(Image permission: Lois Tomlinson)
ENGLAND, UK – Hull Pirates clinched the Moralee D1 title after beating their two nearest challengers over the weekend.
The Pirates won 6-3 at home to Telford Tigers and followed up with an emphatic 8-3 victory at Sheffield Steeldogs.
Solway Sharks had a mixed weekend, losing 8-3 at home to Sheffield before bouncing back with a 6-4 victory at Blackburn Hawks.
Solihull Barons finished their regular season fixtures in disappointing fashion, losing 7-4 on home ice against Blackburn and 9-3 at Telford.
Billingham Stars rounded off a difficult campaign with two impressive overtime victories.
The Stars recovered from 8-1 down to win 9-8 at Sutton Sting and they followed up with a 5-4 home victory over Whitley Warriors.
Nottingham Lions ended the season without a point after falling 6-1 on home ice against Sutton.
Widnes Wild claimed the Laidler D2 title courtesy of a 4-1 home victory over Altrincham Aces.
Telford Tigers 2 secured the runners-up spot with a 5-4 success at Coventry Blaze NIHL.
Hull Jets lost 5-1 at Bradford Bulldogs, but their 13-2 win at home to Deeside Dragons keeps them on course to finish third.
Sheffield Senators moved up to fourth in the table after smashing 28 goals past Blackburn Hawks 2 in their weekend double-header.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Moralee D1
Billingham Stars 5-4 Whitley Warriors (OT)
Blackburn Hawks 4-6 Solway Sharks
Hull Pirates 6-3 Telford Tigers
Nottingham Lions 1-6 Sutton Sting
Sheffield Steeldogs 3-8 Hull Pirates
Solihull Barons 4-7 Blackburn Hawks
Solway Sharks 3-8 Sheffield Steeldogs
Sutton Sting 8-9 Billingham Stars (OT)
Telford Tigers 9-3 Solihull Barons
Laidler D2
Blackburn Hawks 2 3-13 Sheffield Senators
Bradford Bulldogs 5-1 Hull Jets
Coventry Blaze NIHL 4-5 Telford Tigers 2
Hull Jets 13-2 Deeside Dragons
Sheffield Senators 15-0 Blackburn Hawks 2
Widnes Wild 3-1 Altrincham Aces
PHN’s top two talking points
Top trio heading to pastures new
The announcement that Hull, Sheffield and Telford are joining seven other clubs in a new national division is great news.
The EPL’s demise two years ago had a knock-on effect to NIHL1 North and it’s fair to say that the end result hasn’t been great.
Operating in a financially sustainable manner will be the key to the success of the new division. Much like children with new toys – try not to break this one.
The hard work starts here
NIHL North had been progressing nicely prior to the EPL clubs joining the party and it will take plenty of hard work to get it back to that point.
Collective promotion of the league had contributed to its steady development, helping put extra bums on seats and generating additional revenue for clubs.
Some of that spirit has been lost over the past couple of years, but hopefully everyone can rediscover the passion to make a success of things moving forward.
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