WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 3rd February 2018
Nottingham Lions vs. Billingham Stars
Solway
Sharks vs. Solihull Barons
Sunday
4th February 2018
Whitley Warriors vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Blackburn
Hawks vs. Solway Sharks
Billingham
Stars vs. Nottingham Lions
Fixture:
Nottingham
Lions vs. Billingham Stars
Date: 3rd February 2018
Venue: National Ice Centre
Faceoff: 5:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Having first faced Nottingham Lions in January,
Billingham Stars now prepare for a double header against the determined, newly
promoted outfit as the Teessiders aim to build on last weekend’s positive
performances which saw the side claim a 7-5 victory over rivals Solway Sharks and
a landslide 15-0 win over The Dragons. Competing in both games with a short
bench last weekend, the Stars proved capable of achieving the results they
have been searching for since September, meaning the outfit will head into
their upcoming road trip against Matt Bradbury’s ninth-placed Lions with much
momentum and a significant confidence boost as they look to take maximum points
from this encounter. Yet to travel to the National Ice Centre this season, the
Stars will make the journey with hopes to build on their recent 5-3 victory over
Nottingham; a game which saw Billingham grab a two-goal lead in the
first period through alternate captain Chris Sykes, only for the Lions to halve
their deficit early in the second period before Stars’ captain Michael Elder restored his team’s lead at the end of the middle stanza whilst Sykes bagged himself a hat trick between goals from Nottingham’s captain Elliot
Perrin and forward Joe Humphries which gave the Stars a narrow lead of 4-3.
Though striving for overtime, the Lions were forced to accept their defeat when Elder netted to
provide Billingham with a win in the final two minutes of the game. With their previous meeting proving to be
close, Bradbury’s men will set out to avenge this defeat in front of their home crowd on Saturday evening as they look to close the six-point gap which
has developed between themselves and the Stars in the lower positions of the
NIHL’s Division One. Billingham, meanwhile, find themselves just seven points
behind Blackburn Hawks at present and will aim to continue their progress in
the league to make up for their poor form at the start of the season.
Fixture:
Solway Sharks vs. Solihull Barons
Date: 3rd February 2018
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Playing host to Solihull Barons on Saturday evening for what will be
their third meeting with the side this season, Solway Sharks will take to the
ice with the objective to build on last weekend’s mixed form which saw the
Dumfries outfit recover from Saturday’s road defeat to Billingham Stars with a
6-3 away victory over Steven Duncombe’s Blackburn Hawks. So far this campaign,
the Sharks have claimed maximum points against the Barons, first achieving a
4-2 home win in October before edging into the lead in December’s contest which
saw Martin Grubb’s men triumph narrowly by three goals to two. Having taken the
lead through Czech defenceman Vaclav Kolarik in their most recent encounter against the side, Solway fell behind to goals
from skilled forward Adam Brittle and experienced defenceman Marcus Maynard, before tying the game in the third period courtesy of alternate captain Ross
Murray and subsequently taking the lead through blue liner Kyle Horne.
Contending closely with the Barons in both of these encounters, the Sharks will
be ready to face another challenge against tough opposition on Saturday,
particularly as Solihull’s form has been excellent of late, the outfit having
won four of their last five games, only missing out on the points last Sunday
after a strong performance against Hull Pirates saw the Barons lose 4-3. Currently
sitting in fifth place, just six points behind the Sharks, Solihull will aim to demonstrate that they have what
it takes to compete with those in the top four positions whilst being equally
conscious of their need to extend the gap between themselves and their closest
competition in Division One. Likewise, Solway will also be aware of the slender
margin between themselves and the Barons and will therefore give their all to
ensure that they grab both points in front of their home crowd to make their
game in hand count. Likely to be another close game between two highly
competitive outfits, Saturday’s fixture will certainly be one to watch if previous
fixtures between these sides are anything to go by.
Looking ahead to this encounter with the Barons, Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb acknowledged:
“Solihull are a team who have a good mix of youth and
experience and they have good depth so they will be tough to beat. We always
seem to have tight games with them and I don’t expect this game to be any
different but we will have to improve on last weekend, especially defensively,
to get the result we want.”
