NIHL North

NIHL Weekend Round-up

Solway Sharks continued their good form in NIHL North’s Division One with an 8-2 win over Solihull Barons on Saturday evening.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Making a positive start to this game, Solway’s hopes of opening the scoring became a reality when defenceman Lewis Baldwin and forward Joe Coulter teamed up to supply the puck to Slovakian left winger Peter Gápa who beat netminder Sam Hewitt on 6:57. Minor penalties for young defenceman Ben Coughtrie and Solihull’s Slovakian forward Filip Supa on 12:43 were the first of many in the contest but it was not long after their return to the ice that Solway doubled their lead through forward Rick Bentham as Coulter bagged his second assist of the evening following a pass from fellow forward Connor Henderson.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Carrying this two-goal lead into the second period, the Sharks wasted little time in adding a third to the scoreboard as Bentham turned assist alongside Alternate Captain James Hutchinson to allow forward Scott Henderson to slot home. It was not long after this goal that tempers began to flare; defenceman Stephen Crowe making a hit on Canadian Cale Tanaka from behind which resulted in Baldwin’s intervention. Consequently, Crowe received a penalty of 2+2 for roughing whilst Baldwin was ejected from the game for third man in. Meanwhile, Ross Murray’s promise of retribution for Crowe’s actions saw the Alternate Captain receive a ten minute misconduct penalty for his part in the incident. As such, the Sharks were placed on the power play and worked hard to make it 4-0, this time Captain Struan Tonnar the man on target as Bentham assisted alongside blue liner Stuart Kerr on 30:51. A crosscheck from defenceman Richard Crowe moments later then placed the Sharks back on the power play but Solway were left to rue their missed chances when the Barons returned to full strength to achieve their first goal of the game courtesy of a superb unassisted effort from forward Elliot Farrell. Regaining their composure following this goal, Solway punished Hewitt for a fifth time as left winger Steven Moore converted his creativity with support from Coulter on 39:07. Fourteen seconds later, Tanaka was sinbinned for holding sticks to allow the opposition a power play after the interval. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Quick off the mark in the third period, Bentham achieved his second goal of the game against netminder Daniel Brittle who took the place of Hewitt after the break; forward Connor Henderson supporting his teammate’s effort to make it 6-1 on 41:51. Subsequent to this goal, both teams ran into penalty trouble as Barons’ Captain Josh Bruce was sidelined for slashing only for Tanaka to incur a ten minute misconduct penalty twenty seconds later whilst Murray sat out for goaltender interference at the same time. These penalties served, Murray was then made to warm a seat in the sin bin again following another call for interference which prompted a timeout from the visitors. Striving for a second goal, Solihull achieved this feat thirty three seconds later when forward Luke Brittle netted following strong build up play from Swedish forward Niklas Ottosson and brother Adam Brittle. Though picking up yet another penalty moments later, the Sharks remained unfazed and added a seventh goal to their scoresheet shortly after their return to full strength; Tonnar with his second of the game as forward Lewis Houston teamed up with defenceman Liam Stenton to enhance Solihull’s woes. With no way back for Daniel Brittle’s outfit, the side watched on as Solway completed the scoring to make it 8-2, Coulter assisting alongside Bowie as Gápa surpassed the Barons’ defence to beat Brittle with less than four minutes left in the game. 

Now sitting in fifth position with 6 points from 4 games, Solway Sharks will continue to build on the positive start to their league campaign with a road fixture against Nottingham Lions next Sunday.

Meanwhile, Whitley Warriors achieved their first victory of the season with a 4-1 road win over Simon Butterworth’s Sutton Sting on Saturday.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia – Ian Hanlon

After fending off Sutton’s attacking play in the early stages of the game and then countering through left winger Ben Campbell, the Warriors lost Ryan Sample to the sin bin due to a tripping call. Shorthanded as a result, Whitley opened the scoring whilst on the penalty kill when Campbell beat netminder Warren Gilfoyle to present his team with a 1-0 lead; versatile centre Kyle Ross and Alternate Captain Sam Zajac working together to assist. Incurring a second tripping penalty following an offence from defenceman Ross Connolly, the Warriors began the second period on the penalty kill but were pleased when the Sting were unable to make the most of this advantage.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Dealt a minor of their own on 25:13 when Alternate Captain Stanislav Lašček was shown to the sin bin for holding, Sutton went shorthanded themselves but, with play scrappy for the most part, the Warriors could not capitalise. Unproductive on the power play, Whitley were handed two further opportunities to double their lead with the additional man but these chances slipped by to see the side head in with their slender 1-0 lead intact at the second break.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Though going shorthanded early in the final period when Swedish defenceman Jonas Fredriksson was made to sit out for interference, Sutton withstood Whitley’s power play to continue to seek out an equalising goal. Only when Warrior Sam Zajac was sinbinned for high sticks did the Sting finally manage this feat as Alternate Captain Craig Elliot found a way past netminder Richie Lawson to draw level; defenceman James Goodman and left winger Ryan Johnson on hand to assist. This goal was soon followed by a late-hit penalty for Lašček and the Warriors quickly recovered their lead, Campbell with a superb shot which sent the puck bar down and into the net after a pass from Zajac. Fifty seconds later, Gilfoyle was defeated for a third time in the game when Watson presented his team with a two-goal cushion as Campbell assisted his teammate alongside Ross. Calling a timeout subsequent to this goal, the Sting were keen to get back into the game but unable to find the net for a second time, Sutton pulled netminder Gilfoyle in place of an additional skater to trouble Whitley. Following a timeout of their own, the Warriors threw themselves into the defence of their lead and forced the home team back over the blue line only for Butterworth’s men to play the puck into Whitley’s defensive zone when offside. Winning the faceoff, Sutton fired a shot at Lawson but the shot stopper controlled possession before striking the puck into the Sting’s empty net to make it 4-1 just nine seconds before the final buzzer sounded, accomplishing a career first in the process.

Still sitting in ninth position with three points from seven games, the Warriors will aim to build on this first victory as they take to the road next weekend against Sheffield Steeldogs and Blackburn Hawks.

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