Sharks
snap up cup points as Stars fail to shine
Solway Sharks
8
Billingham Stars
1
Travelling to the
Dumfries Ice Bowl for their NIHL North Cup encounter with Solway Sharks,
Billingham Stars were aware that they were going to face a challenge from the
off as they made the trip short benched with just two defencemen at their disposal and eleven skaters making up their lengthy absentee list. Solway, on the other hand, continued to make the best of their reduced roster, again taking to the ice
without forwards Duncan Speirs and Connor Henderson, though the side were able to introduce junior Darren Stattersfield to the Moralee Conference as the youngster made his debut following his return from the GMHL.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Hitting the ice with the intention of making Solway work for the points, the Stars appeared to have given themselves an excellent chance in
the contest when they took an early lead with just over three
minutes of the game played; Jack Emerson breaking free of Solway’s defence to
fire his unassisted effort beyond netminder Calum Hepburn. With the concession
of this goal a shock to the Dumfries outfit, the Sharks began to seek a greater share of
possession to test Billingham’s blue line which consisted of regular
‘D’ men Ben Davison and Matthew Campbell as well as player-coach Michael Bowman
and forward Jack Watkins. Continuing to challenge shot stopper Mark Watson, the Sharks
eventually drew level when forward Ben Edmonds integrated fellow two-way player
Jordan Buesa to see the lamp flash red on 11:16. The score line 1-1,
Solway were aware that they must work hard to add to their tally as Billingham
sought a way to regain their lead. However, as the period progressed, the
Sharks did not let up and became increasingly dangerous in front of Watson’s
goal before Buesa turned assist for Edmonds who sent his team ahead, Slovakian import Juraj Senko also bagging himself an
assist. With less than three minutes of the period remaining, the Stars were
still very much in the game and went in at the break with hopes that their lost ground could be recovered.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Returning for the
second period, Solway were happy to pick up from where they left off whilst the
Stars headed into the stanza aiming to equalise at the very least. Testing Watson on more than one occasion, it was little
surprise when the home side extended their lead to 3-1 as alternate captain Ross
Murray linked up with forward Joe Coulter to see his line mate print his name on the
scoresheet. Under fire from the
Sharks, Billingham’s defence began to struggle with the onslaught and sure
enough it took just over two minutes later for Watson to pick the puck from his
net once more as young prospect Daniel Abercrombie achieved his fourth cup goal
of the season courtesy of defenceman James Hutchinson and
forward Marc Fowley. Unrelenting, Solway ensured the Stars had little time for
recovery as the side quickly added to their lead seventy eight seconds later to
make it 5-1; skilled defenceman Kim Miettinen threading a pass to captain
Struan Tonnar who was able to hit home to leave Billingham bewildered by their
growing deficit. Their chances few and far between, with Solway having twenty
shots on Watson’s goal to Billingham’s eight, the Stars found themselves failing
to cope and unable to find the back of the net again as the Sharks became merciless in front of the net. Abercrombie was able to add his second of the game on 34:21 as quick-thinking
left winger Steven Moore collected the puck from Hutchinson to see the
youngster beat Watson before going on to complete his hat trick just under a minute later
with a superb unassisted goal. Feeling cast adrift by the six goal gap, the
Stars were unable to conjure a response and, susceptible to further concession
as a result, the Sharks were able to hammer another past Billingham as
Buesa claimed his second goal of the evening following assists from Murray and
Hutchinson. Trying to further enhance their scoring before the interval, the
Sharks went in with an 8-1 lead with the hopes that they could secure victory on their return whilst Billingham knew that the remainder of
the game would simply be damage limitation.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Icing for the third and
final period of the cup encounter, it was clear that the game was not going to overtime but the Stars, having switched netminder Watson for first choice
shot stopper James Flavell, were able to get an early chance to double their
tally when Coulter incurred a minor penalty for hooking on 41:28; the first
penalty of the game. Try as they might to snatch a second goal on the power
play, the Teessiders were unable to contend with Solway’s organised penalty
kill, though the situation allowed for a more level playing field; Billingham beginning to increase their efforts in offence as regular goal scorers Dennis
Boström, Chris Sykes and Michael Elder looked to work their magic. Despite
this offensive play, the Stars were unable to find the net for a second time and were
up against Solway’s fast-paced forwards who continued to wreak havoc as Buesa,
Edmonds and Abercrombie set their sights on goal. A little before the halfway
point in the period, the Stars then suffered a further setback as temporary
blue liner Bowman made his way to the sin bin for a slashing offence. Though
this presented the home team with a power play, Billingham performed well on
the penalty kill to see off the threat, Flavell’s sterling efforts
preventing Martin Grubb’s men from causing further damage. With Bowman’s
penalty almost up, the Sharks ran into trouble as power forward Murray was
ejected from the game for a check to the head. Whilst this may have presented
the Stars with a faint glimmer of hope as they looked to contribute further, it
was clear that the points were now beyond their reach. As time ran out, the Sharks did all they needed to in order to prevent the defending cup champions from lighting the lamp a second time and, as referee Emmerson
dealt Sharks’ captain Tonnar a two minute holding penalty with one second
remaining of the game, the teams faced off only for the final buzzer to confirm
the Teessiders’ undeniable defeat. Reflecting on Solway’s
performance in this cup clash, Head Coach Martin Grubb shared: “We knew we
wanted to improve after last weekend and again we started too sluggish, went
a goal behind and didn’t turn up for the first ten minutes but we managed to
get our noses in front after the first. I asked for more at the end of the period
and for us to play to an acceptable level. The players responded to score some
well-taken goals and we punished the Stars for travelling short. The third
period was a bit of a non-event but we knew Billingham wouldn’t lie down. It
got a bit chippy and we took a silly penalty but overall, we did our job to keep ourselves in pole position in the cup so we are happy.”
