WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Sunday 16th September 2018
Whitley Warriors vs. Solway Sharks
Nottingham
Lions vs. Billingham Stars
Fixture:
Whitley
Warriors vs. Solway Sharks
Date: 16th September 2018
Venue: Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Faceoff: 5:00 pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Set to play host to
Solway Sharks on Sunday evening, Whitley Warriors will hope to emulate last
season’s success on home ice against the Dumfries outfit, having won both of their
games against Martin Grubb’s men at Hillheads in their previous campaign. Last
season, Whitley began with a 3-1 road loss in their opening fixture against the Sharks but the Warriors then put the outfit to the test with a 4-2
home win in October. With just two goals separating the contenders on both occasions, Solway went on to win by a wider margin at the Ice Bowl in January, scoring seven
goals to Whitley’s three to triumph over David Longstaff’s line-up in their
first game after New Year. Despite this result, the Warriors rallied again to
take another victory against the Sharks at Hillheads almost one month later,
this time managing a 3-1 win to claim both points in front of their home crowd.
Often fast-paced and fiery, the two teams have a history of clashing in recent
campaigns and, despite the increasing importance of discipline at this level, there were some heated exchanges between the teams last season. In particular, Solway’s Ross Murray strategically instigated a
fight with Warrior Jordan Barnes in a bid to fire up his teammates after his
side fell behind.
Both teams have added to
their usual cohort of players this summer, with Solway Sharks acquiring the
services of eighteen-year-old netminder Jordan McLaughlin from Edinburgh
Capitals as well as bringing in two new imports in the form of ex-EIHL left
winger Cale Tanaka and Slovakian Peter Gápa. Meanwhile, more familiar to NIHL
North are former Hawks’ defenceman Lewis Baldwin and forward Rick Bentham who
have also joined Solway for their 2018-19 campaign. Enhancing what was already
a very strong roster with speed and skill, the Sharks will certainly fight for
the points on Sunday and, as such, the Warriors will be fully aware that they will
have to be at their very best. Securing the signing of former Guildford Flames
left winger Ben Campbell, Player-Coach David Longstaff will hope that his new
signing can continue to build on his current run of form, after recording 4
goals and 3 assists in 7 games. Also influential for the Warriors in recent
league fixtures, Alternate Captain Sam Zajac and Captain Dean Holland have both contributed considerably to Whitley’s creative play so far. With both
sides boasting strong offensive line-ups and resilient defensive units, this
fixture will hopefully prove to be another fantastic, closely contested clash
between two highly competitive outfits who are prepared to go all out for the
points.
Whilst a win for Whitley
would see the outfit receive a much needed boost after suffering three
consecutive defeats over the last two weeks, Solway Sharks are also looking for
their first victory of the season after losing 4-2 to Sheffield Steeldogs last
Saturday. With the points meaning a great deal to both teams, this meeting
should be just as entertaining as past encounters between these two sides and
is therefore not one to be missed.
Fixture:
Nottingham
Lions vs. Billingham Stars
Date: 16th September 2018
Venue: National Ice Centre
Faceoff: 5:30 pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Visiting Nottingham Lions
at the National Ice Centre for the first time this campaign, Billingham Stars
will prepare for a difficult contest against the only side still in Division One that they did not
concede defeat to last season. Accomplishing a 5-3 win over Matt Bradbury’s
men back in January, the Stars then faced the Lions in consecutive games in
February, first recording a 6-1 win on the road before travelling back to The
Forum where they were able to scrape both points in overtime in a
thrilling game which saw Billingham’s Alternate Captain Chris Sykes bag himself
a hat trick whilst Nottingham’s Paul Stanley and Marc Levers each scored a
brace to allow their side to snatch a point. Despite this
excellent effort against the Teessiders, the Lions were then
disappointed to concede six unanswered goals in front of their home crowd one
week later in a game which was heavily punctuated with penalties; Nottingham’s
defenceman Luke Thomas, Alternate Captain Levers and forward Paul Lofthouse each
earning themselves 2+2 for fighting alongside Sykes, blue liner Ben Davison and
defenceman Ross Hanlon who also earned an additional penalty of 2+10 for a
check to the head. In consequence, with the Lions proving to be far more
challenging competition than their final league position suggested, Nottingham
will surely set out to test Billingham when they play host to the side this
Sunday.
Aiming to convert their
hard work into victories this season, Nottingham’s Head Coach Matt Bradbury has
re-signed much of last season’s roster, including strong Captain Elliot Perrin,
top points scorer Levers and forward Stanley, besides adding Czech import Jakub Klima, to provide his
outfit with the best chance to improve on last season’s ninth place finish.
Likewise, the Stars will also set out with the objective to build on the
performances of their most recent outing after ending their 2017-18 campaign in
eighth place, a huge underachievement for a team who have shown themselves to
be capable of far more over the last few seasons. Losing to the defending
champions by just one goal in their first league game of their campaign, the
Stars bounced back to claim two points against Solihull Barons on the following
evening with a 5-4 win. On hand to help their side to achieve this result were
forwards Jack Davies, James Moss and Lithuanian Edgar Protčenko who each
notched a goal and an assist whilst Sykes and youngster Ethan Hehir were also
on the scoresheet, seemingly picking up from where they left off last season.
With a great deal of ability in offence, Billingham will utilise their skill
and resolve to break down Nottingham’s compact defence.
Setting their sights on
maximum points on the road to build on their current points tally, the Stars
will need to prepare for a very demanding game against the Lions, if last
season is anything to go by, whereas Nottingham will seek out victory to gain
confidence after three landslide defeats to Telford Tigers, Sheffield Steeldogs
and Solihull Barons in their opening fixtures. With both teams looking to make
their hard work count, the two
sides will give this game their best when they face each other on Sunday evening.
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