Solway Sharks Ice Hockey Club
Match Report
D
Last weekend saw Dumfries Ice Bowl hosted the inaugural National Ice Hockey League, Moralee Conference, Play-Off Weekend together with the Conference Player of the Year awards ceremony.
The fact that the rink was full of happy smiling supporters from Blackburn, Billingham, Whitley Bay and our own region was a testament to the dedication and enterprise of D& G Council, the Ice Bowl and main sponsors Caledonian Oil Ltd. Win or loose, wherever you looked, you saw supporters and players from all four teams socialising together, cementing and building friendships may last a lifetime. There were many winners over the weekend, local hotels and guest houses, restaurants and pubs, ice hockey, sportsmanship and the reputation of our region for beauty and friendship. However, the biggest winner of all were the Solway Sharks who duly defeated Whitley Warriors and then Blackburn Hawks to complete an unprecedented treble of league, cup and play-off championship to cement their place as the regions premier sports team.
At 1pm on Saturday afternoon the Solway Sharks and Whitley Warriors took to the ice for the first semi-final of the play-off weekend and the large support in the rink quickly realised that they were about to be treated to a display of open and attacking hockey.
After sounding each other out over the first two minutes the first real opportunity came the way of the home side when Ross Murray cut in from the right wing and fired in a low shot that Richard Lawson in the Warriors goal did well to get down and smother at his post. The first powerplay of the game saw Solway camp in the visitors’ defensive zone but the only shot of note came from Juraj Senko when he connected well at the blueline but a combination of pad and blocker kept the Warriors goal intact. Gradually the Sharks pressure was beginning to wear their opponents down and just before the mid-way point in the period they got their reward. Pavol Melichercik won yet another tussle on the boards and immediately fed a pass back out to Craig Thurston who neatly side-stepped the keeper and prodded home at the back post. Whitley were quick to regroup and three minutes later they levelled the scores on a powerplay when Callum Watson and Daniel Harris worked the puck to Jamie Tinsley who neatly slotted home from the right-hand face-off circle.
The Warriors began the second period knowing that they had to attack but they also knew that with a three goal deficit this had to be tempered with a degree of caution but no-one knows coach Grubbs’ tactics better than Whitley head coach Simon Leach. A Martin Crammond shot might have given the visitors hope but it sailed just wide then on the twenty-three minute mark they brought their supporters to their feet. A move down the left involving DJ Good and Karl Culley saw the latter’s shot parried into the low slot area where Callum Watson was waiting to fire the rebound home. Solway regrouped and five minutes later they restored their three goal advantage when Iain Bowie and Juraj Senko combined to work possession from a face-off on the left over to the right where Struan Tonnar was waiting to slam the puck home. Whitley continued to press when they had possession but Solway held all the cards and extended their lead further five minutes from the second intermission when a mishit shot from Struan Tonnar slipped below the keepers dive to allow Iain Bowie to slot home at the back post.
The final period of this semi-final was routine for the Sharks to be truthful. With a four goal advantage they were never going to play an expansive game that might allow their opponents to the space to hit them on the break. The Warriors for their part, roared on by their travelling support, took the game to the home side but were rarely able to stretch the well-organised Solway defensive unit. Their supporters did have the opportunity to celebrate a consolation goal on the fifty-minute mark when ex-Shark Adam Reynolds was in the right place at the right time to convert Harry Harley’s pass from close range. But it was always going to be too little too late and the Sharks ran down the game clock to close out the game with a six three victory.
The second semi-final saw Blackburn Hawks play the Billingham Stars for the right to face the Sharks in the final. For much of the game the large number of vocal supporters from both sides saw the Hawks attack while the Stars soaked up the pressure and hit on the break. This worked especially well for Billingham in the first period as a close range strike from Steven Wallace followed by a blistering drive from the same player gave them a two goal first interval lead. In the second period the Hawks piled on the pressure and strikes two from Adam Brittle had them on level terms at the second break. The final period may have seen either team win but thanks to the performances of netminders’ James Flavell and Daniel Brittle the scoreboard remained the same even after five minutes of sudden death overtime. To decide the winner the game went to a penalty shootout and successful strikes from Chris Arnone and Adam Brittle saw the Hawks progress to play Solway in Sunday’s Grand Final.
