Thank you to Phil Holden for his
contribution to FSB, All Credit for this piece goes to him so any queries you
can contact Phil on Twitter @PhilSlice
Sheffield Spartans & Blackburn Hawks shared the spoils in a great game of ice hockey at Ice Sheffield on Saturday in NIHL North One. Spartans were the better team in the opening period and should have realistically been in front but had to be content with a 2-2 period with Ollie Barron twice putting Spartans in front only for Hawks to equalise through Adam Brittle & Chris Arnone. The second period was a little scrappy, mainly due to some awful and inconsistent refereeing on both teams but it was still end to end & as exciting as the first period. Hawks had some good spells of pressure with Brandon Stones making several good saves to keep Spartans in the game. But whereas Hawks had more chances, Spartans had the better ones and on the balance of play deserved their 4-2 lead at the end thanks to good goals scored by Shaun Wild & Nick Manning. Hawks stepped it up a gear to score early on in the third through Chris Butler. Spartans still created chances and were more than in the game but a good spell of possession and pressure on Spartans goal from Hawks reaped rewards with a determined effort to drive the puck home after Brandon Stones had made a fine save but unable to do anything about Aaron Davies popping in the rebound as there was a Hawks player lying on top of him with the goal allowed to stand. Spartans reacted positively to hit back at Hawks who always looked dangerous on the counter attack but it looked more likely a draw as the clock ticked down; however there was to be a cruel twist in the tale with just 16 seconds left of the game. Some lovely build up play had Hawks on the back foot and when Will Barron forced the puck home and the goal signalled it looked like Spartans may have inflicted Hawks first defeat of the season. The reaction of the Hawks players spoke volumes as Spartans celebrated but it was not to be has the referee then decided to wash it out for a man in the crease, doing so without consultation to harshly rob Spartans of a hard fought and valuable win. It was a poor call, it was the wrong call, one of many but obviously it had more of an impact than some of his other decisions. The last 16 seconds passed without further incident to see the final score tied at 4-4. The result & Sutton’s loss in Billingham sees Spartans move up to 4th play-off spot, one point above Sutton who they play in their last game on the 28th.
Sheffield Spartans & Blackburn Hawks shared the spoils in a great game of ice hockey at Ice Sheffield on Saturday in NIHL North One. Spartans were the better team in the opening period and should have realistically been in front but had to be content with a 2-2 period with Ollie Barron twice putting Spartans in front only for Hawks to equalise through Adam Brittle & Chris Arnone. The second period was a little scrappy, mainly due to some awful and inconsistent refereeing on both teams but it was still end to end & as exciting as the first period. Hawks had some good spells of pressure with Brandon Stones making several good saves to keep Spartans in the game. But whereas Hawks had more chances, Spartans had the better ones and on the balance of play deserved their 4-2 lead at the end thanks to good goals scored by Shaun Wild & Nick Manning. Hawks stepped it up a gear to score early on in the third through Chris Butler. Spartans still created chances and were more than in the game but a good spell of possession and pressure on Spartans goal from Hawks reaped rewards with a determined effort to drive the puck home after Brandon Stones had made a fine save but unable to do anything about Aaron Davies popping in the rebound as there was a Hawks player lying on top of him with the goal allowed to stand. Spartans reacted positively to hit back at Hawks who always looked dangerous on the counter attack but it looked more likely a draw as the clock ticked down; however there was to be a cruel twist in the tale with just 16 seconds left of the game. Some lovely build up play had Hawks on the back foot and when Will Barron forced the puck home and the goal signalled it looked like Spartans may have inflicted Hawks first defeat of the season. The reaction of the Hawks players spoke volumes as Spartans celebrated but it was not to be has the referee then decided to wash it out for a man in the crease, doing so without consultation to harshly rob Spartans of a hard fought and valuable win. It was a poor call, it was the wrong call, one of many but obviously it had more of an impact than some of his other decisions. The last 16 seconds passed without further incident to see the final score tied at 4-4. The result & Sutton’s loss in Billingham sees Spartans move up to 4th play-off spot, one point above Sutton who they play in their last game on the 28th.
