Weekend Preview: Match Week 15

A TRIP to seventh-placed Widnes Wild finishes off the calendar year in National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1 for Billingham Stars, who are guaranteed to finish 2023 on top of the table regardless of today’s result.

Widnes are going through turbulent times, testing Player Coach Joey Coulter to the limit as they try to find both form and consistency. On paper the Wild have the right ingredients to succeed, however the regular line-up changes due to injuries and player unavailability have not helped their cause and they find themselves struggling towards the foot of the table with a gap to bridge to sixth place. This the third meeting between the two sides and Widnes will need to improve considerably to have a shot at the two points, a 1-9 win on Merseyside and a 12-2 demolition job at the Forum just three weeks ago putting Billingham firmly on top in the series.

Despite going through a minor injury crisis that is keeping out several key players, the Stars bandwagon keeps on rolling. A hard-fought 4-2 victory over Blackburn Hawks last Sunday proved that Billingham are flexible enough to cope with the inevitable gaps in the established lines that injuries bring, the ‘next man up’ mentality that has served the squad so well this season in evidence once again. The side will travel to Merseyside not at full strength, a situation expected to remain until well into the new year, but the coaches have faith in the revamped lines and will be pushing hard for both points.

The Stars travel to Widnes Wild for a National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1 encounter this evening, face off 5.30pm.

Weekend Fixtures/Results:

NIHL(N)1:

Nottingham Lions 2 Solihull Barons 6

Hull Jets 7 Deeside Dragons 6 (after overtime)

Sheffield Scimitars 1 Widnes Wild 3

Deeside Dragons v Nottingham Lions, Sunday 5.15pm

Solihull Barons v Sheffield Scimitars, Sunday 5.30pm

Widnes Wild v Billingham Stars, Sunday 5.30pm

Blackburn Hawks v Whitley Warriors, Sunday 6pm