Season 25/26: Week 16 Report
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BILLINGHAM STARS’ much-improved performance on Saturday night at the Forum, which resulted in a hard-fought 5-3 win over in-form Deeside Dragon, could not be repeated on the road on Sunday as home side Nottingham Lions outworked the Teessiders on their way to a 7-4 victory.
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Both sides short-benched on Saturday, the Stars were at least able to welcome back a familiar face in Latvian defenceman Patriks Grigors, Paddy guesting for the injured Rolands Gritāns. Billingham looked hungry for the win from the first drop of the puck despite the challenges of enforced line changes but they had to wait until the tenth minute before the breakthrough, Lucas Dowdle with the quick snipe through the five-hole after a pinpoint pass from Lucas Campion.
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A period of two halves in the middle session. Stars picked up where they left off in the first ten minutes and were rewarded with two goals from captain Michael Elder. The first was a top corner snipe from the right dot in the 26th minute, then he got the vital touch at the far post from a Chris Sykes feed to put the hosts three ahead in the 30th minute. Deeside needed to respond and they battled back, a power play effort from Jake Witkowski bobbling over the line in the 32nd minute and then it was back to a one-goal game in the 36th minute, Noah Percival with a classic back door poach.
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Dragons threw everything at the home side in the final twenty, but with Jacob Hammond performing heroically between the pipes, Billingham kept their noses in front. A wonder goal from Sykes in the 53rd minute increased the gap, a solo effort as he undressed the last man to go clear and shoot through Tyler de la Bertouche in the Deeside net. A late major penalty against the Dragons meant they had to push despite being on an extended penalty kill, and their persistence paid off when a three-on-one breakout was finished by Witkowski in the 58th minute. The netminder pulled, Deeside tried to find a leveller but the puck was deflected out of the zone and eventually finished into the empty net by Sykes with 44 seconds remaining to cap a fine personal performance.
Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Chris Sykes.
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Stars Stats:
Chris Sykes 2+2; Michael Elder 2+2; Lucas Dowdle 1+0; James Moss 0+1; Ben Greenhalgh 0+1; James Hellens 0+1; Lucas Campion 0+1; Callum Wilkinson 0+1
SOG: Jacob Hammond 57 (10 / 21 / 26)
Dragons Stats:
Jake Witkowski 2+0; Noah Percival 1+0; Rhys Edwards 0+2; Jared Dickinson 0+2
SOG: Tyler de la Bertouche 44 (15 / 16 / 13)
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Billingham travelled down to the National Ice Centre missing yet more key players on Sunday, including both regular netminders Hammond and Mark Turnbull. Jack Wakefield stepped up between the pipes with Billingham Buccaneers Ryan Wardell backing up. Wakefield saw action early as a minor penalty for cross checking against James Moss put the Lions on the power play, Toby Fisher finding the gap over Wakefield’s shoulder with less than two minutes played. Nottingham looked up for the fight and the Stars were out battled for much of the session before Elder got them back into it when he skated solo down the right wing and found a way past Lions netminder Evan Coles from a tight angle in the 19th minute.
Barnabas Sari was the hero for the hosts in the 24th minute when he robbed the puck and broke free for a short-handed effort, then another special play marker – this time on the power play two minutes later – saw Alex Rushby net his first of the night. Billingham looked out of sorts but were given a lifeline when Ethan McLaughlin potted home a rebound into the unguarded net in the 36th minute. Moss made sure the game was back level with seconds to play when he collected in his own zone and shrugged off his man to skate clear and fire past Coles.
Nottingham rolled up their collective sleeves and dug in for the third period, getting their noses back in front through a Rushby power play goal in the 45th minute. More penalty trouble followed immediately and the Stars were punished less than two minutes later when Liam Oughton-Shaw was left on the overlap to double the hosts’ lead. A defensive error in the corner let in Regan Kidd in the 49th minute and Billingham looked down and out, but they were given brief hope when Moss got a second bite of the cherry at the far post in the 57th minute. Wakefield was withdrawn, but Stars were unable to keep control of the puck and Joe Humphries fired home the empty netter to make the final score 7-4.
Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Jack Wakefield.
Lions Stats:
Alex Rushby 2+2; Toby Fisher 1+2; Barnabas Sari 1+2; Regan Kidd 1+2; Liam Oughton-Shaw 1+1; Joe Humphries 1+0
SOG: Evan Coles 47 (8 / 24 / 15)
Stars Stats:
James Moss 2+0; Michael Elder 1+0; Ethan McLaughlin 1+0; Chris Sykes 0+1; Shaun Galloway 0+1; Matthew Pickup 0+1
SOG: Jack Wakefield 43 (20 / 12 / 11)
Weekend Results
NIHL Moralee Saturday:
💫 Billingham Stars 5️⃣ - 3️⃣ Deeside Dragons 🐉
🦅 Blackburn Hawks 7️⃣ - 3️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️
🐯 Telford Tigers 2 7️⃣ - 1️⃣ Hull Jets ✈️
NIHL Moralee Sunday:
✈️ Hull Jets 3️⃣ - 7️⃣ Blackburn Hawks 🦅
🦁 Nottingham Lions 7️⃣ - 4️⃣ Billingham Stars 💫
⚜️ Solihull Barons 1️⃣1️⃣ - 3️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️
🐾 Widnes Wild 0️⃣ - 7️⃣ Telford Tigers 2 🐯
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