WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE
Saturday
4th March 2017
Solway Sharks vs. Telford Tigers
Sunday
5th March 2017
Solihull Barons vs. Whitley Warriors
Billingham Stars vs. The Dragons
Following last weekend’s title success for Solway Sharks, the Northern
Trio will return to the ice with still much to play for as both Martin Grubb’s men
and Billingham Stars find themselves eager to maintain good form ahead of
playoff weekend whilst Whitley Warriors continue to strive for a place in
the competition.
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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First to ice this weekend, Solway
Sharks will play host to Daniel MacKriel’s Telford Tigers as the Dumfries
outfit look to continue their league success into this game with a third win
over their visitors but this will be no easy task, the side having battled
against the Shropshire outfit to claim only a 2-2 draw on the road at the end
of January. Whilst Solway have managed to win four of their last five league
games after drawing the other with Whitley Warriors last month, they will be more than up for the challenge on the back of securing the NIHL
North Division One Moralee Conference title. The Tigers, by comparison, have
lost three of their last five league games but were able to triumph by four
goals to two over Steven Duncombe’s Blackburn Hawks last weekend as they
continue to fight for their place in Division One and, as such, will not be easily defeated. With top points scorers Karol Jets, Adam Brittle and Matt
Viney in their ranks, Telford are certainly not short of goal scorers but a depleted defence and lack of discipline can account for the side’s lower league
position this season. So far, the side have conceded one hundred and fifteen goals to date besides
accumulating six hundred and thirty three penalty minutes in twenty five games;
that’s one hundred and ninety one more than they racked up in the thirty one
games they played last season. With one hundred and
thirty one of these penalty minutes collected against the Sharks,
it would seem that the Tigers have vented their fury against the league
leaders this season, particularly in their first visit to the Dumfries Ice Bowl which resulted in a 6-2 win for the home team and saw both Tigers’ player-coach MacKriel and netminder Daniel Brittle ejected from the game. As a
result, this clash could prove fiery on Saturday evening and with Telford’s
tough guy Owen Bennett making his return to the ice in recent games, it will no
doubt be equally entertaining. Whilst a win for Solway will allow the side to
maintain their excellent record, the Tigers will be looking for no less than a
victory as they aim to climb the league table, with just two points allowing the side to vie for sixth place alongside Blackburn Hawks. Considering this
clash, Solway Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb shared his thoughts ahead of this
fixture: “We know we are going to face a very tough Telford team who will come
here full of confidence after a good win in Blackburn and we want to keep our
consistency going so it should be a good game. This is our first game on home
ice since we won the championship and we want to show our supporters that we
are still focused on winning and preparing for the playoffs now so we will be
ready to play.”
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Icing on Sunday, David Longstaff’s
Whitley Warriors will again make the trip to Hobs Moat Road to face Solihull Barons, having featured against the side in a spectacularly high scoring game last weekend which saw the home team take one step closer to a playoff place as the Hillheads
outfit lost out in an agonisingly close contest. Despite travelling with a
short defence last Sunday, the Warriors were able to give a good account of
themselves against the Barons as they strove to match the side’s offensive
efforts throughout the game. Not far from making a comeback, it was only in the
last five minutes of the encounter that Whitley found themselves too far adrift
and with too little time on their hands to stand any chance of snatching so much
as a point from the clash. Tied on twenty two points, both teams will go
out onto the ice in search of a victory now that the end of the
season is drawing to a close and playoff weekend is almost upon us. Yet to win
against the Barons this season, Longstaff’s line-up will be out to prove that
they can do so and, with seven players making it onto the scoresheet
for the Warriors last Sunday, the side have shown that they can certainly break
down Solihull’s defence but must work on discipline if they are to triumph over their well-drilled opposition. Scoring four power play goals from a
possible six, Doyle’s men left the Warriors no room for error and it showed as
the side were able to punish Whitley’s first misdemeanour with just 1:35 on the
clock. As a result, the visitors will be looking to get the better
of the Barons early on in the game and will aim to show as much determination
as they did last weekend in the hope that they can move up to third place to put
some distance between themselves and their close competition. Speaking to NIHL
Northern Trio ahead of Whitley’s encounter with the Barons, player-coach David
Longstaff shared: “Hopefully we can play a lot better defensively on Sunday.
Solihull have the best group of forwards in the league so it won’t be easy.”
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Also set to play on Sunday evening,
Billingham Stars will host Scott McKenzie’s Dragons at The Forum as they take
on the side for one last time this season, having already recorded three
victories over the Welsh outfit. Defeating the Dragons by eight
goals to one in the opening game of their campaign, Billingham then went on to
record an 8-2 home win and triumphed over the side in Flintshire once more,
winning 9-3 as Swedish import Dennis Boström claimed a hat trick for the Stars.
Losing their last three league games, the latest a landslide defeat to Solway
Sharks, the Dragons have much work to do now they have slipped to the foot of
the table. With player-coach McKenzie injured and the side potentially travelling with a short bench, if last weekend’s reduced roster was
anything to go by, this game could be another difficult one for the Dragons. However, it should also be noted that the team have surprised some of their
opposition this season and therefore should not be underestimated by the
Teessiders. With just seven wins from twenty three games, the Dragons now find
themselves in need of points more than ever if they are to survive in the
Moralee Conference and, as a result, will pose a threat to Billingham’s hopes of
a league victory as the Stars turn their attentions to the playoffs, having
claimed a spot just last weekend. Hoping to build momentum ahead of this
competition, Terry Ward’s men will go out in search of two points with their
usual dynamism but the Dragons will certainly not make this game an easy one
for their opposition, whatever the score line, as they head out onto the ice with hopes that they can escape the automatic relegation zone once
more. Looking ahead to this game, Stars’ forward Chris Sykes took time to
share his thoughts on Billingham’s upcoming encounter with the Welsh outfit: “This Sunday is
another home game for us, this time against The Dragons who have put up some
crazy results all season. They’ve had good weeks and bad weeks but we seem to
have their number as we’ve beaten them convincingly all season. We’d like to
continue that form and also work on a few new things coming into the playoffs.
It’s all about the playoffs now. We have our minds set and we know what we have
to do from here on in.”
For
those fans hoping to attend one of these games over the weekend, Solway Sharks
receive a visit from Daniel MacKriel’s Telford Tigers at the Dumfries Ice Bowl
from 7:00pm on Saturday. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Whitley Warriors faceoff at
6:00pm when they make the trip to Hobs Moat Road for a second consecutive clash
with Solihull Barons whilst Billingham Stars take on Scott McKenzie’s Dragons
at The Forum from 6:30pm. Can’t
make it to a game? Fear not! Please find NIHL Radio’s listings below.
NIHL
Radio Listings
Saturday
4th March
7:30pm
on NIHL Radio 1
Sutton
Sting vs. The Dragons
Sunday
5th March
5:45pm
on NIHL Radio 1
Blackburn
Hawks vs. Sutton Sting
6:00pm
on NIHL Radio 2
Solihull
Barons vs. Whitley Warriors
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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