(Image permission: Keith & Jenny Davies)
LANCASHIRE, UK – Solway Sharks moved up to second place in Moralee D1 after recording two impressive victories over the weekend.
The Sharks ended Hull Pirates’ 100% league record with a 3-2 home win – Struan Tonnar, Iain Bowie and Peter Gapa got the goals.
They followed up with a 6-4 success at Whitley Warriors – Ross Murray (3) topped the scoring.
Solihull Barons picked up four points, winning 6-5 after a shoot-out at home to Whitley and 4-3 at Billingham Stars.
Stanislav Lascek (2) and Ryan Johnson (2) led the way for Sutton Sting in their 11-0 success at Nottingham Lions.
In the NIHL North Cup, Telford Tigers won 5-1 at Sheffield Steeldogs and 13-4 at home to Blackburn Hawks.
Hull triumphed 2-1 after overtime on home ice against Sheffield, while Billingham won 5-3 at Blackburn.
Widnes Wild still lead Laidler D2 following a hard-fought 3-1 home victory over Hull Jets – Jakub Hajek weighed in with a couple of goals.
Sheffield Senators kept up the pressure on their title rivals with a 5-2 win at the home to Telford Tigers 2.
The Shropshire side had better luck on home ice, securing a 9-3 victory over Altrincham Aces.
Bradford Bulldogs enjoyed a four-point weekend, winning 15-0 at home to Blackburn Hawks 2 and 7-6 at Altrincham.
PHN’s top two talking points
Day to the rescue for Hull
There’s been plenty of debate about the netminding situation at Hull, with Ashley Smith coming in for lots of criticism over the past few weeks.
An injury sustained by Smith in Saturday’s defeat at Solway led the Pirates to turn to Sheffield Steelers’ back-up Brad Day on Sunday.
With 32 saves and a 96.88 SV% the difference was clear to see as Hull returned to winning ways with a hard-fought victory over the Steeldogs.
Flavell ban unwarranted
There have been some hefty bans handed down by the EIHA over the past few months, but the four-game suspension handed to Billingham goalie James Flavell was quite plainly wrong.
A poor cross-check by Hull forward Bobby Chamberlain on one of Flavell’s teammates sparked a reaction, but it certainly wasn’t one that warranted a four-game ban.
The fact that Chamberlain’s indiscretion went unpunished added to the sense of injustice at this particular decision.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Moralee D1
Billingham Stars 3-4 Solihull Barons
Nottingham Lions 0-11 Sutton Sting
Solihull Barons 6-5 Whitley Warriors (SO)
Solway Sharks 3-2 Hull Pirates
Whitley Warriors 4-6 Solway Sharks
Laidler D2
Altrincham Aces 6-7 Bradford Bulldogs
Bradford Bulldogs 15-0 Blackburn Hawks 2
Sheffield Senators 5-2 Telford Tigers 2
Telford Tigers 2 9-3 Altrincham Aces
Widnes Wild 3-1 Hull Jets
NIHL North Cup
Blackburn Hawks 3-5 Billingham Stars
Hull Pirates 2-1 Sheffield Steeldogs (OT)
Sheffield Steeldogs 1-5 Telford Tigers
Telford Tigers 13-4 Blackburn Hawks
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