WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 17th February 2018
Solway Sharks vs. Hull Pirates
Sunday
18th February 2018
The
Dragons vs. Solway Sharks
Billingham
Stars vs.
Sheffield Steeldogs
Nottingham
Lions vs.
Whitley Warriors
Fixture:
Solway Sharks vs. Hull Pirates
Date: 17th February 2018
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Preparing
to confront Hull Pirates for a third time this season, Solway Sharks will head
into this encounter with the aim to accomplish their first win over the former
EPL side, having so far recorded two 6-3 losses to Jason Hewitt’s men. First making
the trip to Hull in October, Solway found themselves trailing by three goals at
the end of the first period after Pirates’ player-coach Hewitt and forward
Jordan Fisher printed their names on the scoresheet. Despite the Sharks’
efforts to get back into the game with a goal from young forward Scott
Henderson, Hull extended their lead to 6-1 to leave Solway
struggling to narrow this margin, the Dumfries side unable to make a comeback though managing to score two quick goals in the fifty fifth minute
of play. Playing host to the Pirates over a month later, Martin Grubb’s outfit then found themselves behind when Hull established a two-goal lead eight
minutes into the first period. Solway fought back, scoring two goals just forty
four seconds apart early in the middle stanza to equalise and, even after Hull regained their lead, the Sharks drew level for a second time. In the end, however, it was the Pirates
who triumphed as skilled forward Matty Davies completed his hat trick between
goals from right winger Bobby Chamberlain and player-coach Hewitt. Hoping to
avoid such a fate on Sunday, Solway will look to get back to winning ways after
suffering a 3-1 road defeat to Whitley Warriors last weekend. Currently sitting
in fourth position with thirty seven points from twenty nine games, the Sharks
find themselves seven points behind Hull Pirates, having played four more games
than Hewitt’s team. As such, to maintain their present position and to prevent
further competition from Solihull Barons who continue to make good progress,
Solway will aim for two points in what will be an extremely testing game as the
Pirates set their sights on a win in the hope that they can remain in the fight for
silverware.
Speaking ahead of this fixture, Sharks’ Head Coach
Martin Grubb reflected:
“The games against Hull have been our hardest games so
far and this game will be no exception. They have so much depth and experience
in their line-up that they are hard to play against but we know we have to be
aggressive and compete all over the ice if we are to get a result.”
Also looking forward to this game, Pirates’
defenceman Chris Wilcox admitted:
“This weekend is another big one for us following a
disappointing exit from both of the cups we were involved in. On Saturday, we
travel to face Solway in what will be another tough game for us. They are a
well-drilled team and tough to break down in their own rink. On Sunday, we have
another huge game against Telford. Unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side
of the result last time we met them but we had a slow start and that hurt us.
We have had a good week at training and addressed some things which will
hopefully help us this weekend. We are confident that if we play our game and
work hard, we should get two good results.”
Fixture:
The Dragons vs. Solway Sharks
Date: 18th February 2018
Venue: Deeside Leisure Centre
Faceoff: 5:45pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Following
their home clash with Hull Pirates on Saturday evening, Solway Sharks will make
the trip to Deeside to take on The Dragons for a third time this campaign.
Recording a 13-2 victory over the Welsh outfit in their first road trip of the
season, Martin Grubb’s twelve skaters were able to dominate against their
opposition’s eighteen-man squad as forward Iain Bowie managed a hat trick
against the side whilst defenceman Kyle
Horne, forward Connor Henderson, Czech blue liner Marek Charvát and alternate
captain Ross Murray each delivered two goals to overwhelm the Dragons whose key
offensive efforts arose through captain James Parsons and alternate captain
Matthew Wainwright. Playing in front of a home crowd against the side in
November, the Sharks found the Welsh team to be shortbenched as the Dragons
travelled with just thirteen skaters; two less than that of the Dumfries outfit.
Triumphing by fourteen goals to nil on this occasion, Solway’s forward Connor
Henderson and Czech defenceman Vaclav Kolarik each achieved hat
tricks against their visitors whilst Horne, Charvát, Hutchinson and Murray were
again amongst those on the scoresheet. Taking into account these
past encounters and the Dragons’ twelve-game losing streak, the Sharks will be
disappointed with anything less than two points from this fixture but will
equally look to avoid complacency as they take on Gary Shaw’s hardworking side on
Sunday. Having recorded some heavy defeats of late, including last Sunday’s
23-4 loss to former EPL outfit Hull Pirates, the Dragons will
continue to battle on, though aware of the challenge awaiting them. At present, the
Deeside-based team reside at the foot of Division One with just two wins from
twenty nine games; their only points this season collected against
Solihull Barons and Nottingham Lions. As a result of this, the Dragons will at
the very least hope to compete with the Sharks on home ice this weekend,
knowing that they have nothing to lose as they head into this fixture.
