost out in the contest, conceding a 7-4 defeat to the Lancashire
outfit just two weeks prior to this fixture. Though losing their last three cup games, Billingham achieved four points in the Moralee Conference last
weekend and can therefore take a great deal of momentum into this game, though they will certainly be
wary of the damage that Steven Duncombe’s team can do in front of goal. When
taking into account points production for both league and cup, Blackburn’s most
valuable players are Rick Bentham, Aaron Davies and Finnish import Mikko
Sierman who have collectively gathered forty six points across all competitions
to make an impact in offence. By comparison, the Stars have also managed to
demonstrate their skill in the cup competition but have battled on with a depleted
defence in recent weeks which has somewhat contributed to Billingham’s struggle
in the North Cup as the side conceded nineteen goals in three games between the
22nd and 30th October. Whilst a regulation, or even
overtime, win would make a big difference to either side, the points will be
welcomed by Billingham whose poor run of form in the competition is
disappointing following the side’s achievement of silverware last season. At
least two points would see the Stars close the gap between themselves and the
Hawks in the cup standings but Blackburn will also be out to triumph over
Ward’s men as maximum points would allow Duncombe’s line-up to go within
touching distance of the top spot once more.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Whilst Billingham Stars
look ahead to this cup fixture, Solway Sharks will prepare to ice against
Telford Tigers for the first time this season. Maintaining their place at the
top of the NIHL North league standings, the Dumfries outfit currently have the
same points as their Teesside rivals but with two games in hand. Winning 100%
of their games in the Moralee Conference, the Sharks have played impeccably so
far with outstanding team performances held in higher regard than individual
accomplishments. This is largely reflected by Solway’s points production which
is evenly distributed, with no single player dominating in offence. When these
two sides last met on the 19th March, the game resulted in a 7-1
double points victory for the Sharks following the cancellation of Solway’s
previous home encounter against the Shropshire side in December. Whilst Tigers’
Head Coach Daniel MacKriel will of course be hoping for a very different result
on Saturday, his team find themselves looking up at Solway from the foot of the
league table and, though eager to turn their fortunes around, realise that this
feat will not be without difficulty. With just one win to their name so far, Telford
continue to work hard but to no avail as the efforts of their best players,
which also happen to be some of the league’s best, continue to fall short.
Scoring thirty six goals, which is eight more than that of the current league
leaders, Telford have suffered due to their depleted defence at times which was
certainly the case in their 8-4 defeat to Billingham Stars last month. Despite
this, just two points will see the Tigers go level with defending champions
Blackburn Hawks on Saturday but whether or not MacKriel’s men can claim maximum
points against Solway remains to be seen as the Sharks tend to prevail even if they
fail to dominate. Looking forward to this
clash, Head Coach Martin Grubb stated: “This is our first game against Telford
this season and, even though results haven’t went their way, I know they are a
good team who can beat anyone in this league. Budzie [Daniel MacKriel] will
have been working hard on getting things right. They will come with a game plan
and we will need to stay disciplined and focused to make sure we have a chance
to play our normal game and give ourselves a chance to win.”
Following this
encounter, the Sharks will then journey to Deeside as they ready themselves for
a tricky clash with Scott McKenzie’s newly promoted Dragons. Presently icing in
three more league games than that of their opposition, The Dragons have
recorded three wins, one draw and five defeats to match Sutton Sting’s seven
points to find themselves situated in sixth place. Interestingly, Dragons’
Finnish import Markus Kankaanranta and player-coach Scott McKenzie are now two
of the league’s highest points scorers with seventeen points each. By contrast,
as previously mentioned, the Sharks have a far more even distribution of points
with almost any player capable of scoring for the side, though it should be
noted that the team will definitely be without forward Marc Fowley this weekend
who is recovering from an injury sustained against Billingham Stars a few weeks
ago. With this Solway’s first league road trip since their opening away game to
Whitley Warriors on the 11th September, the side will be pitted against
a Dragons’ line-up whose previous home fixture resulted in an 11-4 defeat to the
Hillheads outfit. As a result, the Dragons will aim to keep pace with Grubb’s
men on Sunday to ensure that the game does not skip away from them as it did
last weekend and to contain the Sharks who have dominated some situations with
ease already this season, most notably their 9-2 victory over David Longstaff’s men at the start
of their 2016-17 campaign. Whilst two points for the Dragons could see the side
climb the league table once more as McKenzie’s team contend in a mid-table
scrap, a win for Solway could spell a four-point weekend for the side which
would widen the gap between themselves and their closest league rivals. “Deeside
is always a tough place to go and, after last week, they will want to bounce
back and they will want to come hard at us,” Grubb added. “I know Scotty [Scott
Mckenzie] really well and he will have his team ready and we will need to match
their competitive level and make sure we limit their chances as he is dangerous
and he has some goal scorers in his team. We will be looking to continue our
decent start and this will be a very tough weekend but we will go in confident
and look for four points even with a patched up squad.”
