Shaun Kippin in on Hawks goal. Photo by IceHockeyMedia
Whitley Warriors claimed their first point with a 4-3 overtime loss against Solihull Barons on Saturday evening.
Making the trip to Hobs Moat Road, Whitley Warriors travelled with sixteen skaters, their line-up including defenceman Ross Connolly for the first time this season, although forward Ryan Sample, and blue liners Will Robson and Craig Johnson were unavailable for this fixture. Also missing out on this game were Captain Dean Holland and injured Alternate Captain Sam Zajac, the captaincy falling to Shaun Kippin whilst forward Martin Crammond fulfilled the role of his assistant in Zajac’s absence.
Making a fast start, the Warriors involved themselves in some impressive opening play in the first period, Kippin working well with fellow forwards Ben Richards and Jordan Barnes to trouble netminding Player-Coach Daniel Brittle. Countering with longer spells of possession to challenge shot stopper Richie Lawson at the other end of the ice, Solihull’s work rate soon paid off when the side were granted a power play following a holding call against ‘D’ man Kyle Ross. Though working hard in defence to kill the penalty, the Warriors had only just returned to full strength when Solihull seized a lead in the game; Andrew Whitehouse achieving his first goal of the season on 5:02 after fellow forward Edward Eaton linked up with defenceman Daniel Harrison to help their teammate onto the scoresheet. Rallying in response, Whitley strove for an equaliser and achieved it, forward Callum Watson netting close to the midpoint of the period as Campbell created the opportunity after receiving the puck from Kippin. The score line 1-1, the Barons went shorthanded when Alternate Captain Marcus Maynard was shown to the sin bin for interference. Icing four forwards on the power play, the Warriors threw everything they had at Brittle but it was not enough to take the lead with the additional man. Returning to full strength, Solihull’s forward Adam Brittle attempted a goal but Lawson collected and the Warriors sought out some attacking play of their own, Campbell forcing a pad save from shot stopper Brittle. Though ahead by twenty one shots to ten in the first period, the Barons were not able to get ahead in the game with the Warriors proving more than a match for their opposition.
With nothing separating the two teams as they headed out onto the ice for the second stanza, the Warriors battled from the outset to place the Barons under pressure but Solihull broke into Whitley’s defensive zone as forward Luke Brittle took possession of the puck to find Swedish import Niklas Ottosson. Cutting a path through the middle of the ice, Ottosson unleashed a superb shot which beat Lawson on 25:10 to make it 2-1. Realising the full potential of this avenue, forward Matthew Maurice also utilised this route sixty nine seconds later to present his team with a two-goal lead, this time Elliot Farrell with the assist. Calling a timeout, the Warriors were keen to talk tactics to prevent a third goal in quick succession but when play resumed, Ross channelled his frustration by tripping his opponent to hand Solihull an advantage. Successfully running down the clock whilst shorthanded, the Warriors were determined that there was more they could take from this game but their fight showed as Barnes was called to the sin bin for interference on 36:19 and, just eleven seconds before this penalty was killed, stand-in Alternate Captain Crammond was also sidelined for a late hit. Under pressure as a result, the Warriors were relieved when the playing field was levelled, Slovakian forward Filip Supa making way thirty two seconds later for a tripping offence to see both teams return to the ice with four men after the second interval.
Certain that they were not out of the game yet, Whitley flew back out onto the ice with a will to reduce their deficit to a single goal and Campbell was once again an imposing figure for the visitors, working with Kippin to close in on Brittle’s net, although this effort was without success. Relentless in offence, Richards then went one-on-one with Brittle who managed to stop the puck. Feeling that the Warriors were working their way back into the contest, versatile defenceman Dale White pulled Barnes to the ice to incur a holding penalty but, despite their advantage, Whitley could not make it count. However, the threat that the Warriors posed persisted and was enough to cause the Barons some concern, so much so that Solihull’s Captain Josh Bruce saw fit to bring down Kippin with a late hit which reduced the Barons to four men. Wasting little time in punishing Bruce’s misdemeanour, defenceman Connolly showed what he was capable of just fifteen seconds later with a slick pass to Campbell who drove the puck home on the power play to make it 3-2 on 49:30. The game slipping away from them, the Barons recognised their need to recover their two-goal cushion and an elbowing penalty called against Barnes provided the home team with the power play they desired, causing Brittle to call a timeout to discuss how best to proceed with their additional skater. However, just thirty seven seconds later, Solihull lost Maynard to the sin bin for high sticks and Eaton followed suit to hand the Warriors a power play which they made full use of, clinical passing between Campbell and Longstaff presenting forward DJ Good with the chance to execute the perfect shot to make it 3-3 on 57:34 to take the game into overtime.
