Whitley Warriors entertained the newly crowned NIHL North Division 1 Champions the Blackburn Hawks on Tyneside on Sunday evening. Warriors were able to include Alex Lawson on their match day roster after he was passed fit to play however Whitley were without a number of experienced players such as Richie Lawson, Paul Matthews and Jamie Tinsley.
Warriors started the game with Mark Turnbull in goal with Joe Harley acting as back up netminder. Whitley were also missing a number of their younger players who were away on under 18 duty which meant Warriors rotated 5 defencemen and 3 lines of forwards during the game.
Just 94 seconds into the contest Warriors DJ Good and Hawks Jordan Bannon dropped the gloves both players were given 4 minutes in roughing penalties by Referee Emerson as the game got off to an explosive start. Warriors were looking dangerous offensively and Whitley took the lead through Dean Holland who struck with a powerplay marker with just over 5 minutes on the clock.
Blackburn levelled things up just a minute later when Aaron Davies lit the lamp while the Hawks themselves had the man advantage after Warriors blue liner Rob Wilson has been set to the sin bin for a slashing misdemeanour. Warriors were giving a good account of themselves against the unbeaten Hawks though and Whitley took the lead again towards the end of the 1st period when Dean Holland fired home his 11th goal of the season after DJ Good had fed the puck to Warriors talisman.
Hawks tied the game up 8 minutes into the middle session of play when Aaron Davies was again on target for the visitors. Warriors thought they had taken the lead themselves after 30 minutes of action however Whitley’s goal through Alex Lawson was washed out by the officials on duty. It was then Blackburn who took the lead shortly afterwards though when their topscorer Luke Brittle fired home past Warriors young netminder Mark Turnbull.
Warriors generated a great number of chances at the start of the final period of play however Whitley could just not find a way past the impressive Stuart Ashton in the Blackburn net and Hawks were able to extend their lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game when Adam Brittle grabbed a powerplay marker.
Whitley were presented with a powerplay opportunity of their own late in the game and Warriors Coach Simon Leach opted to pull goaltender Mark Turnbull so his side could have 6 skaters out on the ice however despite putting the Blackburn defence under a great deal of pressure the home side were unable to find a late goal and Hawks were able to make it 5-2 when Rick Ravey scored an empty net goal with under a minute left in the contest.
Dean Holland was deservedly chosen as Warriors man of the match for a tireless display while Aaron Davies was selected as the Hawks top performer over the 60 minutes of action.
Warriors Points
Dean Holland 2+0, DJ Good, Daniel Harris and Harry Harley 0+1
Hawks Points
Aaron Davies 2+0, Luke Brittle 1+2, Tom King and Rick Ravey 1+0, Jared Owen 0+3, Matt Viney, Chris Butler, Adam Brittle and Ollie Lomax 0+1
Shots on Goal
On Warriors (Mark Turnbull) – 52 shots
Hawks (Stuart Ashton) – 35 shots
Penalty Minutes
Warriors – 16
Hawks – 18
Warriors Coach Simon Leach shared his views on the match up.
“A really encouraging performance and I didn’t think we deserved to lose the game. No one can fault our desire, workrate and will to win tonight.
“From start to finish I was proud of our team and we can take a lot of confidence from our performance tonight. I think our 1st period was possibly our best period of the season and we are aiming to take that sort of display forward and to move away from 6th place and that relegation play off.”
Warriors next games are over the weekend of the 7th and 8th of March when Whitley face the Solway Sharks and Billingham Stars away from home. Warriors next home game comes on Sunday the 15th March (5pm face off) when the Solway Sharks visit Hillheads for the final time in the 2014/15 campaign.