NIHL Weekend Preview

WEEKEND

PREVIEW

NIHL NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE

Saturday 25th February 2017

Solway Sharks vs. The Dragons

Sutton Sting vs. Whitley Warriors

Sunday 26th February 2017

Solihull Barons vs. Whitley Warriors

Billingham Stars vs. Solway Sharks

With just over a month of their 2016-17 campaign remaining, the Northern Trio find themselves on the final strait of the season as they prepare for an action-packed weekend which could see Solway Sharks clinch the league title on Sunday. Taking on another double header which includes one final clash with Billingham Stars, the Sharks will be aiming for a second consecutive four-point weekend whilst Whitley Warriors can only hope to emulate the recent success of the league leaders as they clash with Sutton Sting on Saturday before journeying to Hobs Moat Road for another tough meeting with Perry Doyle’s Solihull Barons. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

First to ice on Saturday, Solway Sharks will play host to Scott McKenzie’s Dragons for the second time this season as they look for the perfect start to a weekend in which the Dumfries-based team could secure the NIHL North Division One Moralee Conference title. Having already encountered the Welsh outfit twice this season, Solway first recorded a 5-2 road victory against The Dragons in November before achieving a second but far more closely contested win on home ice one month later. Though scoring early on in their first game against Solway, the Dragons found themselves unable to contend with the Sharks, managing just one goal more before conceding defeat to Martin Grubb’s short benched team. Despite this result against the league leaders, McKenzie’s men appeared encouraged, having previously endured heavier losses at the hands of Solihull Barons and Whitley Warriors, to then let in only three goals against the Dumfries club in their second clash with the side. Whilst both teams have their fair share of goal scorers, Shark Duncan Speirs was particularly successful against the Dragons, claiming a hat trick against the side in November whilst captain Struan Tonnar has two goals to his name against the Deeside-based team, scoring in both encounters. Likewise, Dragons’ player-coach McKenzie has scored in both meetings with the Sharks this season and Finnish forward Markus Kankaanranta also notched a goal and an assist but his departure to German outfit TEV Miesbach has left the Welsh side without their second top points scorer which could make a huge difference to the the Dragons on Saturday. Aiming for maximum points, Solway will head into this fixture knowing that a victory will stand them in good stead ahead of their clash with Billingham, placing the side in prime position to take the league title against the Stars on Sunday. A win for the Dragons, on the other hand, would see McKenzie’s men move up to eighteen points and could see the side leap ahead of Blackburn Hawks to challenge Sutton Sting for fifth place should other results go in their favour. Looking ahead to this clash, Solway’s Head Coach Martin Grubb shared: “We come into this game knowing it will be tough as our games so far with the Dragons have been close. I like the way Scott [McKenzie] has his team playing and, with adding Denis Bell, he has given his team more confidence and they will be coming to play desperate hockey to try to get into the playoff spots. We know what’s at stake for us and we will be looking to ensure we get the job done and the points we need.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Also icing on Saturday evening, Whitley Warriors will journey to Ice Sheffield for their final game against Sutton Sting this season, having played the side twice at Hillheads in November before making a pre-Christmas trip to face Simon Butterworth’s men on the road. Of the three meetings that have taken place between these two outfits this season, victory has been claimed by the hosts, with Whitley first recording two 4-2 home wins against the Sting before finding themselves on the wrong end of the same score line one month later. As such, it would appear that this game is more likely to favour the Sting this weekend as they take to their home ice but there is no doubt that Whitley will do all they can to win the game, knowing that this is the first of five consecutive road trips which could also give the side some momentum going into their clash with Solihull Barons on Sunday. In their previous visit to Ice Sheffield, Whitley Warriors travelled with a short bench of twelve skaters and, despite conceding three goals, strove to make a late comeback with help from long serving forward DJ Good who scored two goals to make it 3-2. In spite of their efforts, the Warriors were then disappointed when a last minute empty net goal from the Sting ruined the side’s chances of an equaliser to see Butterworth’s hardworking team take both points. Looking to exact their revenge for losses at Hillheads earlier this season, Sutton will aim for another home victory on Saturday but winning will be no easy task for either side as the two continue to set their sights on a playoff spot. Whilst Whitley sit on twenty points, a win would allow the side to displace Perry Doyle’s Solihull Barons from third place to ensure that they continue to keep apace of their competition, particularly as two points for the Sting would see the side tied with Solihull and Whitley as David Longstaff’s line-up head into Sunday’s game.