Match Report : Stars 4 Warriors 2 / 220123

BILLINGHAM STARS secured their second derby victory in a row and their first in front of their home fans in almost four years on Sunday at the Forum, a third period push earning them a 4-2 win in National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1.

Both sides had key players missing from their ranks, but that seemed to impede neither bench as the opening exchanges saw both teams pushing hard for an early advantage. After a spell from the first puck drop that saw Whitley pen the Stars in their own zone, the home side grew into the game and went close to opening the scoring through Lewis Hall and James Moss before the five-minute marker. Warriors netminder Dean Bowater had to pull out the glove to deny captain Michael Elder and Ben Greenhalgh could only find Bowater’s middle as the visitors found themselves on the receiving end of some pressure themselves. The momentum swung back the other way as the period wore on, a loose pass from the corner finding Dean Holland free out front, but he did not make Thomas Brown in the Billingham net work hard enough for an easy save and the session closed out goalless.

Whitley found their rhythm in the second stanza and began to dominate their hosts, fortunately for the Stars Brown was performing heroics between the pipes to deny the visitors time and again. A breakthrough seemed inevitable however, and the Warriors were finally off the mark in the 38th minute when Adam Wood picked up a Matty McDonald rebound to fire under Brown from close range. A single goal advantage through forty then, and all to play for.

Billingham came flying out of the blocks in the final period, Callum Wilkinson letting go with a screamer that gave Bowater absolutely no chance after just ten seconds. Now on level terms and with fire in their bellies, the Stars momentum was halted with a cross checking call against Paddy Grigors in the 45th minute. Just over a minute later however, Finn Bradon broke clear and centred to Wilkinson who roofed his second. It was all Stars now and in the 49th minute Bradon collected on the blue line and, under pressure from Wood, poked through Bowater’s pads one-handed. A loss of self-discipline saw Ross Douglass take a trip to the sinbin in the 53rd minute for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Bradon capitalised a minute later when he backhanded a loose puck into the roof of the net for a comfortable three-goal cushion. Whitley got a late consolation on the powerplay with a little over a minute to go before the buzzer, Phil Edgar rifling home a rebound off a skate, but Billingham held enough of an advantage to be untroubled and held out for another memorable win over their neighbours.

Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was Callum Wilkinson.

Stars Stats:

Finn Bradon 2+1; Callum Wilkinson 2+0; Chris Sykes 0+2; James Moss 0+1

SOG: Thomas Brown 41 (9 / 19 / 13)

Warriors Stats:

Phil Edgar 1+0; Adam Wood 1+0; Matty McDonald 0+1; Harry Harley 0+1

SOG: Dean Bowater 28 (10 / 4 / 14)

Weekend Results:

Moralee Cup Semi-Final:

Widnes Wild 2 Solway Sharks 11 (aggregate 3-16)

NIHL(N)1:

Solihull Barons 10 Deeside Dragons 2

Deeside Dragons 6 Sheffield Scimitars 4      

Billingham Stars 4 Whitley Warriors 2

Solihull Barons 6 Widnes Wild 5 (after overtime)

Blackburn Hawks v Nottingham Lions - cancelled