Whitley Warriors travelled down to Ice Sheffield on Saturday afternoon to take on the Sheffield Spartans in NIHL North Moralee Conference action. Warriors had a strong roster of players available for the contest as almost all senior players travelled to Yorkshire for the clubs last game in 2013.
Warriors senior netminder Richie Lawson was back in goal after missing out on selection last weekend. In defence Warriors rotated 5 d men while offensively Whitley opted to go with 3 forward lines with teenager winger Ben Richards lining up alongside Karl Culley and Adam Reynolds on Warriors principal forward unit.
Spartans started the game extremely positively and the home side had the lead after just over a minute of play when Jonathon Kirk fired home from fractionally inside the blue line. Warriors were creating plenty of chances themselves though and Adam Reynolds tied the game up after 5 minutes with a powerful strike from distance that just had too much power for Stones in the Sheffield goal.
Both sides continued to create numerous chances early in the game and Spartans re- took the lead after 8 minutes when Will Barron got the better of Warriors netminder Richie Lawson. Once again Whitley were not behind for long though as Reynolds equalised around 6 minutes later for Warriors with Karl Culley picking up the assist.
Towards the end of the first period Warriors winger Callum Watson was given 2 minutes in the penalty box for holding the stick of his opponent. Sheffield made the most of their man advantage as Dougie Jordan fired home under a minute after the infringement which saw Spartans hold a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes of hockey.
Sheffield extended their lead 5 minutes into the 2nd period of play when Tom Humphries netted after some neat build up play from teammates Will Barron and Sam Jones. Spartans continued to create openings however it was Whitley who grabbed the games next goal when Martin Crammond fired home after receiving the puck from line mate Daniel Murdy.
Just before the end of the 2nd period Rob Wilson was given a 2 minute penalty by referee Hamilton for Interference and once again Spartans made the most of their powerplay opportunity as defenceman Kirk netted for Sheffield which saw Warriors 5-3 down with 1 stanza of action remaining.
Spartans started the final period on the front foot as Stuart Brittle increased their lead to 6-3 when he fired past Richie Lawson just 31 seconds in. Whitley opted to change their lines around a little in an effort to increase their production offensively and this alteration worked as despite being short handed Warriors quickly got a goal back when Adam Reynolds netted his 3rd goal of the game after being set up by Callum Watson.
Warriors reshuffled lines were looking dangerous and Whitley were able to pull another goal back on 50 minutes when Rob Wilson fired home a powerplay marker against the depleted Spartans. With just over 2 minutes left in the match Sheffield’s Alex Harding was given a 2+10 minute penalty for checking to the head with saw Whitley get a late powerplay opportunity.
Whitley Coach Simon Leach quickly called a time out and outlined the tactics he wanted his side to use and he would have been delighted to see Karl Culley fire home 27 seconds later after some neat build up play from skipper DJ Good and Adam Reynolds.
Following Warriors equalising goal Sheffield themselves called a time out to regroup however there was no further scoring in the match up which saw each side pick up a point for their efforts in what was a truly end to end game of hockey.
Warriors Man of the Match Award went to Rob Wilson while youngster Sam Jones was chosen as the home side’s best player on the night.
Whitley Coach Simon Leach shared his views on the game.
“It wasn’t our best performance, at times in the game we struggled a bit our passing wasn’t what it could be but on the plus side we stuck at it changed the lines around a bit and that worked out well for us.
“We worked hard out there to get back into the game and get a point but I don’t think we should have been in the position we found ourselves in. As a group we have to be prepared to play for a full 60 minutes as the league is so tight at the minute that every game is vitally important.”
Warriors Points –
Adam Reynolds 3+1, Karl Culley 1+2, Martin Crammond and Rob Wilson 1+0, Ben Richards, Callum Watson, Daniel Murdy and DJ Good 0+1
Penalties
Whitley – 28 minutes
Sheffield – 26 minutes
Shots on Goal
On Whitley (Richie Lawson) – 47 shots
On Sheffield (Brandon Stones) – 36 shots