Liam Smedley. Photo by IceHockeyMedia
Whitley Warriors had a busy weekend once again as David Longstaff’s side took on the Solihull Barons on home ice on Saturday before a lengthy away trip down to Shropshire to take on the Telford Tigers on Sunday night.
Warriors were able to name a strong roster for their opening game of the weekend against the Barons however Whitley were without both Josh Maddock and Callum Watson who were unable to take to the ice. Once the action got underway Warriors flew out of the blocks and took the lead just 15 seconds in when the in form import Phil Edgar found the back of the net with Dean Holland and Ben Richards picking up the assists.
Solihull were able to get back on level terms with 13 minutes played when their skipper Josh Bruce fired home however Warriors were only behind for a matter of seconds as Whitley captain Dean Holland soon ensured his side went back into the lead. Soon after Warriors were on the penalty kill when referee Robin Elliott sent David Longstaff to the penalty box for interference however despite being a man short Dean Holland was able to increase Whitley’s lead further which saw the home side lead 3-1 at the 1st intermission of the game.
The middle session of play saw Solihull come back into the game and tie up the scores by the 26th minute through goals from Andrew Whitehouse and Josh Bruce. Warriors re took the lead 3 minutes later though when Adam Finlinson fired past Daniel Brittle in the Solihull goal. Whitley ran into some penalty trouble late in the 2nd period and Solihull were able to use that to their advantage which saw Tomas Janak fired home a powerplay marker.
There was no further scoring in regular time which saw the game go into sudden death 3 on 3 overtime. Barons were able to grab the crucial goal 3 minutes into the extra period when Luke Brittle grabbed the game winning goal. Janak picked up the Man of the Match for Solihull with Kyle Ross being named as Warriors best player over the course of the contest.
Whitley then headed south on Sunday to take on the Telford Tigers in their 2nd game of the weekend. Tigers held a 3-0 advantage after the 1st session of play and went onto net a further 4 goals in the 2nd stanza with Rick Plant claiming a hatrick for the home side. Tigers added a further strike in the final period to take the contest by 8 goals to 0. Plant was chosen as Telford’s best player with DJ Good named as Warriors Man of the Match.
Next weekend sees Warriors take on the Sheffield Steeldogs on home ice on Sunday evening (face off 5pm) at Hillheads, on Steeldogs last visit to the north east they were able to claim a narrow 4-2 success and next Sunday’s game promises to be another close encounter between 2 talented sides.