REPORT: MATCH WEEK 11

BILLINGHAM STARS were unrelenting against National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1 new boys Leeds Knights 2 in West Yorkshire on Saturday evening, demolishing the home side 1-10 to retain their nine-point gap at the top of the table.

Credit: Maxine Jayes

Travelling to Elland Road short on bodies with Joe Dowdle a late scratch, the Stars called up Tom Wakefield to link up with fellow Buccaneer Sam Dowd on the third line. Billingham jumped on their hosts from the get-go, pushing forward at every opportunity and testing Knights netminder Dan Norton although not quite as clinically as they perhaps would have liked. So it was very much against the run of play that Leeds opened the scoring in the eighth minute, the unluckiest of bounces falling to Mikey Danecko who went high to beat Jacob Hammond between the Stars pipes. The goal gave the Knights the confidence to apply some pressure themselves, but the spell did not last long, and Billingham resumed their earlier dominance. It looked like the home side might hold out until the buzzer, but with just three seconds on the clock, Iain Brown skipped down the right wing into the slot and fired home low to even the score going into the break.

Credit: Maxine Jayes

The hosts resistance broken, the second period began to reflect the Stars superiority. It was that man again in the 25th minute, Brown getting the go-ahead goal, then five minutes later Chris Sykes one-timed a Michael Elder feed from the corner low past Norton. It took almost ten minutes before Billingham found the net again despite massively outshooting their opponents, Callum Wilkinson driving to the net and finishing under Norton for a three-goal cushion at the premature buzzer, the session finishing 48 seconds early to clear blood from the ice.

Credit: Maxine Jayes

The final stanza saw the floodgates well and truly open. Brown swept home his hat trick marker in the 45th minute, then just under two minutes later Sam Dowd’s first-ever goal for the Stars was just reward for a hardworking performance. Literally seconds later Brown forced the puck past Norton at the near post under pressure from a couple of Knights defencemen, Norton vacating for James Adamson in the 53rd minute after he had conceded a relatively soft shot from Joe Walls from the point for 1-8. By that point Billingham had already changed their netminder, Hammond making way to give Jack Wakefield the final ten minutes of the game, but he was largely a spectator, and the Stars rounded off a prolific night with goals in the final four minutes from Brown for his fifth and Rolands Gritāns. A complete performance that showed the home side no mercy, 1-10 the final score and three valuable points in the bag.

Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Sam Dowd.

Credit: Maxine Jayes

Knights Stats:

Mikey Danecko 1+0; Edgars Vengis 0+1

SOG: Dan Norton 56 (19 / 27 / 10); James Adamson 12

Stars Stats:

Iain Brown 5+0; Joe Walls 1+2; James Hellens 1+2; Chris Sykes 1+2; Callum Wilkinson 1+2; Rolands Gritāns 1+1; Sam Dowd 1+0; Michael Elder 0+4; Tommy Spraggon 0+2; Lucas Dowdle 0+1

SOG: Jacob Hammond 16 (8 / 5 / 3); Jack Wakefield 1

Credit: Maxine Jayes

Weekend Results:

NIHL N1 Saturday:

✈️ Hull Jets 9️⃣ - 6️⃣ Deeside Dragons 🐉

⚔️ Leeds Knights 2 1️⃣ - 🔟 Billingham Stars 💫

NIHL N1 Sunday:

🐉 Deeside Dragons 4️⃣ - 0️⃣ Solihull Barons ⚜️

🗡️ Sheffield Scimitars 3️⃣ - 0️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️

🐾 Widnes Wild 4️⃣ - 7️⃣ Whitley Warriors 🏹

🦅 Blackburn Hawks 4️⃣ - 1️⃣ Nottingham Lions 🦁