Stars Season 2022/2023
WHATEVER HAPPENS in Manchester this weekend, it’s been one hell of a season from the Big Red Machine. Not even two seasons into a rebuild of the team following the return of hockey to the Forum post-pandemic, Billingham are exceeding expectations and confounding the critics who said they wouldn’t even win a game last campaign.
The summer brought little in the way of changes as the Teessiders stuck by the squad that had developed so promisingly last time around, but amongst their few additions was a big coup in snatching Latvian defenceman Rolands Gritāns from local rivals Whitley Warriors.
Wanting to start from where they left off last season, when Widnes Wild were so mercilessly despatched in the first round of the playoffs, the Stars were handed a tricky start to the new campaign when they found themselves up against champions Solway Sharks three times in the opening month. It looked like a case of ‘same old, same old’ when the Sharks took the first two games fairly comfortably, but in a taste of what was to come, Billingham finally turned over the Scots for the first time in four years with a thrilling 5-4 win in overtime to end September on a high note.
October saw a string of excellent results bookended by two poor ones as the Stars crashed on the road at Solihull Barons to kick the month off, then a home loss to the Warriors at the end extended Teesside pain as their losing run in the North East derby continued. November saw another three hard-fought wins but again a loss at the end, this time Widnes avenged that playoff mauling to leave Billingham in the middle of the pack.
Another derby loss at Hillheads just before Christmas hurt the Stars but they were handed an immediate chance to put things right when they were matched up against their near neighbours in the semi-final of the Moralee Cup to see in 2023. The home leg saw Billingham battle back from 0-3 down to get themselves within a single goal with two goals in the final five minutes. They carried that momentum into the second leg and – in a seesaw match on Tyneside – the Stars finally saw off another four-year-old monkey when they bagged an overtime winner to book their place in the final.
A defeat in North Wales the week after the semi final marred what has otherwise been an untarnished record since then. A nine-game unbeaten streak in the run-up to the Cup Final saw Billingham reel in and finally overtake Whitley for second place. During this streak the Billingham offensive unit rattled in 65 goals to make sure confidence was sky-high to face Solway over two legs last month. Two huge crowds turned out in Dumfries and at the Forum to see the League’s two in-form sides do battle. The Stars fought back from 5-1 down north of the border to tie the game 5-5 going back to Teesside, then they had to suffer the heartbreak of coming within 27 seconds of winning the trophy before the Sharks equalised, the favourites taking the Cup back with them as they won the penalty shootout needed to separate the sides.
Billingham have not allowed the disappointment to knock them off track. Since the Final they have beaten Solihull twice and secured second place, with an excellent run of form going into the first round of the playoffs. A quarter final date with Blackburn Hawks saw the Lancastrians duly despatched with the tie all but over after the first leg in Blackburn with the Stars headed back to the Forum with a six-goal cushion. The Final Four awaits then, and another semi-final against the old enemy Whitley Warriors. Billingham have proved they can live with – and beat – the best that the Moralee Conference has to offer and will want to come away with a trophy to reward what has been a fantastic effort. Regardless, with the squad still so young and still developing, the future is nothing but bright in Billingham.