DURHAM, UK – Last weekend saw the top two sides in NIHL North Division 1 the Solway Sharks and the Billingham Stars take on each other on Teesside. The Stars went into the contest having only dropped one point from their opening seven games of the season while Solway had picked up eight victories from nine league fixtures their only defeat coming against Billingham earlier in the campaign.
The Stars got off to a great start and held a 2-0 lead by the 14 minute mark thanks to strikes from the impressive Stephen Wallace and Anthony Price. Gary Russell in the Solway net looked a little jittery as the home side exerted a great deal of pressure on the Sharks defence in the early stages of the contest.
Solway’s powerplay has been highly effective so far this term and on the Scottish side’s first powerplay opportunity of the evening John Connolly netted for the Sharks which saw the first period end 2-1 to Billingham.
Solway stepped up a gear in the second session and created several genuine opportunities. Sharks found the net twice in the middle stanza of hockey through Nathan Salem and youngster Calum Henderson which saw Solway hold a slender 3-2 lead after 40 minutes of play.
Shortly into the final period Billingham forward James Udell was given a minor penalty for high sticking which saw the visitors on the powerplay once again and the Sharks precise build up play resulted in Adam Reynolds firing home to extend Solway’s lead. Around a minute and a half later Stars conceded another when Sharks captain Mark Gallagher nipped in to score unassisted after an unkind bounce off the boards caught Billingham netminder James Flavell out.
Despite being 5-2 down the Stars fans got behind their team and Billingham got a goal back on 54 minutes on a powerplay of their own when the industrious Michael Bowman netted his 10th goal of the season. Stars continued to push forward in search of goals until referee Steve Brown called a charging penalty on Billingham blue liner Dave Thomas which resulted in another Solway powerplay goal through Adam Reynolds who once again fired home in space after nice work from line mates Nathan Salem and Mark Gallagher.
Only 11 seconds before the end of the game there was more drama when Sharks D man Connolly was sent to the sin bin. Billingham’s Ben Davison was clearly unhappy with the Solway player and tried to spark a flare up with the Sharks. Davison’s actions did not go down well with ref Brown who ejected the Billingham player from the game.
Solway’s ability to fight back from 2-0 down to pick up a victory by a 3 goal margain was highly impressive. The Scots look to have great depth to their squad with John Connolly and Craig Mitchell marshalling the defence and the likes of Reynolds, Salem, Tonnar and Gallagher leading their offensive efforts. Sharks also have a great deal of young talent on their roster as blue liner James Wallace and forwards Calum Henderson and Stevie Moore all look capable of making their mark on the NIHL North 1 this season.
Solway%27s Adam Reynolds
The most impressive aspect of Solway’s game has to be their powerplay unit. The Scottish sides special team netted 3 times against Stars out of only 4 powerplay opportunities and it is clear that any side who goes short handed against the Sharks will have to be at their more resilient if they are not to be punished by such an effective special unit.
Billingham will no doubt push Solway all the way in the title race though. Stars have already beaten Sharks comprehensively (5-0) this season and when Billingham are at their best few NIHL sides can live with Simon Leach’s men. Stars main offensive dangers are the ex EPL duo of Stephen Wallace and Michael Bowman however Billingham have a wealth of attacking talent as Adam Robinson, Michael Elder, Paul Windridge and Callum Davies are all forwards who would walk into the top line of many teams at this level.
Despite such a wealth of offensive talent it is Stars defence that could be its biggest asset this term as Billingham have a solid defensive unit which is built upon the brilliance of netminder James Flavell. James recently put in a superb display for the Edinburgh Capitals in the Elite League and the young goalie’s 95% save percentage this term in NIHL hockey illustrates that few teams are going to get many goals against Billingham while Flavell is in between the posts.
Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
Image courtesy of Colin Edwards – www.cjephotos.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter: @ProHockeyNews
You must be logged in to post a comment.