Solway Sharks Ice Hockey Club
Match Report
This weekend the Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd. Solway Sharks welcome the Premier League leading Telford Tigers to the Shark Tank on Saturday evening in an English Challenge Cup fixture that also sees the return to Dumfries of former crowd favourite Nathan Salem. The on-form Tigers will pose a formidable challenge to the Sharks who themselves are showing signs of returning to the form that has seen them take three league and cup doubles in a row. On Sunday the Sharks travel down to Blackburn for a vital league match against the table-topping Hawks where a victory could throw the title race wide open but a loss would hand the home team a significant advantage. Face-off at Dumfries Ice Bowl on Saturday night is at the usual time of 7pm. Supporters wishing to travel with the team to Blackburn are advised that the bus will leave the Ice Bowl at 1:30pm sharp on Sunday for the 5:45pm face-off.
Please note that car parking will be at a premium for this game. We have the Sharks Ladies playing from 3:45pm, QOS kick-off late at 5:30pm due to their game being broadcast live on ALBA and there is also a curling competition taking place at the Ice Bowl. So why not come along and early and cheer on the Sharks Ladies as they take on Blackburn Thunder.
The Building Craftsmen (Dumfries) Ltd. Solway Sharks travelled down to Altrincham on Saturday for an English Challenge Cup tie against EPL Manchester Phoenix and eventually went down by ten goals to two.
While the Sharks were inevitably defending for large parts of this match they showed, particularly in the first period, that they are learning from previous lessons. After surviving the home sides initial onslaught Solway fell behind to a clinical Michal Psumy finish from the left-hand face-off circle after he picked off a loose pass and broke up the wing. But the Sharks rallied immediately and a minute later leveled the scores when Aidan Fulton pounced to score from the low slot after a good break up the right involving Stevie Moore and Ross Murray.
The frantic pace continued as Manchester immediately returned to the attack as Shaun Thompson sent Michal Psumy around behind the Sharks net to pass back across the face of goal for Bobby Chamberlain to net at the back post. Again Solway needed to strike back quickly and twenty-eight seconds later they did. Another move up the right, this time involving Alan Crane and Ross Murray saw the puck passed square across the top of the face-off circles to Iain Bowie who converted with a powerful drive. Four goals in just two minutes and eight seconds had the supporters on the edge of their seats and while there was to be no further scoring before the first interval they were kept entertained by good play from both sides.
Coach Hand must have pushed the right switches during the break as Manchester returned to the ice for the second session in determined fashion and took just twenty-three seconds for Johan Burlin to race down the right wing and fire home a powerful shot from the boards. This time the Sharks couldn’t reply immediately as they found the Phoenix defense impossible to penetrate and gradually the home side began to dominate possession and territory.
Two goals either side of the midway point in the game sealed Solway’s fate as Jack Watkins completed a fine move up the left with a superb finish and then Ben Wood put the hosts three ahead with a shot that slipped through netminder Little’s defenses.
A alert finish from close range by Adam Walker in the thirty-sixth minute put the hosts in a commanding position but the Sharks might have had a glimmer of hope fourteen seconds from the end of the period had things gone their way. Richard Bentham picked off a loose puck at centre ice and set off through the middle with the Manchester defense in his wake. As he closed in on goal he chose placement over power and lifted a shot towards the roof of the Phoenix net but netminder Ryan guessed right and was able to throw up his glove and catch the puck just below the crossbar.
In the final period Manchester again took control and two Bobby Chamberlain goals in the first five minutes saw Jordan Boyle replace Andrew Little between the pipes. Almost immediately the new Sharks keeper was hooking the puck out of the net as Jared Dickinson made the score nine-two after good work from Jack Watkins and Luke Boothroyd. Solway regrouped as Manchester conserved energy for the following days game from this point on, that is not to say that it wasn’t entertaining for the supporters, but in truth the game was over. The home supporters were on their feet one final time three minutes from the final hooter when Michal Psumy provided a clinical finish after collecting a neat pass from Jacob Heron.
While the scoreline may not indicate the fact, it would be true to say that this was a better performance by Solway against opponents from a higher league and the Sharks certainly caused Manchester problems at times, especially in the first period. Also, with Gary Russell absent due to work commitments, it was good experience for our two young netminders who can both hold their heads high after making some good saves.
Scoring statistics for the Sharks were as follows: Iain Bowie and Aidan Fulton both one goal and no assists, Ross Murray 0+2, Alan Crane and Stevie Moore 0+1. Andrew Little in the Solway goal saved thirty-two of the forty shots that he faced (save percentage 90.00%) before being replaced by Jordan Boyle at 45:06 who saved ten of the twelve shots that he faced (save percentage 83.33) Stevie Moore was named the Sharks Man of the Match.