Almost from the opening puck drop it was clear that the scorers were going to be kept busy all afternoon and in the second minute Solway’s Frazer Goldie became the first person to visit the penalty box when he was called for slashing and a little over a minute later he was joined by Juraj Senko when a misplaced clearance sailed over the plexi-glass. With a two man advantage for thirty-eight seconds the Hawks laid siege to the Sharks goal but only an Aaron Davies snap-shot forced Gary Russell into making a save. A check to the head by Blackburn’s Jonathan Adams created the first real flash point of a tense first period and after the altercation that followed died down the Hawks had a further twenty-four minutes in penalties to add to the formers’ two plus ten. For their part in the fracas the Sharks received a total of six minutes as Mr Wardell struggled to restore order and the game restarted with the Hawks leading the penalty box count five-two.
There was one more piece of controversy six minutes from the first break when Joe Coulter, one of the Sharks youngsters playing through the support of the Holywood Trust, broke from the back boards and looked to have squeezed his shot between netminder Daniel Brittle and the post. The goal judge’s light came on but the referee was badly placed to confirm the goal and the scores remained level going into the first intermission. Subsequent photographs were inconclusive and the Sharks themselves didn’t really contest the decision.
The second session began as closely contested as the first had ended and the Hawks might have taken the lead but Adam Brittle and Jared Owen were both denied by the pads of Gary Russell while at the other end of the rink Daniel Brittles was tested by both Struan Tonnar and Iain Bowie, still the scoreboard remained blank. On the twenty-six minute mark the deadlock was almost broken in a most bizarre manner. Gary Russell rushed out of his goal to clear a puck down the right-hand boards to Iain Bowie who let it run under his puck on the Blackburn blueline. David Meikle collected possession and seeing the Sharks netminder out of his goal he fired a shot back up the rink that saw Russell dive and slide full length across the ice to knock it wide with his stick.
There was no lack of effort from either side and no lack of talking points for the supporters but it was looking like the scores would remain at zero as the final minute of period began. Juraj Senko, however, had other ideas as he collected a Mark Gallagher pass and drifted into the left-hand face-off circle before rifling a powerful wrist-shot through a gap in the keepers’ pads to give Solway the lead.
In the final session scoring chances were again at a premium as the two teams battled for dominance in the middle of the rink but with a goal advantage Solway had a slight advantage, they didn’t need to score. Indeed it looked likely that both keepers would remain unbeaten in the final period as they proved their undoubted skills on the rare occasion when the two defences were breached. As the clock ticked down frustrations again began to bubble to the surface with a string of minor penalties against both sides until with less than three minutes remaining Struan Tonnar soothed the home support’s frayed nerves. Collecting the puck deep the Sharks forward powered through centre-ice before unleashing an unstoppable wrist-shot from the slot to give the Sharks a two goal lead and victory on the day.
Solway captain Mark Gallagher duly stepped forward to collect the trophy but there must have been a degree of mixed emotion among the Sharks faithful as coach Grubb sent him on a solo lap of honour and Craig Simpson announced that Mark was calling time on his playing career. In his time as a player and then as captain Mark has represented our club and town with dignity, resilience and determination. A measure of his integrity is the esteem in which he is held not only here in Dumfries but throughout the league. The Solway Sharks Ice Hockey Club would like to thank Mark Gallagher for his many years of service to the club from the juniors right the way through to his performances as our very own Captain Fantastic We will ALL miss seeing you on the ice but will treasure our memories of watching you play Mark.
Scoring statistics for the Sharks over the weekend were as follows: Struan Tonnar two goals and one assist, Craig Thurston 2+0, Juraj Senko 1+3, Iain Bowie 1+2, Frazer Goldie 1+1, Stevie Moore 1+0, Pavol Melichercik and Mark Gallagher both 0+2 and Ross Murray 0+1. Gary Russell in the Sharks goal saved forty-two of the forty-five shots that he faced (save percentage 933.33%). The Caledonian Oil Ltd. Man of the Match Awards went to Iain Bowie on Saturday and to Mark Gallagher on Sunday.
