Whitley Warriors’ sole fixture last weekend saw Simon Leach’s side make the short journey down the A19 on Sunday evening to take on local rivals Billingham Stars on Teesside. Warriors had a strong roster available as the only senior player unable to ice was blue liner Nathan Ryder, who was out of action with a shoulder injury he picked up against Solway last weekend.
Warriors used three forward lines and defensive pairings throughout the contest with Ryan Sample playing on Whitley’s third offensive unit alongside centre Martin Crammond and winger Jordan Barnes. Nathan Ryder’s injury left Warriors with six senior D-men and these half dozen blue liners were rotated throughout the game.
Both sides created openings in the early stages of the contest and Billingham took the lead after 6 minutes of play when Stephen Wallace fired past Richie Lawson in the Warriors goal. Whitley were only in arrears for around 2 minutes though, as Jordan Barnes tied the game up after some superb skill from Ryan Sample which saw Warriors breach the Stars defence. The opening period ended with the two north east rivals level at 1-1. Interestingly, no penalties at all were called in the first 20 minutes of action by referee Wardell, who let the game flow at every opportunity.
Warriors continued to play attractive offensive hockey in the middle period as all Warriors’ forward lines were creating opportunities. Mid-way through this session of play both sides picked up two minor penalties – however, as these infringements were coincidental neither side was presented with a powerplay opportunity.
Warriors took the lead after 34 minutes of play when Jamie Tinsley powerfully found the back of the net after the puck fell to him in Billingham’s defensive zone, Karl Culley and Adam Reynolds working an opening for their linemate.
Whitley maintained their 2-1 lead well into the third period as their disciplined play and solid goaltending limited Billingham’s opportunities. Warriors were also able to kill off 4 minutes of Billingham powerplays as Rob Wilson was given 2 minutes in the sin bin for tripping, before Whitley picked up a 2 minute bench minor for having too many men on the ice. On 52 minutes, Whitley launched a swift counterattack which resulted in Karl Culley lighting the lamp to make it 3-1 to Warriors after a pinpoint pass from Adam Reynolds found Warriors’ number 7 in space at the back post.
However on 57 minutes Stars found a way back into the game when Andy Thornton made it a one goal game as the experienced utility player netted his second goal of the campaign. Billingham opted to pull goaltender James Flavell for an extra out skater with just over 70 seconds left in the game as Stars looked for that elusive equalising goal and their tactic paid off handsomely as Scott Ward netted for Billingham just 30 seconds after they pulled their netminder.
Spurred on by netting the game tying marke,r Billingham launched another late attack on the Whitley net and Stars scored the game winning goal with only 4 seconds left on the clock, Ritchie Thornton firing the puck past Richie Lawson to ensure the Teessiders took the two points on offer from this pulsating end to end NIHL North Moralee Conference encounter.
Reliable Whitley defenceman Dan Harris was chosen as Warriors top player on the night while Billingham’s young forward Jack Davies was awarded Man of the Match for the home side.
Warriors Points –
Jamie Tinsley and Karl Culley 1+1, Adam Reynolds 0+2, Jordan Barnes 1+0, Ryan Sample 0+1
Penalty Minutes –
Warriors 8 Stars 6
Whitley will be looking to bounce back from their defeat against Billingham next weekend when Warriors travel to Dumfries to take on league leaders Solway Sharks in the Scottish borders. Warriors next home game is on 1 December when they host Sheffield Spartans in a fixture that faces off at 5pm at Hillheads.