WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 30th December 2017
Telford
Tigers vs. Solway Sharks
Billingham
Stars vs. Blackburn
Hawks
Fixture:
Telford Tigers vs. Solway Sharks
Date: 30th December 2017
Venue: Telford Ice Rink
Faceoff: 5:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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After last weekend’s 5-2 victory over Billingham
Stars, Solway Sharks prepare to confront former EPL team Telford Tigers for the
third time this season, having so far lost out twice to Tom Watkins’ men.
Following a 5-3 road defeat to the Tigers mid-September, in which Shark Iain
Bowie was able to claim a hat trick against the Shropshire outfit, Solway then suffered
a second loss to the side on home ice, this time conceding three unanswered goals
to miss out on the points again. Over
the course of these two games, Tigers’ Canadian captain Jason Silverthorn, alternate
captain Rick Plant and right winger Joe Miller collectively contributed
thirteen points to appear at the heart of their team’s success in these
encounters. Also on the scoresheet in Telford’s first game against the Sharks
was experienced defenceman Jonathan Weaver who has recently made his return to
the side after a lengthy ban and he will no doubt shine again as he takes to the
ice on Saturday.
The Sharks, meanwhile, will look to combat Telford’s
clinical offensive play and will hope to compete as they did in their first clash
with the Tigers, the Dumfries outfit having managed to bounce back from two
goals down to draw level by the end of the first period before answering their
opposition’s third goal to head in at the second interval with the score line
tied at 3-3. Though losing out in the final stanza, the Sharks were able to
compete to a high standard against the Tigers with alternate captain Ross
Murray, left winger Steven Moore, defenceman Kyle Horne and Czech import Vaclav
Kolarik working to assist Bowie’s hat trick. As both games concluded with
respectable score lines and the Sharks avoided heavy defeats,
Martin Grubb’s side will aim to make this contest a challenging one for the Tigers,
knowing that if they execute more of their chances, the points could be theirs.
Should this be the case, Solway will go within a point of Telford who currently
sit in third place whilst a victory for the Tigers will allow the side to displace
Hull Pirates from second position; the duo are currently tied on twenty eight
points. As a result, this game is set to be a competitive one with much to gain
for the team who is able to surpass their opposition and achieve maximum
points.
Fixture:
Billingham Stars vs. Blackburn Hawks
Date: 30th December 2017
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 5:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Facing Blackburn Hawks for the seventh time this season,
having already played the Lancashire outfit four times in the NIHL National Cup
competition and twice in their league campaign, Billingham Stars will take to
the ice against familiar opposition in the hope that they can bring their
seven-game losing streak to an end; their most recent victory a 6-5 win over Steven
Duncombe’s men last month. Though the Stars have managed to claim maximum points
twice against Blackburn in the cup competition, the Teessiders have yet to
taste success against the Hawks in the league this season, though the side came
close on the opening weekend of their campaign when they lost out by a single
goal on the road. More recently, Billingham faced Blackburn on home ice and
were disappointed to record a 5-3 defeat having first taken a two-goal lead. Though
this encounter was certainly not short of goals, it was, however, lacking
discipline as the sides racked up the penalty minutes, this physical style of play resulting in forwards Josh Nertney and Lee Pollitt dropping
the gloves whilst ‘D’ men Darren Stattersfield and Bobby Streetly went on to clash
in the final minute of the game.
Heading into this latest contest, both teams will
aim to stay out of the sin bin to increase their chances of
success. Whilst Billingham continue their search for some much-needed points to
move away from ninth place and ahead of Nottingham Lions, Blackburn will
equally give their all to achieve a win knowing that they could begin to push for fourth place, though this will depend on Friday evening’s result against Sheffield Steeldogs and also Solway Sharks’ performance against Telford Tigers on Saturday. Also, the Hawks find themselves ahead
of sixth-placed Solihull due to the Barons’ recent points deduction, meaning Duncombe’s
team will surely set out to take advantage of this latest development, besides
making their three games in hand count, to ensure that they do not fall behind the
outfit as they have in recent weeks. In their last four games, Blackburn’s
chief points scorers have been forwards Rick Bentham, with four goals and eight
assists, Aaron Davies, with a tally of three goals and four assists, and Matt
Viney, with his contribution of two goals and three assists. By comparison,
Billingham’s standout players have been alternate captain Chris Sykes, Latvian
forward Deniss Baškatovs, captain Michael Elder and forward James Moss who, together, have
delivered nine goals and eleven assists over the course of their team’s last
four fixtures. As such, both teams are more than capable of posing a threat in
front of goal but whether or not the Stars can match that of the Hawks will
only become clear on Saturday as Billingham pin their hopes on a positive result
prior to the New Year.
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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