Sharks
bite back as Tigers take overtime loss
Telford Tigers 4
Solway Sharks 5 (OT)
Making the lengthy trip
to Shropshire to take on Telford Tigers, Solway Sharks had at their disposal a
strong line-up which included captain Struan Tonnar, forward Connor Henderson
and young prospect Duncan Speirs whilst sturdy netminder Calum Hepburn assumed
his place between the pipes ahead of young backup shot stopper Lewis Dolan.
Meanwhile, Tom Watkins’ outfit boasted their usual compact but highly skilled
squad as they took to the ice with Canadian captain Jason Silverthorn,
alternate captain Rick Plant, retiring forward Joe Miller and former Dragons’
player-coach Scott McKenzie in their ranks.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Though finding themselves up
against tough competition as they confronted former EPL side Telford Tigers, Solway were as equally determined as their opposition to find the
back of the net and, as such, it was little surprise that
this led to a stalemate forming in the early stages of the game with both netminders tested
but neither defeated. Their work rate undeniable, Solway soon found themselves with the lead as Connor Henderson teamed up with Scott Henderson to see fellow forward Daniel Abercrombie achieve his fifth
league goal of his campaign on 8:25. Just over two minutes later though, the
Tigers were able to hit back as Silverthorn netted to make it 1-1 when Plant
was integrated into play by defenceman Daniel Mitchell. Though the
two sides continued to be very evenly matched, Telford were eager to
demonstrate their edge and did so as Miller beat Hepburn on 16:59 courtesy of McKenzie.
Having lost their lead, Solway then appeared to suffer a further setback when
netminder Hepburn sustained an injury which prompted the physio onto the ice.
Composing himself, Hepburn resumed his position for the final moments of the
period which saw no further addition to the scoreboard, allowing the Tigers to
head in on the right side of the 2-1 score line.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Working hard to
increase their offensive play on their return to the ice, the Sharks got off to
an excellent start as they looked to build pressure around netminder Denis Bell
in their quest for an equaliser. However, with just under six minutes of the
second stanza played, Solway found themselves shorthanded when Connor Henderson made way
for roughing to see his opposition gain the advantage. Though effective on the
penalty kill, the Sharks were disappointed to concede just as Henderson’s penalty
terminated, Silverthorn accomplishing his second of the evening as Plant teamed
up with experienced defenceman Jonathan Weaver to assist. Just twenty two seconds later though, it was
the turn of the visitors to go on the power play as Silverthorn was sidelined for high sticks to award the Sharks the additional man. Taking full
advantage of Silverthorn’s misdemeanour, Solway’s forward Speirs was able to
beat Bell following a neat pass from captain Tonnar to take his side within a
goal of the opposition. Shortly after scoring, the Sharks were forced to
change injured netminder Hepburn for backup shot stopper Dolan, the youngster making his senior debut for
Solway as a result. In spite of Hepburn’s injury, Grubb’s men were spurred on
to draw level on 31:11, this time Connor Henderson hitting home with support
from Czech import Vaclav Kolarik. The two teams continuing to compete closely
in their quest for the points, both sides strove to make an impact in front of
goal but it was to the Sharks’ dismay that Telford were able to find a fourth
before the second interval, defenceman Adam Jones printing his name on the
scoresheet after some creative play from Miller and versatile blue liner Daniel
Rose on 38:40. Ahead by four goals to Solway’s three, the Tigers were
aware that there was still much competition left in this game and that they
would need to maintain their work rate to keep their visitors at
bay.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Returning to the ice
with hopes that they could continue to contend to the high standard that they
had shown in the first two periods of the game, Solway Sharks hunted
for a fourth goal, all the while battling against their tough opposition as
they looked to beat Bell to equalise. Unrelenting in their show of
determination, the Dumfries outfit soon reaped the rewards of their resolve
when left winger Steven Moore played the puck to Czech defenceman Marek Charvát
who achieved his twelfth league goal of the season in the process to make it
4-4. The game tied, Telford then saw Miller go excruciatingly close as his shot
was met by the post and both teams began to labour for the puck in search of a
winning goal. With neither side able to find the back of the net though during
a period of end-to-end hockey, the final buzzer brought with it overtime. Play
rapid between zones, it was clear that the ambition to claim the winning goal had not
diminished any and, though both teams showed much desire to achieve it, it was
Solway who were able to grab the winner; forward Iain
Bowie collecting the puck from Connor Henderson to pick out Charvát with a long range pass from the Sharks’ defensive zone which allowed the Czech defenceman to slip the puck around netminder Bell to seal his
team’s 5-4 win.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Reflecting on Solway’s
positive result, Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb shared: “We knew going into
tonight’s game that it would be very tough as Telford are highly skilled,
well-coached and play at a good tempo. Getting off to a good start was
important and taking the lead settled us down but then we made a couple of
mistakes, were punished and found ourselves 3-1 down. We had to replace Calum
Hepburn halfway through with an injury and Lewis Dolan did great on his senior
debut, and this helped us get back in the game. The third was end-to-end and a
good hockey game. We had to dig deep to ensure we took the game to overtime and
I was delighted with how the boys played to get the win. I felt we deserved it
for our work rate and discipline against a top team.”
