NIHL North

NIHL Weekend Round-up

Whitley Warriors conceded their fourth consecutive defeat with a 9-4 loss against Solway Sharks on Sunday.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

After a promising start which saw the Warriors test Solway’s netminder Kyle Johnston on several occasions, Whitley were placed on a lengthy penalty kill which began when Alternate Captain Jordan Barnes made way for high sticks on 3:11. Killing this penalty with success, the Warriors went shorthanded for a second time when Captain Dean Holland was sinbinned for tripping just over a minute before blue liner Josh Maddock joined his teammate to serve a penalty of 2+10 for boarding. Despite their enhanced advantage, the Dumfries outfit failed to capitalise with the additional man but fought back to beat netminder Richie Lawson, although this effort was ruled out after the suggestion that the puck had been kicked into the net. Relieved, the Warriors were glad to be given the chance to open the scoring and did so, forward Shaun Kippin teaming up with Player-Coach David Longstaff to successfully thread a pass to Barnes who netted on 16:22. Doubling their lead with just eleven seconds of the first period remaining, forward DJ Good made the most of clever play from left winger Ben Campbell to provide his team with a 2-0 lead, Alternate Captain Sam Zajac also bagging an assist.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

A high sticks offence against Sharks’ Alternate Captain Ross Murray in the early stages of the second period saw Holland sidelined again and Solway took just twenty seconds to capitalise on the power play through forward Rick Bentham. Immediately regaining composure, Kippin unleashed a fantastic shot which beat Johnston after receiving a pass from Zajac but, shortly after this goal, the power shifted to the Sharks when a hit from Solway’s Captain Struan Tonnar went unpunished, leading Whitley’s forward Callum Watson to instead incur an interference penalty just moments before Longstaff was made to serve a minor for charging. Scoring on the power play after Whitley returned to four men, the Sharks accomplished their second of the game on 26:50 as Bentham hit home another, though assist Lewis Baldwin was credited with the goal. Finding themselves with more possession and control than before, the Sharks equalised just after the halfway point of the game, Murray picking out young defenceman Liam Stenton who hit a long range shot from just inside the blue line to see the puck trickle beneath Lawson. Sensing that the points were there for the taking, forward Iain Bowie fired his team into the lead on 32:18 to make it 4-3 and, just over a minute later, Bentham went bar down to achieve his hat trick, youngster Lewis Houston with the assist. Conceding these goals in quick succession, the Warriors gained a 5-on-3 power play when Murray was joined by Gápa in the sin bin. Failing to make the most of this advantage, Whitley were greatly disappointed when Baldwin’s unassisted shot ended up in the back of Lawson’s net to see the visitors add to their tally whilst shorthanded. This goal brought about a change of netminder for the Warriors as Lawson was pulled from his post to allow backup Mark Turnbull some ice time. Five seconds later, Whitley’s winger Adam Perrie made an impact, bulleting the puck into the net to make it 6-4 heading into the third period. Despite this, the home side were dealt another blow before the break when Zajac was forced off the ice through injury following a spectacular defensive effort.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Though striving to close the gap between themselves and the Sharks, the Warriors struggled to maintain intensity as Watson headed to the sin bin for slashing on 42:11. Punishing their opposition with just four seconds of their advantage remaining, the Sharks achieved full control of the game, Bentham again the man on target before Gápa made it 8-4 courtesy of Bowie. Completing their scoring prior to the fifty minute mark, Solway fittingly ended with a goal from Bentham who was able to notch his fifth of the evening with support from defencemen Ben Coughtrie and Kyle Horne. Replacing Turnbull with Lawson in the process, Whitley went on to enjoy successive power plays but having lost pace in the third period, Longstaff’s line-up resigned themselves to another defeat, leaving Solway to celebrate on the final buzzer.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Speaking after this contest, Sharks’ Head Coach Martin Grubb kindly shared: “Games at Hillheads are always tough and we knew both teams wanted to get league points on the board. I thought we started okay but, as the first period wore on, we became wasteful in possession, failed to take our power play chances, made too many defensive errors and we were punished for it. We had to make a few adjustments to our system, made sure we didn’t panic and played our game. I thought we played well for forty minutes and dominated the game. I like the character we showed; we took our chances and created plenty more with our work rate. It was nice to show the depth we had. It was great for Liam Stenton to get his first senior goal and we are pleased with a good win. Everyone at the club would like to wish Sam Zajac a speedy recovery after what looked like a really sore one on Sunday night.”

Meanwhile, Billingham Stars can be pleased with their start to their NIHL North league campaign after finding themselves in fourth place following their 6-2 victory over Nottingham Lions on Sunday evening.

Taking an early lead through Captain Michael Elder who found himself on the scoresheet following neat work from Canadian Kevin Boyd and ‘D’ man Darren Stattersfield, Billingham enjoyed possession on the power play just eighteen seconds later when Lions’ left winger Ben Wood was sinbinned for interference. Unable to add to their goal count in spite of their additional skater, the Stars were handed a second chance when forward Ruskin Hughes made way for elbowing on 6:18 but the Teessiders could not beat netminder Alan Levers with the advantage. Continuing to persevere however, the Stars surpassed Nottingham’s defence once again as Alternate Captain Chris Sykes found the target, this time Boyd teaming up with experienced defenceman Richie Thornton to assist with almost three quarters of the period played. Shortly after this goal, the Lions’ discipline let them down again but, fortunately for the home team, Billingham’s power play fell short to see Nottingham head in just two goals down at the first interval.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

The Stars returned to the ice for the middle stanza and stunned Nottingham with a third goal just thirty eight seconds in when Elder unleashed a spectacular shot courtesy of fellow forward James Moss, though this goal was mistakenly awarded to Jack Emerson. Soon after this goal, both teams ran into penalty trouble, forward Paul Stanley considered guilty of charging whilst Stars’ defenceman Andy Finn sat out for interference just over a minute later. Fifty five seconds after returning to the ice, Stanley earned himself 2+10 for boarding and the Stars were quick to punish the Lions, blue liner Ben Davison outwitting his opposition as Stattersfield and Boyd picked up their second and third assists respectively. This period more even than the first with Nottingham testing Stars’ shot stopper Mark Watson on a more regular basis, Billingham recognised that their opposition were unwilling to give up on the points and hit back with a fifth goal eight seconds before the break, Sykes snatching his second of the encounter with support arriving from Alternate Captain Callum Davies.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

The score line 5-0, Nottingham were aware that they needed to respond quickly if they were to take anything from this clash and working hard to test Watson, the side reaped their rewards with a goal on 47:41, defenceman Callum Medcalf threading a pass to Hughes who hit home to chip away at his team’s deficit. Just after the halfway point in the period, Matt Bradbury’s men were given cause to hope for more out of the game when a late hit from Boyd allowed the Lions a power play. Forward Thomas Parkinson converting this advantage following creative play between Jacob Klima and Cameron Pywell, Nottingham were then awarded another power play when Stars’ defenceman Thomas Keeley was sinbinned for a late hit. This advantage increased to a 5-on-3 situation as Boyd was sidelined for high sticks, and the Lions called a timeout in an effort to go within a goal of their opposition. Despite this, Nottingham’s efforts fell short of their mark and instead, the Stars returned to full strength to add a final goal to their tally, Elder again on target as Callum Davies and Moss assisted on 56:48. Unable to come back from this, the Lions recorded a 6-2 defeat to Billingham who continue to go from strength to strength in their efforts to contend with the competition this season.

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