Whitley Warriors travelled across to the North West to take on the Manchester Minotaurs on Sunday evening. Warriors were without the services of the experienced forwards Jamie Tinsley, Mark Good and young blue liner Callum Read.
Warriors went into the game knowing a positive result was essential for their play off aspirations and the game started well for the side from Tyneside as Ben Richards claimed the games opening goal with only 3 minutes on the clock after being set up precisely by DJ Good and Dan Harris.
As the opening period progressed Warriors generated a great number of offensive opportunities however Nicole Jackson in the Manchester goal made a number of smart saves. Adam Reynolds did find the back of the net for Whitley mid way through the opening period however referee Liptrott ruled the effort out as he thought the puck had been kicked into the goal.
Minotaurs were presented with 2 powerplay opportunities late on in the 1st period however Manchester couldn’t quite create the right opening for their free scoring import Lukas Zeman and Warriors were able to hold onto their 1-0 advantage after the opening 20 minutes of play.
Warriors continued to create scoring opportunities at the start of the 2nd stanza and veteran forward Karl Culley increased Whitley’s lead on 29 minutes when he lit the lamp after some pleasing build up play from linemates Ben Richards and DJ Good.
Whitley then ran into some penalty trouble as Rob Wilson and Paul Matthews picked up minor penalties for hooking and interference towards the end of the 2nd period. Minotaurs made the most of Warriors indiscipline as Manchester netted 3 times through Lukas Zeman, Lee Pollitt and Brian Worall in under 4 minutes of play to lead 3-2 after 40 minutes of hockey.
Warriors came out full of energy for the 3rd period and Karl Culley tied the game up just 29 seconds into the final session when he fired home from close range with Adam Reynolds and Harry Harley picking up assists.
Whitley thought they had found the game winning goal late on when the puck found the back of the net however the officials chalked the goal off for a player being in the crease which saw the game end level at 3-3 with both sides claiming a point.
Talented young defenceman Christian Johnson was chosen as Warriors Man of the Match while Michael Gilbert was selected as Manchester’s top performer in the game.
Warriors coach Simon Leach shared his views on the match up.
“I think we were dominant in the first period and could have been out of sight however we then gave a couple of goals up and let them back into the game.
“We battled back and got a point which sees us in a brilliant position to qualify for the play offs. It wasn’t our best performance but we’ve dug deep to get the point.
“Their goalie played really well and made some good saves and she could have been selected as Man of the Match.”
The draw for Warriors along with a loss for Whitley’s play off rivals the Sutton Sting means Warriors will qualify for the end of season play offs up in Dumfries in April providing they beat Moralee Conference basement side the Telford Titans next Sunday on home ice at Hillheads.