Stars
dazzle Hawks to shoot into eighth place
Billingham Stars 4
Blackburn Hawks 3
Facing off for their
last game of 2017, Billingham Stars lined up with a squad of nineteen players
which included top points scorer Chris Sykes, captain Michael Elder and sturdy
netminder James Flavell as the Teessiders set out in search of two
all-important points to end their year on a high. By contrast, Blackburn Hawks
made the trip to The Forum with fifteen skaters which included forward Rick
Bentham, Slovakian import Jozef Ištocy and youngster James Royds whilst player-coach Steven Duncombe opted to coach only from the bench for this
fixture.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Taking to the ice for
the first period, the Stars were keen to make a positive impression in front of
a home crowd from the outset with the aim to move away from the league
placement playoff place ahead of the New Year. With both sides working hard in
the opening moments of this game to establish possession and create some
chances in front of goal, it was much to Billingham’s disappointment that they
were the first to fall behind as Hawks’ latest signing Kim Miettinen surpassed
the Stars’ defence with 8:19 on the clock, following support from Matt Viney
and Bentham. Continuing to place Flavell under a great deal of pressure,
managing twenty one shots to Billingham’s eleven, Blackburn looked increasingly
likely to score but were prevented from doing so by the Stars’ strong defensive
work. Battling in spite of the Hawks’ plucky attacking play, it was not long
before the Teessiders’ perseverance paid off, Latvian import Deniss Baškatovs
finding the target on 15:23 to make it 1-1 courtesy of Sykes and defenceman
Andy Finn. Spurred on by this goal, the Stars were able to double their
tally just eighteen seconds later, this time forward Scott Ward netting to add
to Blackburn’s woes following a pass from young forward Alex Preston. Unable to
equalise before the break, the Hawks filed from the ice, trailing by this
slender margin whilst Billingham were more than happy with their lead.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Returning to the ice
with a determination to get back on track, Duncombe’s men set their sights on a
second goal which was quickly delivered by Bentham on 21:10 after Viney worked
with Royds to provide the forward with the perfect opportunity to capitalise.
The score line 2-2, play began to even out with both Stars’ netminder Flavell
and Hawks’ shot stopper Stuart Ashton seeing off chances from their opposition.
Though the contest was now incredibly close and both teams persisted in their
efforts for the points, it was the home team who were able to reclaim the lead,
Preston firing past Ashton on 35:08 when youngster Ethan Hehir supplied the
puck to his teammate after receiving a pass from blue liner Ben Davison. Just
over a minute later, Sykes achieved his eighteenth goal of his league campaign
on the breakaway assisted by player-coach Richie Thornton and Latvian
defenceman Artūrs Ozols. Stunned by their sudden change of fortunes, the Hawks strove to chip away at their two-goal deficit ahead of the break but
without success, allowing the Stars to file from the ice at the second interval
with a 4-2 lead.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Aiming to stay ahead of
the Hawks in this contest, Billingham looked to pick up from where they left
off whilst Blackburn sought to increase their attacking play to recover some
lost ground. This play resulting in a stalemate between the two outfits, it was
not until 48:30 that the next goal was scored as the visitors notched their
third of the evening through Ištocy; Bentham and forward Lee Pollitt on hand to
assist on this occasion. Just over two minutes later, Ištocy then found himself
sinbinned for boarding as referee Andrew Miller made his first penalty call of
the game to place the Stars on the power play. Regardless of this advantage,
Billingham could not capitalise and, around four minutes after his team returned to
full strength, Duncombe opted for a timeout with the hope that Blackburn could
draw level in the latter stages of the period. Despite the words of their
player-coach though, the Hawks were unable to make the desired impact and it
was to the Teessiders’ relief that the final buzzer sounded to confirm their
4-3 victory.
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