Photo by IceHockeyMedia
Whitley Warriors headed down to North Wales to take on the Deeside Dragons in a NIHL North Division 1 match up on Sunday evening. Warriors were able to include teenage forward Jamie Ord in their squad for the first time as the youngster is now eligible to play senior hockey as he has turned 16 recently.
Just 52 seconds into the game Whitley took the lead when Ben Richards fired home after he had been set up by player/coach David Longstaff. The home side equalised on 5 minutes through their own player/coach Scott Mckenzie and then took the lead 7 minutes later when McKenzie was once again on target for the Dragons.
Deeside extended their lead to 3-1 when import forward Filip Supa beat Warriors netminder Richie Lawson with a goal that came on the whistle of a delayed penalty. Dragons grabbed another goal before the end of the first when their skipper James Parsons found the back of the net.
Warriors were the next team on the scoresheet when Jordan Barnes grabbed a goal on 28 minutes with the assists going to Longstaff and Martin Crammond. Deeside made it 5-2 on shortly afterwards when Andrew Chappell netted for the Dragons after he had been set up by the impressive Mckenzie.
The final period saw Wigglesworth net on 1 occasion and Parsons grab a further 2 goals for the home side which saw the Dragons captain claim his hatrick. The game then came to an early end when Deeside’s Lewis Morgan suffered what looked to be a serious injury and needed medical attention. Warriors would like to wish Lewis all the best and hope that he is soon back on the ice.
Warriors take on the Telford Tigers next Saturday in a road game in the league before they return to action on their own ice on Sunday when they take on the Solway Sharks in a cup encounter that gets underway at 5pm at Hillheads in Whitley Bay. Whitley’s game with Telford is a crucial match up as David Longstaff’s side look to secure as many points as possible between now and the end of the season as Warriors look to capture that all important championship play off place.