This weekend the Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd. Solway Sharks begin the defence of their NIHL Moralee Conference title with a tricky home tie against old adversaries the Blackburn Hawks at Dumfries Ice Bowl on Saturday evening. They will follow that with a trip down the M6 to Altrincham the following day for another league fixture, this time against the Manchester Minotaurs. Supporter who would like to travel on the team bus are advised that it will leave Dumfries Ice Bowl at 11:45am on Sunday morning. Dumfries Hockey fans can also witness history on Saturday when the Solway Sharks Ladies play their first ever competitive game against Sheffield immediately before the Sharks game. Face-off at the Ice Bowl on Saturday is at 3:45pm for the ladies and at the usual time of 7pm for the Sharks.
Last Saturday evening the Solway Sharks, sponsored by Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd, welcomed the Sheffield Steeldogs from the English Premier League to Dumfries for their first ever visit to the Shark Tank. Unfortunately for the home side they ended up on the wrong side of a five-one scoreline but the short-benched Sharks worked hard and continue to show signs of improvement.
After a fast start from the visitors, Solway soon began to find their feet and Iain Bowie was the first to test netminder Day with a shot from the slot after ninety seconds. A holding penalty against Sheffield gave the Sharks an early powerplay but only a neat side-step and shot from Richard Bentham forced the Steeldogs keeper into making a save. On returning to full strength the visitors returned to the attack and an astute long pass from Craig Elliott sent Tom Squires through one-on-one with Gary Russell with the Sheffield forward showing great poise to fire home the opening goal.
The Steeldogs exerted a great deal of pressure on the Sharks defence but just on the ten minute mark Stevie Moore broke up the left wing and forced a good pad save from Day. Three minutes later Sheffield got the reward their pressure deserved when Callum Pattison gave netminder Russell no chance when he redirected a Steven Duncombe shot into the roof of the Solway net. The Sharks refused to buckle and, although their defence withstood tremendous pressure at times, the forwards were always eager to attack when the chance arose. With thirty seconds remaining in the first session Marc Fowley and Stevie Adams battled hard on the right wing boards before the latter found a passing lane and fed Callum Henderson to shoot home the Sharks opener from the slot.
The Sharks returned to the ice for the second period buoyed by this success but three minutes later they needed the brilliance of Gary Russell to save them with not one but two superb, point blank, pad saves from Craig Elliott. However, play was not all at the Solway end of the ice as Richard Bentham, Stevie Adams and Iain Bowie all went close and Joe Coulter typified the home side’s determination to make a game of it. This being said, the Steeldogs always looked to be the team from a higher division and despite Solway’s non-stop efforts looked a class apart when on the attack themselves and duly scored the only goal of the second period when Ashley Calvert and Steven Duncombe combined to set up Cameron Brownley to score at the back post.
Sheffield began the third period at full speed and scored two carbon copy goals in the first ninety seconds to kill off any lingering hopes of a Solway giant-killing act. Firstly Greg Wood and Cole Shudra broke down the right wing to feed goal scorer Ashley Calvert at the back post before Lee Heywood and Andrew Hirst provided the same service for Craig Elliott. With the game won the visitors may have taken their foot off the gas slightly but both teams continued to provide an attacking spectacle for the supporters and there was certainly no lack of skill or effort on show.
Steeldogs head coach, Andre Payette, should be commended for playing this fixture in the spirit which was intended for the competition by resting his imports and giving his regular British players and youngsters extra ice time and responsibility.
Scoring statistics for the Sharks were as follows: Callum Henderson one goal and no assists, Marc Fowley and Stevie Adams 0+1. Gary Russell in the Sharks goal saved forty-two of the forty-seven shots that he faced (save percentage 89.36%). The Caledonian Oil (ALS) Ltd. Man of the Match Awards were presented to Greg Wood for the visitors and to Gary Russell for the Sharks.
Last Sunday the Building Craftsman (Dumfries) Ltd. Solway Sharks continued their English Challenge Cup odyssey with a trip across country to play the Billingham Stars and after a tremendous game of hockey they returned with both points courtesy of a superb four-two victory.
After the opening skirmishes the Sharks quickly found themselves a man down when Alan Crane was penalised for hooking but the penalty kill once more stood firm and held the home side at bay. On returning to full strength Crane quickly turned from villain to hero when Richard Bentham collected his pass, stepped inside his marker and acrobatically slotted his shot past the Billingham netminder to open the scoring. Four minutes later Mark Watson, the home netminder, had to be at his very best to deny Gordon Horne after a swift Solway break on the right wing.
Billingham regrouped and exerted a lot of pressure on the Sharks defence and with seven minute remaining in the first session they might have scored a short-handed goal when Chris Sykes intercepted a loose pass in the Solway “D”. As the Billingham marksman closed in on goal Gary Russell read his intentions perfectly and blocked superbly at his near post. The Stars continued to dominate possession and territory for the remainder of the session but the Sharks rearguard stood firm and Gary Russell was once more a “brick wall” as the last line of defence.
The Sharks returned to the ice for the second period in a more attacking frame of mind and doubled their advantage in the twenty-second minute when Iain Bowie converted from close range after good work from Stuart Kerr and Richard Bentham. Not content Solway continued to press and thirty seconds later Struan Tonnar set up Alan Crane for a shot from right point and Gordon Horne found himself handily placed to redirect the puck past the home keeper.
Down by three goals the Stars desperately needed a quick response and they delighted their supporters a minute later when Callum Davies and Thomas Stuart Dant won possession after a loose pass in the Solway defence and fed Gary Dowd to score at the back post. The home side continued to press but the Sharks steadied the ship and their defence regained their shape making it hard for the Stars to create clear-cut scoring opportunities.
Solway again started the final period on the attack and within ninety seconds they had regained their three goal advantage when Craig Mitchell set up Duncan Speirs for a shot at goal and Richard Bentham fired home the rebound from Watson’s block. In the forty-sixth minute the teams were playing four-on-four after a minor altercation when Michael Bowman gave the home support new hope as he prodded home Billingham’s second goal from close range in a goalmouth scramble.
For the remaining fourteen minutes the Stars tried to break down the Sharks defence but it remained firm and as the clock ticked down the home side’s attack became more frantic and with no way through to goal many shots were taken from poor positions. For their part the young Sharks, Stuart Kerr, Duncan Speirs and Ross Connolly in particular, all acquitted themselves well and continue to show signs of improvement with each game played. Mention could also be made of the part played by Mr Evans and his two linesmen who, while individual calls can always be questioned, allowed play to flow and officiated the match in a very professional manner.
Scoring statistics for the Sharks were as follows: Richard Bentham two goals and one assist, Iain Bowie and Gordon Horne both 1+0, Alan Crane 0+2, Struan Tonnar, Stuart Kerr, Duncan Speirs and Craig Mitchell all 0+1. Gary Russell in the Sharks goal saved fifty of the fifty-two shots that he faced (save percentage 96.15%). The Man of the Match Award was presented to Richard Bentham for the Sharks.
