Whitley Warriors took on the Manchester Minotaurs on Sunday evening on home ice at Hillheads. Warriors were boosted by the news that d men Scott Cooper and Daniel Pye were both fit to play which gave much more balance to the Whitley roster as the Tynesiders have been very short at the back in recent match ups.
Warriors player/coach Simon Leach and skipper Jamie Tinsley were unable to take part in the game due to knee and hand injuries respectively. Simon will be out for the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury while it is hoped Jamie should only be out short term with a hand injury. Adam Reynolds stepped in to captain Whitley with Jamie being out of the line up.
Mark Turnbull started the game in goal for Warriors as Whitley were able to rotate 3 forward lines and 3 defensive units throughout the match up. The availability of Cooper and Pye at the back allowed Alex Lawson and Harry Harley to move back up front after deputising in defenc e last weekend.
Whitley started the game on the front foot and took the lead after 5 minutes of play when Martin Crammond fired home after some eye catching build up play from young winger Ben Richards. Warriors made it 2-0 just a minute later when Callum Watson lit the lamp after being nicely set up by his linemate DJ Good. Whitley were clearly having the better of the opening period of play and DJ Good made it 3-0 with 13 minutes on the clock, Scott Cooper almost got on the scoresheet late in the period but his shot struck the frame of the net.
Warriors continued to create openings in the 2nd session of play and Callum Watson grabbed his 2nd goal of the game midway through the stanza when he beat Manchester netminder Aaron Fox with a classy finish, DJ Good and Liam Smedly were credited with the assists on the goal. Whitley then ran into a little penalty trouble which saw Kyle Ross sent to the sin bin for slashing Manchester made the most of the powerplay and netted their first goal of the contest when Max Drakeley blasted home from just inside the blue line which saw the 2nd period of play end 4-1 in Warriors favour.
Just two minutes into the final period Adam Reynolds extended Warriors lead when he found the back of the net from close range after being well set up by GB under 18 squad member Callum Queenan. Halfway through the final session of play Alex Lawson was sent to the penalty box by referee Emerson for a slashing misdemeanour and Minotaurs powerplay once again clicked into gear as Dan Berry made the most of Manchester’s numerical advantage to make it 5-2.
Whitley looked to be in command of the game at the 50 minute mark as Warriors started to give some of their younger players time on the ice and shortly afterwards Whitley opted to replace starting netminder Mark Turnbull with Joe Harley.
Manchester got a number of shots on Harley soon after his introduction to the game and Minotuars quickly got themselves right back into the match up though as Michael Gilbert and Corey Lee both fired past Harley as the visitors pulled the score back to 5-4. Warriors Coach Dave Holland responded by calling a tactical time out and Mark Turnbull went back in the home side’s net for the last minutes of the game.
Minotaurs then ran into some penalty problems of their own as Sheldon Cassidy was penalised for cross checking with just over 3 minutes left in the contest which saw Warriors go on a rare powerplay. With only 7 seconds of the powerplay opportunity remaining Callum Watson grabbed his hatrick with a well taken goal with DJ Good once again creating the opportunity which saw Warriors claim a 6-4 victory over Kevin Cassidy’s spirited Manchester outfit.
Callum Watson was chosen as Warriors man of the match for his clinical display in front of goal while Manchester goalie Aaron Fox who made a number of fine stops was selected as the visitor’s top player during the 60 minutes of hockey that was played.
Warriors Points
Callum Watson 3+1, DJ Good 1+3, Martin Crammond and Adam Reynolds 1+0, Alex Lawson, Liam Smedley, Ben Richards and Callum Queenan 0+1
Minotaurs Points
Dan Berry and Michael Gilbert 1+1, Max Drakeley and Corey Lee 1+0, Andy Dunn 0+2, Oliver Bayne and Lee Pollitt 0+1
Shots on Goal
On Warriors (Turnbull/Harley) – 30
On Minotaurs (Fox) – 49
Penalty Minutes
Warriors – 8
Minotaurs – 4
Referee – Dave Emerson
Whitley Coach Dave Holland gave his views on the game.
“We made a good start to the game and did really well in the 1st period. There was some good movement, some good shots and some good finishing.
“We were a bit lackadaisical at times however we did come out of the game with the 2 points which is really important to us.
“Looking forward we are hoping to have Jamie Tinsley back in action for next weekend when we travel to Blackburn. Craig (Johnson) and Josh (Maddock) both picked up knocks during the game but we’ll just have to see how they are during the week.”
Warriors victory sees them lie 5th in the NIHL North Division 1 table just outside of the all important play off places. Whitley have 1 game next weekend a trip to league leaders the Blackburn Hawks on Saturday evening (5.45pm face off) in Lancashire. Whitley’s next home game is on February 8th (face off 5pm) when the Sutton Sting visit Hillheads in a crucial match up between 2 sides who are vying for end of season play off spots.