Season 25/26: Week 6 Report

BILLINGHAM STARS suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday as they came away from the long trip to Shropshire on the wrong end of a 5-4 scoreline at the hands of Telford Tigers 2.

A late arrival to Telford Ice Rink was not the best of starts, but still the Stars were quick off the mark, Michael Elder putting the visitors ahead in the first minute. Gradually however the home side began to exert some pressure, Vladimir Luka with the equalising goal in the tenth minute just reward for their hard work. Mark Turnbull between the Billingham pipes had to keep the Tigers at bay to ensure the score remained level at the break as Telford tried to force their way in front.

The Stars had only just returned to full strength following a hooking minor against Elder when Oliver Hunt moved the hosts ahead in the 23rd minute, penalty trouble eventually costing Billingham dear in the 28th minute when the ever-dangerous Luka hit a powerplay marker to double the advantage. The Stars needed to hit back and were handed an extra man opportunity of their own just past the halfway mark, punished in fine style by Joe Dowdle in the 32nd minute. Desperate to get into the dressing room on level terms, Billingham kept going all the way to the buzzer and were rewarded with a Callum Wilkinson effort with just 22 seconds remaining on the period.

All of that hard work was undone within 100 seconds of the restart as first Luka with his hat trick marker and then Taylor Stanton put a little daylight between the two sides. The Stars tried in vain to find a way back but, looking out of sorts and second to almost every puck, it was left to Turnbull to keep Billingham in with a chance. A last throw of the dice saw Turnbull pulled for the last minute or so, but Iain Brown’s goal with just five seconds left was too little, too late, 5-4 the final score.

Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was Mark Turnbull.

Tigers 2 Stats:

Vladimir Luka 3+0; Oliver Hunt 1+0; Taylor Stanton 1+0; Finley Howells 0+3; Henri Kohuakka 0+2; Paul Davies 0+1; Brodie Jesson 0+1; Charlie Webb 0+1

SOG: Matty Byrne 39 (18 / 10 / 11)

Stars Stats:

Iain Brown 1+2; Michael Elder 1+1; Joe Dowdle 1+0; Callum Wilkinson 1+0; Chris Sykes 0+3; Shaun Galloway 0+1; Lucas Dowdle 0+1

SOG: Mark Turnbull 48 (14 / 19 / 15)

Weekend Results:

NIHL Moralee Saturday:

🐯 Telford Tigers 2 5️⃣ - 4️⃣ Billingham Stars 💫

⚔️ Leeds Knights 2 4️⃣ - 3️⃣ Deeside Dragons 🐉

🗡️ Sheffield Scimitars 3️⃣ - 6️⃣ Hull Jets ✈️

NIHL Moralee Sunday:

🐉 Deeside Dragons 1️⃣4️⃣ - 2️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️

🐾 Widnes Wild 3️⃣ - 7️⃣ Solihull Barons ⚜️

🦁 Nottingham Lions 4️⃣ - 1️⃣1️⃣ Hull Jets ✈️