(Image permission: David Morrison)
LANCASHIRE, UK – With just over two months of the regular season left to play, there are still three clubs in with a realistic chance of winning the Moralee D1 title.
Sheffield Steeldogs lead the table with 39 points from 21 games, with Hull Pirates three points behind having played 20 matches.
Telford Tigers are a further three points adrift, but they also have a game in hand on the current league leaders.
Sheffield have a slightly easier looking run-in, with just five of their remaining 15 games against their title rivals. Three of those five matches are at home.
Defeats at Hull and Telford earlier in the season will give that duo hope that they can catch the Steeldogs, although a 3-2 victory over the Tigers at iceSheffield shows they are capable of getting the job done on home ice.
Ben Morgan’s side will need to avoid complacency against teams further down the league, particularly as previous visits to Solihull Barons, Billingham Stars and Blackburn Hawks only yielded single goal victories.
Hull are yet to face Telford in the league, although they won both Autumn Cup ties between the two sides.
Two of their remaining three games against Sheffield are away from home, while defeats at Solihull and Blackburn earlier in the season suggest they shouldn’t take their return trips to those rinks lightly.
Hull’s series against Telford will undoubtedly determine which side emerges as the main challengers to Sheffield, although the Tigers’ visit to face the Steeldogs on Saturday is also hugely important.
Their previous league meeting at Sheffield saw Telford leading 2-1 with 10 minutes to play, but the home turned things around to snatch the points.
A victory for Telford this weekend would blow the title race wide open and place even greater emphasis on their games against Hull.
Away from their remaining fixtures against the top two Telford’s other nine games look relatively favourable, with only Billingham and Solway Sharks causing them problems in the previous matches.
Solway won 5-4 after overtime at Telford towards the end of 2017 and their meeting at Dumfries on 10th March should be a cracking game.
The pressure of chasing a title could also come into play during the run-in, with the majority of Sheffield and Hull’s squads unused to challenging for silverware in recent times.
Telford’s greater experience could be a big factor over the coming weeks and there’s likely to be plenty more twists and turns as the title race unfolds.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Moralee D1
Saturday
Billingham Stars v Solway Sharks
Hull Pirates v Deeside Dragons
Sheffield Steeldogs v Telford Tigers
Whitley Warriors v Solihull Barons
Sunday
Blackburn Hawks v Solway Sharks
Deeside Dragons v Billingham Stars
Nottingham Lions v Sheffield Steeldogs
Solihull Barons v Hull Pirates
Telford Tigers v Whitley Warriors
Laidler D2
Saturday
Coventry Blaze NIHL v Bradford Bulldogs
Sheffield Senators v Hull Jets
Telford Tigers 2 v Deeside Dragons 2
Sunday
Sutton Sting v Telford Tigers 2
Widnes Wild v Coventry Blaze NIHL
NIHL Autumn Cup
Friday
Basingstoke Bison v Hull Pirates
(Check back next Friday as Pro Hockey News looks at the race for the title in Laidler D2)
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