NIHL North

NIHL Weekend Round-up

Following a productive pre-season, Solway Sharks took to the ice on Saturday against Sheffield Steeldogs for their first NIHL North league game of their 2018-19 campaign, recording a 4-2 loss to the defending champions.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Handing the Steeldogs an early power play when defenceman Lewis Baldwin headed to the sin bin for interference on 2:23, Solway were relieved when they found themselves on a level playing field just five seconds later as Slovakian forward Adrian Palak was sidelined for high sticks. Though incurring a second interference penalty over four minutes later, the Sharks’ misdemeanours were significantly less than Sheffield’s during the opening period as Ben Morgan’s men racked up a total of twelve penalty minutes in comparison to the Dumfries outfit’s four PIMs. Despite this, it took Solway some time to make the most of their power plays but the side eventually managed to open the scoring on 18:49 as defenceman Josh Grieveson netted with assistance from forward Joe Coulter and left winger Steven Moore.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Finding themselves shorthanded just before the first interval, the Steeldogs returned to the ice to kill the remainder of their penalty, only to lose a man to the sin bin twelve seconds after they were restored to five men. Failing to capitalise, Solway were then handed a second chance to double their lead when Slovakian forward Milan Kolena was made to sit out for tripping on 27:11. However, Sheffield were not about to let this small setback slow them down and instead found the target just eight seconds later as left winger Liam Charnock played the puck to forward Nathan Salem who beat Sharks’ netminder Kyle Johnston to level the scoring. Just past the halfway mark in the fixture, Solway regained their lead through forward Iain Bowie, this time Moore teaming up with blue liner Baldwin to assist. After serving another two penalties in quick succession, Sheffield recovered their composure to accomplish a second equaliser, this time Alternate Captain Ashley Calvert making the most of a pass from ‘D’ man Thomas Relf on 34:45 to see the outfits head in on level terms.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Picking up a penalty just forty four seconds into the final stanza, the Sharks worked hard to prevent their opposition from edging ahead on the power play but, despite maintaining discipline for most of the game, Solway ironically incurred successive penalties which ultimately saw the side fall behind; an interference penalty from left winger Cale Tanaka was followed by a hooking penalty from forward Scott Henderson just six seconds after the Sharks had been restored to full strength. In consequence, the Steeldogs built enough momentum to fire themselves into the lead with a power play on 54:39, Kolena and Salem linking up to allow Player-Coach Morgan to print his name on the scoresheet. Buoyed by this goal, the visitors rallied to extend their lead to 4-2, this time Kolena guiding the puck home courtesy of Calvert and former Shark Duncan Speirs with just over two minutes remaining in the contest. Defeated, the Sharks picked up one last penalty when Bowie was sent to the sin bin for charging on 59:27 to prompt a timeout from his team but there was nothing that could be said to change the final result in what was, for the most part, a close game with very little to separate the two sides.

Meanwhile, Whitley Warriors suffered a 12-6 road defeat to Telford Tigers on Saturday evening, though the Hillheads outfit worked hard in their attempt to take something from this game.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Opening the scoring just forty eight seconds in through Alternate Captain Sam Zajac, the Warriors stunned Telford’s netminder Denis Bell with a second on 6:05, this time left winger Ben Campbell the man on target as Captain Dean Holland threaded a pass to his line mate. Playing at a quick pace in the early stages of this contest, the Warriors then added a third to their tally when forward Joseph Aston was sinbinned for a late hit, Campbell claiming his second of the evening on the power play as Holland assisted alongside forward DJ Good. Though this goal prompted Telford to switch Bell for backup netminder Thomas Hovell, the game began to shift in favour of the home team as Whitley’s forward Callum Watson placed the Tigers on a power play just twenty four seconds later. Making the most of this opportunity, Telford claimed their first goal of the game through Captain Jason Silverthorn who was helped onto the scoresheet by Alternate Captain Jonathan Weaver and defenceman Corey Goodison. Just under five minutes later, Tom Watkins’ team went within a goal of their opposition, this time right winger Andrew McKinney netting to see his team head in on the wrong end of the 3-2 score line.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Getting off to the best possible start in the second period, the Tigers bagged themselves a goal one minute in to level the scoring as Scott McKenzie carved a path through Whitley’s defence to fire the puck glove side. A delayed slashing penalty for defenceman Josh Maddock then presented Telford with the chance to get ahead for the first time in the contest, McKenzie snatching his second of the evening when the puck fell sweetly in front of him. Fifty seconds after this goal, the Tigers extended their lead to make it 5-3, Silverthorn nabbing his second of the clash courtesy of forwards Rick Plant and Aston. Unwilling to resign themselves to their defeat, the Warriors fought back to claim a fourth when forward Shaun Kippin found a way past Hovell for the first time in the game; Campbell and blue liner Liam Smedley assisting. Moments later, young forward Brodie Jesson hit Warriors’ defenceman Kyle Ross from behind and chaos ensued to see both Jesson and Whitley’s stand-in defenceman Ryan Sample ejected from the game. Besides these penalties, Warriors Ross Douglass and Tigers Corey Goodison and Warren Tait earned themselves 2+2 for fighting, whilst Ross also incurred the same penalty despite being floored by Jesson. Spurred on by this incident, Whitley responded with an equaliser to tie the game at 5-5 as Zajac threaded a pass to Campbell who completed his hat trick just twelve seconds after Jesson’s hit on Ross. Despite this fantastic effort though, the Tigers had the final say in the period, scoring just twenty two seconds before the second break when McKenzie found himself two-on-one to guide the puck around Lawson and into the net.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

As Watson earned himself a holding penalty at the end of the middle section, the Warriors found themselves on the penalty kill at the start of the final stanza. Working hard to see off the Tigers’ creative play, David Longstaff’s line-up returned to full strength only to concede forty seconds later when ‘D’ man Nick Oliver notched a goal. This was soon followed up by an eighth as Silverthorn completed his hat trick but Whitley retaliated thirty six seconds later when Good battled his way onto the scoresheet with support arising from Campbell and Zajac. Any hope that the Warriors gained from the 8-6 score line was quickly extinguished when Zajac was shown to the sin bin for interference to provide the Tigers with a power play. Turning assist, Silverthorn linked up with Weaver to present Goodison with his first goal of the 2018-19 campaign. Changing netminders to see Jordan Boyle take the place of Lawson, the Warriors barely had time to compose themselves before the puck was again in the net, this time young forward Jed Moreland capitalising on 47:39. A 2+10 boarding penalty for Ross dealt Whitley a further blow at the halfway point of the period and the Tigers achieved their eleventh goal of the contest soon after when McKenzie fired a one-timer to put the game beyond doubt. The Warriors continued to try their luck but their efforts proved fruitless as the period drew to a close and it was Telford who were able to round off the scoring as Adam Taylor made it 12-6 when forward Jack Watkins and winger Tait made an impact in the final minute of the encounter.

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