WEEKEND
PREVIEW
NIHL
NORTH DIVISION 1 (MORALEE)
Saturday 2nd December 2017
Hull
Pirates vs. Billingham Stars
Solway
Sharks vs. Blackburn
Hawks (National Cup)
Sunday
3rd December 2017
Whitley Warriors vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Solihull
Barons vs. Solway Sharks
Billingham
Stars vs. Blackburn
Hawks
Fixture:
Hull Pirates vs. Billingham Stars
Date: 2nd December 2017
Venue: Hull Arena
Faceoff: 6:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Having
played Hull Pirates twice already this season, first suffering a
heavy road defeat in October and then losing out by the
narrow margin of 6-4 at The Forum in recent weeks, Billingham Stars will hope
to achieve a win over the former EPL outfit as they make
the journey to Hull Arena with the aim to improve on their previous road trip against
Jason Hewitt’s team. Whilst both Latvian forward Deniss Baškatovs and
defenceman Artūrs Ozols have found the back of the net against the Pirates
in these encounters, Stars’ captain Michael Elder and alternate captain Callum
Davies have also notched a goal each against the side this season. Ultimately though, Billingham have so far been unable to match Hull’s firepower, with Pirates’ alternate captain Samuel Towner, forward Lee Bonner and right winger Bobby
Chamberlain collectively racking up twenty points across these two meetings.
Unsurprisingly, Hull currently sit in third position with twenty two points
from thirteen league fixtures whilst forward Matty Davies continues to be NIHL
North Division One’s top points scorer at present with fifty points from nine games. By comparison, the Stars find themselves in eighth place with just two
wins from the eleven games they have played to date, the side’s only league
successes arising against The Dragons. As such, Billingham will
continue their search for better form as they head into this fixture whilst the
Pirates will aim only to maintain their hard work to further their progression.
With the Stars prepared to put up a fight to earn maximum points, and their previous game against Hull a close one, Billingham can only hope to make the most of this fixture to begin to set their season on track.
Looking ahead to this encounter, Pirates’ defenceman Chris Wilcox shared:
“This
Saturday we face Billingham at home and, although we have played them twice
before and managed a win on both occasions, we expect another stern test when
they visit us. We have had a good run of recent results, especially beating
Sheffield last week, and we are playing some nice hockey so hopefully this will
continue this weekend.”
Fixture:
Solway Sharks vs. Blackburn Hawks
Date: 2nd December 2017
Venue: Dumfries Ice Bowl
Faceoff: 7:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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After
last Sunday’s 8-6 cup victory over Blackburn Hawks which cemented their place at the top of the NIHL National Cup’s Group A, Solway Sharks will prepare to confront their rivals for one last time in the group stages as the duo
play only to maintain their momentum going into Sunday’s league fixtures now
that they have both qualified for the next stage of the competition. With
Solway having so far achieved two cup victories over the Hawks this campaign, Blackburn will be out to avenge their most recent defeat to the Dumfries outfit to
ensure that they can go level on head-to-head performances. Last Sunday, young
prospect Kieran Brown was highly influential for Blackburn, achieving a hat trick over Martin Grubb’s team to get on the scoresheet alongside Slovakian import Jozef Ištocy, forward Aaron Davies
and former Shark Rick Bentham. Meanwhile, standing out for the Dumfries outfit were forward Iain
Bowie, recent returnee Duncan Speirs and two-way player Jordan Buesa who each
scored a brace whilst captain Struan Tonnar and left winger Steven Moore also
notched a goal each. As such, more of the same will be expected of the two sides in
front of the net, although both will aim to be stronger in defence; the Sharks
identifying this as an area for improvement and the Hawks already strengthening their defensive unit with the addition of Finnish import Kim
Miettinen this week.
Preparing for this cup clash, Solway Sharks’ Head Coach
Martin Grubb revealed:
“We come into this game
knowing both teams have qualified for the next round of the cup but I’m sure
both will want to win. We managed to get the win last Sunday in Blackburn but
this weekend, we will need to be better defensively in order to win the game.
