NIHL Weekend Preview

WEEKEND

PREVIEW

NIHL NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)

Saturday 14th October 2017

Solway Sharks vs. Billingham Stars (National Cup)

Sunday 15th October 2017

Billingham Stars vs. Whitley Warriors

Fixture:    Solway Sharks vs. Billingham Stars        

Date:        14^th October 2017    

Venue:     Dumfries Ice Bowl   

Faceoff:  7:00pm

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Facing each other in a third NIHL National Cup fixture this weekend, Solway Sharks and Billingham Stars will both be determined to achieve maximum points on Saturday but for very different reasons. Whilst the Dumfries outfit go into this meeting requiring a win to edge ahead of close competition Blackburn Hawks, the Stars will meanwhile be hoping to add to the single cup point they snatched in last month’s overtime loss to Solway to begin to contend in the competition. Although fixtures involving these two sides were closely contested in the NIHL North’s Moralee Conference last season, Billingham Stars were only able to win one league fixture against the treble winners and also failed to pick up a victory against Martin Grubb’s men in the NIHL North Cup, their results ranging from a narrow 4-3 loss in October to an 8-1 road defeat in January.

So far playing nine games across all competitions, Billingham have managed to collect a total of three points; their only league win against Scott McKenzie’s Dragons on the opening day of the season. The Sharks, by comparison, have played eleven games across both competitions, losing on just three occasions as they missed out against Telford Tigers, Hull Pirates and Blackburn Hawks to claim a collective total of sixteen points in all. With Solway’s  Iain Bowie and Ross Murray currently at the top of Group A’s points production charts, it is clear that Billingham will be in for a challenging clash but it is one that they will no doubt embrace as they look for a victory to carry momentum into their derby game against Whitley Warriors on Sunday. Past encounters between these two sides have often been feisty affairs peppered with controversy and conflict, making Saturday’s game a must-watch as the Stars head out in search of better fortunes whilst the Sharks aim to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing defeat to Duncombe’s Hawks with a win over one of their closest rivals.

Speaking to NIHL Northern Trio ahead of this game, Head Coach Martin Grubb took time to consider the Sharks’ previous clashes against the Stars:

“Games against Billingham are always tight affairs and this season has proven that so far. We will need to be ready to play sixty plus minutes. It’s our only game so we have to go hard and ensure we bounce back from a bad third period last Sunday. Both teams know each other well and will be looking to get the win. We will focus on our game plan and make sure we follow it to get the points.”

Solway’s alternate captain Ross Murray also took time to consider this encounter:

Now that we are over a month into the season, how have Solway coped with the competition so far?

I think by our standards we have had an average start to the campaign. When we turn up, we seem to dominate teams but, at other times, we tend to start slow or drop to other teams’ levels which we cannot do, as we found out in Hull.

In what ways does the Sharks’ team differ from the treble-winning side last year?

It’s always hard losing one key guy, never mind three, but we have always had plenty of depth in our system at Solway. It gives the guys who weren’t in a big role in the team a chance to show what they have. We have two new solid imports at the back who are eager to make a name for themselves and, with Bowie getting back into the squad, he’s showing everyone why he’s one of the best in the NIHL.

What do you make of the cup competition’s new format?

I like the cup setup this year. It’s great that someone will be crowned UK champion. The only thing is, it would maybe be good to play some different teams, other than home and away twice in a three team group; it can get pretty boring.

What do you expect from Saturday’s game against Billingham Stars, given the recent form of the Teessiders?

The Stars will be out to put an end to their terrible start but I can’t say I’m surprised by it. When Solway and Billingham have met before, I think both teams have played pretty anti-hockey games. Hopefully we can get a good start and play a solid sixty minute game unlike the weekend before in Blackburn. Both teams have a tendency to cancel each other out but we will see what Saturday brings.

