WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 28th October 2017
Blackburn
Hawks vs. Whitley
Warriors
Solway
Sharks vs. Telford
Tigers
Sunday
29th October 2017
Whitley Warriors vs. Solway Sharks
Billingham
Stars vs. Blackburn Hawks (National Cup)
Fixture:
Blackburn
Hawks vs. Whitley Warriors
Date: 28th October 2017
Venue: Blackburn Ice Arena
Faceoff: 5:45pm
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Having
played host to the Hawks in their first league game of their 2017-18 campaign,
Whitley Warriors head into this fixture with hopes that they can achieve a win
this time around, after collecting one point from an overtime loss to Steven
Duncombe’s Blackburn in a strongly contested game at Hillheads last month. During their most recent encounter with the Hawks,
Whitley went behind to a power play goal scored by alternate captain Luke Boothroyd in the first
period before drawing level early in the second stanza through Canadian import
Philip Edgar. However, it was not long after that the Lancashire outfit were
able to recover their lead through Rick Bentham, forcing the Warriors to hit
back with a second equaliser as forward Ben Richards fired home ahead of a
goalless third period which took the battle into three-on-three overtime. With both sides searching for a goal, there could only be one winner and it was Hawks’ defenceman Lewis Baldwin who sealed Blackburn’s victory, though David
Longstaff’s line-up were more than happy to claim a point from this incredibly close
affair. As such, Saturday’s road trip will be no less challenging for the
Warriors who will hope to utilise their firepower. Currently, Whitley’s top
four points scorers are alternate captain Shaun Kippin, player-coach David
Longstaff and forwards Edgar and Richards, the quartet collectively
contributing twenty five goals and thirty one assists whilst Edgar is currently
the team’s top goal scorer with ten goals from eight games.
Though
aiming to make the most of their offensive attributes, the Warriors will also
have to ensure that their defence is ready to contend with Blackburn’s
attacking play, particularly as the Hawks have prospect Kieran Brown in their
ranks, the talented youngster picking up twenty points from just eight league games.
Besides Brown, the Lancashire outfit will also set out to capitalise on the offensive
prowess of import Jozef Ištocy, forward Rick Bentham and player-coach Steven
Duncombe who, together, have achieved thirty seven points across the league
fixtures they have played. Always determined to achieve a victory, the Hawks
will be driven by the knowledge that a win would allow the side to go level on
points with Telford Tigers should Tom Watkins’ team lose out to Solway; this
outcome of course possible due to the revelation that the Shropshire outfit
failed to supply a non-playing Level 2 bench coach during their game with
Blackburn last weekend which saw the match awarded to the Hawks. With previous games between these two teams highly entertaining and extremely competitive, it
can only be hoped that this game will offer more of the same as the sides go
head-to-head for those all-important points.
Fixture:
Solway Sharks vs.
Telford Tigers
Date: 28th October 2017
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00pm
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Taking to the ice on Saturday for the first game of their double
header, Solway Sharks will find themselves up against Tom Watkins’ Telford
Tigers who currently sit at the top of the league standings with sixteen points
from nine games. Though losing out to the Tigers in a 5-3 loss on the road
last month, the Sharks worked hard against the former EPL outfit, scoring two
goals in the space of thirty two seconds in the latter stages of the first
period to erase their deficit. After equalising in this fashion, the Tigers restored their lead, forcing Solway to bounce back with a third goal which arose as forward
Iain Bowie sealed his hat trick in the middle section of the game. In the end, however, Telford were able to show their edge
as alternate captains Jonathan Weaver and Rick Plant grabbed a goal each to see
their side secure maximum points and to see the Sharks leave empty handed.
Setting out to avenge this defeat, Solway will aim to demonstrate their
quality against the Tigers on home ice, though this time the Sharks will find
themselves up against former team mate Kim Miettinen who recently signed
for Telford, the club having sought a defenceman as Weaver continues to serve
his eleven-game ban. Tallying nine goals and twenty five assists in twenty
seven league games during the Sharks’ treble-winning season, Miettinen was a
huge asset for the Dumfries outfit and, as such, Solway will certainly have to
have their wits about them to prevent the Finnish blue liner from getting on
the scoresheet on Saturday. Whilst Solway’s in-form forward Bowie proved to be highly effective against
the Tigers in his last outing against the club and continues to be dangerous in
front of goal, Sharks’ forwards Connor Henderson, Steven Moore and Ross Murray
have collectively contributed thirty four points to Solway’s campaign, the trio
always striving for their next goal. Joining the Dumfries club this weekend will be
forward Duncan Speirs who makes his return to Martin Grubb’s line-up after
opening his campaign with Edinburgh Capitals to offer Solway an additional
offensive option. Setting out to climb the league standings once again after
slipping into fourth place following the decision to award Blackburn a 5-0
victory over the Tigers this week, Solway will hope that they can achieve two
points to stand them in good stead ahead of their road trip to Hillheads on
Sunday whilst Telford will be looking to widen the gap between themselves and
Blackburn Hawks to hold onto the top spot in NIHL North’s Division one.
Prepared for this fixture, Sharks’
Head Coach Martin Grubb acknowledged:
“We know we
will be facing a tough challenge playing a very good Telford team and will need
to be focused for sixty minutes. Tommy has his team playing well and they play
good hockey so we know what to expect and know what we need to do. We scored
plenty of goals last weekend but I want us to be better defensively as a group
to give ourselves a chance to get the points and we will be working hard for
the win.”
Also looking forward to this contest
is Telford Tigers’ latest signing Kim Miettinen:
“It’s going to be a good
game against the Sharks this weekend. They have a strong team and they have
been playing well. We have to work hard and play our own hockey to get the win.
