25/26 Season: Week 4 Report
BILLINGHAM STARS made it two out of two in their miniseries against Leeds Knights 2, adding three more Moralee Division and Moralee Cup points with a 7-4 win at the Forum on Sunday evening.
Keen to put on a show in their home opener the Stars were off the mark within 77 seconds, James Moss potting the rebound. But they were pegged back almost instantly as a mistake on the offensive blue line allowed Dan Harrison to break and capitalise past Billingham netminder Mark Turnbull. Moss had his eye in early and drifted in on the powerplay in the sixth minute to rifle home low, then Iain Brown put himself in the perfect spot on the back stick for the one timer in the 12th minute. A rare breakout from Leeds seconds after the restart saw a lovely finish over the glove from Owen Dell for a one-goal game at the interval.
Alex Preston was close in to divert a cross-crease pass in the 26th minute, but confusion at the back put the Stars in trouble just before the halfway mark, the puck eventually bundled over by Lawrence Dean. In the 32nd minute, Knights netminder Dan Norton failed to spot the danger as Chris Sykes won the footrace and beat an icing call, his pass out front finding Brown who rounded Norton for his second. Leeds refused to lie down and had narrowed the gap back to a single marker in the 39th minute, Dell left free out front to go low and set home side nerves jangling.
There was little to choose between the two sides in the third session, both goaltenders making the stops when necessary to keep the game close until the 57th minute when first Darren Stattersfield and then Ben Greenhalgh made sure of the points for the hosts, a spirited performance from the visitors ultimately ending with them leaving the Forum emptyhanded on the wrong end of a 7-4 result.
Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was James Moss.
Image credit: SLSportsPhotos
Stars Stats:
Iain Brown 2+1; James Moss 2+0; Darren Stattersfield 1+2; Alex Preston 1+1; Ben Greenhalgh 1+0; Chris Sykes 0+3; Rolands Gritāns 0+3; James Hellens 0+2; Michael Elder 0+1
SOG: Mark Turnbull 32 (13 / 8 / 11)
Knights 2 Stats:
Owen Dell 2+0; Lawrence Dean 1+0; Dan Harrison 1+0; Oliver Wagg 0+1; Kurts Baumanis 0+1; Helgi Bjarnesson 0+1; Frankie O’Sullivan 0+1
SOG: Dan Norton 50 (18 / 18 / 14)
Weekend Results:
NIHL Moralee Saturday:
✈️ Hull Jets 5️⃣ - 2️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️
🗡️ Sheffield Scimitars 3️⃣ - 4️⃣ Telford Tigers 2 🐯
NIHL Moralee Sunday:
🐉 Deeside Dragons 🔟 - 1️⃣ Nottingham Lions 🦁
💫 Billingham Stars 7️⃣ - 4️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️
⚜️ Solihull Barons P – P Hull Jets ✈️
🐾 Widnes Wild 5️⃣ - 3️⃣ Sheffield Scimitars 🗡️