Warriors
extinguish Dragons’ fire in hard fought win
Whitley Warriors
7
The Dragons 5
Preparing to host Scott
McKenzie’s Dragons for the second time this season, Whitley Warriors were able
to line up with a strong squad of nineteen skaters and two netminders, though
suspended enforcer Andre Payette, youngster Anthony Wetherell and forward Liam Brown were unavailable for the clash. Meanwhile, The
Dragons journeyed to Hillheads with a slightly stronger
roster than that of last month. Travelling with defenceman Gavin Austin, backup
netminder Matt Compton and forwards Andrew Chappell and Marc Lovell on this occasion, the Welsh outfit were out to avenge the Warriors’
pre-Christmas comeback with a win of their own on the road.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Ian Hanlon
|
Taking to the ice for
faceoff, the Dragons were hoping to achieve an early lead against David
Longstaff’s men, having already claimed a goal against the side last month with
just fifty five seconds of the game played. As such, it seemed that the Welsh
outfit were out to better this feat and outstandingly did so with just fourteen
seconds on the clock as captain James Parsons sent Slovakian import Filip Supa
through on goal, his shot trickling beyond netminder
Richie Lawson and into the net. Whilst the Warriors were stunned by this early
concession, the Dragons continued to make good progress as they doubled their lead
soon after when Parsons integrated left winger Simon Furnival into play to
successfully set up Finnish forward Markus Kankaanranta who showed his skill to
beat Whitley’s defence with ease. It was after this goal that Whitley opted to
switch netminder Lawson for backup shot stopper Rory Dunn, the side having
conceded twice in such a short space of time. Just over a minute later, referee
Steven Wardell then made matters worse for the Warriors as he called
player-coach Longstaff to the sin bin for a tripping offence which saw
McKenzie’s team take the advantage. Working hard to kill the penalty, Whitley
were able to see off the Dragons’ attack but returned to full strength only to
concede a second minor less than four minutes later when forward Ben Richards
headed to the sin bin for tripping. Again, trying to find a way back into the
game, the Warriors were able to counteract the Dragons’ creative play but lost out with only twelve seconds of their penalty kill remaining when alternate captain Matthew Wainwright took control of the puck to pick out McKenzie who lit the lamp for the eleventh
time this season whilst Furnival was on hand to claim an assist. The score line 3-0 on 12:36, the Warriors were aware that
they needed to grab a goal to ensure the game was not beyond recovery and a
holding call against defenceman Ross Kennedy shortly afterwards presented the
home team with the opportunity they were searching for; Whitley took
possession in the Dragons’ defensive zone before Richards punished young
netminder Jonah Armstrong with help from his player-coach and fellow forward DJ Good. Spurred
on by this goal, the Warriors then sought another before the break but were
unable to add to their tally to go in at the interval two goals down.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Ian Hanlon
|
Returning for the
second period, the Warriors were in search of another goal and made an
excellent start with some early pressure on the Dragons’ net. Performing far better than they did in the first
period, the Warriors were then able to force Ryan Jones to commit a tripping
offence which saw the ‘D’ man sit out for two minutes to hand Whitley a power
play on 25:08. Try as they might, Longstaff’s line-up failed to capitalise as
McKenzie, Parsons, Kankaanranta and Supa continued to pose a threat with the
Warriors’ defence so far up the ice. As a result, it was not long before
Whitley were punished, only this time by Jones who made his return to the ice
to find the back of the net just twelve seconds later, despite the best efforts
of defenceman Josh Maddock. Disappointed to concede after so much creative work in offence, the Hillheads outfit recovered themselves quickly to claim possession
and resume their excellent domination of the Dragons’ defensive zone. Finally
