Ross Murray celebrates after his goal against his former team. Photo by IceHockeyMedia.
Whitley Warriors breezed past fellow title contenders Solway Sharks in a double header, triumphing 8-3 at Dumfries on Saturday evening before accomplishing a 6-1 win at Hillheads on Sunday.
Travelling to the Dumfries Ice Bowl for their all-important top-of-the-table clash against Solway Sharks, Whitley Warriors had twenty skaters at their disposal, with forward Adam Finlinson also available to ice for this fixture after returning from injury. By comparison, Solway had three less skaters, their line-up including new signing Viktor Nestrasil, Slovakian Peter Gápa and first choice netminder Gary Russell.
Stating their intent early in the fixture, Whitley snatched a lead through forward Callum Queenan who capitalised on neat play from blue liner Harry Harley and Finlinson on 2:42. A tripping penalty for Captain Dean Holland soon followed but the Warriors were effective on the penalty kill to see off any threat posed by the Sharks. However, the visitors were not so fortunate when Latvian defenceman Rolands Gritāns incurred a clipping penalty on 8:25 as Solway made the most of their additional skater twenty two seconds later, Scott Crane equalising with support from Captain Struan Tonnar and fellow forward Iain Bowie. The Sharks then went shorthanded thirty eight seconds later when forward Scott Henderson was sidelined for tripping. Wasting little time in recovering their lead, the Warriors edged ahead of their title rivals, this time Harley the man on target courtesy of left winger Ben Campbell and Gritāns. Two minutes later, Canadian forward Phil Edgar beat Russell on 12:30 to make it 3-1, Campbell and forward Ross Murray carving out the opportunity for their teammate. Gaining momentum, the Warriors grew to be relentless and added another goal to the scoreboard when Gritāns buried a shot past Russell on 14:54, prompting a timeout from the home team. Shortly after play resumed, an interference penalty against defenceman Dan Pye presented Solway with the chance they needed to reduce their deficit to 4-2, eighteen-year-old Ewan Anderson scoring the Sharks’ second power play goal with just eleven seconds of Whitley’s penalty remaining.
Though there was a slower start to the second period as both teams worked hard to break down their opposition’s play, the Warriors made it 5-2 on 26:40 as Queenan netted his second of the game by slipping the puck past Russell unassisted to restore his side’s three-goal lead. Less than two minutes later, Alternate Captain Jordan Barnes was shown to the sin bin for a hooking offence. Shorthanded, Whitley worked hard to keep the Sharks at bay; Gápa letting loose a shot which netminder Richie Lawson saved. After further attacking play, Holland seized possession to test Russell at the other end of the ice and Campbell also fired at the netminder who made a glove save. With Whitley’s attacking play building once again, Barnes tipped Gritāns’ shot into the net to present his team with a 6-2 lead on 34:56. Forty four seconds later, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for forward Shaun Kippin gave Solway yet another power play but David Longstaff’s team dealt with the Sharks’ efforts to head in with their four-goal lead intact at the second interval.
As play resumed for the final period, Whitley continued to be creative in front of goal and benefitted greatly from the energy of forwards Anthony Wetherell and Ross Douglass. Demonstrating his creativity, Campbell received the puck from ‘D’ man Josh Maddock to play a pass to Murray who was elated to score against his former club on 44:03 for 7-2. Moments later, the Sharks were disappointed not to have achieved their third goal when Crane slotted the puck behind Lawson after the whistle had blown. Defenceman Gary Walker and youngster Thomas Fraser were given ice time in this period and the Warriors remained composed despite Gápa accomplishing his team’s third goal on 53:52. Seventeen seconds later, Murray achieved his brace after some slick play from Campbell and Edgar. With an 8-3 lead, the Warriors remained dominant so that a tripping penalty for Maddock in the last two minutes of the game was killed effectively to ensure Solway did not have the final say in the contest.
Seeing out their 8-3 road win over fellow title contenders Solway Sharks, Whitley Warriors were pleased to return to Hillheads with a crucial two points prior to Sunday’s home fixture against the Dumfries outfit.
Stats
Shots on goal
Sharks: 23
Warriors: 33
Points
Sharks:
Peter Gapa (1+1), Ewan Anderson (1+0), Scott Crane (1+0), Iain Bowie (0+1), Liam Stenton (0+1), Gary Russell (0+1), Struan Tonnar (0+1)
Warriors:
Callum Queenan (2+1), Ross Murray (2+1), Rolands Gritans (1+2), Phil Edgar (1+1), Harry Harley (1+1), Jordan Barnes (1+0), Ben Campbell (0+4), Adam Finlinson (0+2), Josh Maddock (0+1)
Penalty minutes
Sharks: 2
Warriors: 12
Man of the Match
Sharks: Viktor Nestrasil
Warriors: Ross Murray
Prepared to take on Martin Grubb’s men for a second time, Whitley Warriors went into Sunday’s home game against Solway Sharks with four strong lines, although forward Niall Ryder and defenceman Liam Smedley were again amongst those on the absentee list. Solway, meanwhile, had fifteen skaters available for this trip, with Czech import Viktor Nestrasil, Captain Struan Tonnar and top points scorer Peter Gápa amongst those icing for the Sharks.