Adding to his earlier comments, Solway’s Head Coach
Martin Grubb observed:
“The Dragons are a team who have had a tough season but
are a hardworking side who deserve respect and will be looking to win at home.
We need to ensure we are ready to battle hard and play our game as we go
looking for two road points.”
Fixture:
Billingham
Stars vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Date: 18th February 2018
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 6:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Heading
into their final clash against Sheffield Steeldogs this season, Billingham Stars
approach this home fixture with hope that they can again contend with
their visitors after taking a point from a 4-3 overtime loss against Ben Morgan’s
team in October. Despite missing out on the points twice to the Steeldogs at Ice Sheffield,
first suffering a 7-3 defeat in September before losing out two weeks later by
seven goals to four, the Stars were able to compete with Sheffield in their most recent outing against the side in what was an incredibly fiery game at The Forum. Racking up one hundred and sixty penalty minutes in this meeting, the outfits battled their way
through the game as Billingham first established a two-goal lead courtesy of
power play goals from alternate captain Chris Sykes and defenceman Matthew
Campbell before Slovakian import Adrian Palak pulled back a goal for the
Steeldogs in the second
stanza. The Teessiders then responded with a third goal through
player-coach Michael Bowman but failed to hold onto their lead in the third
period, conceding a power play goal to left winger Liam Charnock and an
equaliser to forward Cameron Brownley to head into overtime; the
game finally settled when Slovakian forward Milan Kolena netted to take both
points for his team. Knowing that they have the ability to challenge Sheffield, the
Stars will take heart from the Steeldogs’ recent road results which saw
Morgan’s men lose 4-1 to Whitley Warriors at Hillheads before narrowly escaping
with the points at Hobs Moat Road after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Solihull
Barons last weekend. With this in mind, Billingham will look to avenge their previous defeats
to Sheffield with a win on Sunday but this will be no easy task as the Steeldogs cannot afford to be defeated
this weekend with so much at stake at the top of the table.
Looking ahead to Billingham’s
upcoming contest against Sheffield, Stars’ alternate captain Chris Sykes
observed:
“The Steeldogs are a team who are fighting for the top spot
and are a possible playoff opponent for us so this Sunday at The Forum is a
massive game for both teams. We know what they are like, who they have and what
they are capable of. It will be a tough game and hard work but we pushed them into overtime last time so hopefully we can come out on top.”
Also taking his time to look ahead to
the Steeldogs’ upcoming fixture against Billingham, defenceman Tom Barry
shared:
“We all feel ready for this weekend after coming off a
big win on Sunday. We expect both games this weekend to be tough. We know that
this is the business end of the season and even dropping one point could be the
difference between first and second. Sunday’s game against the Stars is going
to be tough. They had a good game last time we played them as they were winning
2-0 for the majority of the game. They have got some really skilled players and
they all know how to play as a team really well. With there not being many
games left of the season, we have to play every game like it’s a cup final. We
have to focus on what we can control and not worry about what other teams are
doing in order to give us the best chance of winning the league. I think over
the next few weeks, we as a team need to put everything we can into each and
every game.”
Fixture:
Nottingham
Lions vs. Whitley Warriors
Date: 18th February 2018
Venue: National Ice Centre
Faceoff: 7:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Travelling to the National Ice Centre on Sunday to face Nottingham Lions for one last time this season, Whitley Warriors will head into this game buoyed by their recent home victories against Sheffield Steeldogs and Solway Sharks but equally aware of the threat that Nottingham Lions pose, having lost out to Matt Bradbury’s men once already this campaign. After beating the Lions 4-1 in a close contest on home ice in September, the Warriors then managed a 5-2 road win over the outfit almost a month later before suffering a narrow 3-2 defeat at Hillheads in their previous outing against the side in November. In this clash, Whitley’s Canadian import Philip Edgar opened the scoring with less than four minutes played, only for Nottingham to hit back on the power play through alternate captain Marc Levers before forward Joseph Aston bagged a further two goals for his side which left Whitley trailing even after a blue line shot from Warriors’ defenceman Dan Pye. Looking
to avoid a result of this nature as they head out onto the ice on Sunday, the
Warriors will be prepared to face the Lions who will be hungry for victory, the
side having picked up just one point from their last six games, with their most
recent win against The Dragons last month. After pushing Billingham Stars into
overtime two weeks ago, Nottingham’s hardworking team know that they have what it takes to contend
with tough opposition but will once again be put to the test, the Warriors ready to battle for a win as David Longstaff’s line-up continue to strive for fifth place
with the knowledge that Solihull could extend the gap between themselves and Whitley this weekend. With this set to be another
entertaining clash between two strong sides, the Warriors will be prepared to
contend with Nottingham’s defensive prowess and strong work ethic to ensure that they do not leave the Lions’
den empty-handed.
Commenting ahead of this clash, player-coach David Longstaff
noted:
“We’ll be missing several
players but it will give other players in our team a chance to show what they
can do.”
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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