SOLWAY SHARKS BOOK THEIR PLAYOFF SPOT IN STYLE WITH TWO WINS

DGWGO WEEKLY SOLWAY SHARKS ROUNDUP

Solway Sharks, sponsored by Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd, will play in the end of season playoff tournament after two wins last weekend secured their place in the Final Four.

This coming weekend the curtain comes down on the League season with a trip to Whitley Warriors before the playoff weekend at Dumfries Ice Bowl on April 11 & 12. Supporters should book their tickets in advance via the Ticketweb website, with adult tickets costing £20 for the weekend. Under 16s are free.

The link to purchase tickets is http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/moralee-conference-play-off-weekend-ticket-tickets/167071 – supporters should state the name of their club when booking as organisers are monitoring ticket sales on a club-by-club basis.
Last weekend the Sharks played at home to Whitley Warriors and away to Manchester Minotaurs and recorded two excellent wins to confirm their playoff berth and continue the battle with Billingham to finish second in the League.

Saturday’s home game with Whitley saw the Sharks ice their strongest bench of the season with only captain Alan Crane (work commitments) and defenceman Craig Mitchell (upper body injury) missing from the lineup.

Early pressure paid dividends in the seventh minute when forward Pavol Melichercik opened the scoring from close range. Midway through the period, Sharks were on the powerplay when Frazer Goldie’s blueline shot was redirected past Mark Turnbull in the Warriors’ net by Duncan Speirs at the top of the crease. The home side were ahead 2-0 at the first interval.

Another powerplay early in the middle period saw Goldie turn goalscorer as he finished off a slick passing move featuring Richard Bentham and Pavol Melichercik. Warriors made it onto the board at 28.25 to reduce the arrears only for Ross Murray to restore the three-goal margin six minutes from the end of the period. The visitors found the net once more before the interval so Sharks went to the dressing room up by 4-2.

The final period saw the Sharks sit back and soak up a lot of Warriors pressure – Gary Russell in the Solway net saved 24 shots in the third period alone. The only goals of the session came while Sharks’ Frazer Goldie was in the penalty box – Richard Bentham skating in on goal to score shorthanded at 52.07 before Whitley replied almost immediately to stay within two goals.

The visitors took advantage of a late man advantage three minutes from time and replaced goalie Turnbull with an extra attacker for a six-on-four advantage. Solway’s defence held firm and they threatened the empty net but no further goals were forthcoming and the hooter sounded on a 5-3 Sharks win.

Sunday night’s trip down the M6 to Altrincham saw the Sharks take on bottom placed Manchester Minotaurs.

Solway Sharks wasted no time opening their account as Jens Engelen netted after just 75 seconds. The second goal was ten minutes later and saw the Sharks score four in seven minutes including a four-minute hat-trick for Struan Tonnar (11.23, 15.12, 15.28). Pavol Melichercik was the scorer of the fifth goal at 18.12.

In the second period, another four goal blast saw Iain Bowie out-do his teammate with a triple strike in just 3:22 (25.50, 26.04, 29.12). Bowie’s hat-trick was punctuated by Tonnar’s fourth of the night (27.16) and Solway were 9-0 up halfway through the match.

Manchester made it onto the scoreboard later in the period with three goals, while Melichercik (34.01) and Richard Bentham (39.04) were also on target taking the Solway score into double figures.

Bentham’s second goal (42.30) opened the third period while Manchester’s Corey Lee recorded the game’s third hat-trick as the sides traded goals in the final session as the score ended at 13-5 for the Sharks. Steven Moore’s shorthanded goal at 52.39 completed the scoring for the visitors.

After the two wins, Sharks coach Martin Grubb said: “Our target for the weekend was four points and we achieved that. On Saturday it was more about the result than the performance, getting the win which confirmed our place in the playoffs.

“I thought Whitley were better than us for long periods and our goaltending was a major reason why we won that game. Gary (Russell) has had to make almost 50 saves to keep us in the game and while he enjoys that sort of workload we shouldn’t be relying on that game in and game out.

“On Sunday we had to be professional – Manchester had given Sheffield a scare the day before so we knew we couldn’t take it for granted.

“Jens got the early goal which settled things, then Struan hit a purple patch and the game was done at the end of the first period.

“From a confidence point of view it was useful for the guys to be hitting the net – it’s all about building towards the playoff weekend and being in the right frame of mind and the right shape to defend our trophy.”

Solway Sharks, sponsored by Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd, are currently second in the Moralee Division 1 table with 28 points from 23 games. Billingham are third one point behind but with a game in hand. The fourth play off place is between Sheffield and Sutton, who both have 21 points from 22 games and they meet on the final day of the season.

Sharks travel to Whitley Warriors on Sunday (5pm) for their final league match. Supporters places on the coach to Tyneside are fully booked.

* Before Saturday’s game, the Solway Sharks presented a cheque for over £1000 to this season’s charity partner, PoppyScotland.

PoppyScotland is the leading charity supporting ex-Servicemen and women and their families in Scotland. They are probably best known for running the iconic Scottish Poppy Appeal, but work all year round to help veterans and their families receive the care and support they urgently need.

A club spokesman said: “A huge thank you to everyone who donated during the year and it was great to be able to present the cheque on the night. PoppyScotland is a very worthwhile charity which Solway Sharks were proud to support this season.”