REPORT: MATCH WEEK 21
BILLINGHAM STARS moved comfortably into their third successive Cup final with a 13-3 aggregate semi-final win over Hull Jets over two legs at the weekend.
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
A bolstered Jets arrived on Teesside for Saturday’s first leg at the Forum, with new signing Devids Jurinenoks – formerly at Blackburn Hawks – taking to the ice for the first time on the Hull blue line. It was important to get a good start and Billingham opened brightly enough, Iain Brown opening the scoring in the fifth minute with a shot that went through a seemingly unsighted Zach Brown in the Jets net. The home side laboured thereafter however, and Hull were back on level terms on the 11-minute mark when Ethan Daintith returned to the ice after serving a slashing minor to put the visitors on a two-on-one break which Daintith was the man to finish. A scramble in front of Mark Turnbull’s net in the 17th minute saw the Jets move ahead as Jurinenoks marked his debut with a goal.
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
The hosts continued to struggle to put their game together in the second session, and they had Turnbull to thank for keeping their guests at bay. It wasn’t until the 39th minute that the deadlock was broken, Brown taking a body check that allowed Chris Sykes to take the puck in front of the net and wait for the netminder to commit before sliding it past him.
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
All square going into the third, the Stars moved up a gear and began to dominate their opponents. A well-worked power play goal from Callum Wilkinson moved the home side ahead in the 45th minute before a one-touch passing move was finished into an open net at the back stick by Sykes in the 49th minute. Extending the lead before the away leg the following evening eventually came to fruition with less than two minutes left on the clock, a pinpoint Sykes pass finding Brown out front for a beautiful backhand into the roof of his namesake’s net.
Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Iain Brown.
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
Stars Stats:
Iain Brown 2+3; Chris Sykes 2+2; Callum Wilkinson 1+0; Michael Elder 0+3; Darren Stattersfield 0+2
SOG: Mark Turnbull 45 (14 / 20 / 11)
Jets Stats:
Ethan Daintith 1+0; Devids Jurinenoks 1+0; Scott Morris 0+1; Jacob Brammer 0+1; Rich Haggar 0+1; Kohen Taylor 0+1
SOG: Zach Brown 39 (6 / 15 / 18)
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
The Stars were able to add Joe Walls back into the squad for the trip to Humberside on Sunday, the onus on the hosts to claw back a three-goal deficit in order to make life difficult for their visitors. Hull got the ideal start when Josh Yeardley fired through traffic from the point in the sixth minute, but that was as good as it got as Billingham turned on the style. Just over a minute later Rolands Gritāns flicked the puck high into the net to restore the aggregate advantage, before Lucas Dowdle came from behind the net to move the Stars ahead on the night just before the period’s halfway mark.
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
The second stanza was all Billingham. Michael Elder forced a power play marker home at the far post in the 23rd minute, then Sykes made a foray forward on the penalty kill in the 28th minute, his rebound tapped in by Elder for what turned out to be a delayed penalty goal. Conner McNulty got in on the act in the 33rd minute with a backhand effort over Zach Brown, then two minutes later Lucas Dowdle teed up Shaun Galloway for a one-timer. A dominant twenty was rounded off by another power play goal, this time from James Hellens, to take the tie far beyond the Jets.
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
A feisty final period saw both sides fall foul of the officials as tempers boiled over. Scoring was limited to just one goal as McNulty bagged his second with a one-time blast high into the net in the 58th minute, although Gritāns did fail to get a penalty shot past Brown just seconds before. Billingham were content to play out the session with the tie more than over, 3-13 the aggregate score overall to secure a repeat of last year’s final against Blackburn Hawks.
Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was Callum Wilkinson.
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
Jets Stats:
Josh Yeardley 1+0; Rich Haggar 0+1
SOG: Zach Brown 39 (12 / 15 / 12)
Stars Stats:
Conner McNulty 2+0; Michael Elder 2+0; James Hellens 1+1; Shaun Galloway 1+1; Rolands Gritāns 1+1; Lucas Dowdle 1+1; Iain Brown 0+2; James Moss 0+1; Ben Greenhalgh 0+1; Chris Sykes 0+1; Callum Wilkinson 0+1; Darren Stattersfield 0+2
SOG: Mark Turnbull 34 (11 / 13 / 10)
Credit: Colin Edwards, CJE Photos
Weekend Results:
NIHL N1/Moralee Cup Saturday:
🦁 Nottingham Lions 3️⃣ - 5️⃣ Widnes Wild 🐾 (L)
🐉 Deeside Dragons 3️⃣ - 8️⃣ Blackburn Hawks 🦅 (C SF)
💫 Billingham Stars 5️⃣ - 2️⃣ Hull Jets ✈️ (C SF)
⚔️ Leeds Knights 2 2️⃣ - 8️⃣ Solihull Barons ⚜️ (L)
NIHL N1/Moralee Cup Sunday:
✈️ Hull Jets 1️⃣ - 8️⃣ Billingham Stars 💫 (C SF)
🦅 Blackburn Hawks 6️⃣ - 3️⃣ Deeside Dragons🐉 (C SF)
🦁 Nottingham Lions 3️⃣ - 2️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️ (L) (after overtime)