Ross vs. Horne on the faceoff. Photo by IceHockeyMedia.
Whitley Warriors suffered a 5-4 defeat to Solway Sharks in front of their home crowd on Sunday evening.
Taking to the ice with eighteen skaters and starting netminder Dean Bowater, Whitley were without suspended Captain Dean Holland, defenceman Craig Johnson and forward Anthony Wetherell, whilst Latvian Rihards Grigors was selected ahead of Matěj Valíček for this fixture and experienced Warrior Shaun Kippin was again called upon to fulfil a leadership role. By comparison, Martin Grubb’s Solway made the journey with two skaters less than their opposition, their line-up including Slovakian Peter Gápa, defenceman Stuart Kerr and former Warrior Ross Murray.
The first period began with some fast-paced end-to-end play from which Whitley gradually began to increase their offensive work. Picking up the puck after the Sharks lost possession in the neutral zone, Steven Chalmers confidently struck the top shelf with an unassisted shot to provide his team with an early lead on 4:27. Taking heart from this, the Warriors made it 2-0 just under four minutes later when Adam Wood received the puck in the high slot from utility player Kyle Ross to fire home a stunning blue line shot, forward Jamie Ord also assisting on 8:23. As Whitley approached the midpoint of the period, they continued their onslaught on shot stopper Calum Hepburn’s net but forward Callum Watson’s crosscheck during the Warriors’ attack saw the advantage shift in the Sharks’ favour and Solway’s power play was enhanced to a 5-on-3 situation when Ross joined his teammate for hooking on 11:06. Though throwing everything into their penalty kill, Whitley conceded with thirty six seconds of Ross’ penalty remaining, Kell Beattie opening his team’s account by beating Bowater blocker side courtesy of fellow defenceman Kerr on 12:42. Aiming to restore their two-goal cushion, Whitley piled further pressure onto Hepburn, defenceman Matty McDonald forcing a glove save from the netminder. However, Solway were not satisfied with their lone goal and equalised forty two seconds before the first interval when Gápa edged around Bowater’s net before squeezing the puck between the post and the outstretched netminder’s glove to see both teams head in on an even footing of 2-2.
Returning for the middle stanza with a view to recover their lead, the Warriors instantly grabbed a goal when Watson collected Latvian Rolands Gritāns’ rebounded shot to lure Hepburn out before playing a pass to Kippin who tapped the puck into the vacant net fifty four seconds into the period. Whitley’s lead was short-lived however, as Solway levelled the scoring forty two seconds later when blue liner Liam Stenton won the puck in the corner of Whitley’s defensive zone to set up forward Callum Boyd who had time and space to net with ease on 21:36. Though disappointed with this turn of events, the Warriors could not find a way past the Sharks’ defence and the visitors proved to be far more clinical, Kerr unleashing a superb shot from the point on 31:09 to hand his team the lead for the first time in the contest, making it 4-3. This goal prompted a change of position for Gritāns who switched to a defensive role as the Warriors looked to strengthen their blue line whilst also seeking an opportunity to retaliate. With much at stake, it was not long before the two sides clashed resulting in Boyd receiving a penalty of 2+2 for butt-ending whilst Grigors was sidelined for roughing on 32:19. Whitley’s power play was then increased to a 5-on-3 advantage when forward Kieran Hair’s high sticks offence on McDonald was also punished with a penalty of 2+2 on 34:54. Forward Scott Henderson proceeded to trip Alternate Captain Jordan Barnes to find himself sidelined on 36:30 but Grubb’s side withstood this pressure on Hepburn’s net to take their one-goal lead into the final twenty minutes of the game.
As play got underway in the third period, Finlinson was amongst those testing Hepburn in the opening stages. A hooking penalty for forward Gordon Horne on 41:58 resulted in a power play for the Warriors but Henderson gathered possession at centre ice and slipped past Whitley’s defence to fire over Bowater’s left shoulder into the top corner on 42:30 whilst his team were shorthanded. With a two-goal deficit, Whitley worked to find a way past Hepburn, Watson pairing up with forward Callum Queenan to carve out an opportunity for their team whilst Chalmers also strode into Solway’s defensive zone with his sights set on his second goal but without success. Determined in their offensive play, the Warriors’ efforts finally paid off when Harry Harley received the puck from fellow blue liner Dylan Hehir to see his initial shot blocked by Gápa, only for the puck to bounce off the boards behind Hepburn’s net and fall kindly for Queenan who tapped home on 53:00 to reduce his side’s deficit to a single goal. With renewed belief, the Warriors were unrelenting in offence, Wood racing forward with the puck to fire in a long range speculative shot in an effort to stun Hepburn whilst Kippin came close after being played through on goal but the netminder scrambled to make the save. Bowater was called upon to keep the score line narrow at the other end of the ice, with Henderson nearly extending his team’s lead and the Sharks missing out on an opportunity to put the game beyond doubt when they struck the bar. On 57:24, Head Coach David Longstaff called a timeout and opted to pull Bowater from his net to ice an additional skater. Fighting to keep play within Solway’s offensive zone, the Warriors sought an equaliser to change the complexion of the game but as Gritāns dashed down the wing, Stenton stopped the Latvian in his tracks to incur a kneeing penalty on 58:35. Despite their advantage of six skaters to Solway’s four, the Warriors could not achieve a fifth goal to miss out on overtime, meaning the Sharks are now 9 points clear at the top of NIHL North 1.
Stats
Shots on goal
Warriors: 48
Sharks: 37
Points
Warriors:
Steven Chalmers (1+0), Adam Wood (1+0), Shaun Kippin (1+0), Callum Queenan (1+0), Callum Watson (0+1), Dylan Hehir (0+1), Kyle Ross (0+1), Harry Harley (0+1), Jamie Ord (0+1)
Sharks:
Stuart Kerr (1+1), Scott Henderson (1+1), Kell Beattie (1+0), Peter Gápa (1+0), Callum Boyd (1+0), Liam Stenton (0+1)
Penalty minutes
Warriors: 6
Sharks: 14
Man of the Match
Warriors: Dylan Hehir
Sharks: Scott Henderson