Adam Finlinson bears down on Wild netminder Miles Finney. Photo courtesy of Widnes Wild.
Whitley Warriors recorded their first away win of the season on Sunday with an impressive 8-1 success at Widnes.
Going into the clash, the Warriors were without defensive duo Adam Wood and Musa Musaiev along with forward Anthony Wetherell and Captain Dean Holland. Latvian defenceman Rihards Grigors returned after missing the victory over Solihull Barons last week, while Josh Crane once again got the start in goal.
In what was a very physical game with both teams finishing their checks it was the visiting side who got the early breakthrough. With Wild forward Joey Coulter sitting in the box for a tripping call, Steven Chalmers opened his goalscoring account for the season when he converted a Rihards Grigors pass at 8:34.
The Warriors, who outshot their opponents 20-8 in the first period doubled their lead at 14:53 when Jamie Ord grabbed his first of the season too, firing home a Ross Douglass pass.
Whitley were clinical on the man advantage against the Wild, and they netted their second powerplay goal of the contest mid-way through the second period when Jonathan Williams was called for holding. Phil Edgar finishing from a Douglass feed.
However, before the second period was over the Wild pulled a goal back when Andrew Hopkins finished a Rhys Edwards pass. Just two minutes later though a fight broke out between Phil Edgar and Wild’s Alex Mitchell.
With the scoreline still close going into the third, the game suddenly sparked into life when Whitley hit five goals in an eight-minute span, taking the game away from the Wild.
Thomas Fraser scored at 50:19 to restore the Warriors three goal lead after being assisted by Edgar. For Fraser, his goal capped what was an excellent performance in the maroon and gold down in Cheshire.
Less than a minute later and Whitley went 5-1 ahead when Adam Finlinson scored his third goal in the last two games, with Fraser getting his second point of the game with the primary assist.
At 54:10 Harry Harley converted a third powerplay opportunity for the Warriors when rookie forward Rhys Edwards was called for interference.
That prompted a change in goal for the Wild who swapped starter Miles Finney for Evan Coles. However, Coles didn’t fare much better and just two minutes later, Whitley had a seventh goal. Ross Douglass, who was outstanding in the success over the Barons last weekend finished from a Connor Lewis pass, the young defenceman grabbing his second point of the night.
With little over a minute remaining, Adam Finlinson scored his second of the game with an unassisted effort to complete the scoring.
Whitley went into the game perhaps thinking this would be a difficult match up, particularly with so many key players missing. However, they ended up recording their largest win of the season so far and outshooting the Wild 67-24, limiting the home side to just four shots on goal in the final period. With Solway Sharks going down to a shock 5-4 defeat on Teesside, the Warriors’ victory proved to be doubly important as they joined their rivals at the top of the standings.
Stats
Shots
Warriors: 67
Wild: 24
Points
Warriors:
Adam Finlinson (2+0), Phil Edgar (1+2), Thomas Fraser (1+2), Ross Douglass (1+2), Harry Harley (1+0), Jamie Ord (1+0), Steven Chalmers (1+0), Connor Lewis (0+2), Kyle Ross (0+1), Rihards Grigors (0+1)
Wild:
Andrew Hopkins (1+0), Rhys Edwards (0+1)
Penalty minutes
Warriors: 11
Wild: 15
Man of the Match
Warriors: Ross Douglass
Wild: Jonathan Williamson