Man of the Match Callum Queenan. Photo by Pyro-Media.
Whitley Warriors triumphed after overtime and penalty shots to claim a 4-3 win over Widnes Wild on Sunday evening.
Making the journey with fourteen skaters, Whitley opted for netminder Dean Bowater to start between the pipes and were bolstered by the return of stand-in Captain Shaun Kippin and Latvian Rihards Grigors, though missing forward Adam Finlinson, defenceman Craig Johnson and suspended Captain Dean Holland. Meanwhile, Widnes lined up with twenty players, including Captain Thomas Jackson, left winger Liam Charnock and shot stopper Harrison Walker.
Though starting the first period with some early pressure, Whitley were soon put to the test themselves as Charnock and Jackson worked to force saves from Bowater at the other end of the ice but the Warrior remained resolute to preserve the deadlock. Continuing in their pursuit of the opening goal, the Warriors persisted with their attacking play but the Wild countered and came close to edging ahead of their opposition when defenceman Thomas Stubley’s blue line shot prompted another save from Bowater. A Whitley breakaway was swiftly followed by a tripping penalty for defenceman Tom Brierley on 9:28 to hand the visitors a power play and they made the most of this, capitalising with fourteen seconds of their advantage remaining as Grigors found the back of Walker’s net on 11:14 assisted by defencemen Harry Harley and Dylan Hehir. Just sixty one seconds later, Kippin doubled his team’s lead courtesy of Alternate Captain Jordan Barnes but the Wild took just fifty seven seconds to retaliate when Charnock beat Bowater with support from Latvian Vladislavs Vulkanovs and Alternate Captain Chris Wilcox. In the last five minutes of the first period, a high shot from forward Nathan Britton saw Bowater again called into action to collect the puck but neither side could alter the score line in those final moments, allowing Whitley to head in with a narrow one-goal advantage at the interval.
Heading out onto the ice for the second stanza, the Warriors aimed to extend their lead and immediately set their sights on goal, firing the puck into Walker’s chest before scrambling back into defence to quash the Wild’s attempt to equalise. A hooking penalty for Brierley on 22:12 then handed Whitley a second power play but it was Vulkanovs who had the best chance to find the target as he broke away to go one-on-one with Bowater who made the save. Twenty five seconds after killing this penalty, the Wild were provided with a power play of their own when forward Callum Queenan was called to the sin bin for hooking on 24:37. Forced to deal with another blue line shot from Stubley, Bowater kept his team ahead and the Warriors returned to full strength to throw everything they had at Walker, culminating in Harley restoring Whitley’s two-goal cushion on 28:12, Grigors assisting. Increasing their pressure on the Wild’s defence, the Warriors sought a fourth goal, peppering Walker with shots in their effort to find the back of the net but unable to edge further ahead, Whitley contented themselves with their 3-1 lead at the second break.
Returning for the third period, the Warriors attempted to resume their control of play but a roughing penalty for utility player Kyle Ross resulted in a power play opportunity for the Wild. Despite this, Whitley worked hard to kill the home team’s advantage and Widnes strove to make amends for this missed chance, Vulkanovs firing at Bowater’s pads shortly after the Warriors’ return to full strength. Some end-to-end play ensued as Whitley broke away to bring Walker back into the game with a blocker save before Bowater blocked Player-Coach Richard Haggar’s long range shot. Undeterred, Haggar soon found Vulkanovs who tapped home on 49:51 to take his team to within a goal of the Warriors once more. Just past the midpoint of the period, both sides lost players to the sin bin to reduce each team to four skaters; Whitley’s Latvian import Grigors penalised for holding whilst defenceman Lee Kemp was sidelined for roughing on 51:30. Less than two minutes after both teams were restored to full strength, the Wild levelled the scoring, Matthew Barlow making it 3-3 with support from Charnock and fellow forward Joe Greaves on 55:09. With neither team able to find the net again in the latter stages of the third period, three-on-three overtime beckoned. Whitley began by forcing a pad save from Walker and recovered from a wide shot from Stubley by firing from close range, though to no avail. Head Coach David Longstaff then called a timeout with fifteen seconds of overtime remaining but Whitley were unable to grab a winning goal, taking the game to penalty shots.
Stepping up first was Latvian Rolands Gritāns whose shot was saved by Walker but Bowater was able to match the efforts of the Wild’s netminder by saving Greaves’ shot to keep the score line level. Queenan backed up Bowater’s performance by beating Walker but Vulkanovs also buried his shot to make it 1-1 on penalties. Harley was next to try his luck but Walker made yet another save and Bowater kept out Britton’s shot at the other end of the ice. Having had three penalties each, the shootout went to sudden death and Gritāns made amends, adding to Queenan’s effort to place pressure on Vulkanovs whose second shot was saved, handing Whitley a hard-fought 4-3 overtime win after penalty shots.
Stats
Shots on goal
Wild: 37
Warriors: 52
Points
Wild:
Vladislavs Vulkanovs (1+1), Liam Charnock (1+1), Matthew Barlow (1+0), Richard Haggar (0+1), Chris Wilcox (0+1), Joe Greaves (0+1)
Warriors:
Rihards Grigors (1+1), Harry Harley (1+1), Shaun Kippin (1+0), Rolands Gritāns (1+0), Dylan Hehir (0+1), Jordan Barnes (0+1)
Penalty minutes
Wild: 6
Warriors: 6
Man of the Match
Wild: Tom Brierley
Warriors: Callum Queenan