NIHL Weekend Preview

WEEKEND

PREVIEW

NIHL NORTH DIVISION 1 MORALEE CONFERENCE

Saturday 25th March 2017

Solway Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks

Sunday 26th March 2017

The Dragons vs. Solway Sharks

Billingham Stars vs. Whitley Warriors

Following a spectacular season of highs and lows, triumphs and tribulations, the unpredictable and the unexpected, the Northern Trio will take to the ice for one last time as their campaign draws to a close this weekend, with only a rescheduled fixture between Blackburn Hawks and The Dragons set to take place on Saturday 1st April. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

First to ice this weekend, Solway Sharks will encounter Blackburn Hawks at the Dumfries Ice Bowl as the two go head-to-head in their final NIHL North Cup clash of the season. Though there is little left to play for besides points in this competition, both teams will hope for a victory as Solway set out to maintain their momentum prior to playoff weekend whilst Steven Duncombe’s Hawks aim to carry a strong performance into their incredibly important fixture against Solihull Barons on Sunday when they prepare to secure their playoff place, having worked so hard to achieve a top four finish in recent weeks. Disappointed to record a 5-3 cup defeat to Blackburn Hawks on home ice in September, the Sharks have since achieved two away wins against Duncombe’s men in the competition, scoring six goals against the Lancashire outfit on both occasions. As a result, Martin Grubb’s men will set their sights on maximum points to ensure that they conclude their hugely successful home run with yet another victory. This feat will not be without its difficulties for the Dumfries team however, as the Hawks have won their last three league games including a 6-3 home win against the Sharks in which Blackburn’s Slovakian import Jozef Istocy achieved a hat trick whilst forward Aaron Davies scored two and defenceman Nick Oliver also found the back of the net. Solway will be out to avenge this defeat on Saturday and there is no doubt that the team will deploy their many goalscorers in their quest for success against the Hawks. Of particular note last weekend, left winger Steven Moore maintained his outstanding work ethic to achieve three assists against Solihull Barons before claiming a goal of his own whilst forwards Daniel Abercrombie, Duncan Speirs and Marc Fowley also contributed to another of Solway’s successful double headers and it is likely that the Sharks will demonstrate this firepower once more when they clash with the Hawks this weekend. Whilst three points will make little difference to the Sharks in this competition, a victory would raise Blackburn above Billingham Stars in the North Cup contest, allowing the side to finish in second place, just one point above the Teessiders. Speaking ahead of this game, Head Coach Martin Grubb revealed his expectations of Saturday’s clash against the Hawks: “We go into this cup game knowing we lost the last time we played Blackburn and they may be our playoff opponent so we want to make sure we come to play and go into the playoffs in good form. We know the Hawks are the in-form team in the league right now but they may also have one eye on a huge game on Sunday so we will focus ourselves and look to finish well for our home fans.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Away from the cup competition, the Sharks will then travel to Deeside on Sunday to take on Scott McKenzie’s Dragons who will continue their battle against relegation. As it stands, the Welsh outfit have two games in hand on Telford Tigers and Sutton Sting who both completed their campaigns last weekend, achieving twenty one points each from their twenty eight league games. As a result, the Dragons are aware that they can move away from the relegation zone if they win their next two fixtures which includes Sunday’s encounter with the Sharks, meaning they will therefore go all out to win this game as they fight to remain in Division One. However, Solway will no doubt make this a difficult task for McKenzie’s men. Already this season, the side have accomplished three victories over the Deeside-based outfit; their most recent a 13-2 win over the short benched Dragons in which captain Struan Tonnar, defenceman James Hutchinson, and forwards Daniel Abercrombie and Connor Henderson scored two goals each. Despite this landslide defeat to the Sharks on the road, the Welsh outfit have been able to compete far more closely than this against Solway this season, losing out by five goals to two on home ice in November before trailing by just two goals to Martin Grubb’s men in a pre-Christmas fixture. Aiming to triumph over the Sharks for the first time this season, the Dragons will be hoping that a victory over Solway is better late than never, with a win set to leave McKenzie’s team just one point adrift of sixth place which would see his team in the best possible situation ahead of next weekend’s fixture against the Hawks. The Sharks, on the other hand, will go out in search of a win to finish their campaign with fifty points which would be a fantastic achievement for the club following last season’s fourth place finish. Adding to his earlier comments, Grubb shared: “This will be a tough game as The Dragons are battling for their lives. I have always said they are a good team who are well coached and we will go looking to win and show respect to the league as it’s so tight. We need to look after ourselves and use this game as a chance to look at our line-up without our GB players and plan for playoffs.