Fixture:
Whitley
Warriors vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Date: 4th February 2018
Venue: Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Faceoff: 5:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Facing
just one game this weekend, Whitley Warriors will be put to the test by former
EPL team Sheffield Steeldogs on Sunday evening as the Hillheads outfit play
host to Ben Morgan’s men for a second time, having already lost out to the
side twice this season. First defeated by five goals to two on the road in
November, the Warriors then endured a 4-2 loss on home ice as David
Longstaff’s shortbenched team gave their all to try to contend with their
visitors. Taking the lead eighty seven seconds into their most recent meeting
with the Steeldogs, the Warriors then lost alternate captain Jordan Barnes
minutes later when the power forward was ejected from the game for a check from
behind against Sheffield’s Slovakian import Milan Kolena. As such, the
Steeldogs were able to get themselves back into this contest with a goal from
left winger Andrew Hirst and two from player-coach Morgan. Remaining composed despite Warrior Ben Richards pulling a goal back for his team to make it 3-2, Kolena bagged a shorthanded goal
around the midpoint of the final stanza to take the points out of Whitley’s
reach. In consequence, the Warriors will hope to have more players at their
disposal on Sunday, knowing that they were able to achieve a respectable score
line with a short bench and could therefore pose a great threat with a full
squad available to them. The Steeldogs, meanwhile, will take to the ice for a third time this weekend after playing Hull Pirates in consecutive cup fixtures as they look to progress into the NIHL National Cup final, these games potentially providing the team with much momentum heading into Sunday’s encounter as they embrace their challenging schedule. With both teams contending closely this season, this game is set to be another interesting clash between two physical teams who will give their all to achieve a victory.
Considering this clash, Whitley Warriors’ player-coach
David Longstaff noted:
“It’s a good chance to get last week’s game at Telford
out of the system against another top team in our league. We’ll hopefully have
a strong team out.”
Looking forward to this contest,
Steeldogs’ captain Lewis Bell shared:
“Sunday will be our third game in three days after our
cup semi-final with Hull so it will no doubt be a very tough game against a
good Whitley side who are in good form. We’ll need to be at our best again and
will, of course, be aiming to come out with two points.”
Fixture:
Blackburn
Hawks vs. Solway Sharks
Date: 4th February 2018
Venue: Blackburn Ice Arena
Faceoff: 5:45pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia – Ian Hanlon
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After
playing Blackburn Hawks on the road just last Sunday, Solway Sharks will
journey to Lancashire as the outfits face each other for one last time this
campaign. Claiming two points against Steven Duncombe’s team in a 6-3 victory
last weekend, the Sharks will be prepared for the Hawks to throw everything
into this game as Blackburn look to make amends for their recent defeat to the Dumfries
outfit. Last weekend saw the Hawks achieve an early lead through Slovakian
import Jozef Ištocy before the Sharks were able to hit back with four goals of
their own, Solway then conceding twice in the first two minutes of the third
period to allow Blackburn to creep back into the game. As such, Grubb’s men will
be all too familiar with the threat that Blackburn will pose throughout their
upcoming contest and will equally be ready for the Lancashire outfit to make an
impression in the opening stages of the game. Having fallen into seventh place
in recent weeks, the Hawks currently find themselves three points behind
Whitley Warriors and as such, will set out with the objective to climb the
league table this weekend, beginning with a difficult game against Tom Watkins’
tricky Telford Tigers. With both teams very much in need of the points to
continue to contend with their immediate competition in Division One, the Hawks
will head out with revenge in mind whilst Solway will seek to build on last
weekend’s win, knowing they have what it takes to defeat Duncombe and his men.
Adding to his earlier comments,
Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb reflected:
“Last weekend’s result will have no bearing on this
game and we will need to be ready to play for sixty minutes and not switch off
like last Sunday. We know they are dangerous and what we need to do to get a
positive result so we will go with a plan and look for the win.”
Fixture:
Billingham
Stars vs. Nottingham Lions
Date: 4th February 2018
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 6:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia – Ian Hanlon
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After
facing Nottingham Lions on the road on Saturday evening, Billingham Stars will
prepare for a second contest against Matt Bradbury’s team, though this time in
front of a home crowd. Winning four of their last five home games, the Stars
can take confidence from their recent performances at The Forum to present a
challenge to the Lions who continue to be difficult competition, only last
weekend managing a respectable 4-2 defeat to Sheffield Steeldogs at the
National Ice Centre. Winning just five out of the twenty seven games they have
played to date, the Lions are able to put up far more of a fight than their
present league form suggests which should make for another hard fought game on
Sunday evening. Boasting a fantastic work ethic and displaying a great deal of
fortitude this season, Nottingham will travel to Teesside on Sunday with the
aim to claw back some points to ensure Billingham do not extend the
growing gap between the two sides to remain within displacement distance of the
Stars. Meanwhile, Billingham will be hoping for another four-point weekend and,
should they accomplish a win over Nottingham on Saturday, the Teessiders will
be even more determined to gain both points on Sunday, knowing that they are
beginning to make some good progress to improve on the run of bad form they
suffered at the start of the season. With a win making a huge difference to
both teams in the lower positions of the league table, the duo will be ready to
endure a battle in this game, knowing that the points will be crucial in the
final stages of the season.
Looking forward to his team’s latest
double header, Player of the Month Chris Sykes shared:
“It’s another big weekend for us, a double header weekend
against the Lions and, in our last game, we came out on top! Only playing them
once this season, they’ve put up some good results against the higher teams in
the league so we will be in for a good game against them but hopefully
another four points is what we get!”
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