Beginning with Ross, Connolly and Campbell on the first line of three-on-three overtime, the Warriors whistled the puck towards Brittle’s net before facing strong attacking play from the Barons as Maynard linked up with Maurice to play in Supa whose shot went wide of its mark. Changing their line, the Warriors left Ross on the ice, bringing on Crammond and Richards. Again though, the Barons made Lawson work, this time ‘D’ man Harrison forcing the Warrior to make the save. Moments later, Richards was sidelined for elbowing Bruce to see the home team gain an additional skater as Kippin and blue liner Liam Smedley headed out onto the ice to join Crammond, setting out to battle against the skill of Ottosson and forward Luke Brittle. Slapping Kippin’s stick away from him, the Barons fired a shot at Lawson and quickly regained possession to stretch the Warriors further. An attempt from Bruce prompted Lawson to gather the puck with fifty two seconds of Whitley’s penalty kill remaining and Maynard tried his luck only to have his shot blocked by his own man. Giving everything to achieve two points, Bruce then took the puck around Ross only for Lawson’s clearance to bounce. Both teams working hard, Campbell then went one-on-one with Brittle but Maynard’s timely interception meant that the left winger could do no damage on this occasion. Returning to full strength, Whitley were given a level playing field again but found themselves up against versatile defenceman Dave Rogers and forward Adam Brittle. This proved to be too much for the visitors as Solihull bagged both points with just seven seconds of overtime remaining, Luke Brittle assisting his brother Adam as Lawson came off his line in an effort to make the save, leaving Whitley to content themselves with their first point at Hobs Moat Road since their 6-2 victory over the Barons on the 13th September 2015.
Stats
Shots on goal
Barons: 54
Warriors: 28
Points
Barons:
Adam Brittle (1+0), Matthew Maurice (1+0), Andrew Whitehouse (1+0), Niklas Ottosson (1+0), Luke Brittle (0+2), Daniel Harrison (0+1), Edward Eaton (0+1), Elliot Farrell (0+1)
Warriors:
Ben Campbell (1+2), Callum Watson (1+0), Daniel Good (1+0), Shaun Kippin (0+1), Ross Connolly (0+1), David Longstaff (0+1)
Penalty minutes
Barons: 12
Warriors: 10
Man of the Match
Barons: Adam Brittle
Warriors: Richie Lawson
Officials
Referee: William Hewitt
Linesman: Simon Clark
Linesman: Oliver Finch
Returning to Hillheads on Sunday evening to confront Steven Duncombe’s Blackburn Hawks, Whitley Warriors recorded a 5-2 home defeat to remain in ninth place with a single point from six games.
Lining up with eighteen skaters, the Warriors were boosted by the return of hardworking Alternate Captain Sam Zajac, although they were again without Captain Dean Holland, defenceman Will Robson and former recreational players Adam Perrie and Gary Walker. Blackburn, meanwhile, made the trip with a seventeen-man team which included sixteen-year-old netminder Harrison Walker, Lithuanian forward Danielius Nomanovas, Czech forward Petr Valusiak and impressive Alternate Captain James Royds.
Like most of Whitley’s games of late, the Warriors started with much pace, left winger Ben Campbell once again at the forefront of David Longstaff’s offence with forwards Callum Watson, DJ Good and stand-in Captain Shaun Kippin also playing with speed and skill in the opening minutes of the game. After such a positive start though, the home team were placed on the penalty kill when Good was sinbinned for a high sticks offence against Hawk Ollie Lomax. Making the necessary clearances when under pressure, the Warriors picked up from where they left off as soon as they returned to full strength, hunting down the opening goal of the game. Even with this hard work, Blackburn did not make it easy for Whitley to grab the lead on 4:31 when Ross picked out Campbell who tried to get a shot away before Watson pounced on the puck and drove it past netminder Walker to make it 1-0. Subsequent to this goal, Hawks’ two-way player Adam Barnes and young forward Royds both proved problematic but Whitley’s defence dealt with the threat alongside shot stopper Lawson to prevent an equaliser. Continuing to plough forward, Campbell and defenceman Zajac outworked their opposition, their quick passing play in and around Blackburn’s defensive zone increasing the Hawks’ workload considerably. Some hard hits thrown into the mix saw Warrior Barnes lift Nomanovas off the ice to earn himself an interference penalty with just over ten minutes played. Fending off the one-way traffic on the penalty kill, the Warriors then came close to a shorthanded goal when Campbell nabbed the puck and raced clear of the Hawks’ defence to unleash a shot which leapt over Walker’s net. Sixty two seconds after returning to full strength, Watson clashed with Valusiak only to incur an interference penalty which reduced Whitley to four men for a third time. Again breaking down Blackburn’s play to beat away the puck from the danger zone, the Warriors returned to full strength unscathed and came close to a second goal, Kippin almost scrambling the puck beyond Walker after Campbell zipped a shot towards his net. Gaining a power play when Hawk Adam Barnes made way for slashing on 18:44, the Warriors were keen to make the most of their advantage and were not far from capitalising as Campbell ripped through Blackburn’s defence, passing the puck in towards Watson and Good which was ultimately kept out by Walker’s superb netminding. With forty four seconds of their advantage remaining, the Warriors filed from the ice as the break interrupted play.
