Weekend Roundup: Match Week 24

BILLINGHAM STARS long unbeaten run came to an end in controversial fashion in National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1 on Sunday, as bad luck, contentious decisions and more injury problems conspired to hand Solihull Barons a title lifeline.

Credit: Keith & Jenny Davies

Confident going into the game of making the League crown all but theirs, Billingham were nonetheless wary of their second-placed opponents who have been close to invincible on their own ice all season. Everything looked to be going to plan when Iain Brown forced the puck home at the back stick in the third minute, but the hosts recovered quickly and were a constant threat on the break. The Stars had to do without the influential Rolands Gritāns for most of the first period after the Latvian broke a skate blade, Joe Walls pushed back up front to cover his slot. In what would become a theme for the night, Billingham were guilty of waiting for a call that never came in the 15th minute leaving Philip Mulcahy free to snipe high past Thomas Brown in the visitors' net. The Barons moved ahead two minutes later with a well-worked goal that saw Niklas Ottosson steer the puck past Brown and into the far corner despite heavy pressure from Ben Greenhalgh.

Credit: Keith & Jenny Davies

In the break, Joe Dowdle gave up his blade for Gritāns, leaving the Stars shorter at the back. It didn’t seem to matter in the opening exchanges, Gritāns feeding Chris Sykes who delivered an inch-perfect pass in the 22nd minute to Michael Elder for the one-timer to level things up. It was same again two minutes later, Gritāns to Sykes to Elder and Billingham back with their noses in front. Tommy Spraggon’s early departure through injury in the 26th minute meant the Stars were down to just four defencemen. The tide began to turn permanently in the hosts’ favour in the 29th minute as an interference call incorrectly given to Patriks Grigors was punished by Mulcahy’s second marker fired past Brown at his near post to even the game.

Credit: Keith & Jenny Davies

It should have been all to play for in the final stanza, and so it seemed as the first ten minutes seesawed from end to end. Richard Crowe finally broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute when he squeezed the puck past Brown’s skate on the power play, but still the match could have gone either way. The defining moment of the game came in the 54th minute when, with the Stars on the power play, Gritāns was tripped in the neutral zone, effectively leaving Ottosson on his own to square to Alex Whyte to snipe past Brown for a shorthanded marker and the Billingham bench incensed. The penalties continued to flow one way, frustration creeping into the visitors’ game. It was no surprise when the home side capitalised on a late 5-on-3 opportunity with goals from Mulcahy and Brandon Anderton to hand Billingham their first defeat in four months, leaving a visibly angry Stars bench to lick their wounds on the long journey back to Teesside.

Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Michael Elder.

Credit: Keith & Jenny Davies

Barons Stats:

Philip Mulcahy 3+0; Niklas Ottosson 1+4; Alex Whyte 1+3; Richard Crowe 1+2; Brandon Anderton 1+0; Max Soden 0+2; Bailey Challans 0+1

SOG: Graham Laverick 37 (12 / 18 / 7)

Stars Stats:

Michael Elder 2+0; Iain Brown 1+0; Chris Sykes 0+2; Rolands Gritāns 0+2

SOG: Thomas Brown 51 (17 / 13 / 21)

Weekend Results:

NIHL(N)1:

Sheffield Scimitars 5 Deeside Dragons 13

Hull Jets 4 Solihull Barons 1

Whitley Warriors 3 Blackburn Hawks 4

Deeside Dragons 4 Hull Jets 2

Solihull Barons 7 Billingham Stars 3

Widnes Wild 2 Nottingham Lions 5