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Next to faceoff will be
Whitley Warriors who are set to play host to Simon Butterworth’s Sutton Sting
on Sunday. Yet to play the Sheffield-based outfit this season, David
Longstaff’s men will be eager to continue their good run of form which appears
to have stemmed from the side’s 6-5 overtime win over derby rivals Billingham
Stars in the North Cup just over a month ago. Playing with great confidence
against The Dragons last weekend to claim an 11-4 victory, Whitley Warriors
currently find themselves in fourth position with nine points as they head into
their latest home fixture. Whilst Warriors Shaun Kippin and Callum Watson were
impressive against their opposition last Sunday, the former earning his hat
trick and the latter snatching six points, player-coach David Longstaff will be
hoping for more of the same this weekend as a win will allow his team to go
level on points with Perry Doyle’s third-placed Solihull Barons. Bouncing back
from a tricky start to the season, the Hillheads outfit will face a Sutton side
who have also climbed from the lower positions of the league table in recent
weeks to go fifth. Initially taking the lead against the Barons last week, the
Sting then battled back from a 2-1 deficit to score two goals in the space of
thirty one seconds which ultimately secured the side’s victory. It is this
quick response which the Warriors will surely be mindful of when they take to
the ice on Sunday, particularly as Sutton have several strong players in former
EPL forward Lloyd Gibson, captain James Spurr and fellow on-ice leaders James
Goodman and Ryan Johnson to name but a few. Like Whitley captain Dean Holland, Gibson
is one of the NIHL’s top points scorers at present with eight goals and six
assists, though the former Steeldog has played one less game than the Warrior.
As a result, it is clear that the Sting can certainly contend this season and
will once again aim to trouble their opponents on Sunday. Imparting his
thoughts ahead of this game, player-coach David Longstaff noted: “This will be another tough game. I think Sutton
have a very similar team to us with not much to choose between the two teams so
I would imagine it’ll be a very close game.”
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| Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson |
Last, but not least,
Billingham Stars will take to the ice for their second home fixture of the
weekend against Telford Tigers, having encountered Daniel MacKriel’s men just
last Saturday when the Teessiders made the trip to Shropshire. This game ending
in a 9-4 triumph for the Stars, Telford’s trip to The Forum promises to be an
interesting one as the Tigers set out to avenge this result whilst Billingham
aim for a repeat performance. Moving into second place last weekend, the Stars
will search for maximum points in this league fixture to ensure Billingham
stand the best chance of challenging Solway Sharks for the top spot over the
next few weeks. Meanwhile, residing at the foot of the table, the Tigers will
need to sustain any momentum gained in their clash with Solway on Saturday if
they are to compete to the standard that they are capable of in this fixture. With
this weekend’s away games causing Telford to undergo a lengthy road trip, victory
will be no mean feat, particularly as they take on Terry Ward’s in-form Stars
who have lost just two league games of the eight they have played to date. Also
confronted with the skill of Swedish imports Dennis Boström and Daniel
Palmebjörk, not to mention Billingham’s skilled, young British players, the
Tigers will need to employ the dexterity of Slovakian import Karol Jets as well
as top points scorers Matt Viney and Adam Brittle to counter the Stars’ attack.
With four league points up for grabs for the Shropshire side this weekend, the
side could leave eighth place behind to nudge Blackburn Hawks into the
automatic relegation place but climbing away from this spot will not be without
its difficulties as the Stars look to go all out in a bid to maintain their
excellent league form, with aspirations of improving on last season’s fifth
place finish. In preparation for this game, Star forward Jack Watkins shared: “We had a great four point weekend last weekend. We were short on bodies but we managed to get the job done with both games being away from home. We play the same teams this weekend but in our own barn. If everyone comes to work like last weekend, we have no excuses why we can’t come away with two more wins!”
For those fans hoping to attend a
game this weekend, Billingham Stars host Blackburn Hawks at The Forum from 5:30pm on Saturday whilst
Solway Sharks encounter Telford Tigers at the Dumfries Ice Bowl from 7:00pm. On
Sunday, Whitley Warriors have a 5:00pm faceoff against Sutton Sting at
Hillheads, the Sharks make the trip to Deeside to take on Scott McKenzie’s
Dragons from 5:45pm and the Stars invite the Tigers to Teesside for a slightly
later faceoff time of 6:30pm.
For more photos from
IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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