BLACKBURN, UK – Whitley Warriors made a stuttering start to the defence of their ENL1 North title, but have shown signs in recent weeks they may yet mount a serious challenge. Boosted by the signing of former Newcastle Vipers netminder Richie Lawson they travelled to Nottingham Lions on Sunday hoping to crank up the pressure on leaders Billingham Stars. Lions’ Chris Colegate put the home team in front in the first but Callum Pattison and Jamie Tinsley put Warriors ahead by the end of the second. Kevin Bucas and Callum Watson made it 4-1 before strikes from Marcus Maynard and Michael Rose set up a tense finish but Lawson and his defence stood firm to secure the points.
Richie Lawson (John Knowles)
Coach Garry Dowd was delighted with the win saying it was a game he felt they’d have lost earlier in the season and he singled out Lawson for some special praise. “He showed all his qualities tonight and made some fantastic saves,” he said. “He kept us in the game when it was needed and as debuts go it was certainly a good one.” The only other game in Division One saw Telford Titans face off against Coventry Blaze at the Skydome. Titans had lost their last couple but goals from Adam Taylor (2), Paul Rigby (2), Ed Eaton and Dan Taylor helped them to an impressive 6-4 win. ENL2 leaders Solway Sharks kept their perfect record intact with a thumping 19-2 win at Bradford Bulldogs. Alan Gibson (6), Adam Reynolds (4), Mark Gallagher (3) and Nathan Salem (3) were amongst the scorers as the Sharks racked up their eleventh league win on the spin. Flintshire Freeze remain in second after easing past Fylde Flyers 6-3. James Parsons and Marc Lovell put Freeze ahead in the first and Ben Simister made it 3-0 in the 25th minute. Simon Furnival added a fourth early in the third before Bobby Caunce struck twice in just over a minute to bring Fylde back into things. Parsons added two more to complete his hat-trick, but Flyers’ Elvis Veldze pulled one back to give the scoreline a slightly more respectable look.
Ben Lowe in action for the Sting (Photo Gary Apsley)
Third placed Sutton Sting heaped more misery on Bradford on Sunday with a 19-1 annihilation. Ben Lowe (4), Simon Butterworth (3), and Shaun Ashton (3) led the scoring for Sting with Bulldogs’ Joshua Stockton grabbing their consolation goal. Sheffield Senators picked up their second win of the season with a 7-0 shut-out against Lancashire Raptors. In the Northern Cup Billingham faced Blackburn Hawks and ran out comfortable winners. Stuart Gibbon opened the scoring for stars in the sixth minute but Matt Viney equalised midway through the period. Adam Robinson put the home team back in front but Sean Day levelled at 2-2 before the end of the first. James Moss, Ross Hanlon and Paul Windridge made it 5-2 in the second before Cal Davies and Robinson’s second of the night extended the lead in the third. Viney grabbed a couple back to complete his hat-trick but Billingham comfortably held on. Contact the author –
Michael.Black@Prohockeynews.comRelated
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