Season 25/26: Week 23 Report
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BILLINGHAM STARS took six points from six to guarantee a spot in the end-of-season National Ice Hockey League Moralee Division playoffs, as well as gaining some much-needed confidence in front of goal with 15 goals across the weekend.
It was not the most auspicious of starts for the Stars as they struggled to make any impression on Leeds Knights 2 through the first forty minutes in West Yorkshire on Saturday night. A solitary goal separated the two sides at the first interval, Iain Brown making no mistake with a penalty shot in the 17th minute.
Billingham just couldn’t get going in the middle session, a tenacious Knights 2 rewarded with a penalty shot of their own in the 33rd minute, Owen Dell taking his time before going over netminder Jacob Hammond’s shoulder.
Two goals in the first 40 was followed by ten in the final 20 as both sides found their shooting sticks. Michael Elder’s close range tip proved decisive in the 43rd minute before Ben Greenhalgh potted home a juicy rebound less than a minute later. Frank O’Sullivan replied for the home side two minutes after that, but a noticeably improved Stars were in rampant mood and three goals in the 47th minute from Greenhalgh, Rolands Gritāns and James Moss took them well away from their hosts. Elder got another vital touch for a powerplay effort in the 50th minute, then Callum Wilkinson rounded off the scoring for the visitors in the 56th minute. Two goals in 16 seconds in the 58th minute from Dell and Thomas Palmer were scant consolation for Leeds as Billingham avenged their surprise defeat by the Knights last month, 4-8 the final score.
Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was Ben Greenhalgh.
Knights 2 Stats:
Owen Dell 2+1; Thomas Palmer 1+0; Frank O’Sullivan 1+0; Connor Lewis 0+2; Harry Exley 0+1; Kurts Baumanis 0+1
SOG: Ollie Booth 43 (17 / 10 / 16)
Stars Stats:
Michael Elder 2+1; Iain Brown 1+3; Will Thornton 1+2*; James Moss 1+1; Rolands Gritāns 1+1; Callum Wilkinson 1+1; Ben Greenhalgh 1+0; Lucas Dowdle 0+2; James Hellens 0+1; Chris Sykes 0+1; Darren Stattersfield 0+1
SOG: Jacob Hammond 37 (11 / 10 / 16)
* Stats recorded as per gamesheet. Thornton goal actually scored by Greenhalgh.
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Basement side Sheffield Scimitars were the visitors to the Forum on Sunday, Billingham taking the chance to introduce some new faces to the squad in Mikey Plant and Henry Stephenson, both stepping up from the Buccaneers. Stars started far better than they did the previous evening, indeed such was their dominance in possession, netminder Mark Turnbull did not touch the puck until the seventh minute. Brown opened the home side’s account by tapping home his own rebound in the eighth minute before Moss one-timed home low past Sheffield goaltender Nick Winters three minutes later. Gritāns made it one each for the second line with a one-timer on the back stick in the 18th minute.
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Billingham eased off a little too much in the middle session and were punished for pushing too hard on the powerplay in the 29th minute, Jacob Scott breaking from his own blue line to slide the puck under Turnbull for a shorthanded reply. Stars squared the period however, Moss restoring the three-goal advantage in the 33rd minute.
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The hosts picked the pace back up in the final stanza, a couple of quick goals from Wilkinson and Greenhalgh around the 51-minute mark dispelling any lingering doubts. Debutants Plant and Stephenson saw meaningful action as Billingham made sure everyone got ice time, and it was left to captain Elder to put a full stop on the weekend with a lifted powerplay effort in the 57th minute, 7-1 perhaps not a reflection on Stars performance as Scimitars had Winters to thank for keeping the scoreline respectable.
Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was Tom Wakefield.
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Stars Stats:
James Moss 2+3; Iain Brown 1+3; Rolands Gritāns 1+2; Ben Greenhalgh 1+0; Michael Elder 1+0; Callum Wilkinson 1+0; Chris Sykes 0+1; Will Thornton 0+1; Shaun Galloway 0+1; Darren Stattersfield 0+1
SOG: Mark Turnbull 25 (7 / 6 / 12)
Scimitars Stats:
Jacob Scott 1+0
SOG: Nick Winters 78 (25 / 32 / 21)
Credit: SLSportsPhotos
Weekend Results
NIHL Moralee Saturday:
🦁 Nottingham Lions 0️⃣ - 5️⃣ Deeside Dragons 🐉
🦅 Blackburn Hawks 5️⃣ - 1️⃣ Widnes Wild 🐾
⚔️ Leeds Knights 2 4️⃣ - 8️⃣ Billingham Stars 💫
NIHL Moralee Sunday:
🐉 Deeside Dragons 2️⃣ - 4️⃣ Blackburn Hawks 🦅
💫 Billingham Stars 7️⃣ - 1️⃣ Sheffield Scimitars 🗡️
✈️ Hull Jets 5️⃣ - 2️⃣ Telford Tigers 2 🐯
🐾 Widnes Wild 3️⃣ - 5️⃣ Nottingham Lions 🦁
Credit: SLSportsPhotos