Warriors Suffer Double Defeat

Whitley Warriors picked up a point in a 9-8 overtime defeat to Blackburn Hawks in front of their home crowd on Saturday before enduring a 3-2 road loss to Nottingham Lions at the National Ice Centre on Sunday evening.

Lining up against Blackburn with fifteen skaters, the Warriors found themselves without on-ice leaders Dean Holland and Jordan Barnes, meaning forward Shaun Kippin and utility player Adam Wood were respectively called upon to fulfil the roles of captain and alternate captain. There was also a change of position for imports Rolands Gritāns and Rihards Grigors as they switched to defensive roles for this fixture. By comparison, Blackburn travelled with fourteen players, including Czech Petr Valusiak, left winger Jacob Lutwyche and sturdy starting netminder Michael Rogers.

After facing off against Blackburn, Whitley worked hard to put shot stopper Rogers under sustained pressure which the Hawk absorbed in the early minutes of the game. Hitting back on the breakaway, Blackburn immediately capitalised on their first real chance, Valusiak making the most of right winger James Parsons’ rebound on 7:07 to provide his team with a 1-0 lead. Disappointed to have conceded after their promising offensive work, Whitley equalised just over two minutes later when forward Callum Watson skirted around Rogers’ net before unleashing a low shot, Steven Chalmers assisting on 9:19. A slashing penalty for Player-Coach Lee Pollitt on 13:07 presented the Warriors with a power play opportunity which saw the side create further chances but, in spite of this, the Hawks secured the lead for a second time, Valusiak firing over netminder Dean Bowater’s right shoulder on 16:10, just sixty three seconds after Blackburn’s return to full strength. The score line 2-1, Whitley wasted little time in finding an equaliser, defenceman Harry Harley rocketing a shot past Rodgers just over two minutes later. Soon after, Hawks’ defenceman Cade King picked up a misconduct penalty of 2+10 for abuse of an official to hand Whitley another power play and just thirteen seconds later, the Warriors went ahead for the first time in the contest, Wood striking glove side on 19:19 to make it 3-2 at the break.

Twenty five seconds after play resumed for the second period, Whitley lost forward Jamie Ord to the sin bin following a hooking offence, allowing the Hawks a power play which they capitalised on, Lutwyche’s low shot beating Bowater through the five-hole on 21:20. The Warriors then made it 4-3 on 23:26 as Ord scrambled the puck past the Hawks’ defence and the side soon claimed a two-goal lead as Harley’s long range shot rebounded allowing Chalmers to net, Kippin with the assist on 28:25. Valusiak’s hat-trick goal, netted on the breakaway to make it 5-4 just past the midpoint of the contest, was swiftly answered by Watson’s quick-fire shot from an acute angle twenty two seconds later, restoring Whitley’s two-goal cushion. Countering, both Lutwyche and forward Michael Clancy came close for the opposition but the Warriors were eager to increase the margin between themselves and Blackburn, and succeeded in the final minute of the period when Kippin tapped home Chalmers’ rebounded shot to see his team leave the ice on the right end of the 7-4 score line at the second interval.

Returning for the third period, the Warriors were stunned when Lutwyche’s long range effort ended up behind Bowater, allowing him to collect his second goal of the evening just thirteen seconds in. Successive penalties followed for the Warriors, Ross sidelined for clipping thirty nine seconds before Watson joined his teammate in the sin bin for a slashing offence on 42:42. This provided Blackburn with the power play they needed to find their sixth goal, Parsons netting on 43:59 after a powerful hit from Latvian Rolands Gritāns on Valusiak in the build-up. A delayed slashing penalty on Valusiak then saw Watson go top shelf with an unassisted shot for his hat-trick on 45:56 but the Hawks’ Czech import was less than pleased about this and clashed with the Warrior who was keen to drop the gloves, the forward earning himself 2+2 for roughing in the process whilst Blackburn escaped with a minor penalty by comparison. With the score line at 8-6, forward Callum Queenan looked to extend his team’s lead but was boarded by defenceman Matthew Wainwright, resulting in a power play for the home team. Unable to make it count, the Warriors were left to rue their missed opportunities when they conceded a seventh goal on 48:19, Riddoch finding the target to take his team within a goal of Whitley. Matters were made worse for the Hillheads outfit as the Hawks levelled the scoring after the halfway point of the period, Lutwyche completing his hat-trick courtesy of King to bring the score to 8-8. A hooking penalty for Riddoch on 54:24 instantly prompted a timeout for the visitors and the side fought hard in defence, impressively conceding just one of Whitley’s twenty five shots during the third period, to push the game into a five-minute period of three-on-three overtime. In striving for the lead, Whitley lost possession and did all they could to prevent Blackburn from scoring, Queenan’s slashing offence ultimately resulting in a penalty shot just fifty one seconds in which Alternate Captain Jared Dickinson executed to hand his team maximum points, assigning just one point to Whitley in consequence of their hard-fought overtime defeat.