Prior to the Spartans game, Rapiers U16 D1 faced a
potentially tricky game against Coventry Blaze who made life difficult for the
Sheffield team at times. The first chance fell to Coventry on a breakaway but
they couldn’t put their chance away in the 2nd minute. Lasers went
onto dominate but they didn’t pick the most of their possession or chances
against an inform netminder and a stubborn defence that do deserve praise.
However the netminder as eventually beaten when a brave save from a one on one
breakaway saw possession fall to Sam Rodgers who calmly put his chance away to
put Rapiers in front. As the clock ticked down some lovely individual skill
from Sam Rodger saw him flick his shot high to leave the netminder no chance
and put Rapiers in front 2-0 at the period break. Coventry started the period
brightly and after both teams had good chances to score with Evan Coles making
an excellent save in Sheffield’s goal, it was Blaze who did score through
Daniel Mulcanny who was strong on the puck after he created space to put his
chance away nicely. This lifted Coventry who was now on top of things and
whilst on the powerplay they turned possession over to fire in a shot to make
it 2-2 through Edgars Landsbergs. Rapiers hit back though but couldn’t find a
way past Coventry’s rear-guard to be all square after two but after a scrappy
start to the 3rd, Rapiers went on to gradually dominate proceedings
to run out 6-2 winners. Finlay Ulrick scored first and after some sustained
pressure Aaron Lyon forced a good save from the Coventry goalie but was on hand
for the second bite of the cheery to make it 4-2. Finlay Ulrick picked up a perfectly timed
& weighted pass to leave the netminder no chance and the win was rounded of
by Jake Howis in the dying seconds of the game. It was tough to start with but
Rapiers class told in the end in what was another good game of junior hockey.
The academy’s other senior team were also in action
against their Blackburn rivals but against the Eagles in NIHL North Two.
Blackburn is always a difficult place to get a result and things became a bit
naughty and physical but a solid workmanlike team performance with a special
mention for the unwell Josh Gent who insisted on playing to turn in an
admirable performance with 5 goals & an assist. Josh aka Charles VII
grabbed his hat-trick in the first period with Mikey Mawer, Nathan Britton,
Callum Rawson & Paul Lofthouse getting on the score sheet with a solitary
goal from Eagles through Jordan Ashington to see the score at 7-1 in Senators
favour. The second period was a little tougher but Josh Gent & Nathan
Britton put Sens further in front at 9-1 but another Jordan Ashington goal in
the last minute pulled one back for Eagles. Harry Bolton & James Riddoch
gave Eagles a little hope into the third but Josh Gent popped his 5th
one in to make it 10-4 before it all turned a bit unsavoury in the 52nd
minute with numerous penalties handed out to both teams. However the dust did
settle somewhat with no real further incident for Senators to notch up another
win in what has been an amazing season.
Steelhawks U18 D1 were also on the road to face
Billingham and came away with an impressive 14-4 win. A Joe Colton hat-trick, a
brace from Oli Simms plus one from Cole Shudra put Steelhawks in a strong
position at 6-1 at the end of the first. Sheffield’s dominance continued into
the second, despite a couple of Billingham goals, as Cole Shudra grabbed his
hat-trick with two more goals with one apiece for Aaron Lyon, Connor Parker
& Thomas James Brooke-Smith. With an 11-3 lead Steelhawks were always in
command and ensured their victory by conceding just one more whilst Kyle Watson
and another couple from Cole Shudra rounded off a good performance.
Scorpions U18 D2 were also in action but came unstuck
against a very good & undefeated Manchester team who climbed to the top of
the league after their 12-2 win at Ice Sheffield whilst Swampfrogs recorded a
solid 11-3 away win against Grimsby.
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