Fixture:    Billingham Stars vs. Whitley Warriors  

Date:        15^th October 2017    

Venue:     The Forum

Faceoff:  6:30pm

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Playing against each other for the first time this season in one of the most highly anticipated fixtures in NIHL North’s Division One, Billingham Stars and Whitley Warriors will go head-to-head this weekend as the local rivals set their sights on a prize greater than points, with bragging rights the real honour at the end of this encounter. Results between these two outfits were extremely mixed last season as the Stars opened with a narrow 5-4 cup win at Hillheads before losing 6-5 at home in the same competition one week later. At the turn of 2017, Billingham then opened with a 4-1 loss to the Warriors in a combined fixture before enjoying a 3-1 cup victory on the road to complete January’s schedule. Building on this success, the Stars were then pleased to triumph over their rivals for a third time, only to end their season on a poor note, losing by six goals to three in Teesside as Whitley bounced back on the final day of their 2016-17 campaign.

Whilst Billingham’s string of recent defeats, combined with the prospect of the bragging rights, will motivate the side to claim two points in front of a home crowd on Sunday, Whitley will also hope to pick up a win away from home after suffering a respectable 6-3 loss to Telford Tigers last weekend, the side having played with pace and power to edge ahead in the contest twice before ultimately losing out in the final period of the game. Since embarking on their latest campaign, Whitley Warriors’ alternate captain Shaun Kippin, player-coach David Longstaff, forward Ben Richards and Canadian import Philip Edgar have topped the points scoring charts for their team; the quartet have so far accumulated twenty two goals and forty seven assists in comparison to the fourteen goals and twenty three assists tallied collectively by Billingham’s top four points scorers Deniss Baškatovs, Chris Sykes, Michael Bowman and Artūrs Ozols over the course of six league games. As such, both teams appear to have a great deal of firepower at their disposal, though Billingham have found it difficult to demonstrate this against tough competition, having recently faced former EPL teams Sheffield Steeldogs and Hull Pirates. However, as with all derby games, form will certainly be put to one side as these close rivals prepare to improve on their current league positions, with Whitley just one place above the Stars going into this battle but also five points better off than the Teessiders. Always unpredictable and packing a punch, this game never fails to attract a large crowd and will surely not disappoint when the two sides faceoff on Sunday.

Looking forward to this derby fixture, player-coach David Longstaff shared:

“I would think it should be a great game. Billingham have been very unlucky with the fixtures so far. They’ve played all of the old EPL teams and last year’s champions so they’ll see this as a real opportunity to win against a team that finished lower than them last season.”

Adding to this, Warriors’ alternate captain Shaun Kippin observed:

“Derby games are always the highlight of the season for me. Anyone can beat anyone and form goes out of the window. We will need to be at our best because Billingham have a lot of firepower. We’ve worked hard in training this week and hope to come home with the bragging rights this weekend.”

Considering Billingham’s upcoming double header, Stars’ alternate captain Chris Sykes observed:

“Saturday sees us off to Solway again for the cup. It seems we’ve played the same teams every weekend for the first few weeks! However, it is a cup game so we will be running all of our lines and letting the ‘young guys’ get a skate so we will see how we do. Sunday’s the big one. The one we all want to watch. The one we want to be a part of! It’s derby day at The Forum and we are more than ready.”

Last but not least, Billingham’s blue liner Ben Davison also contributed his thoughts ahead of Sunday’s derby game:

“I think Sunday will be one of the fastest paced derby games people will have seen. Every team has stepped their game up this season to try and match the new structure’s league talent. Whitley have had a good run of games; I expect them to come out all guns blazing. It’s been a tough start to the season, facing the ex-EPL teams but hopefully, we take the lessons we’ve learnt from playing the higher teams this weekend and come away with a must-needed victory. Our form on paper looks terrible; however, I think the games tell a different story. We’ve been very unlucky on occasions, our big break is coming and hopefully the morale will keep us rolling from there. Mistakes and poor decision-making on the puck this season will, and has proven to be, costly. Hopefully, one hundred and twenty minutes of smart hockey from us this weekend will be the end of our bad spell and there’s no better way to kick start that than with a win over your local rivals at home so I’m really looking forward to these games. Also, please remember Billingham’s Food Bank collection on Sunday night!”

For any fans attending the Billingham Stars vs. Whitley Warriors game at The Forum on Sunday evening, there will be a collection for Billingham Food Bank should you wish to donate. For more information, visit Billingham.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food.  

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