NIHL North

NIHL Weekend Roundup

Solway Sharks accomplished a convincing 5-1 victory over Billingham Stars at the Dumfries Ice Bowl on Saturday evening to slip into third place, just one point behind current league leaders Telford Tigers.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia – Ian Hanlon

Shortly after faceoff, Solway were handed a power play when Billingham’s defenceman Andy Finn was sidelined for crosschecking and the Sharks made the most of their additional skater with just ten seconds of their advantage remaining, Slovakian Peter Gápa punishing the Star’s misdemeanour alongside left winger Steven Moore and forward Iain Bowie. With both netminders facing their fair share of shots, the Teessiders looked to get back on level terms when Sharks’ defenceman Michael Thomson received a minor for crosschecking but, as Solway remained strong on the penalty kill, Billingham were only able to find an equaliser forty three seconds after the Dumfries outfit returned to full strength, Lithuanian Edgar Protčenko netting after neat work from forward James Moss and Alternate Captain Chris Sykes. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Heading in at the first break with a goal apiece, the outfits returned to the ice with the same aim but it was the home team who were able to fire themselves into the lead courtesy of Bowie as Gápa turned assist alongside forward Joe Coulter on 23:18. With the Sharks taking control to pepper Billingham’s netminder James Flavell with shot after shot, the side finally broke down the Stars’ defence to make it 3-1 in the final two minutes of the second period, this time defenceman Lewis Baldwin and Canadian Cale Tanaka working together to assist Moore. 

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Having only registered four shots on Kyle Johnston’s net in the middle stanza, Billingham were keen to improve when they faced off for the third period and did so, challenging the Sharks’ defensive unit more frequently than before. However, Solway also had numerous chances to extend their lead further but allowed the visitors a power play when Alternate Captain Ross Murray was sinbinned for elbowing Protčenko on 49:29. Despite this, Solway battled against their opposition to ensure they did not concede and, just twenty four seconds later, the Sharks achieved a shorthanded goal when Moore linked up with Tanaka to make it 4-1. The game beginning to take its toll on the Stars, defenceman Matthew Campbell incurred a match penalty for fighting after his failed attempt to provoke Murray. This allowed Martin Grubb’s men to capitalise on the power play when blue liner Stuart Kerr passed to forward Scott Henderson who added a fifth goal to the Sharks’ tally. Disheartened, Billingham could not bounce back from this, even when Tanaka was shown to the sin bin for hooking to allow the Stars the additional skater on 56:20. The game all but over, Solway saw out the last moments of the encounter with confidence as a result of their 5-1 lead but Billingham completed the game with one less skater as defenceman Darren Stattersfield was made to sit out for roughing with just ten seconds left to play.

Whilst Solway sit in third place with twelve points from eight fixtures, the Stars find themselves in seventh, having notched three victories in seven games to remain level on points with Sutton Sting.

Meanwhile, Whitley Warriors achieved their third victory of the season on Sunday with a 9-1 win over Nottingham Lions at the National Ice Centre.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

After taking the lead through Latvian defenceman Rolands Gritāns just forty eight seconds after faceoff, Whitley Warriors dominated and doubled their tally when winger Adam Perrie fired the puck top corner from the Lions’ goal line after hard work from forward Callum Watson on 5:19. Whilst a slashing penalty for versatile defenceman Phil Edgar presented Nottingham with a power play, Matt Bradbury’s men were unable to make the most of their additional skater as Whitley cleared their lines effectively to protect shot stopper Richie Lawson. The Warriors then added a third shortly after returning to full strength when Alternate Captain Jordan Barnes beat Nottingham’s netminder Alan Levers to make it 3-0, clinical play in the Lions’ defensive zone resulting in forward Shaun Kippin playing the puck from behind the net to assist his line mate.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Handed a power play early in the second period when Lions’ forward Paul Stanley made way for a tripping offence on 24:05, the Warriors added a fourth goal to Nottingham’s deficit when Edgar rocketed a shot beyond Levers after collecting the puck from Alternate Captain Sam Zajac in Whitley’s defensive zone. Both teams then ran into penalty trouble as Captain Dean Holland was sinbinned for a late hit before Nottingham’s Joseph Gretton made way for roughing. Eventually restored to full strength, the Warriors continued to search for a fifth goal and came close when forwards Watson, Kyle Ross and Niall Ryder teamed up to force a save from Levers. However, as play halted, a fight broke out between Barnes and Gretton which saw a furious exchange of punches before the Warrior pulled the Lion to the ice. Twenty nine seconds after these players received 2+2 for fighting, David Longstaff’s men made it 5-0 as long-serving forward DJ Good linked up with left winger Ben Campbell who achieved his second goal of the game. Though Whitley continued to attack, penalties disrupted the flow of play for both teams, meaning neither side could find the net in the latter stages of the middle stanza.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Rewarded another power play when Lion Marc Levers headed to the sin bin for slashing on 42:05, Whitley punished Nottingham’s misdemeanour with a goal as Kippin converted a slick pass from Edgar to make it 6-0 less than four minutes in. Thirty six seconds later, Campbell utilised his skill to outmanoeuvre Nottingham’s defence and achieve his second of the game following hard work from Holland and Ross. Calling a timeout on 44:25, the Lions opted to switch netminder Levers with sixteen-year-old backup Massimo Agostini whilst the Warriors allowed second choice Jordan Boyle some ice time in place of Lawson. Moments later, Watson went toe-to-toe with defenceman Callum Medcalf and conclusively defeated his opponent before both players were sinbinned for fighting; Captain Elliot Perrin also receiving a ten-minute misconduct penalty in the process. These penalties were closely followed by a clipping offence from defenceman Kieran Raynor on Ross which saw him ejected from the game to award Whitley a five-minute power play. Making the most of this opportunity, Campbell completed his hat trick after a precise pass from Player-Coach David Longstaff just past the halfway point in the stanza. A holding penalty for Nottingham’s blue liner Jamie Hovell then extended the Warriors’ advantage to allow Campbell to achieve his third consecutive goal of the period with an assist from Gritāns. Leaving it late to beat Whitley’s defence, the Lions were finally able to register a goal with just thirty one seconds remaining as top points scorer Ruskin Hughes capitalised on the hard work of Marc Levers with assistance from Czech forward Jakub Klima.

The score line 9-1, Whitley now sit in sixth place with seven points from eleven games whilst the Lions remain at the foot of the table, having yet to pick up a point from the ten fixtures they have played so far.   

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