Whitley Warriors sole game last weekend saw Simon Leach’s side take on the Manchester Minotaurs on home ice on Sunday evening. Warriors had a full roster available to them for the clash with d man Dan Harris coming back into the squad after missing last weekend’s 4-4 draw with the Blackburn Hawks.
Warriors started the game with Richie Lawson in goal and Joe Harley acting as Whitley’s back up netminder. In defence Warriors used a total of 7 blue liners with Nathan Ryder and Callum Read alternating as Josh Maddock’s defensive partner on the 3rd defensive unit. Up front Simon Leach opted to go with 4 lines throughout the contest with teenage forward Kyle H Ross (Warriors 13th forward) seeing plenty of ice time as he swapped on and off most forward lines at some stage throughout the match up.
The game got off to a great start from the Warriors points of view as Jamie Tinsley put the home side ahead shorthanded after 2minutes of play when his speculative shot from distance bounced high up into the air off Minotaurs netminder Nicole Jackson before dropping down into the goal with the goalie unaware of just where the puck was.
Whitley extended their lead 6 minutes later as youngster Callum Queenan grabbed his 2nd goal of the season when he fired home impressively from close range after decieiving the Manchester defence. Warriors were certainly having the better of the opening period of action and Harry Harley made it 3-0 after some precise build up play from his linemates Adam Reynolds and Jamie Tinsley after 12 minutes of hockey.
Whitley continued to create plenty of offensive openings at the start of the 2nd period and blue liner Dan Harris made it 4-0 in Warriors favour when he scored a powerplay marker just 3 minutes into the middle session of play. Warriors captain DJ Good made it 5-0 just before the half hour mark after Minotaurs had been unable to clear their own defensive zone. Manchester opted to switch their goaltenders at this point of the game with young back up netminder Harry Greaves taking over from Nicole Jackson in the Minotaurs goal. Jackson wasn’t at her best against Warriors as the talented female goalie conceded 5 goals from the 21 shots she faced during her time on the ice.
The change in goalie did not half Warriors scoring streak though as just 6 minutes after the change a cross ice pass from Adam Reynolds found Harry Harley in space at the back post and he was able to tap the puck into the net. Warriors were put under a little pressure towards the end of the 2nd period though as DJ Good was given a minor penalty for slashing and on the resulting powerplay Manchester almost got on the scoresheet when Joe Greaves hit the bar with a powerful strike from distance.
Warriors continued to run into penalty trouble at the start of the 3rd period as Jordan Barnes and Paul Matthews were sent to the sin bin for tripping and holding respectively. Minotaurs made the most of their 2 man advantage when John Murray scored after 45 minutes of play to deny Whitley netminder Richie Lawson a possible shut out.
Whitley went onto get their 7th goal of the game with under 2 minutes left in the game when veteran poacher Karl Culley shot past Greaves in the Manchester goal with youngster Ben Richards and DJ Good picking up the assists.
Warriors Man of the Match was goaltender Richie Lawson who has been in superb form of late while Manchester’s best player during the game was import forward Lukas Zeman who showed some superb stick handling at times though he struggled to get the better of Whitley’s disciplined defensive unit.
Warriors Points
Harry Harley 2+0, Karl Culley, DJ Good, Callum Queenan and Jamie Tinsley 1+1, Daniel Harris 1+0, Adam Reynolds 0+3, Josh Maddock, Paul Matthews and Ben Richards 0+1
Minotaurs Points
John Murray 1+0, Andy Dunn and Jared Dickinson 0+1
Shots on Goal
On Warriors (Richie Lawson) – 37
On Minotaurs (Nicole Jackson/Harry Greaves) – 50 (21,29)
Penalty Minutes
Warriors – 14
Minotaurs – 4
This victory sees Warriors move up into 4th position in the Moralee Conference standings a point ahead of play off rivals the Sutton Sting however it does have to be remembered that Sutton do have a game in hand over Warriors and with only a few games remaining in the regular season each game is now crucial.
Whitley Coach Simon Leach shared his views on the victory over Manchester.
“We didn’t play to our full potential but we’ve won the game and that’s all that matters at this stage of the season getting those points on the board.
“I felt the game was a little flat and we over passed the puck a little however we were never really in any trouble and as I’ve said it is the result that counts.
“We played 13 forwards and 7 d out there so everyone is getting an opportunity all the young lads are getting ice time and Kyle (H Ross), Callum (Queenan), Callum (Read) and Ben (Richards) are all improving and that’s due to the ice time we’ve been giving them.
“We’ve got 2 games left now and we’ve got to win those 2 games and see what happens from there.”
Whitley’s next game is an away fixture in the NIHL North Moralee Conference against the Manchester Minotaurs next Sunday before Warriors end their Conference campaign on Sunday 16th March against the Telford Titans on home ice at their Hillheads Rink in Whitley Bay.