Warriors took on the Solway Sharks on Sunday evening in Whitley Bay. Simon Leach’s side were without d man Rob Wilson who was unavailable while the in form forward Dean Holland had to miss the game as he picked up a hand injury during Warriors game with the Manchester Minotaurs on Saturday evening.
Warriors matched Solway for the majority of the opening period of play however the visitors held a slim advantage after 20 minutes of hockey thanks to import forward Pavol Melicherik who was able to deceive Whitley netminder Mark Turnbull with a wraparound goal.
As the game progressed Warriors were creating several promising openings of their own however it was Solway who grabbed the games next goal when Struan Tonnar fired home after some nice work from youngster Callum Henderson just after the half hour mark. Whitley quickly got a goal back though when the livewire Callum Watson burst forward to fire past Sharks keeper Gary Russell around 2 minutes later following some pleasing build up play from skipper Jamie Tinsley and blue liner Dan Harris.
Warriors leveled the game up in 52nd minute when Adam Reynolds found the back of the net after some nice work once again from the energetic Watson. Whitley were then presented with a powerplay opportunity when Solway’s Rick Bentham was sent to the penalty box for a high sticking misdemeanor.
Warriors exerted a great deal of pressure on the Sharks defence while they had the man advantage before the puck took a freak deflection off the linesman and fell onto the stick of Solway’s Frazier Goldie who advanced into Warriors zone and fired a powerful shot past Whitley goaltender Mark Turnbull.
In the closing stages of the contest Warriors came close to tieing the game up however Sharks highly regarded goaltender Gary Russell was able to make a string of saves as Dan Harris, Callum Watson and Harry Harley all saw their efforts blocked.
Warriors Points
Callum Watson 1+1, Adam Reynolds 1+0, Jamie Tinsley, DJ Good and Dan Harris 0+1
Sharks Points
Frazier Goldie 1+1, Struan Tonnar and Pavol Melicherik 1+0, Callum Henderson 0+1
Penalty Minutes
Warriors – 2
Sharks – 12
Shots on Goal
On Warriors (Mark Turnbull) – 43
On Sharks (Gary Russell) – 42
Officials
Referee – Emerson
Linesmen – Wardell and Davison
Whitley are next in action this coming Sunday in the Tyne Tees derby against the Billingham Stars in a game that faces off at 5pm at Hillheads. Fans are being encouraged to come along in their vintage shirts to the game as it is hoped the jerseys of many north east teams from recent eras will be worn by supporters at the match up.