NIHL North week 3 round-up

Solway Sharks began their NIHL1 North season with a pair of wins - but had to survive an almighty scare along the way. Nathan Salem (2), Adam Reynolds & Steven Moore gave Sharks a 4-0 league victory on Saturday against Trafford Metros. The following evening they travelled to face Blackburn Hawks in the Northern Cup, but trailed 3-0 early in the second - Myles Dacres, Ric Ravey & Dave Meikle got the goals.
Hawks found themselves short handed for the majority of the period, with referee Dave Emmerson incurring the wrath of the home crowd after calling a succession of penalties. Sharks peppered Stuey Ashton in the Hawks goal, forcing him into a series of fine saves, but the pressure told as goals from Reynolds, Salem and John Connolly levelled things up.
Ashton continued to impress in the third and it looked like his heroics would grab a point for Jared Owen’s men, but with less than two minutes left, Hawks' captain Chris Arnone took a needless cross-checking penalty and Reynolds took full advantage on the resulting powerplay to make it 4-3. Owen was unhappy with the official saying, “We get it every time we have Emmerson; he seems to have a thing against us. Credit to Solway, they created their chances and put them away, but it’s disappointing when you’ve got a team working hard and everything you do gets called.”
Whitley Warriors started the weekend well with a 5-2 win at Sheffield Spartans. Dean Holland (2), Garry Dowd, Martin Crammond and DJ Good scored Warriors goals, with Ross Jordan and Scott Morris replying for Sheffield. On Sunday they hosted Billingham Stars in the Northern Cup but fell behind to Andy Finn’s early goal. Jamie Tinsley and Alex Lawson put Warriors in front before the end of the first, but Stars rallied with Adam Robinson (2) and Michael Bowman sealing a 4-2 win.
Sutton Sting got their season underway with a draw at home to Coventry Blaze. Connor Hubbuck gave Blaze the lead after 15 minutes, before Jamie Spurr levelled midway through the second. Josh Nicklin put Blaze back in front in the 37th minute, but some harsh words from Sting Coach Ian Johnson at the second break saw the home team step things up in the final period. Simon Butterworth made it 2-2, before Matt Jeffcock’s strike put Sting ahead for the first time. Blaze refused to lie down and Phillip Pollock’s long range effort tied the game at 3-3.

In NIHL2 North, Sheffield Senators stunned Deeside Dragons with a deserved 3-1 road win. Shaun Kippin gave Dragons an early lead, but goals from Simon Manning, Jonathan Kirk & Tom Humphries gave Senators the points. Solihull Barons beat Blackburn Eagles 11-0 - Richard Slater (3), Neil Adams (3) & Ian Hunt (2) led the scoring. Ex-Nottingham Panthers forward Simon Hunt scored twice as Nottingham Lions beat Hull Stingrays 8-0.
Next weekend sees Solway face-off at home to Coventry on Saturday, followed by a trip on Sunday to meet Sheffield Spartans. Sutton face a tough weekend league and cup double-header against Billingham.

 

Advanced player search

Tweets by @eurohockey