WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 18th November 2017
Blackburn
Hawks vs. Billingham Stars (National Cup)
Solway
Sharks vs. Hull
Pirates
Sunday
19th November 2017
Sheffield Steeldogs vs. Whitley Warriors
Billingham
Stars vs. Solway Sharks (National Cup)
Fixture:
Blackburn Hawks vs. Billingham Stars
Date: 18th November 2017
Venue: Blackburn Ice Arena
Faceoff: 5:45pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Making the trip to Blackburn Ice Arena on Saturday for their final NIHL National Cup game against Blackburn Hawks, Billingham Stars will be aiming for
a similar performance as that which they displayed against the Lancashire
outfit almost three weeks ago. By previously soaring to a 9-3 home victory over Steven
Duncombe’s men, Billingham were able to put an end to their
twelve-game losing streak with a fantastic win against strong opposition. With
both teams competing closely in the opening period to head in with two goals
apiece, the Stars were eventually able to take control of the game in the latter stages of the second period; Elder’s hat trick ensuring that Blackburn left without a point to their name. Despite
losing out twice to the Hawks in a narrow 3-2 road loss and a 5-3 home defeat
in September, the Teessiders will hold onto the fact that their most recent cup clash with Blackburn was an extremely positive one as they once again look to
claim maximum points against the side to further their position in the NIHL
National Cup standings. Currently at the foot of the table and three points
behind Duncombe’s men having played one fixture more than the Hawks, the Stars
could go within a point of the side should they triumph over Blackburn in this
fixture; a loss, on the other hand, would see Billingham cast even further
adrift of their competition ahead of Sunday’s game against Solway Sharks whilst
Blackburn would instead find themselves tied on points with the Dumfries
outfit. With contests between these two outfits highly competitive and always
entertaining, this is not a fixture to be missed.
Fixture:
Solway Sharks vs. Hull Pirates
Date: 18th November 2017
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Preparing to play host to Hull Pirates on Saturday evening, Solway
Sharks will welcome the former EPL outfit to the Dumfries Ice Bowl for the
first time this season, having already lost out to Jason Hewitt’s team on the
road last month. Recording a 6-3 loss in this contest, the Sharks were disappointed
to concede three successive goals in the opening period as Hewitt twice printed
his name on the scoresheet alongside forward Jordan Fisher before Solway were finally
able to hit back in the second. By then though, the damage was done and the
Pirates were able to secure their victory prior to two quick goals from the
Sharks in the latter stages of the game. With seven of Hull’s players now tallying double figures in the points production charts, and
forward Matty Davies currently Division One’s top points scorer with seven
goals and twenty five assists from just six league games, Solway will hope to
match, if not better, the goal scoring prowess of the Pirates on Saturday, with
nine of their own players contributing ten points or more to the Sharks’ league
effort. Continuing to pose a threat to his opposition, forward Iain Bowie has racked
up sixteen goals and fifteen assists in fourteen league games for the Dumfries
outfit whilst left winger Steven Moore will once again be a force to be
reckoned with in front of goal; only last weekend the Shark bagged a hat trick
and an assist against Nottingham Lions to earn a Man of the Match award. As
such, it is clear that both sides possess a great deal of firepower and this,
together with Solway’s aim to avenge their previous defeat to the Pirates, will
make for a very interesting clash indeed.
Sharing his thoughts ahead of this
contest, Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb acknowledged:
“We go into
another tough home game against a very good Hull team who beat us convincingly last time and we are determined to show we are better than that game. We
come into the game on Saturday with confidence after some good performances
last week and we will hope to take that into this game. We know Hull’s quality
and we will need to be focused and play with intensity to give ourselves a
chance.”
Looking forward to this clash against Solway Sharks,
Hull Pirate Chris Wilcox shared:
“This weekend we travel to Solway to face them for
the second time this season and we expect a tough game against last year’s
champions. This is a huge game for us as currently, we sit three points behind
Solway so a win would boost our goal of being title contenders. We had a mixed
game with a short bench last Saturday in Billingham but dug out a hard fought
win. On Sunday, we beat Peterborough in the cup and played extremely well so we
are hoping we can replicate that form again this weekend and continue to move
up the table.”
Fixture:
Sheffield Steeldogs vs. Whitley Warriors
Date: 19th November 2017
Venue: Ice Sheffield
Faceoff: 5:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Facing each other for the first time this season,
Whitley Warriors will make the trip to Ice Sheffield as they prepare for a meeting with former EPL outfit Sheffield Steeldogs. Currently, the Steeldogs sit at the top of the NIHL North Division One standings and go into this game on the
back of five consecutive league victories. As a result, this encounter will certainly
be a challenging game for David Longstaff’s line-up, particularly as the Warriors slipped into seventh
place last weekend after losing out to Nottingham Lions on home ice before
recording an away loss to Solihull Barons on Sunday. However, in spite of this, the side will no doubt do
their utmost to perform to the best of their ability, having so far competed to
a very high standard against former EPL outfits Telford Tigers and Hull Pirates.
Though losing out to Tom Watkins’ Tigers by six goals to three in October, the
Warriors were able to establish a two-goal lead in this game but penalties ultimately proved costly for the Hillheads outfit whose intensity and
work ethic could not be faulted. Similarly, Whitley were able to match the play
of Hull Pirates two weeks ago to earn a well-deserved point from an overtime
defeat, the side unfortunate to lose out on penalty shots.
