WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 29th September 2018
Solway
Sharks vs. Solihull
Barons
Sutton
Sting vs.
Whitley Warriors
Fixture:
Solway Sharks vs. Solihull
Barons
Date: 29th September 2018
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00 pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Inviting Solihull Barons
to the Dumfries Ice Bowl for the first time this season, Solway Sharks will
head out onto the ice on Saturday with the aim to progress in the league
standings, knowing that their visitors pose a great threat having achieved six points from their last five games. In their
last campaign, the Sharks recorded three victories from four against the Barons
in their regular season, before losing 9-7 to the side on aggregate in the league playoffs. Always
extremely entertaining, it is unsurprising that contests between
these two sides produce narrow score lines and last season was evidence of
this with the Sharks first recording a 4-2 win in October on home ice before winning
by the slimmer margin of 3-2 in December, in which Solway’s power forward Ross
Murray clashed with Barons’ Captain Josh Bruce, each player dealt 2+2 for
roughing with just seven seconds of the game remaining. Facing Solihull at the
Dumfries Ice Bowl again in February, the Sharks triumphed by 5-2 before finally
suffering a 5-3 defeat to Daniel Brittle’s outfit in March in another
fiery fixture which saw the sides collectively rack up 38 penalty minutes;
Barons’ defencemen Dave Rogers, forward Stephen Heape and blue liner Daniel
Harrison amongst those punished for the home team.
On Saturday, Solway will hope that
current top points scorers Rick Bentham, Steven Moore, Peter Gápa and Murray can be just as instrumental in this fixture as they have so far this
season. At present, the quartet have collectively achieved 10 goals and 15
assists in 3 league games to allow the Sharks to contend to a high standard in
their opening fixtures. Just last weekend, Alternate Captain Murray grabbed a hat trick
against Nottingham Lions whilst Moore managed 4 assists in this encounter. In consequence, Solway will look to trouble Solihull’s defence in a
bid to further their current league placement as they find themselves tied on 4
points with Sutton Sting, Blackburn Hawks and Billingham Stars going into this
weekend’s fixture. However, currently sitting in fourth place, Solihull will
hunt down two points to hold onto their league position as Brittle’s team prepare
to make an impact on the road having so far suffered an away loss to Sutton Sting. In Solihull’s last five fixtures, Swedish forward Niklas Ottosson has contributed
greatly to his team’s success, scoring 4 goals and 13 assists, whilst forward
Luke Brittle has also been incredibly influential, notching 11 goals and 4
assists. As such, the duo will provide their team with the best chance of
competing for a place in the NIHL’s top four, the Barons having finished just
behind the Sharks last season.
Whilst Solway will seek
maximum points from this game to build on recent performances, the Barons will
travel to the Dumfries Ice Bowl in an effort to distance themselves from the close competition peering over their shoulder. Packed with pace and power, meetings between these two
outfits are never uneventful, making this game one to watch when the sides faceoff on Saturday.
Fixture:
Sutton Sting vs.
Whitley Warriors
Date: 29th September 2018
Venue: Ice Sheffield
Faceoff: 7:30 pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
|
Having last faced Sutton Sting in February 2017, the
Warriors will prepare to once again confront Simon Butterworth’s team of strong
contenders at Ice Sheffield on Saturday with expectations of a difficult
encounter if the side’s work ethic and fortitude are anything to go by. Crowned
champions of NIHL North’s Division Two at the end of their last campaign, the
Sting deservingly gained promotion and they have already shown themselves to be
strong opposition, recording two victories in their last five games, triumphing
over both Solihull Barons and Billingham Stars. In the last four-game series
between these two sides, the Warriors won three of those fixtures, recording
two 4-2 victories at Hillheads before finding themselves on the wrong end of
the same score line at Ice Sheffield in December 2016 which they followed up
with a 5-2 away win in February. These clashes often highly competitive due to
the fight, spirit and desire shown by both outfits, this game is expected to be
another fierce battle as the two go head-to-head for the points once again.
Whilst Whitley’s skilled and experienced core of offensive players will
no doubt pose a threat to the Sting’s defence, with left winger Ben Campbell,
defenceman Sam Zajac and forward DJ Good appearing particularly dangerous in
front of goal of late, Sutton will turn to their own forward line which includes
formidable Slovakian right winger Stanislav Lašček, versatile left winger Ryan
Johnson and skilled youngster Brady Doxey. As Sutton currently sit in fifth
position with four points from five games, the outfit will be aiming to climb
the table in the coming weeks. Though losing 8-3 and 10-0 in a double header
against Hull Pirates, the Sting
narrowly missed out on points against Blackburn Hawks in a 3-2 defeat and
recent victories are testament to the great progress they have made in the
early stages of their 2018-19 campaign. The Warriors, meanwhile, remain in
ninth place with a single point from last Saturday’s overtime loss to Solihull
Barons after a difficult start to their season.
Whilst Sutton will hunt down a victory to challenge Solihull for fourth
position, the Warriors will seek out their first win of the season to give themselves a much needed boost. With the points much
sought-after as a result, this game could be a tight contest between two highly
competitive, hardworking outfits.
For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.
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