NIHL North round-up: Boyd silences the boo-boys as Warriors’ quadruple hopes go up in smoke against the Racers

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(Image permission: Ian Coyle)

ENGLAND, UK – Whitley Warriors’ hopes of winning the quadruple were dashed at the first hurdle as they slipped to a 7-6 aggregate defeat in the final of the NIHL North Cup.

The Moralee D1 leaders were strongly fancied to beat Murrayfield Racers, but the Scottish National League team had other ideas.

Murrayfield triumphed 4-2 on home ice in the first leg and although Whitley managed to send the game to overtime in the reverse fixture, they eventually came up short.

Callum Boyd bagged the game winning goal, silencing the Whitley fans who had been on his back throughout the tie to secure a deserved victory for the Racers.

In Moralee D1, Solihull Barons strengthened their grip on third place with a 4-1 home success over Sutton Sting – Matt Maurice (2) and David Rogers (2) got the goals.

Sutton enjoyed much better fortunes the previous evening as they recorded a 9-6 win at Blackburn Hawks – Adrian Palak (2) and Stanislav Lascak (2) topped the scoring.

Tomas Rubes weighed in with four goals as Billingham Stars eased to a 7-1 home victory over Nottingham Lions.

The Lions were unable to break their duck for the season the following evening as they fell 6-3 at home to Blackburn.

Hull Jets moved a step closer to clinching the Laidler D2 title with a 5-2 road win at Telford Tigers 2 – Richard Haggar (2) led their scoring.

Altrincham Aces remain second in the table after battling to a 6-4 home victory over Sheffield Senators.

Widnes Wild recorded two victories in their weekend double-header with Bradford Bulldogs – winning 5-4 on the road and 5-2 at home.

James Parsons bagged a hat-trick for Deeside Dragons as they secured a 10-0 home win against Blackburn Hawks 2.

WEEKEND RESULTS

NIHL North Cup

Murrayfield Racers 4-2 Whitley Warriors
Whitley Warriors 4-3 Murrayfield Racers (OT) (agg 6-7)

Moralee D1

Billingham Stars 7-1 Nottingham Lions
Blackburn Hawks 6-9 Sutton Sting
Nottingham Lions 3-6 Blackburn Hawks
Solihull Barons 4-1 Sutton Sting

Laidler D2

Altrincham Aces 6-4 Sheffield Senators
Bradford Bulldogs 4-5 Widnes Wild
Deeside Dragons 10-0 Blackburn Hawks 2
Telford Tigers 2-5 Hull Jets
Widnes Wild 5-2 Bradford Bulldogs