The Hawks will come looking to win and they will be confident after adding Kim this week
so I’m sure it will be a tight game.”
Fixture:
Whitley Warriors vs. Sheffield Steeldogs
Date: 3rd December 2017
Venue: Whitley Bay Ice Rink
Faceoff: 5:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Achieving a home victory over The Dragons and then losing out to Telford Tigers
by seven goals on the road, Whitley Warriors will look to recover
from last weekend’s mixed form with a strong performance over former EPL outfit Sheffield
Steeldogs on Sunday. Defeated by Ben Morgan’s team on the
road just two weeks ago, Whitley found themselves two goals down at the end of the first period
before hitting back in the middle stanza through alternate captain Jordan
Barnes. Any attempts of a comeback were quickly quashed by the home team however, when forward James Spurr bagged himself two goals either side of the
second interval. As such, a goal from player-coach David Longstaff could not
right his team’s course and, in the end, Sheffield sealed their victory courtesy
of Andrew Hirst who handed his team a three-goal lead. With the Steeldogs
currently top of NIHL North’s Division One with twenty five points from
thirteen games, having only suffered an overtime loss to Telford Tigers on the
opening day of the season besides last weekend’s 6-4 road loss to Hull Pirates,
Sheffield will no doubt make for tricky opposition for the Warriors who at
present remain in seventh place with sixteen points from sixteen games.
However,
that is not to say that Whitley will not give their all in this game. So far,
the Hillheads outfit have made life difficult for their visitors this season, the side working hard to test Telford Tigers in October besides recording a 4-2 victory over last season’s treble winners
Solway Sharks and narrowly missing out on maximum points to Hull Pirates during penalty shots. These results therefore show that the side are more than capable of competing in their home rink, particularly as the Warriors usually have close to a full squad at their disposal for these games. As a result, Whitley will hope to go into
this game with their recent top points scorers Shaun Kippin, David Longstaff
and Jordan Barnes available to ice, the trio collectively contributing twelve
points against The Dragons last Saturday alone. With these two teams always
prepared to work hard across all areas of the ice to earn a victory, this game
is expected to be no different, with both requiring points to build momentum
following recent league defeats.
Speaking ahead of this game, Warriors’ player-coach David
Longstaff noted:
“Sheffield are coming to our rink with lots of
confidence. They’ve started well and beat us two weeks ago. Hopefully this one
is an exciting game for everyone.”
Considering this clash, Sheffield Steeldogs’ captain
Lewis Bell admitted:
“We are expecting another tough game on Sunday. It was
a good game at home two weekends ago where we won by a few goals but it was by no
means an easy win. We will be expecting an even bigger test in Whitley’s home
rink which we are aware is a tough place to go for any team. Hopefully we can
get back to winning ways after losing out to a disappointing goal in Hull on
Sunday.”
Fixture:
Solihull Barons vs. Solway Sharks
Date: 3rd December 2017
Venue: Hobs Moat Road
Faceoff: 6:00pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Following
their home game against Blackburn Hawks on Saturday, Solway Sharks will return
to league action on Sunday evening as they travel to Hobs
Moat Road to encounter Solihull Barons for a second time this season. Facing the Barons in
front of a home crowd in October, Martin Grubb’s men found themselves with the
upper hand as they tallied two goals in the first period through alternate
captain Ross Murray and forward Iain Bowie before Baron Matthew Maurice hit back early
in the second stanza to pose a threat to the Sharks. However, Solway were
adamant that they would not be beaten and grabbed two power play goals courtesy
of Czech defencemen Vaclav Kolarik and Marek Charvát either side of a goal from
Swedish forward Niklas Ottosson to see their team claim two points from this game.