reaping the rewards of their labour, the Hillheads outfit were next to find the
target following some clever play from defenceman
Niall Simpson, the blue liner picking out Good to see captain Dean Holland print his name on
the scoresheet. Buoyed by this goal, the Warriors continued to outshoot their
opposition but their efforts were painstaking as time passed with very little
reward. It was almost five minutes after their second goal that the side could
fire home again, power forward Jordan Barnes receiving the puck from blue liner
Dan Pye to play in Longstaff, rather than take the shot himself. Just over a
minute later, Parsons was side-lined for delaying the game to present Whitley
with the additional man. Though the Warriors endeavoured to test Armstrong on
the power play, the home team were given some cause for concern when Wainwright
played the puck to Supa who broke free of Whitley’s defence to earn himself a
shorthanded goal as Parsons’ penalty ran out. With the score line 5-3 as the
two teams filed from the ice ahead of the third period, the Warriors were
frustrated to have conceded so late in the middle section having been close to drawing level whilst the Dragons were relieved to have restored their
two-goal cushion once again.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Ian Hanlon
|
Facing off for the final
instalment of the game, the Warriors, having switched back to netminder Lawson,
were presented with a helping hand early on as Kankaanranta was shown to the
sin bin for tripping on 41:43 to hand Whitley a power play. Having failed to
make the most of their advantages in the second period, Longstaff’s men were
eager to claw their way back into the game and were able to snatch a fourth
goal as defenceman Harry Harley shot from just inside the blue line to leave
Armstrong helpless following passing play from his player-coach and captain.
Soon after, it was Whitley’s turn to go shorthanded as an interference call was
made against Holland but it seemed that the Warriors were not the only team to
make hard work of the power play as the Dragons struggled to snatch a goal, Lawson pulling off some fine saves to keep his side in the game. Restored
to full strength, Whitley continued with the knowledge that one more goal would
see them draw level and they were able to do so on 47:10 when Pye played the
puck to Barnes who fired his shot through the Dragons’ defence to make it 5-5.
The points now within their grasp for the first time in the contest,
Longstaff’s men were handed the perfect opportunity when a delayed tripping penalty
against Furnival resulted in the Warriors pulling their netminder
to benefit from an additional skater. Surging forward into their offensive
zone, Whitley’s actions were quick and decisive as Longstaff played the puck to
Richards who found Barnes behind the net, allowing the power forward to flick the puck beyond Armstrong as he stretched for the wraparound. The score line 6-5 in Whitley’s favour, the side were
eager to hold onto their lead having gone ahead for the first time in the game
but with the Dragons continually posing a threat at every chance, it was felt
that another goal would be required if the Warriors were to hold on to claim maximum points. Digging deep to establish a two-goal cushion, the extent of Whitley’s character
was realised when Holland wove his way through
the Dragons’ defence just over three minutes later to unleash a shot
which flew beyond Armstrong to leave McKenzie and his men deflated. A final interference penalty for
Whitley conceded by Maddock on 57:35 saw the Warriors go shorthanded until the
final twenty five seconds of the game but it was clear, with time fast running
out, that there was no way back for the Dragons who had played admirably
throughout only to fall at the final hurdle. As a result of this victory,
Whitley Warriors hold onto fourth place with seventeen points from eighteen
games whilst the Dragons also remain two places below the Hillheads outfit, though tied on twelve points with Blackburn Hawks and Telford Tigers. Commenting after the
game, player-coach David Longstaff noted: “I
thought we were very lucky against the Dragons. We lost a lot of speed in the
off season and it really shows in certain games when we lack intensity.”
