WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE
Saturday
3rd December 2016
Telford Tigers vs. Whitley Warriors
Solway Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks
Sunday
4th December 2016
Whitley Warriors vs. Solihull Barons
Billingham Stars vs. Solway Sharks
After
last weekend’s fixtures saw Whitley Warriors move into third place following
their victory over Sutton Sting, the Northern Trio now occupy the top three
positions in the Moralee Conference going into another busy weekend of league
fixtures, with NIHL North Cup action set to resume in the New Year.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
First
to ice this weekend will be David Longstaff’s men who are set to make the
lengthy trip to Telford Ice Rink for the first time this season. Recording a
3-3 draw against the Tigers in September, the Hillheads outfit are likely to
face a tough contest against Daniel MacKriel’s side, though his team currently
sit at the foot of the league table at present with four points from twelve
games. Failing to achieve a point since their last encounter with the Warriors,
Telford’s only other successes consist of a draw against Solihull Barons and a
victory over Sutton Sting. As a result, the side will certainly be looking to improve on recent
performances as they head into this fixture. Possessing so many high quality players, Telford’s form has surprised
many recently, especially as the side were competing in and around the playoff positions last season to eventually secure a respectable
sixth place finish earlier this year. The team now in desperate need of
a win, MacKriel will hope to ice a full strength line-up on Saturday having
endured a short bench in recent games as a result of injury, illness and work
commitments. In their last encounter with the Warriors, Slovakian right winger Karol
Jets, and forwards Ben Simister and Adam Brittle, fired their way onto the
scoresheet but the Tigers must display firepower and fortitude for a whole sixty
minutes on Saturday if they are to triumph over Whitley. With the Warriors now a far cry from the eighth placed side that the Tigers last faced, Longstaff’s team will be hunting a victory as they continue their climb of the NIHL table.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
So far,
Brittle and Jets are their side’s second and third highest points scorers,
collectively tallying thirteen points each to date but whether or not the pair
will play on Saturday remains uncertain. Commenting on recent absences from his
squad this week, Head Coach Daniel MacKriel told NIHL Northern Trio: “Ben
Simister won’t be playing as he’s still recovering from injury so it’s too soon
for him. Karol should be back and it’ll be an on-the-day decision about Adam.
We’ve also got Conor Gordon injured and we will look at Ben Washburn on
Thursday. We just have to deal with it.” Whilst the Tigers will clearly have
several absences, the Warriors will definitely be without power forward Jordan
Barnes on Saturday but it is not all bad for the side as enforcer Andre Payette
returns, having missed out through injury last weekend. With several goal
scorers in their midst, the Warriors are certainly not short in offence with
forward Callum Watson, player-coach Longstaff and captain Dean Holland all
worthy of note, not to mention Shaun Kippin and DJ Good who have also reached
double figures and could easily pose a threat to their opposition. Aiming to
make it seven successive league wins, Whitley Warriors will be searching for
two points in a bid to edge ahead of local rivals Billingham Stars prior to their home fixture against Solihull Barons on Sunday
evening; victory for Telford Tigers, on the other hand, could potentially see
the Shropshire outfit go ahead of Blackburn Hawks on points, though Steven
Duncombe’s men have three games in hand on the side going into this weekend. As
a result, this game is another important one and should make for an interesting
watch as the two teams take each other on for the second time this season.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Also
icing on Saturday, Solway Sharks will prepare to host Blackburn Hawks, having
just encountered Steven Duncombe’s team on the road last weekend in an NIHL
North Cup fixture. Replying to the Hawks’ early two-goal cushion with six
unanswered goals in this game, the Sharks will once again be eager to hold onto their 100%
league record this weekend and a win against the seventh placed side
will sustain Solway’s hopes of achieving maximum points. Travelling to Lancashire
with a short bench last weekend, the Sharks were made to work for the points
but playing on home ice on Saturday may make the contest a little more
comfortable for the Dumfries outfit, though that is not to say that the game will be an easy one for Solway as Blackburn continue to battle for every point despite their present situation. Whilst young Shark Daniel Abercrombie made his mark
with two goals against the Hawks last weekend, finding himself on the
scoresheet alongside alternate captain Ross Murray, two-way player Ben Edmonds,
captain Struan Tonnar and prospect Duncan Speirs, to secure victory for his side, the best efforts of Blackburn’s Rick Bentham and
junior James Royds were simply not enough to prevent the Hawks from losing out. With their last four fixtures NIHL North Cup
games, Blackburn’s most recent league clash was against Billingham Stars at the
beginning of November which ended in a 7-5 defeat for the Hawks. Winning only
three of their nine league games to date, Duncombe’s team will be eager to challenge
the league leaders on the road, particularly as they have only won a single
away game so far this campaign. Whilst a win for Solway Sharks would provide Martin
Grubb’s men with an eight point cushion to widen the gap between themselves and
current title rivals Billingham Stars, victory for the Hawks would provide a much
needed boost for player-coach Duncombe and his line-up who would then go
level on points with The Dragons to possibly leave the Tigers four points
adrift at the bottom of the table, depending on the team’s result against
Whitley Warriors on Saturday. Looking forward to this contest, Solway Sharks’ Head Coach
Martin Grubb stated: “This weekend is one of the toughest of our season so far
as we have vital league points up for grabs from two huge rivals. Blackburn
will be looking for immediate revenge for last weekend and we know the last
time they were here they won the game so we need to ensure that we start well
and dominate the game as much as we can. We showed last weekend we have
character and ability in our team and we need to ensure we stick to what has
made us successful so far, take it period by period and get the two points we
are looking for.”