Resuming their power play, the Warriors made a strong start, Campbell again having the best of Whitley’s chances whilst Zajac remained calm and composed in defence alongside fellow blue liner Ross Connolly who certainly made his presence felt to inconvenience the opposition. Combating the Warriors’ offensive play however, Blackburn showed that they were willing to fight for the points as the period unfolded and appeared far more of a threat than that of the first period, forwards Royds, Adam Barnes and Lee Pollitt creating chances in their search for an equaliser. With the game incredibly close at this point, play became difficult with the contenders battling for possession along the boards and it was not long before both teams lost discipline, Warrior Barnes heading to the sin bin for tripping on 31:40 to place his side on the back foot. Throwing everything into their penalty kill, the Warriors were then frustrated to find Barnes’ return closely followed by a hooking penalty for Ross. Thirty six seconds later, stand-in defenceman Martin Crammond tripped his opponent to prevent the puck from being carried into his defensive zone but his actions saw the Warriors placed on a 5-on-3 penalty kill and it was no surprise to see the visitors level the scoring as two-way player Barnes fired past Lawson following rapid passing play between Player-Assistant Coach James Neil and Royds. Moments later, Royds was sidelined for holding and shortly after Blackburn’s return to full strength, Lithuanian Nomanovas was shown to the sin bin for the same offence before Lomax joined his teammate one second later to serve a bench minor for delaying the game. Finding themselves with a 5-on-3 power play as a result, the Warriors were keen to make it count and when their efforts appeared to be failing, Longstaff called a timeout but to no avail. Struggling to regain their lead, Whitley were further disappointed when they ended the period on the penalty kill, Good again guilty of high sticks.
Though killing this penalty with success, the Warriors conceded just twenty seconds after they were restored to five men, the Hawks capturing a 2-1 lead when forward James Riddoch bagged himself a goal, Royds again on hand to supply the puck to his line mate. Less than two minutes later, Whitley were further adrift when Adam Barnes achieved his second of the evening, Pollitt working hard to surpass the Warriors’ blue liners to assist on 43:27. The home team hit back quickly, Watson again the man on target as he scrambled to beat Walker alongside Good. The score line was 3-2 for all of seven seconds however, as the Hawks eased the puck past Lawson and his defence on 44:06; Nomanovas printing his name onto the scoresheet as Royds’ creativity paid off yet again for the visitors. Moments after this goal, minor misconduct penalties were dished out to Warrior Kippin and Hawk Nomanovas and, whilst the duo were warming seats in the sin bin, Blackburn completed their scoring with a fifth goal as forward Barnes sealed his hat trick, Royds working with Pollitt to assist on this occasion. Shortly after returning to the ice, Nomanovas earned himself a 2+10 boarding penalty when he brought down Watson but the Warriors’ power play efforts were pounced on by Walker whose strong performance showed no signs of waning. An interference penalty for Pollitt on 53:21 allowed Whitley the additional skater and the side looked to have pulled a goal back when Campbell managed to find the target only to see his effort ruled out. Continuing to search for a way back into the game, the home team found that time was against them and it was not long after that the final buzzer confirmed Whitley’s 5-2 defeat.
Stats
Shots on goal
Warriors: 47
Hawks: 43
Points
Warriors:
Callum Watson (2+0), DJ Good (0+1), Kyle Ross (0+1), Ben Campbell (0+1)
Hawks:
Adam Barnes (3+0), James Riddoch (1+0), Danielius Nomanovas (1+0), James Neil (0+1), James Royds (0+4), Lee Pollitt (0+2)
Penalty minutes
Warriors: 18
Hawks: 26
Man of the Match
Warriors: Sam Zajac
Hawks: Harrison Walker
Officials
Referee: Alexander Stewart
Linesman: Vincent Tait
Linesman: Richard Melrose