Billingham Whitley derby poised to be a family affair

DURHAM, UK – The current English National League North (Division 1) season promises to be one of the most enthralling ENL campaigns of recent times. The newly formed Billingham Stars currently top the standings however there are a clutch of sides just off the pace as Whitley Warriors, Blackburn Hawks and Trafford Metros will all believe that they have the quality to challenge Billingham for the Championship.
This coming weekend (Saturday, 19^th November) sees arguably the biggest game of the ENL season so far as Billingham take on their bitter local rivals Whitley Bay for the first time in over 2 years due to the refurbishment of the Billingham Forum. All the players on both sides will go into this match up eager to pick up the league points and earn themselves bragging rights over their near neighbours.
This match up will be extra special for 2 of players though as brothers Richie and Alex Lawson will face each other in competitive action for the very first time. Netminder Richie recently linked up with Whitley after a spell out of the game while GB under 18 international Alex has been with the newly formed Billingham Stars since their arrival on the north east hockey scene in the summer.
A few months ago the prospect of the 2 brothers facing each other on the ice in competitive action   looked to be a very distant one as Richie the elder of the 2 siblings almost gave up on his hockey career.
“Unfortunately I was preparing myself (to leave hockey behind,the) offers I received would have involved relocating and it wasn’t something I was comfortable doing at this point in my early working career. It’s still a possibility further down the line though, but right now my intentions are to do a good job with Whitley and get some silverware by seasons end.”

Richie’s link up with Warriors looks to be a great fit for both player and club. It’s “something I’d been considering for a while, as I’ve found a pretty good job up here so re-locating to play at a higher level wasn’t really an option as such.   Gary (Dowd – Warriors coach) had been in touch over the summer, but I wasn’t ready to fully commit myself.   Then I had another chat with Gary and we talked about me signing on the provision that I’d be allowed a month training to get back up to speed.”
Richie is confident that Warriors can go on and enjoy a hugely successful campaign.
“Our squad has been strengthened significantly from the season’s start and the lads gel well as a unit.   We’re playing with a lot of confidence in the league right now, and confidence breeds success.   Billingham have got off to a fantastic start, but I know I’m not the only one looking to change that this weekend.   We’re coming up to the business end of the season now, and all it takes is one game to change everything.   This weekend is a must win.”
Richie goes on to give us his opinion on the quality in the division as a whole. “Billingham have got off to a quick start, but I was a little disappointed by the side Nottingham put out compared to recent years.   Sheffield have always got a strong side offensively, so I expect them to be a challenge.   When you have teams like Telford taking points off the top two it shows how wide open it is though, and no game is an easy game.   We just have to ensure that we don’t drop any points between now and New Year to be on top.”

It is the Stars who currently top the division though and as of yet Billingham are yet to lose a ENL game this term which just shows how in form the side from the Forum currently are.
Alex- “Fozzy (Steven Foster) and Terry Ward (Billingham’s coaching team) have put together a brilliant team this year combining both young talent and experienced players.   We have 4 solid lines who can all defend, attack, kill penalties and play powerplay, which gives us a massive advantage over other teams.  
“One of the main differences from the Stars compared to any other team in the league is our goaltending.   Flav (James Flavell) has had an amazing start to the season keeping us in a lot of games but also allowing our team to be more aggressive in the way we play due to how reliable he is at the back.
“I think it is looking like a very open league this year with teams below the top 3 all fighting to climb the table.   However the league is divided into the top 3, and then the teams below them.   The Warriors, Metro’s and Stars all seem to be in a league of our own, and it will be a tough fight for top spot this year.   However no team can be underestimated as the points can be snapped up by any team.   

“There have only been 4 games where we have had “problems” this season.   The first (side) to be mentioned would be Solway (in a cup competition), who never fail to put a good product on the ice.   Secondly was Blackburn at the beginning of the season, however this was the first league game of the season. Playing with players we have never played with before resulting in a shaky start.  
“Finally was the Telford/Sheffield weekend where we drew both games. However for both games we had a full line of players missing due to injury.   Other than these games, the Stars have had a brilliant start to the season and will carry it on till the end of the season.   In my opinion our toughest test is still to come in the derby game this weekend.”
Warriors are currently 5 points behind Stars at the top of table going into this weekend’s derby game which makes the Tyne/Tees derby all the more interesting. Richie told us how Whitley saw this as a “ Must win game. (In which Warriors had to) “go in there, play hard, bang some bodies, score some goals, stop the puck and turn some heads!”
Alex gives his take on this weekends clash. “This will be my first ever derby playing for Billingham, but I have my fair share of experience in derby games playing for the Northern Stars last season, and honestly I have been looking forward to this game all season.   I’m expecting this to be a very physical, fast paced game, with both goaltenders having to play a huge role in the game which hypes me up even more as I love playing in fast, physical games and I’m looking forward to the challenge of scoring past my brother.”
Alex goes on to tell us that this weekends match up will be the first time the two brothers have faced each other in a competitive game.

“This will be the first time ever in my hockey career I will be on the opposing team to my brother and it will be in my opinion the toughest test of the season so far.   I’m not just saying it because he is my brother, but Richie is one of the best goalie’s in the league even after time out.   Richie and Flav (James Flavell) are in a league of their own when it comes to goaltending in this league.   However, even though it might be strange playing against him, I’ve always been told you have no friends out there, so come Saturday it will be the same and I’m looking forward to scoring past him for the first time in a game.  
“The only time I have ever played with Richie was last season for the Northern Stars, however I can’t really record a fond memory from this as it was only at the start of the season.   However, we used to love putting our rollerblades on and playing with a ball or a plastic puck on the drive, putting new dints in the garage doors every time we played.   We have always been competitive with each other in our sport, so it will be good for us to finally compete against each other.  
Richie   “It will be a little strange, but we’ve always been competitive growing up. I’ve never been easy on him or let him win at anything…and that’s not about to change any time soon!
Growing up lacing up our rollerblades, playing hockey on the drive for hours on end in the rain, hail, snow or sun.   We battered those poor garage doors much to the annoyance of mum and dad… Alex never has been able to hit the net! Some things never change. We will never lose those memories, they are timeless and irreplaceable.”

Richie and Alex’s dad Colin will be taking in the game at the Forum this weekend in his usual photographer role as he does for every Stars game home and away. Colin gave us his take on how he will feel when he sees his sons skate out onto the ice at the Forum to compete against each other for the first time.
“Its a very strange and difficult situation I find myself in. The boys take after me in their fiercely competitive approach to life in general, not just their sport and I (like all parents) get a thrill when they do well and one of them is likely to be disappointed.
“I have to remain neutral, it would be a lot easier if both teams weren’t in the positions they are, but whoever said life was easy! As long as it’s a good clean, but physical game and they both play well is all that matters to Dad although I suppose Alex scoring the only goal in the dying seconds of the game after Richie was pulled for some bizarre reason would be the ideal result.
“Well you can dream can’t you? Biggest question of all is how I remain neutral as a photographer – I’ll let others answer that after they review the game images, but be prepared to look through an awful lot of photos!”
Thanks to Colin, Richie and Alex Lawson for taking the time out to speak to Prohockeynews.
Images courtesy of Colin Lawson @ http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/
Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com