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Meanwhile,
on Sunday, Solihull Barons will pay a visit to Hillheads as Whitley Warriors prepare
to take on Perry Doyle’s steely outfit for a second time this season. Having left
Whitley Bay Ice Rink with two points back in September, the Barons will be
searching for a repeat of their 4-2 victory, particularly as David Longstaff’s
men now sit in third place, having displaced Solihull from this spot just last
weekend. With this Whitley’s second game of their double header, the side could
creep even further ahead of their opposition in the league table should they
manage a four point weekend but this will certainly be no mean feat. Combining power with proficiency, the Barons
are always a force to be reckoned with and, though enduring a slight dip in form
of late with two losses and a draw in November, the side will be eager to get
back to their best, knowing that they can pull off far more convincing performances
than they have shown of late. Whilst forward Thomas Soar was Solihull’s
top points scorer last season, the Baron has not yet made it into double figures, unlike
team mates Joe Henry, Matthew Maurice, Niklas Ottosson and Josh Bruce. Whilst
there is no doubt that Soar contributes to the Barons’ offensive efforts, his points
production at present shows the damage that Solihull could do if they were
firing on all cylinders and suggests that team have yet to reveal the full
extent of their formidability which is quite impressive considering the
positive start they have made to their 2016-17 campaign. Hoping to
combat the Barons’ hard work on Sunday, Longstaff’s defence will be have much
work to do following their player-coach’s assessment of their recent performance
against Sutton Sting. As one of Whitley Warriors most effective
players at present, blue liner Harry Harley will be prepared to test his wicked
slap shot against Doyle’s line-up should he ice against the side after missing
out on Whitley’s battle with the Barons earlier this season. Having
already accumulated ten points in eight league games, scoring four goals and six assists,
Harley will once again hope to contribute to a winning performance for the home
side as he sets his sights on victory; two points possibly taking Longstaff’s
team above local rivals Billingham Stars should Whitley win and the Teessiders
lose out against the Sharks. On the other hand, a second triumph for the
visitors could see the Barons regain their former position if Whitley fail to
pick up a point this weekend. Speaking to NIHL Northern Trio earlier this week,
player-coach David Longstaff shared: “This weekend we have two tough games. We’ve
only got one point out of four against these two teams this season but we’re on
a great run so hopefully we can change that.”
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Last
to ice on Sunday will be Billingham Stars who are set to host Solway Sharks at
The Forum, having paid a visit to Dumfries Ice Bowl in the second week
of their league campaign. This clash resulting in a 3-1 win to the home side, Terry
Ward’s men will be eager to contend with the league leaders; the Teesside outfit having encountered Solway on a further three occasions in the NIHL North Cup this season. The
last league game between these two clubs saw Solway’s Ben Edmonds, Kim
Miettinen and Duncan Speirs get on the scoresheet before Star Dennis Boström
bagged a consolatory power play goal in the third period to narrow the deficit.
As a result, Billingham will be out to avenge this defeat, not to mention the three
cup losses they have suffered at the hands of Martin Grubb’s outfit. Whilst the
Sharks are an admirable unit this season, the Stars have several players worthy
of commendation, including Star Chris Sykes who is currently the top points
scorer in the Moralee Conference, tallying eleven goals and ten assists in the
league as well as thirteen NIHL North Cup points. Besides Sykes, alternate
captain Callum Davies and Swedish import Dennis Boström also continue to excel in front of goal with both close to attaining twenty points. By comparison, Solway’s Struan Tonnar has claimed fourteen points from
eight games to date and is in good company alongside some of the Sharks’
strongest players, including Joe Coulter, Speirs and Miettinen. Whilst this contest will surely be a close one, with
both teams in need of the points as they fight it out at the top of the table,
a win would extend Solway’s comfortable lead at the head of the pack whereas success for the Stars would allow the Teessiders to narrow the gap which currently separates
Billingham from poll position, thereby ensuring that local rivals Whitley Warriors
do not claim second place for themselves in the process. Sharing his thoughts, Star Chris
Sykes looked ahead to this weekend’s fixture: “This Sunday is back to league
action against the leaders, a very well drilled defensive team, and they have
been on a good run of form. We’ve went into overtime against the Sharks in the
cup, we’ve been up in games and they’ve clawed back, so it will be another
close encounter on Sunday at The Forum. We know if we stick to our game, we can
beat them. We have worked on things in practice to stop them and to help us so
it will be a great game.” Also, adding
to his earlier comments, Grubb highlighted: “Billingham is always a big game
and we have a good rivalry with them and the games are always close. We know
they are on a good run and scoring goals so we need to ensure we play solid in
our defensive zone and give ourselves a chance to win. We know we can win in
Billingham but we also know if we don’t compete and execute, we will be punished
so we will go in confident and looking to win.”
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
For
those hoping to attend a game this weekend, Whitley Warriors travel to Telford
Ice Rink for a 5:30pm faceoff against Daniel MacKriel’s Tigers whilst Solway
Sharks host Blackburn Hawks from 7:00pm on Saturday. On Sunday, the Warriors are
in action on home ice from 5:00pm against Solihull Barons whereas Billingham
Stars invite Solway Sharks to The Forum, the battle due to commence at 6:30pm.
Can’t make it to a game? Fear not! Below are the listening details for NIHL
Radio. To tune in, click on the link provided.
NIHL
Radio Listings
Saturday
3rd December
7:00pm
on NIHL Radio 1
Solway
Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks
Sunday
4th December
5:00pm
on NIHL Radio 1
Whitley
Warriors vs. Solihull Barons
5:45pm
on NIHL Radio 2
The
Dragons vs. Blackburn Hawks
6:30pm
on NIHL Radio 3
Billingham
Stars vs. Solway Sharks
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
No comments:
Post a Comment