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Travelling from Sheffield to Solihull for Sunday’s clash against the Barons, Whitley Warriors will go into this game with hopes that they are in a position to challenge Perry Doyle’s team for third place but this will be a monumental task for the Hillheads outfit who have already lost twice to the Barons on home ice this season. Likely to be travelling with a short bench on Sunday, the Warriors are aware of the difficulties ahead, particularly as they have struggled to score more than two goals per game past the Barons this season, with sturdy shot stopper Josh Nicholls difficult to beat. In addition to Nicholls’ outstanding netminding, Solihull also have several skilled forwards who demonstrated their abilities only last weekend against Billingham Stars, falling just short of a comeback after trailing by five goals to two at the end of the second period. Contending with this fortitude as well as the pace and power of the Barons means that David Longstaff’s team will certainly have their work cut out on Sunday as they face the trickery of Swedish import Niklas Ottosson, not to mention the skill of forwards Thomas Soar, Joe Henry, Josh Bruce and Matthew Maurice, with only two of Whitley’s regular defencemen in Craig Johnson and Liam Smedley available for the trip. Having faced Solihull at the beginning of the season when they were struggling to find form, and then again in December on the back of a lengthy and disappointing trip to Telford, Whitley will be hoping that they can secure a victory at Hobs Moat Road on Sunday, knowing that they face the side once more at the same venue next weekend. However, Solihull will be aiming for two points from this game after managing to achieve just one win in their last five fixtures to ensure they stay ahead of the Warriors but Longstaff’s line-up will not give up the fight easily and will equally look to create some breathing space between themselves and their close competitors who are also striving for the fourth and final playoff place. Considering Whitley’s double header, player-coach David Longstaff noted: “We have two tough games. We lost our last game in Sutton and haven’t beaten Solihull in our two games at home this season and we’ll be travelling short benched.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Also set to ice on Sunday, Billingham Stars will prepare to host Solway Sharks in what will be a crucial fixture whether the win goes to the Teessiders or to their Dumfries visitors. Building a close rivalry in recent seasons, the Stars and the Sharks will go head to head for one last time this campaign in a game which could see Martin Grubb’s Solway secure the NIHL North Division One Moralee Conference title and their second piece of silverware. Whilst this will also depend on whether or not the Sharks triumph over The Dragons on Saturday, a win, a draw or a loss by less than seven goals to the Stars will see Solway crowned league champions; if Solway win on Saturday, they will have forty two points which will see the side match the maximum points total Billingham can achieve this season, a total they can then exceed against the Stars on Sunday to claim their long-awaited silverware. Of their league clashes this season, Solway have won two on home ice but lost out to the Stars on the road in what was a thrilling 3-2 victory for the Teessiders in December; the Sharks’ only loss in the league to date. As such, Billingham could once again prove to be difficult competition for Solway and will strive for a fourth consecutive league win to maintain their current form which has seen the side record important victories in recent games against Telford Tigers, Whitley Warriors and Solihull Barons. Scoring nineteen goals in their last three league games, the Stars are certainly not short of firepower and could prove dangerous in front of goal as they head into this clash against one of their closest rivals but whether they can pull off an outstanding performance to prevent the Sharks from claiming the league title at The Forum remains to be seen and equally depends on Solway’s result against the Dragons on Saturday. Speaking about Solway’s all-important clash with Billingham Stars, Martin Grubb shared: “This will be a massive game for both teams and these games are always great so we want to go there and avenge the defeat from the last time we were at The Forum. Both teams will want to lay down a marker for the playoffs and we want to give ourselves a chance to wrap up our second piece of silverware if we can do our job this weekend.” Meanwhile, Star Chris Sykes also shared his thoughts ahead of Billingham’s contest with the league leaders: “This weekend we have Solway at home, another test for us and in our good run of form right now, I feel like we can get the win against them. Now it’s quite well-documented that they are close to winning the league title but we have our eyes set on different things. We know we can beat the Sharks; we’ve done it this season already. We just need to play our game and our system, finish our chances and defend correctly and we know we can beat them. It should be a good game though as the top two teams battle it out.”

For fans hoping to attend one of these games this weekend, Solway Sharks faceoff against the Dragons from 7:00pm at the Dumfries Ice Bowl on Saturday whereas Whitley Warriors travel to Ice Sheffield for a 7:30pm faceoff against Sutton Sting. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Warriors will make the trip to Hobs Moat Road where they will face Perry Doyle’s Solihull Barons from 6:00pm before Billingham Stars play host to Solway Sharks from 6:30pm at The Forum on Sunday. 

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