This Saturday the Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd. Solway Sharks return to the Shark Tank for a NIHL Moralee Conference fixture against old friends and rivals the Whitley Warriors. Games against the Warriors are always entertaining and competitive with no quarter asked or given and with the Warriors sitting handily in third place this match will be no different. Dumfries hockey fans have the chance to enjoy a double feature with the Sharks Ladies meeting the Whitley Squaws at 3:45pm and the senior Sharks game facing-off at 7pm as usual.
Last Saturday the Solway Sharks, sponsored by Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd, hosted high-flying Telford Tigers from the English Premier League in a Challenge Cup fixture at the Shark Tank and at times posed problems for their illustrious opponents before eventually going down by twelve goals to one.
From the opening puck drop the Tigers, featuring ex-Shark Nathan Salem, went on the offensive and it took the former fans favourite just two minutes to open the scoring when he fired home from a narrow angle to the right of goal. Not satisfied with this Telford went straight back onto the offensive and a minute later Blahoslav Novak doubled their advantage after good work from Daniel Davies and Callum Bowley.
Solway steadied the ship over the next seven minutes and tried to mount an effective offence but were often on the back foot with netminder Jordan Boyle making a number of good saves in what would be a total of fifty-three over the course of the match. Telford returned to normal service when Daniel Davies made it three-nil on the ten minute mark and they continued to score at alarmingly regular intervals until the first interval by which time Novak, Joe Miller and Peter Szabo had made the score six-nil.
It looked like play would continue in the same vein when Peter Szabo added his second counter of the evening just thirty-six seconds after the break but this was not to be the case. Gradually the Sharks began to fight their way back into the game and put the Tigers under pressure with Richard Bentham, Ross Murray and Struan Tonnar putting in impressive shifts, though all the forwards played their part. At the back Craig Mitchell and Jens Engelen marshalled their fellow defenders well and supported their forwards whenever possible. Throughout the second period play swung from end to end but on this occasion there was to be no more goals to go with the non-stop action.
The third period began with Telford raising the pace of their game once more and on this occasion the Sharks found it difficult to live with the speed and skill of the visitors. Martin Ondrej and Richard Plant both found the back of the Sharks net, while Peter Szabo followed suit to ensure he scored in each period and Blahoslav Novak added a brace to make his total four for the evening. Solway’s one moment of joy came three minutes from the end when Ross Murray collected an Aidan Fulton pass at centre ice and burst through the centre of the Telford defence before slotting his shot low past the Tigers netminder and into the net.
The Sharks may have been well beaten by their opponents on the night but they certainly were not disgraced by a team that are odds-on favourites to sweep the trophies at their level.
Scoring statistics for the Sharks were as follows: Ross Murray one goal and no assists, Aidan Fulton 0+1. Jordan Boyle in the Sharks goal saved forty-four of the fifty-three shots that he faced (save percentage 83.02%) before he was replaced by Andrew Little at 48:49 and he saved fourteen of the seventeen shots that he faced (save percentage 82.35%). The PET Processors Ltd. Man of the Match Awards were presented to Scott McKenzie for the visitors and to Ross Murray for the Sharks.
On Sunday the Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd. sponsored Solway Sharks travelled down to Blackburn for a crucial NIHL Moralee Conference fixture against the league-leading Hawks and after a promising start eventually returned on the wrong end of a five-one scoreline after a bruising encounter.
An early clipping penalty against Frazer Goldie saw the home side with an early powerplay but they found it difficult to break down the Solway defence and the only chance of note came seconds from its end when Gary Russell saved at point blank range from Jared Owen. On returning to full strength the Sharks produced a flowing move that featured neat passing between Callum Henderson and Marc Fowley before Chris Arnone’s brave block snuffed out the scoring chance. Solway soon had their first powerplay of the game but it also only provided one real shot on goal when Richard Bentham charged up the middle and shot from the blueline but netminder Stuart Ashton was well placed to make the save.
Just before the ten minute mark Blackburn did have the puck in the net but, much to the crowds’ displeasure, the goal was ruled out for high sticks. Two minutes later Ross Murray produced a typically robust display of battling on the boards to win the puck and set up Stuart Kerr to shoot from the high slot but the home keeper was able to get down to smother his effort at his post. Within a minute the Solway fans were on their feet to celebrate. Marc Fowley won a face-off in Hawks territory and the puck found its way back to Jens Engelen at right point. Looking up the big Belgian D-man spotted Craig Mitchell drifting into space on the left wing and an inch perfect pass gave him the chance to close in on goal and fire home a shot that rebounded into the net from the keepers’ shoulder.
With five minutes remaining in the period Blackburn thought they had the puck in the net for a second time after a goalmouth scramble but the referee, Mr Emmerson, after a discussion with his linesmen and the goal judge indicated that the puck had not crossed the line. This must have angered the home players somewhat as when the teams left the ice at the first interval Daniel Brittle, the Hawks back-up netminder, blocked the away gate and began to harangue the Solway players. This led to a passage of pushing and shoving but no real punches were thrown – handbags at ten paces really.
It seems that sometimes the Hawks need a catalyst to ignite their game and the incident at the end of period one certainly seemed to do the trick on this occasion as they returned to the ice in determined mood. Within five minutes they were on level terms when Jordan Bannon broke at speed down the left wing before whipping in a pass that was redirected home at the front post by Daniel Mackriel. The home side continued their pressure and a holding call against Richard Bentham gave them a powerplay two minutes later. With a man advantage Blackburn besieged the Solway defensive zone and when Luke Brittle flashed a pass across the face of the Sharks goal Jared Owen was there to slot home.
Solway tried to fight their way back into the game but by now the Hawks had their tail feathers up and Jordan Barnes and Luke Brittle in particular were causing major problems. It was looking like the Sharks might make it to the second interval and the chance to re-organise without further damage when disaster stuck. As the clock ticked into the final minute of the period Pavel Slowik was allowed to progress along the left-hand boards with the Sharks defence retreating ahead of him. As he crossed the blueline he looked up and picked out Jordan Bannon drifting towards the slot and when the pass came his way he redirected it expertly past Gary Russell to make the score three-one.
Goal number four came four minutes into the final session when the impressive Luke Brittle converted at the back post after good work on the right by Ollie Lomax. Solway tried to get back into the game in the final period but with a three goal advantage Blackburn were able to sit back and pick off the Sharks on the break. Solway may have had a moment of hope with seven minutes remaining when they did have the puck in the net but the Hawks goal was already off its moorings, the only question being who dislodged it. As is so often the case in sport, the Hawks immediately countered and Craig Rogers raced up the left wing before sending Adam Brittle around behind the Solway goal to set up Luke Brittle to score from close range.
On the day Blackburn certainly deserved their victory on the overall balance of the game and it sets up a championship decider at the Shark Tank between the two teams on Saturday the 6th of December. If the Hawks were to win in Dumfries then the league would certainly be theirs to lose.
Scoring statistics for the Sharks were as follows: Craig Mitchell one goal and no assists, Jens Engelen and Marc Fowley 0+1. Gary Russell in the Sharks goal saved forty-three of the forty-eight shots that he faced (save percentage 89.58%). The Man of the Match Awards were presented to Dan Mackriel for the Hawks and to Gary Russell for the Sharks.
