Whitley Warriors head to the Scottish borders this weekend for the first ever NIHL North Moralee Conference Play Off weekend. Warriors take on league champions the Solway Sharks in the first semi final on Saturday afternoon at 1pm with the Billingham Stars facing the Blakcburn Hawks in the second semi final which is due to get underway at 4.30pm.
Whitley head into the weekend at almost full strength as the only Warrior who is not able to ice this weekend is d man Nathan Ryder who is ruled out of action with a shoulder injury that has seen him endure a stop start campaign.
Warriors Coach Simon Leach shared his views on the Warriors play off preparations and prospects.
“Everyone associated with the club are looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead this weekend. The team as a whole have worked extremely hard this season to qualify for the play offs and we are certainly there on merit, having fought right to the end in a very competitive league where teams around us have had the luxury of recruiting imports and players from higher leagues.
“Credit must go to all involved and I would like say a huge thank you to the great support the team have received this season and we hope we can do you all proud in Dumfries this weekend. We are certainly going into the game on Saturday as massive underdogs as we face the champions on their own ice. We will be going there to give it our all on Saturday and I have told the players the only pressure we should feel is the one we put on ourselves to perform like we do in any other game, as I believe all the pressure will be on the Champions on the day to perform in their own rink.
“We know the task we face is huge and that Solway have been by far the best team in the league this year, but this comes down to a one off 60 minute battle which I am sure we can be up for.
“I would have liked our play off preparations over the past few weeks to have been a bit better but due to work commitments and other situations we haven’t been able to have the full squad together for the challenge games and training. On the plus side we will be travelling with virtually a full squad to Dumfries and we are going to need that come game time.”
Tickets are still available for play offs for those fans who make a late decision to attend the weekend and can be bought from http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/search/Dumfries+Ice+Bowl+Dumfries. Individual game tickets are priced at £10 with a weekend pass at £25 which also includes entry to the Pro Hockey News Awards presentation on the Saturday evening. #
For those supporters who are not able to make it up to Dumfries to see Warriors in action. All 3 of the weekend’s games will be broadcast on NIHL Radio which can be accessed via the NIHL Radio link on the clubs website www.whitleywarriors.net.
Chris Mackenzie