PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 21st October 2017
Solway
Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks
Sunday
22nd October 2017
Nottingham Lions vs. Whitley Warriors
Billingham
Stars vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Fixture:
Solway Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks
Date: 21st October 2017
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Having
played Blackburn Hawks twice already this season in the NIHL National Cup competition both at home and on the road, Solway Sharks will be hoping to avenge their
recent defeat to Steven Duncombe’s men with a league win over the Lancashire
outfit on Saturday. After battling to achieve an 8-5 victory over Blackburn on
the opening day of the season, Solway were then left utterly disappointed to
concede four unanswered goals to the Hawks two weeks ago, squandering away a
two-goal lead in the process. As such, the Sharks will hope to execute more of
the chances that fall their way against Blackburn on home ice this weekend,
knowing that the Hawks, like most opposition in NIHL North’s Division One, will
never give up on the points without a fight. Currently in fifth place with ten
points from seven games, Solway will continue their quest to improve on their present league position; to triumph against Duncombe’s second-placed Hawks would see
the two outfits tied on twelve points, though the Sharks would have a game in
hand which could prove valuable in the coming weeks as the side continue to
compete with the best in the league.
Finding
themselves on the scoresheet against Blackburn Hawks in both cup games were
youngster Daniel Abercrombie and forward Iain Bowie, the former scoring twice
whilst the latter hit the back of the net on five occasions. Besides this duo,
alternate captain Ross Murray, young blue liner Stuart Kerr and forward Connor
Henderson were also able to contribute to their side’s success against the
Hawks in their first home game of the season, suggesting that Solway are not
short of firepower but have recently struggled to make this attribute count.
Blackburn, meanwhile, also boast a great deal of quality, with import Jozef
Ištocy and experienced forward Aaron Davies printing their names on the scoresheet in both
cup fixtures against the Dumfries outfit, the pair excelling alongside youngsters Lewis Baldwin and James Royds in their
latest encounter with Solway whilst forwards James Riddoch, defenceman Bobby
Streetly and former Shark Rick Bentham worked hard to beat Hepburn in their 8-5
battle with the defending champions last month. With much at stake for both
teams, and two points currently making a huge difference to those sides sitting
in the top half of the table, this game will certainly be a fierce contest as
the rivals go head-to-head in their first league encounter against each other
this campaign.
Looking ahead to Solway’s league fixture,
Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb told NIHL Northern Trio:
“This
game will be a very tough game and we need to be better than the last time we
played and lost to the Hawks. This is another one-game weekend for us so we
should be full of energy and be ready to play. We know the Hawks are a good
team and are playing with confidence and that we will need to ensure that we
follow our game plan and take our chances when they come.”
Taking time to consider the Hawks’
upcoming encounter against Solway, Blackburn’s forward Matt Viney revealed:
“Games against Solway are always a tough battle. They’ve
had the same core group of players for a while now so they are always
well-drilled and tricky to break down, especially in their rink. I expect
Saturday’s game to be no different so we will have to be at our best to get the
two points. We lost up there at the start of the season when we were short of a
few players so hopefully with a full squad we can get the win. We have put in
some good performances so far this season, only losing two league games to
Sheffield early on and Telford the other week. We have Telford at home on Sunday
which is a massive game for us if we want to be up there come the end of the
season but they don’t have a 100% record for no reason so we will have to be on
top form to take anything away from the game.”
Fixture:
Nottingham Lions vs. Whitley Warriors
Date: 22nd October 2017
Venue: National Ice Centre
Faceoff: 6:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Having
already triumphed against the newly promoted Nottingham Lions on home ice last
month, Whitley Warriors will head to the National Ice Centre on Sunday with the
knowledge that Matt Bradbury’s team are far tougher competition than their
current league position suggests. Barely leaving the foot of the table since
the start of their 2017-18 campaign, the Lions have so far managed one win from
eight league games, with three of those contests against former EPL sides, to
find themselves in tenth position but tied on points with both The Dragons and
Billingham Stars. By comparison, David Longstaff’s Warriors sit in sixth
position, going into this game with nine points from seven league encounters,
their only defeats so far to Solway Sharks, Blackburn Hawks and former EPL
outfit Telford Tigers. As a result, Whitley will aim for a second victory over
Nottingham to compete for a place in the top four whilst the Lions
will be hoping to claim the second win of their campaign to climb out of the
automatic relegation place.
