SIHA Round-Up 21st & 22nd March 2015

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

Senators enjoyed a 4 point double header success over local rivals Nottingham Lions in what were two good games of hockey. Sens put in two competent and gritty performances to outsmart a hard working Nottingham team that couldn’t quite match Senators overall play & enthusiasm.

On Saturday at Ice Sheffield Senators won 3-1 in an end to end game that was quite close at times but overall Senators deserved their win which came from a solid defence & sound netminding. In a first period that lacked a bit of zip it was tied at 0-0 with Senators failing to capitalise on the chances they created whilst restricting Lions to just 5 shots. Senators snatched the lead early on in the second when Josh Gent scored a nice goal, showing great tenacity to put his chance away from Sergevs Jegorovs on 21.49. Sens enjoyed a good spell of pressure only to be pulled back with a well taken goal scored by Ben Wood on 26.44. This lifted Nottingham but Senators rode out the storm to enjoy a good spell themselves but Thomas Hovell in Lions goal was equal to anything Sens could fire at him with Bobby Browne in fine form too when called upon to make the saves to ensure it was still all square at the end of the second. The game was a lot more fast flowing in the final period with both teams creating some good chances but once again Senators defence were on their game and with Bobby Browne making the saves when he had to it gave Senators a platform from which to go on and win the game which is what they did. Some quick thinking and passing out of defence from Martyn Gray & Joe Colton put Charlie Thompson clear who showed great skill to fire one past Hovell who had no chance; goal timed 43.46. Sens made several more chances but it wasn’t until 54.31 when Nathan Britton played the puck back for Josh Gent to shoot one in for 3-1. Nottingham had been difficult to break down and they responded positively to enjoy arguably their best spell of the game but once again Senators were on their game to soak up the pressure and finish strongly to see the game out for a deserved win.

On Sunday it was a short trip down the M1 to Nottingham for the return fixture and once again, it was a good game of hockey but a little bit feistier than the previous night with both teams clearly up for the game. Senators started strongly to dominate proceedings and were two up through Josh Gent on 2.22 and Tom Humphries on 7.51. Nottingham did hit back and eventually popped one in on the powerplay through Ivo Dimitrijevs. It terms of chances it was pretty even but on the balance of play and possession Senators were the better team. In terms of overall play it was more balanced in the second period but Senators always had the upper hand. Paul Lofthouse set up Tom Humphries in the first minute to make it 3-1 but Lions pulled one back on 28.17, Kieran Raynor the scorer. Joel Aheran made the most of his chance to make it 4-2 after some nice play from Charlie Thompson & Sergevs Jegorovs on 28.17. It was a good contest with both teams basically cancelling one another out from which it became a bit niggly as Lions were struggling to find a way back into the game. An inspirational talk from Andy Ellis did the trick in the period break to see a well drilled Senators team competently finish of their rivals with controlled hockey. A lovely short-handed goal from Nathan Britton made it 5-2 on 48.57 gave Senators the edge against a battling Nottingham team that pulled another back on the powerplay timed 51.21, Ben Wood the scorer to make it 5-3. Lions continued to push forward whilst leaving themselves open for counter attacks and both teams had solid chances to add to their score but it’s fair to say that Senators looked in control to once again see the game out for another win in another good game of hockey which was concluded with a bench clearance in which amazingly not one penalty was awarded. Senators win 5-3 to secure a 4 point weekend over Lions.

To the juniors and Rapiers U16 D1 notched an impressive 9-0 away win over Kingston Hull but were made to work hard for their win in the early stages of the game but stepped it up to run out clear winners in the end. Samurai U10’s were in action at Ice Sheffield with cross ice challenge games against Nottingham, Solihull & Coventry.

On Sunday Sabres U14 D2 edged ever closer to their league title whilst ensuring their 100% win record remains intact with a 6-3 away win at Blackburn. Sabres were 1-0 up through Harry Currell at the end of the first with goals in the second for Leon Shaw, Ben O’Brien & Luke Watson to make it 4-0 after two. Josh Cope made it 5-0 before Blackburn pulled two goals back but it was too little too late as Sabres added another in the final minute through Ben O’Brien.

Scorpions U18 D2 narrowly lost out 5-4 at home to Nottingham in what was a pretty decent game with some noticeable performances on the Sheffield team.

One again, all in all it’s been another successful weekend for SIHA’s teams with more action coming up this weekend with the conclusion of the senior regular season as well as some important junior fixtures too…keep an eye out for the upcoming preview with all the relevant details.

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