WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 16th September 2017
Solway
Sharks vs. Billingham Stars (National Cup)
Sunday
17th September 2017
The Dragons vs. Whitley Warriors
Nottingham Lions vs. Solway Sharks
Fixture:
Solway Sharks vs. Billingham Stars
Date: 16th September 2017
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia – Ian Hanlon
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After facing each other at The Forum last Sunday for an NIHL National
Cup clash, Billingham Stars and Solway Sharks prepare to confront each other
again this weekend as the Teessiders journey to the Dumfries Ice Bowl where the
two sides will go head-to-head once more, though this time Billingham will be
out for revenge after last weekend’s crushing overtime defeat on home ice. Finding
themselves with a three-goal advantage last Sunday after twenty six minutes played, the
Stars’ lead was placed under threat in the second period and then snatched from
them altogether early in the third. As the 3-3 score line on the final buzzer
prompted overtime, the Sharks went on to claim a road victory as forward Iain
Bowie fired home a winning goal with close to sixty two minutes played. Losing
in such a manner to one of their closest rivals was hugely disappointing for
the Teessiders and, as such, the side will hope to seize their opportunity to
make amends when they hit the road on Saturday.
In the opening games of their season, Billingham have shown themselves to be one of the larger squads in NIHL North’s Division One, lining up with a total of twenty players last weekend which included netminders Mark Watson and Callum Reynolds. Once again, import forward Deniss Baškatovs demonstrated his skill in front of the net, scoring two goals against Solway whilst his fellow Latvian team mate Artūrs Ozols picked up an assist. By contrast, Solway’s squad is not as many in number, though the outfit continues to pose a threat to their opposition; Iain Bowie notably racking up six goals and three assists so far in this competition, three points of which were tallied against the Stars last Sunday. Always highly competitive, this is a matchup that will no doubt prove to be enthralling from faceoff.
Looking forward to this cup game, Head Coach Martin
Grubb told NIHL Northern Trio:
“I’m sure this will be another tight game between two good teams who like to play offensive hockey. I wasn’t happy at how we started last week in Billingham so we must improve on that and ensure we stick to the system or we will get punished. We should take confidence from how we finished the game and the character we showed, and we will need to be at our best to pick up another win.”
“I’m sure this will be another tight game between two good teams who like to play offensive hockey. I wasn’t happy at how we started last week in Billingham so we must improve on that and ensure we stick to the system or we will get punished. We should take confidence from how we finished the game and the character we showed, and we will need to be at our best to pick up another win.”
Adding to this, Stars’ alternate captain Chris
Sykes shared his thoughts on Billingham’s upcoming third consecutive cup
fixture:
“It’s an away trip for a cup rematch reverse fixture
with Solway following the overtime loss last week. We know what we did wrong
and we know how to rectify that. It’s a one-game weekend so we have to leave
everything out there on Saturday for a cup win and get the ball rolling. We’ve
dominated areas of play against everyone we’ve played; we just need the results
now.”
Fixture:
The Dragons
vs. Whitley Warriors
Date: 17th September 2017
Venue: Deeside Leisure Centre
Faceoff: 5:45pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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After last weekend’s spectacular introduction to the new look NIHL
North, Whitley Warriors will hope to build on their immensely competitive
overtime loss to Blackburn Hawks with a victory, having secured the first point
of their campaign in front of a home crowd last Sunday. Travelling to Deeside
for their first encounter with Scott McKenzie’s Dragons this season, Whitley
will aim for the same work ethic as shown in last weekend’s games, the
Hillheads outfit having kept the scoring close in Solway to only lose out by
three goals to one before missing out in overtime to the Hawks. The Dragons,
meanwhile, have endured a tricky start to their season, collectively conceding twenty four
goals against Billingham Stars and Solway Sharks. Seemingly beginning
to turn their fortunes around with an excellent win over Solihull Barons last
Sunday, McKenzie’s men will, as always, be aiming to give this game their all
and will no doubt contend with their visitors.
Whilst last season’s score lines may say otherwise, The Dragons proved a difficult match-up for the Warriors and, though Whitley were able to record a comfortable 11-4 victory over the side last November, this was soon followed by a closely contested 4-2 home win for David Longstaff’s men one month later. Backed up by a strong showing from The Dragons on their second visit to Hillheads in January, the side only lost out by two goals yet again and bettered this feat with an 8-2 triumph on home ice in the latter stages of their 2016-17 campaign. With goals aplenty and strong competition, meetings between these two sides rarely disappoint and Sunday’s fixture will certainly be an interesting one as the two team’s go head-to-head yet again.
Whilst last season’s score lines may say otherwise, The Dragons proved a difficult match-up for the Warriors and, though Whitley were able to record a comfortable 11-4 victory over the side last November, this was soon followed by a closely contested 4-2 home win for David Longstaff’s men one month later. Backed up by a strong showing from The Dragons on their second visit to Hillheads in January, the side only lost out by two goals yet again and bettered this feat with an 8-2 triumph on home ice in the latter stages of their 2016-17 campaign. With goals aplenty and strong competition, meetings between these two sides rarely disappoint and Sunday’s fixture will certainly be an interesting one as the two team’s go head-to-head yet again.
