The Building Craftsmen Dumfries Solway Sharks secured silverware in the Scottish National league at the weekend with a pair of victories that saw them emerge as undefeated champions, winning all of their games to take the title.
First up was the long trip to Aberdeen to take on Lynx. Keen to make their mark Sharks were on the offensive from the off, knowing that a single point from the game would be enough the secure the league, putting them out of reach of second place Racers. Their early pressure proved fruitful, a Scott Crane shot from Ruairi Lockerbie turned away by Lynx netminder Craig Chalmers only for the rebound to be scooped up and send to the back of the net by Gordon Horne at 3:33. Sharks were quick to add another less than 30 seconds later, Scott Henderson and Ewan Anderson combining to feed to puck to Peter Gapa who netted the second. With play fast and furious Jordan Leyden pulled one back for Lynx less than a minute later – 3 goals in just over a minute seeing the score at Lynx 1 Sharks 2 at the 5-minute mark. Gapa added another at 7:08, picking up a loose puck on the goalline and tucking the puck top corner from a tight angle. Sharks were on a roll, and Marcus Murdoch was next to have a shot at goal, his effort saved only for Viktor Nestrasil to bang home the rebound to add to the tally at 9:13. After some end to end stuff Sharks again exerted their dominance as the period drew to a close, Scott Henderson picking out Peter Gapa in space at the back post to send the puck past Chalmers for his hat-trick at 17:29. The buzzer for the end of the first saw the score Lynx 1 Sharks 5.
The second period saw the Sharks remain in control of the game, the play in Lynx zone for long spells, although they looked dangerous on the break, keeping Gary Russell busy in the Sharks’ net. Just after the halfway point Sharks captain Struan Tonnar added to the goal total, his strike on the end of a Gapa pass. Shortly after the goal play was stopped to allow a repair to the plexiglass, and when it resumed Lynx went on a bit of a charge, putting Sharks under pressure for a spell. As the end of the period approached a clever move behind the net from Murdoch to Nestrasil saw the puck fed to Kieran Hair in space out in front, and he sent it straight to the back of the net. The second break saw the score at Lynx 1 Sharks 7.
The third saw netminder changes for both teams, Calum Hepburn taking over from Russell for Sharks, and Ciaran Hoggan replacing Chalmers in Lynx net. Lynx made a bit of a comeback, Mark Laing scoring at 53:16. Sharks worked to contain Lynx in their own zone again, only for Christian Johnson to take advantage of a Sharks penalty to score at 58:11 on the powerplay as the clock ticked down. The final buzzer saw the score at a Sharks 7 Lynx 3, victory for the Dumfries side enough to secure the league title with a game still to play. Peter Gapa was man of the match for Sharks.
After the game coach Martin Grubb commented, “Aberdeen away is a long trip and always a difficult place to play but we needed no extra motivation than getting the point needed to win the league title. We started well and moved the puck well and scored some nice goals to get ourselves in a nice lead and even though we took our foot off the gas in the third period we got the job done and the players deserve huge credit for staying focussed and winning the league.”
Sunday evening saw Sharks welcome Dundee Tigers to the ice bowl in their final regular SNL game of the season. In front of their appreciative fans Sharks again took an early lead, Viktor Nestrasil opening their account in the second minute of the game, his strike on the end of smart passing from Marcus Murdoch and Kieran Hair. Tigers played hard, and were rewarded after 7 minutes when Grant Reekie snuck the puck past Hepburn for the equaliser. Sharks retook the lead just after the 10 minute mark, Liam Stenton sending a neat Ruairi Lockerbie pass to the back of the net. There was back and forth play for the rest of the period, Tigers netminder Craig Mallinson under repeated attacks, but no more scoring by either team, and the end of the first period saw the score at Sharks 2 Tigers 1.
After some words from coaches Martin Grubb and Jamie Thomson the second period saw Sharks take to the ice on the front foot, having most of the possession and the play in the early part of the period. Tigers kept playing, their hard work and the heroics of Mallinson making it difficult for Sharks to convert their chances. At the halfway point of the game Hepburn made way for Russell in the Sharks net. Just after the 35 minute mark Sharks doubled their lead, a long-range Russell clearance to Peter Gapa neatly passed to Scott Henderson who sent the puck home. Less than a minute later Nestrasil stretched the gap further, his second goal of the game assisted by Iain Bowie and Murdoch. At the end of the second Sharks had a 4 goal to 1 lead.
The third period saw more end to end play, Sharks determined to keep their lead while Tigers battled to find a way through to goal. Despite hard work and numerous chances for both teams there was no scoring in the final stanza, and the final score was Sharks 4 Tigers 1, Viktor Nestrasil Sharks’ man of the match. The victory saw Sharks undefeated in the SNL, having won all of their 18 games.
Martin Grubb reflected, “Dundee Tigers are the most improved team in the league this year and we knew they would come and make things difficult for us and that proved to be the case.
We scored early but never fully got into our stride, and a mixture of good goaltending and poor finishing kept the game tight. The Tigers never stopped working and were well organised but we managed to stay disciplined in our systems and get the result that meant we had a perfect record for the season, and that is a great achievement regardless of the sport or league you play in so the players should be proud of that.”
Sharks are back in NIHL league action on Saturday night when they welcome Blackburn Hawks to the Ice Bowl, face off at the usual time of 7pm.
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