Last Saturday (9th December) saw the Ice Bowl host a 15 goal thriller between the visiting Swindon Wildcats and the Hercules Apparel sponsored Solway Sharks, as the Sharks hosted their annual hurl-a-hug event, in aid of the D&G Royal Infirmary.
The first period saw both teams start-out strong, but it was the Sharks that recorded the
opening goal of the evening, with Mason Alderson slotting home – allowing the fans in
attendance to throw their soft toys onto the ice.
These soft toys will now be donated to the D&G Royal Infirmary, and a massive thank
you to everyone at the Solway Sharks for everyone’s generosity and support.
The Wildcats then equalised later in the first period, with a goal from Sam Bullas, before
adding a second of the night from Tomasz Malasinski to take the lead at the Ice Bowl.
The Wildcats then added a third late on, to take a 3-1 lead, by way of a Russell Cowley
goal.
The Sharks started the second period quickly and scored within one minute of play
resuming, thanks to Alderson’s second of the night. With the Sharks cutting the Wildcats
lead to just one goal, the visitors restored their 2 goal lead thanks to a goal from Colby
Tower, and quickly proceeded to add a fifth, with Malasinski on the scoresheet for a
second time.
Lewis Young was then able to reduce the Wildcats lead, as he slotted the puck into the
net for Solway’s third goal of the night. As the second period was coming to a close, the
Wildcats added their sixth of the game via Gael Lubwele, making it a 6-3 game going
into the third.
The Sharks came out strong for the third period and were quickly rewarded with a fourth
goal of the evening; this time thanks to John Dunbar. This was then followed by a second
of the evening for Sharks forward Young, who made it a one-goal game. The Sharks then
scored the equalising goal, thanks to Nolan Gardiner, to tie the game at 6-6. However,
the tie-game wasn’t for long, as the Wildcats took back the lead with a goal from Aaron
Nell.
With the clock counting down & trailing the visitors by a goal, the Sharks threw
everything at the Wildcats in search of an equaliser, which they secured thanks to
Young’s third of the night – sending the home crowd wild!
With the buzzer closing out the third and final period of regulation, and the score tied at
7-7, the game headed to overtime and three-on-three action.
Both teams had chances in the overtime period, but unfortunately the Wildcats took the
extra point in the final seconds of the match, with a hat trick goal from Malasinski.
Following the game, Sharks forward Mason Alderson commented; “Once again I think
we’re continuing to show we belong in this league, although it wasn’t the result we
hoped for I think some guy’s really stepped up their game to fill the gaps in our lineup”.
The Sharks are on the road for the next three games, but will return to the Dumfries Ice
Bowl on Wednesday December 27th at 7:30pm, (doors opening at 6pm), as they take on
the Hull Seahawks! We expect this festive fixture to be busy, so be sure to get your
tickets early, by purchasing either online or at the Ice Bowl.