It was after this defeat to the Sharks and a loss against Nottingham Lions on the second weekend of October that Head
Coach Daniel MacKriel parted company with Solihull, the side having endured a
bad run of form at the start of their campaign, losing six of their first seven games. Since their defeat to Nottingham, the Barons have managed to get
their season back on track and now sit in fifth place with seventeen points
from fifteen games. As such, two points against Solway will be of great
importance to the Barons, particularly if they triumph over Nottingham on
Saturday; a four-point weekend would see the outfit go level on points with the Sharks
to allow the side to once again compete with the best in Division One after
a difficult start to their season.
Solway, meanwhile, will equally target two
points from this fixture as they aim to compete with Hull Pirates who are
currently just one point above the Dumfries outfit in the league standings. As
such, Solihull will set out to apply their firepower in the form of import Ottosson,
alternate captain Luke Brittle, forward Thomas Soar and captain Josh Bruce, the
quartet collectively contributing ninety seven points to the Barons’ league
efforts, whilst the Sharks will also look to demonstrate their usual goal
scoring prowess through current top points scorer Bowie, two-way player Connor
Henderson, skilled left winger Steven Moore, power forward Ross Murray and
Czech blue liner Marek Charvát but, with both teams prepared to work hard to
claim a victory, this game will be another close contest in which Solway will
have to show the additional edge that they are capable of if they are to
succeed against their latest tough competition.
Adding to his earlier comments, Solway’s Head Coach
Martin Grubb observed:
“Solihull is one of the toughest places to go in this
league. The team is playing really well and have really put some performances
together so we will need to be ready to battle for every puck. We will need to
execute our game plan and play in all three zones to give ourselves a chance to
win. I like how the Barons play and the depth they have so we need to go there
and be ruthless if we are to get the result.”
Fixture:
Billingham Stars vs. Blackburn Hawks
Date: 3rd December 2017
Venue: The Forum
Faceoff: 6:30pm
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Photo
Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson
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Preparing
for a second league game against Blackburn Hawks, having recorded two cup
victories over the Lancashire outfit in recent weeks, Billingham Stars will be eager to build on their latest successes over
Steven Duncombe’s men to develop their league form which currently
consists of two wins, an overtime loss and eight defeats; the Teessiders have only picked up points from The Dragons and Sheffield Steeldogs so far this
season. Disappointed to suffer a narrow 3-2 loss against Blackburn Hawks on the
opening weekend of their 2017-18 campaign, Billingham then went on to record
two cup defeats to the Hawks as the Stars lost out by three
goals to two for a second time on the road before conceding a 5-3 home defeat.
Lately though, Terry Ward’s side have achieved victories of 9-3 and 6-5 over
the Hawks in the cup competition which should present the outfit with some
momentum heading into Sunday’s home fixture, particularly as Blackburn have
failed to record a win in their last six games across all competitions.
With
alternate captain Chris Sykes, captain Michael Elder and Latvian forward Deniss
Baškatovs Billingham’s top three points scorers at present, together the trio producing twenty five goals and thirty two assists for their side, the Stars
will hope to utilise these forwards as they now concentrate on their league campaign
following their failure to qualify for the next stage of the NIHL National Cup. Whilst
two points would provide the Stars with a much-needed boost, the side cannot
climb the league standings this weekend and instead must be contented with chipping away at the gap between themselves and seventh place. The Hawks,
by comparison, will be hoping to secure a victory over Billingham this weekend
to recover from their recent poor form besides adding to their current points tally
which is level with that of Solihull Barons and just one ahead of Whitley
Warriors. As always, both teams will
look to avoid a loss at all costs on Sunday and will certainly be up for the challenge as they continue their close rivalry into this fixture.
Looking forward to this weekend, Billingham’s
alternate captain Chris Sykes acknowledged:
“We have two big games this weekend for the Stars. It’s
back to the league and no more cup action. We can focus on what we want to do
and it’s time to grind for the results that we need. Hull will be a tough
task as it was last time we were away. Hopefully, this is a close-fought game
and on Sunday, it’s back on home ice against Blackburn Hawks who we’ve come out
on top against in the last couple of games so we’re hoping for the same again!”
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