Stats
Shots on goal
Warriors: 66
Hawks:     31

Points
Warriors:

Callum Watson (3+0), Steven Chalmers (1+3), Shaun Kippin (1+3), Harry Harley (1+2), Adam Wood (1+0), Jamie Ord (1+0), Thomas Fraser (0+1), Kyle Ross (0+1), Adam Finlinson (0+1)

Hawks:
Jacob Lutwyche (3+2), Petr Valusiak (3+2), James Parsons (1+2), James Riddoch (1+1), Jared Dickinson (1+0), Cade King (0+2), Matthew Wainwright (0+1), Lee Pollitt (0+1)

Penalty minutes
Warriors: 10
Hawks:     20

Man of the Match
Warriors: Rihards Grigors
Hawks:     Petr Valusiak

Travelling to Nottingham with a short bench of ten skaters and netminder Josh Crane, the Warriors faced the Lions’ twenty-two-man team which included Captain Luke Thomas, top points scorer Zachary Yokoyama and skilled eighteen-year-old Louie Newell.

As play got underway in the first period, the two sides battled for possession, resulting in some end-to-end action which saw an early shot from forward Jamie Ord followed up by Kieran Gibbs’ attempt on Crane’s net at the other end of the ice. Slowly growing into the game, the Warriors began to retain the puck for longer periods of time, forward Callum Watson forcing a save from netminder Luca Sheldon before Latvian Rihards Grigors put Nottingham’s defence to the test. A hooking call against Watson on 9:00 then provided the Lions with a power play and, though successfully killing this penalty, the Warriors found themselves behind just thirty six seconds after returning to full strength, Gibbs breaking the deadlock after outfoxing Crane with some quick movement in front of the net; Yokoyama and twenty-year-old utility player Reaghan Taylor assisting. Hitting back, forward Jamie Ord bundled Adam Wood’s rebound behind Sheldon on 14:40 to level the scoring and just over two minutes later, the Warriors snatched a 2-1 lead eight seconds after facing off on the power play; Chalmers’ long distance shot rebounded into the path of Watson who did not miss his mark on 16:55 to give Whitley the edge over their opposition as they headed in at the first interval.

As play opened in the second period, both teams had their opportunities to add to the scoreboard, the Lions’ firing wide of Crane’s net and the Warriors missing out on a tap-in as the puck was passed across Sheldon’s crease. Beginning to build in Whitley’s defensive zone, Nottingham thought they had bagged an equaliser but the goal was ruled out as a result of the net being off its moorings. Defenceman Benjamin Marples then struggled to tap the puck past Crane and the Warriors immediately reclaimed possession to allow Chalmers a chance of his own which Sheldon kept out at the other end of the ice. This was followed up soon after by a chance for Newell who fired at Crane before Watson broke away to try his luck without success. Lion Toby Fisher responded to this, forcing a save from Crane and, as Whitley returned to their offensive zone, Grigors delivered a blue line shot which Ord failed to tip into the net. Chalmers then came close to setting up Watson and, with the period in its latter stages, Grigors opted for a second long range effort but again Sheldon dealt with this to see Whitley take their precarious 2-1 lead into the third period.

Early in the final period, Kippin had his shot from distance stopped by Sheldon, the netminder subsequently covering the puck to prevent Watson from pouncing on the rebound. A penalty for too many men served by forward Thomas Fraser on 44:03 saw the Lions capitalise eighty two seconds into their advantage when Newell unleashed an unassisted shot to beat Crane on 45:25, making it 2-2. Less than two minutes later, Chalmers was penalised for interference and though Nottingham maintained possession far better on this power play than their previous one, the side were unable to beat Crane as they had before. Shortly after their return to full strength, the Warriors nearly conceded a third goal when Lions’ Captain Thomas almost turned the puck into the net whilst screening Crane. Subsequently, Watson raced into Nottingham’s defensive zone which culminated in a collision with Sheldon, pushing the net off its moorings in the process. With just under four minutes remaining in the game, Grigors came agonisingly close to restoring his team’s lead when his shot struck the post and it was not long after that Whitley called a timeout. A chance for Toby Fisher arose shortly after this and there was a second pause in play when Nottingham followed suit with a timeout fifty one seconds later. This decision worked in the Lions’ favour, the side dashing into the lead when Yokoyama received a pass from Newell to breakaway, going one-on-one with Crane before turning the puck around the netminder to make it 3-2 on 58:18. With one minute, forty two seconds remaining in the period, Whitley pulled Crane from his net in place of an additional skater but, despite working the puck in their offensive zone in a bid to take the game into overtime, the Warriors were kept out by Sheldon; the final buzzer simultaneously confirming Whitley’s defeat and Solway Sharks’ league title success.

Stats

Shots on goal
Lions:        29
Warriors:  38

Points
Lions:
Louie Newell (1+1), Zachary Yokoyama (1+1), Kieran Gibbs (1+0), Reaghan Taylor (0+1)

Warriors:
Callum Watson (1+0), Jamie Ord (1+0), Adam Wood (0+2), Steven Chalmers (0+1)

Penalty minutes
Lions:        2
Warriors:  6

Man of the Match
Lions:        Ben Marples
Warriors:  Rihards Grigors