Season 26/27: Week 4 Report
Image: SL Sports Photos
TWO SOLID performances for Billingham Stars in National Ice Hockey League Moralee Division this weekend yielded just three points as they fought off a late comeback from Sheffield Scimitars on Saturday but could not find the killer blow to see off Widnes Wild at the Forum on Sunday.
Saturday’s trip to South Yorkshire yielded a first goal for Rowan Mills, his well-taken effort getting Stars on the board within the first two minutes. The home side got themselves back level in the sixth minute through Nathan Bennett, but it took only a little over three minutes for Billingham to reassert their authority, James Moss feeding Michael Elder for a shorthanded goal. Stars extended their lead before the break, Rolands Gritāns delaying perfectly to rifle past Scimitars netminder Dominic Rae.
An excellent shot from an almost impossibly tight angle from Elder resulted in a goalie change for Sheffield, sometime nemesis Nick Winters taking over between the pipes. Unfortunately for Winters his first shot faced ended up in the bottom corner as James Hellens found his mark from the point. It was Hellens again just over two minutes later, this time a power play effort that Winters could do nothing about. The hosts didn’t give up however, and three unanswered goals from Lewis Bell, Bennett and Harry Roebuck - including two on the power play - ensured the third period would be a little more nervy than perhaps it should have been.
Those nerves were put to bed in the 46th minute, an ice-cold Elder deadly accurate with a penalty shot for his hat trick. Billingham controlled the game thereafter, and skated to a comfortable 4-7 road win.
Man-of-the-Match for Stars was James Hellens.
Scimitars Stats:
Nathan Bennett 2+0; Harry Roebuck 1+0; Lewis Bell 1+0; Andrew Heath 0+1; Oliver Wagg 0+1; Lewis Swaffield 0+1; Finley Williams 0+1; Bailey Challans 0+1; Jacob Brammer 0+1
SOG: Dominic Rae 7 (4 / 3); Nick Winters 16 (5 / 11)
Stars Stats:
Michael Elder 3+0; James Hellens 2+0; Rowan Mills 1+1; Rolands Gritāns 1+1; James Moss 0+2; Lucas Dowdle 0+2; Ben Greenhalgh 0+1; Will Thornton 0+1; Matty Pickup 0+1
SOG: Mark Turnbull 43 (11 / 23 / 9)
Image: SL Sports Photos
Sunday’s game was high on entertainment but ultimately zero return for Billingham as Widnes Wild kept up their recent good run of form. Chances came and went with action at both ends of the rink in the first twenty, but neither side found the twine and the period closed scoreless.
Image: SL Sports Photos
A frantic start to the second session saw more chances for the home side, but is was Widnes who drew first blood in the 26th minute when a gap appeared out front for Alex Parry to exploit and tap past Mark Turnbull’s skate. Less than a minute later and the lead was doubled, Stars ultimately failing to clear their lines leaving Mikey Gilbert to sneak in and rifle past Turnbull. So many opportunities but now two goals down, Billingham’s heads could have dropped but they refused to let it go and got a goal back just before the halfway mark, James Moss with the postage stamp shot over the shoulder of Wild netminder Oliver Thomasson for his first of the season. Elder got the hosts back on level terms in the 34th minute but the celebrations had barely finished before Parry edged the visitors back ahead on the wraparound just 18 seconds later.
Image: SL Sports Photos
A tense final session could have seen the game swing either way, but both netminders were on top form to keep all attacks at bay. In the end Billingham had to pull Turnbull to try and get something out of the game but the puck was lost in the attacking zone and Alex Rushby broke free to slide it into the empty net, 2-4 the final score. J
Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Mark Turnbull.
Image: SL Sports Photos
Stars Stats:
Michael Elder 1+1; James Moss 1+0; Rolands Gritāns 0+2; Joe Dowdle 0+1
SOG: Mark Turnbull 49 (19 / 13 / 17)
Wild Stats:
Alex Parry 2+0; Michael Gilbert 1+0; Alex Rushby 1+0; Jakub Hájek 0+2; Jared Knowles 0+1; Josh Guy 0+1
SOG: Oliver Thomasson 57 (21 / 21 / 15)
Image: SL Sports Photos
Weekend Results:
NIHL Moralee Saturday:
✈️ Hull Jets 3️⃣-4️⃣ Blackburn Hawks 🦅 (after overtime)
🗡️ Sheffield Scimitars 4️⃣-7️⃣ Billingham Stars 💫
NIHL Moralee Sunday:
🐉 Deeside Dragons 5️⃣-2️⃣ Hull Jets ✈️
💫 Billingham Stars 2️⃣-4️⃣ Widnes Wild 🐾 (L/C)
🦅 Blackburn Hawks 1️⃣-2️⃣ Solihull Barons ⚜️
🐯 Telford Tigers 2 8️⃣-2️⃣ Sheffield Scimitars 🗡️ (L/C)
🦁 Nottingham Lions 7️⃣-2️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️