REPORT: MATCH WEEK 22
BILLINGHAM STARS were back in National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1 action on Sunday looking to maintain a nine-point advantage over closest challengers Blackburn Hawks with a win over bottom side Sheffield Scimitars at the Forum.
Credit: Tony Burgum Photography
Already long odds were stretched out to almost impossible when Sheffield arrived on Teesside with just eleven skaters, and so it seemed the inevitable would unfold when Iain Brown one-timed home his 50th competitive goal of the season in the fourth minute. Exactly four minutes later, Brown won a battle in the Scimitars defensive zone and fed Michael Elder for the home side’s second. Despite the one-way traffic, the Stars could not find a way past Nick Winters in the Sheffield net and found themselves pegged back in the 14th minute when Joseph Matthewman put one over Jacob Hammond’s shoulder to give the score line a much closer look than reality at the interval.
Credit: Tony Burgum Photography
The hosts’ dominance continued in the second period with Winters having to face a whopping 33 shots. Elder extended the lead in the 26th minute with a jab into an unguarded net, then seconds later James Moss flipped one on the backhand into the far corner for 4-1. Rolands Gritāns forced the puck under Winters in the 31st minute, then some pretty interplay between the first line forwards was finished by Elder for his hat trick in the 33rd minute.
Credit: Tony Burgum Photography
The game more than over, it was simply a case of how many more would Billingham add to their tally in the final twenty. A rare error from Winters saw Callum Wilkinson find the back of the net in the 43rd minute before a power play tap-in from Brown saw the end of Winters’ stint as he was replaced by new signing Matty Bloor for the remainder of the game. Bloor would concede just once from the 14 shots he faced, a Gritāns effort hitting his water bottle in the 53rd minute to complete a resounding 9-1 victory.
Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was Michael Elder.
Credit: Tony Burgum Photography
Stars Stats:
Michael Elder 3+1; Iain Brown 2+2; Rolands Gritāns 2+0; Callum Wilkinson 1+1; James Moss 1+0; Chris Sykes 0+4; Ben Greenhalgh 0+2; James Hellens 0+1; Conner McNulty 0+1; Joe Dowdle 0+1; Shaun Galloway 0+1; Lucas Dowdle 0+1
SOG: Jacob Hammond 12 (3 / 3 / 6)
Scimitars Stats:
Joseph Matthewman 1+0; George Crawshaw 0+1
SOG: Nick Winters 62 (19 / 33 / 10); Matty Bloor 14
Weekend Results:
NIHL N1 Saturday:
🗡️ Sheffield Scimitars 2️⃣ - 4️⃣ Whitley Warriors 🏹
⚜️ Solihull Barons 4️⃣ - 3️⃣ Hull Jets ✈️ (after overtime)
🐾 Widnes Wild 2️⃣ - 6️⃣ Blackburn Hawks 🦅
NIHL N1 Sunday:
🏹 Whitley Warriors 5️⃣ - 9️⃣ Solihull Barons ⚜️
💫 Billingham Stars 9️⃣ - 1️⃣ Sheffield Scimitars 🗡️
🦅 Blackburn Hawks 6️⃣ - 3️⃣ Leeds Knights 2 ⚔️
🦁 Nottingham Lions 🔟 - 5️⃣ Deeside Dragons 🐉