Already
this season, Nottingham have lost out to the Warriors by four goals to one as
the side found themselves challenged by Whitley’s Canadian import Philip Edgar
whose first hat trick for the Hillheads outfit was scored against the Lions and accompanied by a goal from
hard working alternate captain Shaun Kippin. Only able to respond to Whitley’s
firepower after fifty seven minutes when on the power play, Nottingham picked
out a consolation goal courtesy of former Peterborough Phantom Marc Levers to
ensure that they had something to show for their efforts. Always determined to make
every game difficult for their opposition, the Lions have fought as a team to
make for some interesting and surprisingly close encounters and, after
suffering defeat to Whitley over four weeks ago, the team will
prepare to maintain their work ethic with hopes that playing against the
Warriors in front of a home crowd on Sunday evening will prove advantageous.
Looking ahead to this clash, Whitley’s
player-coach David Longstaff noted:
“It'll be a tough away game and we might be short of a few players so if we can get a
positive result, we’ll be very happy.”
Considering this clash, Nottingham
Lions’ captain Elliot Perrin took time to share his thoughts on the challenge awaiting
his team on Sunday:
“We know it’s going to be tough. Whitley have a strong
team who play a physical game but also have the skill and grit to match. Being
a home game, the bigger ice will suit our style of play with the speed and
young players we have. I feel we have a good mind set for the game and believe
we can start to take points. That being said, we will take each game as it
comes. We are working hard every week, getting stronger as a team and we are
playing good hockey. We just need to put the final pieces in the puzzle and results
will start to reflect the work we are putting in.”
Fixture:
Billingham Stars vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Date: 22nd October 2017
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 6:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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So
far encountering each other twice at Ice Sheffield this season, Billingham
Stars and Sheffield Steeldogs prepare to go head-to-head in a third contest as Ben Morgan’s team make their first trip to The Forum, the Teessiders taking their turn to play host. Going into this game on the back of a 4-3 derby
defeat, the Stars will once again cling onto the hope that they can change
their fortunes having now suffered eleven consecutive losses across all
competitions; their last and only victory was on the opening day of the season
against The Dragons. Currently sitting in eighth place with just two points
from seven league games, the Stars have found the beginning of their campaign rather challenging to say the least after facing some tough competition, their most difficult opponents including the Steeldogs themselves, Telford Tigers, Hull Pirates and
defending champions Solway Sharks. Meanwhile, Sheffield sit in
third place after picking up eleven points from six games; their only league
defeat an overtime loss to Telford Tigers at the start of the season. Though
the Steeldogs’ excellent league form has been broken up by disappointing
performances in NIHL National Cup and Autumn Cup clashes, the side head into
their fixture against Billingham on the back of a 6-2 home victory over
Nottingham Lions, meaning the visitors are likely to have more
momentum than their opposition on Sunday.
Also
fresh in the Stars’ mind is their recent 7-4 loss to the Steeldogs, a result
preceded by a 7-3 defeat to the Sheffield-based outfit in September. Though conceding
in the early stages of both games, Billingham’s performance was much improved
in their most recent meeting with Morgan’s team, the side responding to
Sheffield’s opening goal of the game to prevent the Steeldogs from dominating
as they did in September’s encounter which left Billingham trailing by four goals to one at the first interval. With alternate captain Chris Sykes, captain Michael
Elder and forward Jack Emerson on the scoresheet for the Stars when these two
sides last confronted one another, Billingham will hope that this trio can be
just as effective on Sunday evening. Also, it is worth noting that previous contests against these two
teams have proven to be feisty affairs; young defenceman Darren Stattersfield is yet to return to the ice after suffering from the effects of concussion sustained last month whilst both sides have incurred penalties for roughing and fighting in their last two meetings. Consequently, it is likely that this game will
be a fiery one as the competitors go all out for maximum points.
Sharing his thoughts on his team’s upcoming
contest with the Steeldogs, Star Chris Sykes stated:
“It’s a one-game weekend against the Steeldogs at home
and another tough game in our schedule but we will turn up and give everything
we can for the two points. We need them more than ever. It’ll be a tough game
as they are a well-drilled and fast team.”
In anticipation of this game,
Sheffield Steeldogs’ captain Lewis Bell added:
“Having played them twice now, we have a good idea of what
they’re about after coming away with two wins. However, we are well aware that
games on the road are a different story so we will be turning up fully focused
and ready for a tough game. We are well aware that any team can beat anybody in
this league, having seen the results, so we will be ready to play and hopefully
continue our good league form.”
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