Whitley Warriors sole game last weekend was a home clash against the Telford Titans on Sunday evening at Hillheads. Warriors knew a victory against Telford would guarantee them a Play Off place for Finals weekend at Dumfries in April and Whitley Coach Simon Leach had a full squad of players available to him for the match up.
Richie Lawson started the game in goal for Warriors with Joe Harley acting as his back up netminder. Whitley used 7 d men throughout the contest and operated 4 forward lines with youngster Kyle H Ross (Warriors 13th forward on the night) picking up shifts throughout the match up.
Warriors created chances from the opening face off of the game and just 4 minutes into the contest a precise pass from teenage forward Callum Queenan found Callum Watson unmarked in front of the goal Watson lifted the puck neatly over the visitors netminder Sam Gospel to make it 1-0 to Warriors. Whitley continued to create openings in the 1st period of play however Gospel in the visitors goal was in superb form as he made a number of smart stops to thwart Warriors offensive efforts.
Whitley did manage to beat Gospel on a couple of occasions towards the end of the opening session of play however the goalframe came to Titans rescue as a blast from the blue line by Christian Johnson that was tipped on net by Daniel Murdy clipped the post while captain DJ Good hit the bar.
Just 41 seconds into the 2nd period Warriors were able to increase their lead though when Adam Reynolds got the better of Telford goalie Gospel. Warriors continued to create numerous offensive opportunities and 2 quickfire goals from Ben Richards and Callum Watson saw Whitley lead 4-0 at the 34 minute mark.
With 35 minutes played Warriors Mark Good picked up a 2 minute penalty for hooking which saw Titans go on the powerplay, Telford struggled to make any inroads on the Whitley defence despite having the man advantage and a swift Warriors counter attack resulted in DJ Good netting a short handed marker after some slick interplay between the Whitley number 9 and his linemate Karl Culley.
Warriors went on the powerplay themselves shortly afterwards when Titans Berwyn Hughes was given 2 minutes in the sin bin for clipping. Whitley’s powerplay unit quickly clicked into gear and Harry Harley lit the lamp to make it 6-0 to the home side after 2 sessions of play.
Whitley continued to pressurise the Telford defence in the 3rd period of play as Titans small bench tired and Martin Crammond made it 7-0 after 43 minutes of play when his low shot found its way into the back of the net. With Warriors in command of the game Coach Simon Leach elected to give back up goaltender Joe Harley some game time late on when he replaced Richie Lawson in the Whitley goal with 15 minutes remaining in the contest.
Telford did test Joe Harley on a few occasions with attempts on his goal however the majority of the action was at the other end of the ice where Whitley were pummelling the Titans goal with shot after shot. DJ Good grabbed his 2nd goal of the game on 51 minutes when he lit the lamp after being set up by veteran forward Karl Culley. Just a minute later Callum Watson grabbed his hatrick marker when he fired home a rebound after Gospel had smartly saved a Josh Maddock effort.
Karl Culley made it 10-0 to Whitley after 54 minutes of play when he applied the finishing touch after some superb work from youngster Ben Richards. Warriors then ran into a little penalty trouble late on when defenceman Rob Wilson was given 2 minutes for holding however despite being a man down Whitley still looked dangerous going forward and 16 year old Kyle H Ross got his first goal of his senior career when he found the back of the net to the delight of the large crowd in attendance at Hillheads. Warriors 11-0 success sees Whitley qualify for the end of season play offs ahead of their rivals the Sutton Sting.
Warriors Man of the Match (sponsored by Tynebank Brewery) was alternate captain Jamie Tinsley while the visiting goaltender Sam Gospel who faced an incredible 80 shots was deservedly chosen as the Titans best player on the night.
Warriors Points
Callum Watson 3+1, DJ Good 2+1, Karl Culley 1+3, Ben Richards, Adam Reynolds and Martin Crammond 1+1, Harry Harley and Kyle Ross 1+0, Josh Maddock and Josh Maddock 0+2, Christian Johnson, Jamie Tinsley, Callum Queenan and Nathan Ryder 0+1
Shots on Goal
On Warriors, Richie Lawson/Joe Harley – 22 (18/4)
On Titans, Sam Gospel – 80
Penalty Minutes
Warriors – 6
Titans – 2
Whitley Coach Simon Leach shared his views on Warriors victory and also gave his thoughts on play off qualification.
“We were a little below par in the first period however after that we stepped it up, Telford got a bit tired and we were able to claim the victory we needed.
“We played 4 lines all night so all the lads got plenty of ice time and young Kyle Ross was picking up some shifts across different lines we were hoping he would be able to grab his first goal at this level and he did so towards the end when he was up front with Adam Reynolds when we were short handed.
“Overall we are very happy to have qualified for the Play Offs as that was one of our aims at the start of the season. We have worked hard to achieve that and we will play Solway in the play off semi final at their own rink however we will go up there with no fear and we will have a game plan that will hopefully work out.”
In preparation for the play off weekend at Solway Sharks, Dumfries Ice Bowl in mid April, Whitley have arranged 2 challenge games against the Billingham Stars. The home match up against Billingham is set to be played on Sunday 30th March at Hillheads Ice Rink in Whitley Bay (face off at 5pm) with the away tie being played the following weekend on Teesside.