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Last but not least, Billingham Stars will play host to local rivals Whitley Warriors on Sunday evening as the two teams face each other for one last time this campaign. Having fallen from the top four last Sunday following the success of Blackburn Hawks, it now appears highly unlikely that David Longstaff’s men will qualify for playoff weekend as the Warriors must now win against the Stars and hope that the Hawks lose their two remaining games in order to regain fourth place. To add to this, Whitley will also be without two key players on Sunday as Andre Payette and Shaun Kippin miss out through suspensions incurred in last weekend’s cup game against the Sharks which were lengthened due to the duo’s accumulation of penalty minutes this season. In consequence, Payette will endure a seven-game ban for fighting whilst Kippin will serve a three-game ban for head-butting, ultimately making this game a far more difficult one for Longstaff’s line-up. Winning just one league game against the Teessiders this season, the Warriors will require a great deal of determination, fortitude and strength to defeat Terry Ward’s second placed Billingham Stars, particularly as a 4-1 combined league and cup victory over the Teessiders at Hillheads in January provided Whitley with the only league points that the Warriors have snatched from their derby rivals this season. Losing to Billingham in an NIHL North Cup clash by five goals to four on home ice at the beginning of October, the Warriors were able to bounce back to achieve a 6-5 win in the competition at The Forum one week later to claim the bragging rights. In recent games however, Billingham have been the far better side which is evidenced by a 3-1 league victory and an 8-4 combined league and cup win against their local rivals. With the potential to finish their season on thirty eight points, the Stars will be eager to make the Warriors suffer once again, particularly as a win for Whitley will see the side in with a slim chance of qualifying for playoffs should other results go their way. Whilst this is unlikely, it remains a possibility and therefore the visitors will do all they can to claim two points against the Teessiders in the hope that they can end their season on a positive note. Considering Whitley’s upcoming derby game against Billingham Stars, player-coach David Longstaff shared his thoughts: “With us needing a miracle to qualify for the playoffs, it looks like our last game of the season, after a season where everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong, is a chance for the players to go out and enjoy themselves.” Meanwhile, Star Chris Sykes expressed his thoughts on this game as he took time to consider Whitley’s playoff chances: “Last game of the regular season, already?! When’s the summer league start? Ha, ha! Sunday is a massive game for us because we know what the Warriors will bring and the intensity is a good match up for us to get ready for playoffs. Whitley haven’t made the playoffs just yet; they need a win against us so this game could be make or break for them which is good. I’d like to see them get to the playoffs but the Stars won’t want to lose our last home game of the season so it’s all set up to be a cracking end to the season!”

For those fans hoping to make it to a game this weekend, Solway Sharks play their final home game of the season as they encounter Blackburn Hawks in an NIHL North Cup clash at the Dumfries Ice Bowl from 7:00pm on Saturday, before travelling to Deeside on Sunday where they will take on Scott McKenzie’s Dragons from 5:45pm in their last road trip before playoff weekend. Meanwhile, Whitley Warriors will make the short journey to The Forum as they prepare to conclude their season against local rivals Billingham Stars when the two sides go head-to-head for one last time this campaign. Can’t make it to a game? Fear not! NIHL Radio’s listings are below.

NIHL Radio Listings

Sunday 26th March

6:00pm on NIHL Radio 1

Solihull Barons vs. Blackburn Hawks

Click on the link to listen: http://tunein.com/.                  

For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.