Saturday 27th of January, saw Solway Sharks juniors under 16s and under 20s teams in action at Dumfries ice bowl.
Welcoming opponents from Highland, the Oakbank Services sponsored under 16s took to the ice first, and set the tone when Scott Rae scored from Joe Little and Liam Stenton after a mere 17 seconds. Jack Little was quick to add another, with a snapshot from the point after 55 seconds. Despite Solway controlling the majority of the play, Highland clawed one back on 4:08, before Stenton stretched the gap again, scoring from Rae on 4:36. Lennon McNee was next to add to the goal tally, assisted by Stenton and Jake Gordon on 7:43, followed by Joe Little from Scott Kirkpatrick on 11:32. When the buzzer ended the first period the Sharks were a comfortable 5 goals to 1 ahead.
The second got off to a similar start when Rae scored from Jack Little on 18:52, and Little got the assist on the next goal too when Stenton took advantage to score on the powerplay at 22:43. With Highland struggling to match the pace and contain the Solway attack the goals continued, Joe Little scoring from Andrew Craik and Rae on 25:24. When Stenton scored unassisted on 28:17 the final goal of the second period saw Solway extend their lead to 9 goals to 1.
The final stanza saw Solway set the tone early again, Stenton scoring with a solo effort after 57 seconds to make it 10, before Highland pulled one back on 31:17. Highland scored again on 32:51, before Stenton found the net for Solway with another unassisted effort on 35:27. Megan Gourlay was right behind him, scoring from Rae on 36:01. Another Stenton solo goal on 39:35 saw the score at 13 – 3 to the Sharks, but Highland refused to give up, to their credit, and kept plugging away, their efforts rewarded with a goal on 42:02, swiftly followed by another on 43:21. Stenton scored the final goal of the game on 43:36, to see the young Sharks claim a 14-5 victory. Scott Rae was man of the match for Solway.
After the game coach Jamie Kerr commented, “We started really well and played some nice smart hockey for two periods. Going into the last period 9-1 up, I think the players felt like they could forget about the defensive side of the game in pursuit of racking up a nicer score. That allowed Highland to sneak in behind too easily and we were sucked into a scrappy 5-4 shoot out in the last period. We have some tough games coming up to close out our campaign for the season so it’s vital we do the right things we know we are capable of as much as possible and nullify the slackness.”
The under 20s game followed immediately after, and again the Solway team dominated the game with little reply. Lewis McEwan was first on the scoresheet for Solway, scoring assisted by Struan Duff and Ben Coughtrie after 5:24. Liam Stenton was next to find the net, scoring on 9:17 from Aidan Nicol and Charles Leuvennink. Lewis Houston followed swiftly with a goal of his own on 10:25, from a pass from big brother Luke. Solway’s attack continued apace, with Duff adding another from Kieran Hair on 14:38, to see Solway finish the first period 4 goals to nil ahead.
Captain Luke Houston opened the scoring in the second period after 5 minutes from Stenton and Leuvennink, before assisting Stenton to score another of his own just moments later. Lewis Houston didn’t wait long to add another, scoring on 28:03 from Conor Caven. With Solway in control of the game and dictating the play, Stenton netted another from Coughtrie less than a minute later. When Hair scored from Duff on 34:52 with what turned out to be the last goal of the period, the Sharks had a very comfortable 8 – 0 lead.
The third period was less pacy, and with Solway relaxing into passing play, and it took until 57:03 to see another goal, with Luke Houston scoring from Duff. The final goal of the game came from brother Lewis, who scored 55 seconds before the end of the game, from Stenton and Duff – a resounding 11 – 0 victory just rewards for the efforts of the team. Conor Caven was man of the match for Solway.
Coach Jamie Thomson reflected, “It is always hard to stay motivated when it is a top versus bottom league game, but we got the job done today. We need to concentrate 100% each game from here and keep winning – do that and we have a real shot at a cup and league double.”
If you are interesting in playing ice hockey Solway Sharks Juniors would love to hear from you – find us on facebook or twitter, or contact Dumfries Ice Bowl for details of learn to play sessions, now also on a Saturday at 10.30.