I had a good year there last year and I really enjoyed my time there so it’s
going to be fun to go up there again.”
Fixture:
Whitley
Warriors vs. Solway Sharks
Date: 29th October 2017
Venue: Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Faceoff: 5:00pm
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Following their trip to Lancashire on Saturday, Whitley Warriors will
return home to confront Martin Grubb’s Solway Sharks, having faced the side
once already this season in a 3-1 road loss in their very first league game of their campaign. While returning home empty handed was disappointing for the
Warriors, Whitley could still be pleased with a respectable score line against
the defending champions, their home results against the Sharks last season
ranging from a 9-2 loss on the opening day to a 3-3 draw in
February. In their most recent contest against the Sharks, Whitley found
themselves behind in the ninth minute of the first period when forward Iain
Bowie punished their defence to provide his side with a lead which was doubled
by Czech import Marek Charvat early in the second period. Hitting back through
Canadian Philip Edgar just beyond the halfway point of the game, the Warriors’
hopes of a comeback were dashed just sixty seconds later as Bowie collected his
second of the clash to cement his side’s victory.
In spite of this defeat though, the Warriors were able to showcase
their defensive ability, with netminder Mark Turnbull remaining strong to
contend with thirty four of the thirty seven shots fired at him whilst the
team’s blue line was also highly effective in keeping the side in the game
until the final buzzer. Whilst Whitley will be hoping to compete across all
areas of the ice, the Sharks will make the trip with the same aim as Grubb looks to make the most of a compact roster, having travelled with as little as
twelve skaters and two netminders to face The Dragons and Telford Tigers already this season. As such, this game should be a very competitive one and possibly a
little fiery if past encounters are anything to go by; just last season Shark
Ross Murray dropped the gloves with Whitley’s Jordan Barnes twice in the same game at the
Dumfries Ice Bowl before going toe-to-toe with Warrior Shaun Kippin away from home.
With neither side accustomed to shying away from a fight and both teams willing
to do whatever it takes to get the points, this game could prove to be another
fantastic contest between two close rivals.
Speaking ahead of this game,
player-coach David Longstaff admitted:
“We’ll be missing a few players over the two games so
we’ll be up against it but hopefully we can get something from the weekend.”
Sharing his thoughts on Sunday’s
opposition, Grubb added:
“Whitley have started the season really well and are
playing good hockey so this will be a tough game. We know you need to play hard
in Whitley so our compete level will need to be good and we will need to play
well at both ends of the ice to get the result we want.”
Also, reflecting on Solway’s season
so far, and taking time to look ahead to this weekend’s fixtures, Sharks’
captain Struan Tonnar shared:
“I think our
season so far has been relatively successful without us really managing to
reach our full potential. I think the league itself has come on loads with the
addition of Sheffield, Hull and Telford. The biggest thing we have noticed from
them is how clinical they can be; if they get the slightest of chances they will
capitalise. We need to find that same scoring ability and depth. We have a great
opportunity this weekend to pitch ourselves against a strong Telford side. We
have improved since our last encounter and we are coming into the game with new
additions to our side. We will be coming in confidently, looking to keep the
two points at home. Sunday will then be a totally different game in itself. It
still has to be one of the hardest places to go in the country, regardless of
what side they have. They have been picking up some momentum as of late so we
have to be on our game from the start. Both games will take a full performance
from everyone on the team. We can’t switch off at any point.”
Fixture:
Billingham
Stars vs. Blackburn Hawks
Date: 29th October 2017
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 6:30pm
 |
Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Heading into
their one-game weekend on the back of an overtime loss to Sheffield Steeldogs,
Billingham Stars will take heart from their ability to compete against the
former EPL outfit as they prepare for their third NIHL National Cup fixture
against Steven Duncombe’s Blackburn Hawks. So far, contests against the Lancashire outfit have produced some excruciating losses for the Stars, the Teessiders
suffering consecutive 3-2 road defeats in both the league and the cup at the
start of September only to follow up these results with a 5-3 home loss later
in the month. With alternate captain Chris Sykes and Hawks’ forward Rick
Bentham each bagging themselves a brace during their sides’ first two meetings, the duo have continued to excel for their clubs. In NIHL
North’s Division One, Sykes is currently his side’s second highest points
scorer with fourteen points from seven league games and a tally of four goals and an assist from five
cup games to outdo his team mates further. By comparison, Bentham has thirteen
points from nine games to find himself Blackburn’s third highest points scorer in this competition at present besides racking up four points in three cup
games to sit just behind import Jozef Ištocy in the Hawks’ points
production charts for the NIHL National Cup.
Whilst the
Stars will be eager to end their losing streak with this game, Duncombe’s men
will not give up on the points easily now that they are just two behind Solway
with a game in hand in the cup competition. The Stars, meanwhile, sit at the
bottom of Group A with just one point from five games after a 4-3 overtime loss
to Solway Sharks on the 10th September. With this in mind, Blackburn
will feel that they have a strong chance to claim maximum points against the
Stars and, though they know that this will be no easy fixture, the side will do
all they can to claim a victory over the Teessiders who will take any momentum
gained from recent narrow league losses against local rivals Whitley Warriors
and the Steeldogs into this game as they strive towards bettering their
fortunes, slowly but surely.
Looking ahead to this game, Billingham’s alternate
captain Chris Sykes told NIHL Northern Trio:
“Sunday is a cup game against the Hawks, a team we’ve seen a lot of this
year and had some close games with! It will be a tough game but a weekend at
home again should suit us well, hopefully with some players returning from
injury. Also, Saturday night, if you are around, get down to The Forum for the
50th birthday game; Stars vs. Bombers. ”
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
No comments:
Post a Comment