Image permission: David Morrison)
LANCASHIRE, UK – Solway Sharks face a big test of their Moralee D1 title credentials on Saturday when they visit Telford Tigers.
Both sides are yet to lose this season and will be eager to lay down a marker for the rest of the campaign. The Sharks came from behind to win 5-3 at Nottingham Lions last weekend, but forward Struan Tonnar admits the Dumfries side will need to be quicker out of the blocks against Telford.
“After all the hype in the summer of a new league structure and teams joining, it’s a good feeling to be sitting top and picking up where we left off last year,” said Tonnar. “Games are fast, physical and competitive – it’s great hockey to be a part of.
“Our guys have come back with the same speed as last year and are clearly still proving difficult for teams to handle. We have a bad habit currently of getting slow starts and giving teams leads, and come Saturday against some extremely talented and experienced players we cannot afford to do that.
“We must be prepared to skate from the first puck drop until the final whistle if we want to come home with two points. We’ve showed plenty of character in such a young team already, having come-from-behind wins against strong Billingham and Blackburn teams.
“We have proved that we can dig in and find ways to win, and Saturday we will have to show that same character for a full sixty minutes.”
Whitley Warriors host Nottingham on Sunday aiming to build on last week’s victory at Deeside Dragons.
The Warriors lost their opening two games of the season, but bounced back with an 11-6 success to jump up to fifth in the table. Forward Shaun Kippin topped the scoring with four goals, but he says the North East side face a tough test this weekend.
“It was good to pick up our first two points of the season against a rival team in this division,” said Kippin. “We did not play particularly well on Sunday, so to still come out and win was a big bonus.
“We fully expect a really tough game this weekend. Nottingham have played a lot of the top teams and only lost by the odd goal. Additionally, we are missing a lot of players this weekend, so we are going to be up against it.”
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Moralee D1
Saturday
Blackburn Hawks v Deeside Dragons
Sheffield Steeldogs v Billingham Stars
Telford Tigers v Solway Sharks
Sunday
Deeside Dragons v Hull Pirates
Whitley Warriors v Nottingham Lions
Laidler D2
Saturday
Bradford Bulldogs v Sheffield Senators
Deeside Dragons 2 v Sutton Sting
Sunday
Altrincham Aces v Coventry Blaze NIHL
Hull Jets v Blackburn Hawks 2
NIHL National Cup
Sunday
Billingham Stars v Blackburn Hawks
Telford Tigers v Swindon Wildcats
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