Dean Holland celebrates with his teammates. Photo by IceHockeyMedia.
Whitley Warriors secured a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Solihull Barons at Hillheads on Sunday evening.
Taking to the ice with twenty skaters and netminders Richie Lawson and Jordan Boyle at their disposal, the Warriors confronted Solihull’s eighteen-man team which included top points scorer Thomas Soar, Captain Marcus Maynard and shot stopper Sam Hewitt. Meanwhile, player-coaches David Longstaff and Daniel Brittle fulfilled their roles from their respective benches.
Facing off for what quickly became a high tempo first period, the Warriors found themselves applying pressure to Hewitt’s net in the early stages whilst maintaining caution in defence due to the fast and furious end-to-end style of play. In the opening minutes, forward Adam Finlinson linked up with left winger Ben Campbell to force a save from Hewitt before forward Callum Watson tried a shot which also failed to make an impact. Soon after, Whitley’s defence were sent scrambling to Lawson’s aid when the Barons bore down on goal, forwards Soar and Matthew Maurice amongst those appearing particularly dangerous. The Warriors countered once more, blue liner Harry Harley shooting from distance whilst Captain Dean Holland attempted to cut a path towards goal, only to see his effort saved. A hit on Latvian defenceman Rolands Gritāns close to Solihull’s bench followed and prompted Alternate Captain Jordan Barnes to vent his anger at Maurice. Their attacking play relentless, Whitley continued to try their luck, firing at Hewitt and attempting to bury the rebounds that the netminder allowed. Seeking to capitalise on such an opportunity, forward Ross Murray came close to tapping the puck home which was begrudged by the Barons’ ‘D’ men, causing a small tussle in front of Hewitt’s net before Maynard defused the situation by guiding Murray out of the fracas. Gritāns then prepared himself for a slap shot but slipped on receiving the puck, causing him to miss his chance to execute. Whilst forced into defence by Solihull, the Warriors were pleased to receive a power play on 11:21 when forward Adam Brittle was sidelined for hooking. Bombarding Hewitt, Whitley came close to opening the scoring as Watson broke away from the Barons’ defence but the shot stopper was on hand to save the puck in his pads. Holland then tried to go it alone, steering the puck down the left wing and firing at Hewitt who made a comfortable save. As such, the Warriors were soon punished for their failure to capitalise when defenceman Dave Rogers found forward Adam Brittle who placed the puck into Lawson’s net with ease on 19:42 to give his side a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.
Keen to equalise early in the middle stanza, the Warriors aimed for intensity with quick line changes and Campbell pounced on Finlinson’s rebound but could not beat Hewitt. Soon after, Barnes incurred Whitley’s first penalty of the game on 25:59 and, whilst the Barons could not capitalise on their power play, the side doubled their lead just eight seconds after Whitley returned to full strength, Adam Brittle slotting past Lawson courtesy of Maurice and Maynard. Striving to reduce Whitley’s deficit, forward Ben Richards unleashed a shot which hit Hewitt’s pad and trickled wide of his post. Watson followed this with a breakaway, flicking the puck towards goal only for Hewitt to make the save. The game growing increasingly difficult for the home team, Murray battled for possession against ‘D’ man Rogers along the boards behind Hewitt’s net which resulted in a heated exchange for which the forward received two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct on 36:39. Working hard to kill this penalty, the Warriors netted four seconds after returning to full strength when forward Phil Edgar played a pass to Campbell who rushed up the left wing before striking to Hewitt’s left to make it 2-1 on 38:43, providing his team with some hope as they headed in at the second interval.
A hooking penalty for forward Philip Mulcahy on 41:32 gave Whitley a power play early in the third period and allowed the Warriors to begin to build on the momentum they had created in the latter stages of the middle stanza, with Finlinson, Campbell and Holland particularly threatening in front of Hewitt’s net. However, after rushing in on Hewitt in search of a rebound, Holland was sidelined for slashing which erased his team’s advantage. Whitley were unfazed and a delay of the game penalty for forward Richard Slater soon after allowed the Warriors the additional skater once more. Eager to make this power play count, Edgar received a pass from Holland and determinedly drove the puck through Solihull’s defence before flicking a shot home to level the scoring on 46:00. Just over a minute later, Finlinson incurred an elbowing penalty, prompting a timeout from Solihull as they discussed the best way to proceed with their advantage. In spite of this, the Warriors remained composed and seized the lead for the first time in the game when defenceman Gritāns picked out Holland who outwitted Hewitt to make it 3-2 on 51:02. Comfortable in their lead, the Warriors began to take control of the game and successfully quashed the Barons’ efforts to equalise whilst maintaining their offensive threat. A hooking penalty for Campbell on 57:55 then gave Solihull a final power play and the side threw everything into offence, eventually pulling Hewitt from his net to ice an additional skater. Upon realising the Barons’ tactics, forward Callum Queenan tried to find the net but his shot was intercepted by Solihull’s defence. Holland quickly assumed possession in turn and released a shot from distance to claim an empty net goal to make it 4-2 and thereby confirm Whitley’s victory fifty six seconds before the final buzzer.
Stats
Shots on goal
Warriors: 63
Barons: 35
Points
Warriors:
Dean Holland (2+1), Phil Edgar (1+1), Ben Campbell (1+0), Rolands Gritāns (0+1)
Barons:
Adam Brittle (2+0), Marcus Maynard (0+1), Dave Rogers (0+1), Matthew Maurice (0+1)
Penalty minutes
Warriors: 10
Barons: 6
Man of the Match
Warriors: Dean Holland
Barons: Marcus Maynard