Whitley Warriors took to the ice to face the Billingham Stars on Teesside on Sunday evening. Warriors were without a number of senior players including the likes of Dean Holland, Jamie Tinsley, Alex Lawson and Ben Richards however Whitley still travelled with a strong roster given the overall strength of the squad David Longstaff has assembled on Tyneside.
Richie Lawson started the game in goal for Warriors with Mark Turnbull acting as the back up netminder. Whitley opted to go with 3 forward lines and 3 defensive pairings throughout the match up. Shaun Kippin stepped up onto the Longstaff Queenan line in the absence of skipper Jamie Tinsley while youngster Kyle Ross saw a great deal of ice time on the DJ Good, Callum Watson line. Scott Cooper’s versatility must also be mentioned as Warriors number 21 logged a number of minutes at both ends of the ice during the match up.
Warriors started the game on the front foot pressurising the Billingham defence at every given opportunity. Stars netminder James Flavell had to produce two fine saves to keep Whitley from taking the lead during the opening stanza when he somehow kept out efforts from Warriors forwards Martin Crammond and Callum Queenan.
Whitley netted the first goal of the game just 29 seconds into the 2nd period when Callum Queenan fired home after being set up nicely by player/coach David Longstaff and blue liner Harry Harley. Stars were creating forward openings of their own though and the home side drew level just before the 30 minute mark when their import Dennis Bostrum struck a sweet shot past Warriors goaltender Richie Lawson.
Callum Queenan almost grabbed his 2nd goal of the game towards the end of the 2nd period when he again went close for the visitors. Warriors did regain the advantage shortly afterwards when Shaun Kippin lit the lamp from close range with the assists being credited to Queenan and Longstaff.
The final period of play saw Warriors continue to impress and Whitley almost extended their lead through Callum Watson however the home sides netminder James Flavell was able to thwart Warriors speedy winger on 2 separate occassions.
Late in the game Stars put a great deal of pressure on the Warriors goal however the Whitley defence and netminder Richie Lawson stood firm and took the points on offer thanks to a 2-1 victory. Warriors now sit top of the NIHL North Division 1 standings with a total of 24 points from the 15 games they have played
Harry Harley was named Man of the Match for Warriors for an outstanding defensive display while James Flavell was chosen as the Stars top performer on the night.
Warriors are back in action on home ice next weekend when the Blackburn Hawks visit Hillheads on Sunday December 6th in a fixture that gets underway at 5pm. Blackburn currently occupy 2nd position in the NIHL North table as Hawks are 3 points behind Warriors however the side from Lancashire do have 4 games in hand on Warriors.