After some early possession for Solway Sharks in the first period, Whitley began to play the puck into their offensive zone, left winger Ben Campbell hitting the post as his work with forwards Ross Murray and Phil Edgar proved a real threat to the deadlock. Consequently, the Warriors’ intensity increased, allowing Campbell to pick out Edgar who slotted home on 3:35 to give his side a deserved lead. Utilising their speed and skill, Whitley were unlucky not to score a second goal when Campbell collected his rebounded shot to fire at netminder Gary Russell who snapped the puck out of the air to leave the score line at 1-0. Forward Shaun Kippin was then picked out by line mate Anthony Wetherell but missed his chance to beat Russell from close range. Absorbing this pressure, the Sharks attempted to counter, Nestrasil almost sneaking the puck past shot stopper Richie Lawson at his left post. An interference penalty for forward Scott Crane on 11:54 saw Solway reduced to four men but the visitors parried the puck from their defensive zone to disrupt Whitley’s power play. After returning to full strength, the Sharks almost broke clear of the Warriors’ defence through Henderson but his effort was dealt with before Gápa sent a shot high to allow possession to return to the home side. An error from Russell in the final seconds of the period almost allowed Campbell to snatch possession from the netminder but the Warriors remained just one goal ahead of their opposition at the first interval.
Though beginning the second period with further creative play, Whitley found themselves surprised by a three-on-one attack from the Sharks which resulted in Gápa levelling the scoring on 24:16 courtesy of Henderson and Ewan Anderson. The Warriors hit back two minutes later when Russell played the puck short, allowing Holland to pounce and reclaim his side’s lead. Recovering their momentum, Whitley put some distance between themselves and the Sharks on 33:41 when forward Callum Queenan picked up Adam Finlinson’s rebound at Russell’s right post to make it 3-1, Holland also assisting. The Warriors added to Solway’s deficit again just sixty three seconds later when Campbell’s rebounded shot fell to Edgar who fired past Russell. Believing this goal to have been offside, Gápa made his feelings clear to the officials who handed him a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in consequence. Whilst unable to capitalise on the power play, the Warriors maintained their offensive efforts which caused the game to grow heated shortly after Solway had returned to full strength; Tonnar confronted Edgar which resulted in Alternate Captain Jordan Barnes crosschecking the Shark to see both players earn minor penalties for holding and crosschecking respectively. These penalties had no bearing on the game however and just seconds after Tonnar and Barnes returned to the ice, the Warriors headed in with their 4-1 lead intact.
Despite the third stanza unfolding at a slower rate than the first two periods, the Warriors added to the scoreboard on 45:18, Murray tipping the puck beyond Russell after a long range shot from Edgar. Unrelenting, Whitley continued to pepper Russell’s net, Queenan and Edgar amongst those wreaking havoc in Solway’s defensive zone. Player-Coach David Longstaff allowed youngster Thomas Fraser some ice time alongside Barnes and Gary Walker featured in a forward role, managing a shot on net in his first shift. With the tempo of the game slower at times, it was not until 54:12 that the Warriors completed their scoring, Holland’s attempt on goal flooring Russell to allow Queenan to achieve his brace comfortably. In consequence, Solway called a timeout and both teams replaced their shot stoppers with their backup netminders, Whitley switching Lawson with Jordan Boyle and the Sharks icing Calum Hepburn in place of Russell. A hard hit from Gápa on Johnson resulted in Kippin avenging this misdemeanour without consequence as Solway progressed into Whitley’s defensive zone, the Dumfries outfit believing they had found the net in the aftermath of this attack only to have their effort ruled out. Further ice time for Fraser in the latter stages of the game resulted in some quick work from the youngster before the final buzzer called time on Whitley’s fantastic four-point weekend.
The Warriors now sit five points clear of Solway at the top of NIHL North 1 with two games in hand on the Sharks going into next weekend’s fixtures against Solihull Barons and Blackburn Hawks.
Stats
Shots on goal
Warriors: 64
Sharks: 27
Points
Warriors:
Phil Edgar (2+1), Callum Queenan (2+0), Dean Holland (1+2), Ross Murray (1+1), Ben Campbell (0+3), Craig Johnson (0+1), Harry Harley (0+1), Adam Finlinson (0+1),
Sharks:
Peter Gápa (1+0), Scott Henderson (0+1), Ewan Anderson (0+1)
Penalty minutes
Warriors: 2
Sharks: 6
Man of the Match
Warriors: Callum Queenan
Sharks: Liam Stenton