(Image permission: Steve Brodie)
LANCASHIRE, UK – Telford Tigers moved to the top of Moralee D1 after recording a pair of victories against Solway Sharks over the weekend.
Scott McKenzie scored twice in a 7-3 success in Dumfries and he repeated the trick in a 6-5 win on home ice.
Adrian Palak bagged a hat-trick for Sheffield Steeldogs as they ran out 6-5 winners at Blackburn Hawks.
Hull Pirates had a four-point weekend, winning 9-5 at Sutton Sting and 14-2 at home to Nottingham Lions.
Billingham Stars triumphed 3-2 at Solihull Barons, but they failed to follow up on home ice as they slipped to a disappointing 6-2 defeat against Blackburn.
DJ Good (3) topped the scoring for Whitley Warriors in their 8-5 home victory over Solihull.
In Laidler D2, Telford Tigers 2 boosted their hopes of a top four finish after securing two impressive wins. The Tigers won 6-4 at home to Bradford Bulldogs and 6-5 at Sheffield Senators – Callum Bowley scored four goals over the two games.
Hull Jets also picked up four points, winning 4-3 after overtime at home to Coventry Blaze NIHL and 9-4 at Blackburn Hawks 2.
Altrincham Aces snapped a four-game losing streak courtesy of a 6-3 road win at Deeside Dragons.
Murrayfield Racers completed their NIHL North Cup campaign with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Steeldogs – Michael Ireland (3) led their scoring.
PHN’s top two talking points
Stars’ fans entitled to be miffed
It’s fair to say that many Billingham fans aren’t happy at the moment and they are fully entitled to feel miffed.
Six league wins in 23 games is a pretty damning statistic for a club that should be performing much better than it currently is.
It’s noticeable that criticism by fans often isn’t met well, with some individuals both inside and connected to the club overly sensitive to it.
Criticism comes with territory when fans are shelling out significant sums of money to support their team. Having a pop at them is a dumb idea.
Revised cup competition worth exploring
There has been plenty of talk about a revised league structure for next season, but it’s debatable whether anything major will happen.
One route worth exploring could be to revise the cup competitions. The Autumn Cup worked well for the former EPL clubs and increasing the number of group matches in that would open the door for a more interesting NIHL North Cup competition.
The removal of the ex-EPL trio would allow the remaining clubs to look towards including more top end SNL sides to join Murrayfield.
Throw Whitley into the mix and you have a marketable competition that could help clubs on both sides of the border develop together at a sustainable pace.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Moralee D1
Billingham Stars 2-6 Blackburn Hawks
Blackburn Hawks 5-6 Sheffield Steeldogs
Hull Pirates 14-2 Nottingham Lions
Solihull Barons 2-3 Billingham Stars
Solway Sharks 3-7 Telford Tigers
Sutton Sting 5-9 Hull Pirates
Telford Tigers 6-5 Solway Sharks
Whitley Warriors 8-5 Solihull Barons
Laidler D2
Blackburn Hawks 2 4-9 Hull Jets
Deeside Dragons 3-6 Altrincham Aces
Hull Jets 4-3 Coventry Blaze NIHL (OT)
Telford Tigers 2 6-4 Bradford Bulldogs
Sheffield Senators 5-6 Telford Tigers 2
NIHL North Cup
Murrayfield Racers 4-1 Sheffield Steeldogs
THE WEEKEND AHEAD
It could be a pivotal weekend for Sheffield Steeldogs in their bid to retain the D1 title. Ben Morgan’s side face two tricky games on the road, visiting title rivals Hull on Saturday before heading to Blackburn the following day.
The game against the Pirates will undoubtedly be tough, but Sunday’s fixture against the Hawks is also a potential banana skin. The Lancashire outfit ran the Steeldogs close in their most recent meeting and will fancy their chances of springing a surprise this weekend.
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