Sharing his thoughts on Whitley’s second road trip
of their season, player-coach David Longstaff noted:
“They had a great result last Sunday so it’ll be a
very difficult game for us, but we had a decent weekend and played well on
Sunday too.”
Meanwhile, Warriors’ forward Shaun Kippin indicated
his expectations of the game as he makes his return to the side following a two-game suspension:
“We’re expecting a tough game. The Dragons beat
Solihull last week who have one of the best teams in the league. It was
frustrating watching last weekend but the team played really well. We need to
do the same this weekend and get some points on the board.”
Considering the contrast between the Dragons’
opening games and their 4-3 victory over Solihull Barons last weekend,
player-coach Scott McKenzie shared:
“I think the main difference was obviously our netminding. Jonah Armstrong has been thrown in at the deep end and those games against Billingham and Solway don’t reflect the ability of the kid. Being a goalie is tough, but being a seventeen-year-old playing in NIHL Division One with no backup to support you is a very difficult position to be in. It adds a weight of pressure onto you. So bringing in Graeme Bird just added the experience we needed, to not only help the squad but to help Jonah too. The guys grew in confidence with every save that Graeme made and, when we are confident, we are a very tricky team to play against. Whitley, this weekend, will be tough but again, we do feel like we have enough to beat them. I’m sure it will be another close game but I’m confident in my team that we can get the valuable two points that we need.”
“I think the main difference was obviously our netminding. Jonah Armstrong has been thrown in at the deep end and those games against Billingham and Solway don’t reflect the ability of the kid. Being a goalie is tough, but being a seventeen-year-old playing in NIHL Division One with no backup to support you is a very difficult position to be in. It adds a weight of pressure onto you. So bringing in Graeme Bird just added the experience we needed, to not only help the squad but to help Jonah too. The guys grew in confidence with every save that Graeme made and, when we are confident, we are a very tricky team to play against. Whitley, this weekend, will be tough but again, we do feel like we have enough to beat them. I’m sure it will be another close game but I’m confident in my team that we can get the valuable two points that we need.”
Fixture:
Nottingham Lions vs. Solway
Sharks
Date: 16th September 2017
Venue: National Ice Centre
Faceoff: 6:00pm
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| Photo Credit: CHUD Photography |
Heading into their third league game of the season, Solway Sharks will
prepare to face Matt Bradbury’s Nottingham Lions for what will be the first
ever meeting between these two sides, with the Dumfries outfit having played in
the Northern League whilst Nottingham iced in the then-named English National League.
Heading to the National Ice Arena on Sunday, Solway will make the trip with the
knowledge that they will be in for a huge challenge. Only just making their
return to NIHL North’s Division One after suffering relegation from the ENL
in 2012, the Lions have battled their way through two games already against
former EPL clubs Telford Tigers and Hull Pirates. Though recording losses in
both games, the Lions achieved two highly respectable score lines, notching defeats of 5-2 and 5-3 against these outfits.
Whilst Solway’s top three points scorers in the league continue to be
forward Iain Bowie, Czech defenceman Marek Charvat and two-way player Connor
Henderson, the Lions’ main assets in front of goal have so far been experienced
two-time EIHL champion Marc Levers and former Barons’ forward Richard Slater
who have collectively contributed seven points in just two games, whilst captain
Elliot Perrin, Czech import Ondrej Pniok and skilful forward Warren Tait each have
two assists to their name. Ready to confront any team in Division One it would
seem, Nottingham look set to test themselves against the defending champions
and, as such, the result of this match-up will be eagerly awaited, with Solway
Sharks hoping for a third successive league win now that they sit at the top of the NIHL North standings with four points in two games ahead of this weekend’s
fixtures.
Commenting ahead of Solway’s clash against the
newly promoted Lions, Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb highlighted:
“This will be our first game against Nottingham and
we know this will be a very tough game. I like the energy that they play with
and they have a good mix of youth and experience so we will need to ensure we
match their tempo and are good on the puck. The results that the Lions have had
prove that they will win games in this league and we need to make sure that it’s not
against us.”
Also looking ahead to this contest,
Lions’ experienced defenceman Adz Andrews shared:
“This weekend’s game against last year’s league
champions is going to be yet another challenge for us in this league. We have
shown we can compete and all that’s missing is points for our efforts now,
something we’re hoping to challenge for this Sunday against Solway. We have had
a tough start but what better way to test yourself against two of last year’s
EPL sides in preparation for Solway. Losing 5-2 and 5-3 is a respectable score
line when others would have predicted more of a cricket score. It’s going to be
a long season with many twists and turns. We just need to learn from every game
and continue to work hard each week, and the points will come.”
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