Match Report: Hawks v Stars 121122

BILLINGHAM STARS got their three-week road adventure in National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1 off to the perfect start by grinding out a 1-4 win over Blackburn Hawks in Lancashire on Saturday evening.

A week of integrating Latvian Rolands Gritāns into the side in training was always going to result in some interesting changes to existing lines, with tweaks throughout the game as the coaches tinkered with combinations that would produce results. Perhaps down in part to the unfamiliarity of the forward lines, Billingham got off to a very slow start and the game lacked any kind of intensity through the first twenty as the home side also looked sluggish. There were bright spots in the opening exchanges, the Stars hitting the post in the third minute whilst at the other end Aaron Davies had time to pick his spot from close range in the fourth minute but was denied by a quick glove from Billingham netminder Thomas Brown. The lack of energy seemed likely to result in a goalless first period, but Chris Sykes made the breakthrough with a little over four minutes remaining when his laser shot went bar down. Seconds later a weak slashing call against Patriks Grigors put the visitors a man down, and they had almost killed the penalty off when Devids Jurinenoks roofed the puck with more than a hint of goaltender interference in the build-up.

Both sides stepped up a little in the middle session, but with the pace still comparatively pedestrian, clearcut chances were few and far between. Billingham suffered a setback early in the period when Shaun Galloway and Grigors were despatched to the sinbin in quick succession, both for high sticks, but they rode out the five-on-three comfortably enough and Grigors celebrated his return to the ice by stretching the twine from the point to record his first goal of the season and move the visitors back in front in the 27th minute. The Stars were starting to find some rhythm now, but unable to find another way past Alex Oldale between the Hawks pipes, Grigors’ marker proving to be the only score of the session.

Billingham looked hungry to kill the game off early in the final stanza and increased their advantage in the 46th minute, hard work from Finn Bradon in the corner eventually feeding James Moss in the right place out front to fire past Oldale. Grigors found himself in the wars mid-period as first a high stick to his face went unpunished, then moments later he went down injured on the boards in the neutral zone and finished the game on the bench. Alex Preston capped a Man-on-the-Match winning performance when he sniped the insurance marker in the 55th minute, an assist for Gritāns giving him his first point in the Stars shirt. A 1-4 final score meant the points went back to Teesside, with food for thought for the coaches as they put the many pieces of their jigsaw together to keep in touch with the League leaders.

Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Alex Preston.

Hawks Stats:

Devids Jurinenoks 1+0; Jacob Lutwyche 0+1

SOG: Alex Oldale 37 (7 / 17 / 13)

Stars Stats:

James Moss 1+1; Chris Sykes 1+0; Patriks Grigors 1+0; Alex Preston 1+0; Joe Walls 0+1; Rolands Gritāns 0+1; Michael Elder 0+1; Finn Bradon 0+1

SOG: Thomas Brown 24 (13 / 7 / 4)

Weekend Results:

NIHL(N)1:

Blackburn Hawks 1 Billingham Stars 4

Solihull Barons 8 Nottingham Lions 2

Widnes Wild 4 Blackburn Hawks 3