Season 25/26: Week 18 Report
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BILLINGHAM STARS found themselves on the wrong side of another controversial storyline on Sunday night, the referee’s lack of application of the correct penalty shootout rules resulting in a loss to Leeds Knights 2 after the weekend had started so well with a dominant win over Hull Jets on Saturday.
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A three-game suspension meant that Patriks Grigors short stint at Billingham had become even shorter, but the Stars were able to welcome back Darren Stattersfield, Ben Greenhalgh and both regular netminders Jacob Hammond and Mark Turnbull. The lines were adjusted to compensate for Lucas Campion’s unavailability, Greenhalgh playing up front with Ethan McLaughlin covering at the back.
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The first session against Hull Jets on Saturday set the tone for the game as the Stars dominated, but in the first twenty they found Jets netminder Dan Crowe a tricky puzzle to solve as he backstopped a resolute Hull defence. Frustration could have crept in but the Stars stuck to their game plan and eventually got the period’s single marker in the 13th minute, Chris Sykes’ no-look backhand effort from a tight angle going in off Crowe’s skate.
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Billingham were still well on top in the middle stanza, Callum Wilkinson with a nice tip in front in the 24th minute followed by a first senior Stars goal for Matty Pickup in the 26th minute – a fine individual effort as he forced his way over the blue line and beat Crowe at his near post. Although Jets didn’t enjoy much in the way of possession, they still looked threatening on the puck and eventually beat Hammond in the 35th minute, Rich Haggar lifting the puck over a crowd in the net.
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The hosts looked to press home their advantage right from the off in the third, James Moss backhanding his own rebound low past a prone Crowe with 55 seconds gone. Captain Michael Elder finally finished off a power play move that saw both Iain Brown and Sykes’ shots come back off Crowe in the 47th minute, before Aiden Dancer pulled one back in the 50th minute. The game was gone however, and Elder wrapped up a third period hat trick with another power play effort from out front in the 51st minute, then slid one low past Crowe in the 54th minute for a 7-2 final score.
Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Ethan McLaughlin.
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Stars Stats:
Michael Elder 3+3; Chris Sykes 1+2; Callum Wilkinson 1+2; James Moss 1+1; Matty Pickup 1+0; Joe Dowdle 0+1; Shaun Galloway 0+1; Darren Stattersfield 0+1; Iain Brown 0+1
SOG: Jacob Hammond 25 (6 / 11 / 8)
Jets Stats:
Rich Haggar 1+0; Aiden Dancer 1+0; Scott Morris 0+1
SOG: Dan Crowe 58 (16 / 21 / 21)
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Sunday’s game against Leeds started in a similar fashion, the Stars dominant from the first drop of the puck and the offensive pressure almost constant. Two early goals pointed to another comfortable win – Wilkinson seeing his power play effort trickle over the line in the third minute, Iain Brown rifling home low two minutes later. But Knights netminder Ollie Booth regained his composure quickly and proved to be the thorn in the hosts’ side for the rest of the evening, keeping an unrelenting tide of Billingham attacks at bay. Perhaps guilty of pressing too far forward, the Stars allowed a two-on-one breakaway to develop in the tenth minute, finished high past goaltender Turnbull by Helgi Bjarnason to give the first period score line an unrealistic look.
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The beginning of the second twenty continued the theme, and the home side moved further ahead in the 25th minute through Lucas Dowdle on the spin. A late snipe with 60 seconds remaining before the buzzer from Thomas Dermott was a sign of things to come as Billingham found themselves pegged back despite their superiority.
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Leeds were level in the 45th minute when Daniel Harrison squeezed the puck under Turnbull’s pad, but Sykes’ low one-timer in the 52nd minute restored the advantage, unable to shake off the terrier-like Knights, the Stars were back to square one when Josh Hartley finally swept home after several bobbling puck battles in the 54th minute. It looked like the hosts were finally home and dry when Moss buried the puck from the left circle in the 59th minute, but with Booth pulled the visitors launched one final desperate assault and Kurts Baumanis scrambled it home with a mere second left to tie the game.
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Overtime could not separate the sides, Moss going closest in the 63rd minute, so it came down to a penalty shootout and the controversy that denied the Stars the win. Referee Stewart initially – correctly - asked the teams to nominate three penalty takers, but then inexplicably changed to five, seemingly unaware of the rules which state that a penalty shootout should be three shots apiece. The score after the permitted three shots each was 2-0 to Billingham, but Stewart continued the competition and the Knights brought it back to 2-2 after five shots each. Sudden death ensued, finally it was Leeds who got the ‘win’ when Elder missed with the Stars seventh shot. A bizarre end to a frustrating game, and one that the governing body should investigate to prevent any repeat of such a basic error.
Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was James Moss.
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Stars Stats:
James Moss 1+2; Iain Brown 1+2; Chris Sykes 1+1; Callum Wilkinson 1+1; Lucas Dowdle 1+1; Michael Elder 0+1
SOG: Mark Turnbull 37 (9 / 10 / 15 / 3)
Knights 2 Stats:
Kurts Baumanis 1+2; Helgi Bjarnason 1+1; Josh Hartley 1+0; Thomas Dermott 1+0; Daniel Harrison 1+0; Jake Wigginton 0+1; Alex Mitchell 0+1; Frank O’Sullivan 0+1
SOG: Ollie Booth 47 (19 / 11 / 12 / 5)
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Weekend Results
NIHL Moralee Saturday:
💫 Billingham Stars 7️⃣ - 2️⃣ Hull Jets ✈️
🗡️ Sheffield Scimitars 1️⃣ - 7️⃣ Telford Tigers 2 🐯
NIHL Moralee Sunday:
💫 Billingham Stars 5️⃣ - 6️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️ (after penalty shots)
🐾 Widnes Wild 5️⃣ - 6️⃣ Telford Tigers 2 🐯 (after overtime)
🐉Deeside Dragons 1️⃣1️⃣ - 2️⃣ Nottingham Lions 🦁
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