Though experiencing some mixed form so far this campaign, the Warriors have recorded some results that they can be extremely pleased with at this stage in the season, including a 4-3 derby win over Billingham Stars, a 4-2 victory over Solway Sharks and, of course, the point from their 4-3 overtime loss to the Pirates. By comparison, Sheffield Steeldogs have managed to maintain their excellent league form after losing out on penalty shots to Telford Tigers on the opening day of their season, recording eleven wins from the twelve league games they have played to date, three of which were in overtime. Standing out for the Steeldogs in recent games is unsurprisingly Slovakian forward Milan Kolena who has fulfilled his role as an import to claim two overtime winners against Billingham Stars and Solway Sharks in recent weeks besides scoring the winning penalty shot against Blackburn Hawks last Sunday to see his team narrowly triumph. Hoping that they can achieve something from this game, whether that be in regulation time or beyond, Whitley Warriors will head to Sheffield on Sunday with their sights set high as they journey into the unknown with nothing to lose.
Though experiencing some mixed form so far this campaign, the Warriors have recorded some results that they can be extremely pleased with at this stage in the season, including a 4-3 derby win over Billingham Stars, a 4-2 victory over Solway Sharks and, of course, the point from their 4-3 overtime loss to the Pirates. By comparison, Sheffield Steeldogs have managed to maintain their excellent league form after losing out on penalty shots to Telford Tigers on the opening day of their season, recording eleven wins from the twelve league games they have played to date, three of which were in overtime. Standing out for the Steeldogs in recent games is unsurprisingly Slovakian forward Milan Kolena who has fulfilled his role as an import to claim two overtime winners against Billingham Stars and Solway Sharks in recent weeks besides scoring the winning penalty shot against Blackburn Hawks last Sunday to see his team narrowly triumph. Hoping that they can achieve something from this game, whether that be in regulation time or beyond, Whitley Warriors will head to Sheffield on Sunday with their sights set high as they journey into the unknown with nothing to lose.
Looking ahead to this road trip, Whitley Warriors’
player-coach David Longstaff admitted:
“Sunday will be
a very difficult game for us. We will be really short again and we have the
difficult task of facing the league leaders.”
Prepared to confront the Warriors on Sunday evening, Steeldogs’ captain
Lewis Bell admitted:
“It’s our first
game against Whitley so it’s a bit of an unknown fixture really. We’ve seen a
few of their results and they’ve beaten some good teams and ran some good teams
close so we are expecting a tough game. There will be a few familiar faces we
will be aware of but, as ever, we’ll have our own game plan and hopefully come
out on top.”
Fixture:
Billingham Stars vs. Solway Sharks
Date: 19th November 2017
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 6:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Hosting Solway Sharks in the second NIHL National
Cup fixture of their weekend, having only just played the Dumfries outfit in a
recent league game, Billingham Stars will prepare to avenge the defeats they have so far suffered against the side to ensure that Martin Grubb’s men
leave with nothing to show for their efforts this time around. Hoping to climb away from the
foot of the cup standings as previously mentioned, Billingham must begin to
take some points from their opposition, having so far recorded a lone victory over Blackburn
Hawks in this competition, an overtime loss to Solway Sharks and four
further defeats. With this also the last time that the Stars will face the
Sharks in this competition, Billingham will set their sights on their first
victory over their close rivals this season, having lost out twice to the side
by a single goal in consecutive games in September before more recently losing out by a
greater margin as Grubb’s men managed a 7-2 win over the Teessiders last month.
As such, following their success over the Stars this season, the Sharks will
aim to continue their hard work, particularly as they sit at the top of the National
Cup’s Group A with eight points from five games. Targeting
a victory to ensure they do not risk displacement from this position as
Blackburn Hawks continue to pose a threat in this contest, Solway will go all out to achieve maximum points as they look to build on the positive start to their season whilst Billingham will set out to ruin their
rival’s plans as they aim to give their best to avoid losing out to the Sharks
for a fifth time this campaign. With both prepared to throw everything into
this meeting to avoid defeat, this game is another not to be missed, particularly
if past encounters are anything to go by.
Also, for the information of fans attending this game, Billingham Stars will be hosting their ‘Air the Bear’ event on Sunday, collecting soft toys, games and other gifts for children in hospital over the Christmas period should anyone wish to donate.
Also, for the information of fans attending this game, Billingham Stars will be hosting their ‘Air the Bear’ event on Sunday, collecting soft toys, games and other gifts for children in hospital over the Christmas period should anyone wish to donate.
Considering his team’s latest double header in the NIHL National Cup competition,
Star Chris Sykes observed:
“It’s a double
cup weekend for us and it’s maybe a good time in the season for this. After
last weekend, taking twelve guys to an away game, there’s some tired legs. The
cup is all about playing everyone and getting the younger guys on so that’s
what we will be doing in both games against the Hawks and the Sharks. It should
be two fun games and we’ve had many meetings this season already with both
teams so there is another good weekend of hockey coming up for the Stars.”
Also taking time to share his thoughts on Solway’s latest opposition,
Head Coach Martin Grubb added:
“Games against
Billingham are always tight and I expect this to be the exact same. Both teams
like to attack and have speed and skill and it will be about who takes their
chances and executes their systems better on the night. It is Billingham’s ‘Air
the Bear’ night so I hope both sets of fans can bring any soft toys they can
for a great cause.”
For those fans who wish to contribute to Ross Murray’s fundraising
campaign, please follow the link: https://mobro.co/rossmurray90.
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