Photo by Ice Hockey Media - Colin Lawson
Whitley Warriors take on the Blackburn Hawks this weekend in what promises to be one of the top games of the 2015/16 season. Warriors and Hawks have met on 2 occasions in recent weeks with both sides claiming 1 victory to date.
Whitley currently top the NIHL North Division 1 standings with a total of 26 points from the 17 games they have played, Blackburn sit a place below Warriors in the table with 25 points at this point of the season though it does have to be noted that the Hawks currently have 3 games in hand on Whitley.
Warriors go into Sunday’s game with a strong roster for Head Coach David Longstaff to select from however Whitley will be missing Stu Tomlinson, Craig Johnson and Callum Watson who are all unable to take to the ice this weekend.
Andre Payette Warriors versatile import shared his thoughts on this weekend’s crucial match up.
“With the way the games have been going it’s like a play off series with this weekends game being the 3rd crucial game.
“Both sides have a victory so far and I’m anticipating a hard physical game this weekend. I think it’ll be a fun one to play in.
“I feel we can play better than we did in Blackburn last weekend as we started the game slowly and we have to be ready when that first puck drops on Sunday night on home ice.”
Warriors game with Hawks gets underway at 5pm on Sunday evening with tickets priced at £8.50 for adults and £6.50 for children while a family ticket can be bought for £24.
Fans are reminded that this weekends match night programme includes an exclusive interview with Andre Payette in which Andre answers questions put to him by Warriors fans and some of his current and past teammates.