The Hercules Ice Hockey Apparel sponsored Solway Sharks welcomed the Bristol Pitbulls to the Shark Tank in the first of a home double header on Saturday night.
The home side opened the scoring when Craig Peacock fired a pass to Kell Beattie, and
Beattie’s shot from the blue line took a tip off Caly Robertson’s stick in front and found a way past Ben Norton in the Pitbulls net. Bari McKenzie pulled one back for Bristol as he was first to react to a shot that deflected high off Sharks netminder Curtis Warburton. Sharks found themselves back in front after great pressure from Beattie resulted in a turnover to Peacock who made no mistake as he fired home to give the sharks a 2-1 lead at the end of first.
Sharks added a third goal early in the second when John Dunbar converted in tight after a
fine passing play between Peacock and Roberston. The visitors pulled one back on the
power play when Brennan Feasey fired from a close angle into the top corner. The home
side added a 4th with defenseman Olivier Arseneau getting onto the end of a deflected Ross Murray pass and fired a shot past Norton into the top corner to give the sharks a 4-2 lead at the end of the second period.
The Pitbulls got off to a great start to the third period when Juha Lindgren found the net.
Sharks restored their two goal advantage when Dunbar gloved down an attempted
clearance and found a pass to Robertson out in front of the goal, who with a delicate touch
in-front found enough to force it past Norton. Sam Smith gave the Pitbulls a glimmer of hope when he converted late. Right as time was about to expire, Nolan Gardiner fired a puck from neutral ice into an empty Pitbulls net to add the cherry on top and seal a 6-4 victory for the Hercules Ice Hockey Apparel sponsored Solway Sharks.
Man of the Match
Solway Sharks #92 Caly Robertson
Bristol Pitbulls #88 Juha Lindgren
Sharks faced off against the Pitbulls for the second time in two nights on Sunday afternoon,
looking for a repeat of the night before. Kian Shevlin and Kyle Carruth entered the Sharks
line-up as well as a goaltending adjustment as Calum Hepburn got the start in net.
The home side started off strong with a great finish by Gardiner after Peacock found him
backdoor on the Powerplay. Shortly after, It was Dunbar converting on another brilliant pass from Peacock to put the Sharks up by two. Sharks found a third, this time Mason Alderson latched onto a deflected puck in front of Norton and converted from close range.
The Sharks would see the three goal lead diminish after Feasey was able to jump on a loose puck and find the back of the net. Feasey again not long after converted on a power play to bring the Pitbulls within one goal heading into the break.
In the third period the Pitbulls would convert on a five on three powerplay with Bailey
Harewood finding some space in tight and elevating the puck over Hepburn to tie the game. After Alderson put the pressure on McKenzie and forced him into his own net, he then lifted the puck over the two Pitbulls to restore the Sharks lead. With a minute to go, Pitbulls pulled Norton for the extra skater but the Sharks Robertson was able to block a pass on the blue line, control the puck and slot home into an empty netter to seal a 5-3 victory for the Sharks.
Man of the Match
Bristol Pitbulls #77 Bayley Harewood
Solway Sharks #71 Craig Peacock.
Caly Robertson had this to say after reflecting on an important two wins at home,
“I thought the boys battled hard both nights to get over the line and get the four points,
hopefully we can carry it over and keep pushing up the table to secure the playoffs as I
believe the group we have can do something special this year.”Mason Alderson shared his thoughts on the exciting weekend,
“I think the whole locker room understood how big 4 points would mean to us climbing the table, and it showed from puck drop to the last whistle. It was a huge weekend for both of our goalies, getting a win each just goes to show the trust and expectation within the team from top to bottom as we start making our way into the second half of the season.”