Striving
Stars struck by Solihull as Barons seize points
Solihull Barons
7
Billingham Stars 5
Making the trip to Hobs
Moat Road for their second game of their double header, Billingham Stars travelled
with a much strengthened line-up than that of Saturday evening as, though
without blue liner Ben Davison, defencemen Richie Thornton, Scott Cooper and
Ross Hanlon were available to ice in addition to fellow ‘D’ man Matthew
Campbell whilst forward Josh Nertney also joined his team mates for the
encounter. Solihull Barons’ line-up, on the other hand, consisted of sixteen
skaters, just one more than that of their opposition, including top points
scorers Niklas Ottosson, Joe Henry and Matthew Maurice.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
The first period
underway, it was clear that both teams were willing to give their all in a bid
to claim maximum points, particularly as Billingham and Solihull are situated in
second and third place respectively and are aware that just one victory can make a big difference to the league standings. As the outfits went head to head for
possession in the opening moments of the game, it was not long before the
visitors were able to benefit from their initial efforts on goal as the Barons
incurred a bench minor for abuse to hand the Stars a power play. Making the
most of the additional man, Billingham began to challenge Solihull’s shot
stopper Sam Hewitt and, just when it appeared that their opposition would
return to full strength unscathed, forward Chris Sykes played the puck to line
mate Jack Watkins who capitalised with one second of the Stars’ power play
remaining. Taking confidence from this goal, Billingham continued to try their
luck in the Barons’ defensive zone whilst Perry Doyle’s men strove to counter this with several attempts arising through forwards
Thomas Soar as well as skilled import Ottosson, youngster Maurice and the experienced
Richard Slater. The contest close, both James Flavell and Hewitt were made to
work between the pipes to keep their respective teams in the game, with the
latter surviving attempts from Swedish import Dennis Boström, dexterous
forward Michael Elder and alternate captain Callum Davies amongst others. As the game progressed,
Billingham’s endeavours to double their lead soon paid off as James Moss
slipped the puck to Boström who slotted home on 12:15. Recognising their need
to grab a goal having had several chances already, the Barons were eventually able
to make their mark on the game when Slovakian import Tomas Janak worked with
Maurice to setup Slater who beat Flavell to make it 2-1 just over two minutes
later. A boarding penalty for Star Scott Ward soon followed to result in a
power play for the home side, however Solihull were unable to make the most of
this opportunity to head in at the break with just a goal between themselves and
the Stars.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Whilst Billingham
returned hoping to maintain their lead, it was evident that the Barons had
other ideas when Ottosson unsurprisingly found the target courtesy of fellow forward Soar just
twenty two seconds into the period. Spurred on by their equaliser, Doyle’s
men appeared fervent as they battled against the Teessiders’ defence to add
another to their tally just over two minutes later when Maurice lit the lamp following
support from forward Andrew Whitehouse. Soon after, matters were made worse for
Billingham as Ward then headed to the sin bin for a second time to serve two
minutes for interference. Though peppering Flavell with shot after shot, the
netminder was unwavering in goal and prevented the home outfit from adding to
their 3-2 lead. Continuing to outshoot the Stars in this period, having
recorded twenty one shots to Billingham’s seventeen in the first stanza, the
Barons saw the better share of possession but failed to capitalise. Relentless
in offence, Solihull were eventually able to reap the rewards of their perseverance
when Billingham’s newest signing Ross Hanlon incurred a minor for high sticks
which presented Doyle’s team with the advantage. Unwilling to waste the
opportunity to creep even further ahead, the Barons were able to find
the back of the net with over a minute of Hanlon’s penalty served as Maurice grabbed
his second of the game assisted by Whitehouse once again. Disappointed with
their sudden two goal deficit, the Teessiders were eager to show that they were
down but not out and did so with a rapid response as Davies beat the buzzer following
a pass from Boström to see his side head in with three goals to the Barons’
four.
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
With the game still to
be decided, the two teams returned for the final period knowing that the
contest would continue to be a close one. Not yet out of the fixture, Billingham played with resilience and determination as they sought a way beyond
the Barons’ defence and they were eventually successful in their efforts with less than four
minutes played as Elder found an equaliser following a pass from Hanlon to tie
the game at 4-4. Any jubilation felt by the Stars proved to be short lived however,
as less than two minutes later, the puck was again in the back of the net but
this time it was the Barons who had cause to rejoice as Soar achieved his ninth
goal of the season when Ottosson returned the favour to assist his line mate. It
was shortly after this goal that Solihull’s Brandon Anderton was made to sit
out for kneeing on 49:50 but the Barons demonstrated the depth of their
fortitude as Slater broke clear of Billingham’s offensive zone to snatch a
shorthanded goal. The scoreboard reading 6-4 to the credit of the home team,
the Stars quickly bounced back to reduce their deficit just
seventy five seconds later when Davies achieved his second of the game courtesy
of Boström once again. A delayed penalty against the Stars on 53:55 then saw
the Barons assume possession to their visitors’ detriment, the side scoring
sixteen seconds later through Henry as Ottosson picked up his second assist of
the evening. With the score line 7-5 and the Stars still giving their all,
the Barons then went shorthanded as Soar made his way to the sin bin for a
tripping offence which provided Terry Ward’s men with a power play. It was all
too little, too late for Billingham however and the side were unable to add to
their tally to record a defeat against Doyle’s tricky Solihull outfit who are
now just two points away from second place and could potentially pose a threat to the Teessiders’ league placement in the coming
weeks. Feeling at a loss due to the Stars’ performance this weekend, Billingham’s
Chris Sykes shared: “I don’t have much to say this week. I’m pretty annoyed and
it’s a bad weekend for the Stars.”
