This weekend the Magnox Ltd. Solway Sharks are on their travels once more with road trips to Altincham to play the Manchester Minotaurs on Saturday and to Telford on Sunday to face the improving Titans. As a thank you to our supporters the Sharks are offering twenty free places to fans on Saturday’s bus (you only pay for rink entry). If you have not already booked you place contact us through our Facebook page or Twitter feed. Last Saturday’s thrilling one-nil win over title rivals the Blackburn Hawks puts the Sharks on thirty-one points, we now need just ten more to ensure that the League Championship trophy will remain in Dumfries for another year. The earliest that the Sharks could seal the title would be at Billingham on Sunday the 16th of February. A four point weekend would put the Sharks very much within touching distance of the title so why not come along, join in the fun and support the team on the road.
Last Saturday evening the Blackburn Hawks rolled into the Shark Tank with their confidence very much on a high after recording no less than nine victories in a row. However, after a thrilling match, where play constantly swung from end to end, the home side eventually prevailed to consolidate their position at the top of the table when Slovakian forward Pavol Melichercik scored the winning goal with just five minutes remaining.
From the opening face-off the visitors gained possession and might have opened the scoring in the first thirty seconds when Jared Owen found himself free eight yards from goal but thankfully he pulled his shot wide of the target. Setting a pattern that was to be continuous throughout the match Solway regained possession and swept into attack with Iain Bowie and Pavol Melichercik both being denied by netminder Daniel Brittle in quick succession. As supporters from both camps watched for a pattern to develop it quickly became apparent that this was the pattern that the game was to follow throughout. Both the Hawks and the Sharks had come to the rink with an open, attacking game plan. This is not to detract from the defensive efforts of either side as, while they were often stretched by their opposing forwards, they worked hard to provide as much cover as possible to their respective netminders.
As the twelve minute mark approached Craig Thurston worked hard on the boards to create a shooting opportunity for Iain Bowie but with Brittle well placed the Sharks marksman had to aim for the smallest of gaps by the post and pushed his shot just wide. For the visitors Jake Nurse was involved in most of the Hawks best moves but he found that Solway netminder Gary Russell, like his opposite number, was at the top of his game and the match remained scoreless. With five minutes remaining in the first session a flowing move saw another shooting opportunity fall to Iain Bowie. From the left-hand face-off circle he sent a sweet wrist shot across the face of goal and over the netminders’ despairing glove only to see the puck rebound to safety from the goalpost.
The second period began at the same tempo as the first and the industry of Mark Gallagher created an opening for Juraj Senko to get forward and fire powerfully on target but once more Daniel Brittle was on top form and swept across his goal to make a tremendous block. Not to be out done the visitors broke from defence at speed which allowed Jake Nurse to shoot from close range only to be denied by and equally good save from Gary Russell. Both teams continued to show their attacking flair as play constantly swung from end to end with both teams having spells where they looked to have the momentum swinging their way. However, it says much for the determination and team spirit within both camps that neither side could dominate for any prolonged spells and it was solely down to the brilliance of netminders Gary Russell and Daniel Brittle that this game was not a goal fest as they denied the opposing forwards time after time with a string of superb saves.
As the supporters waited for the final period to begin they must have wondered if the two teams could possibly maintain the pace and intensity of play that had been witnessed so far. They need not have worried. To the credit of both the Hawks and Sharks both teams went for the win with total commitment and if anything raised the standard of their play even further. With two minutes of the period gone Brittle was beaten for the second time in the game when Bob Chalmers slipped a shot past him from close range but once more the goal frame came to the keepers aid. As the session progressed the home side began to take a slightly greater share of possession and territory but still there was little to separate them and the Hawks always looked dangerous when in possession. A draw was looking an increasingly likely possibility but no-one had told the players as they continued to fight for every loose puck.
With five minutes remaining Craig Thurston collected an Alan Crane pass on the right and chased the puck around behind the Blackburn goal. Regaining control he looked up and spotted Pavol Melichercik inside and fed the puck though a Hawks defenders legs. Collecting the puck the Slovakian forward charged across the face of goal and placed his shot beyond the netminders despairing dive. The visitors went straight onto the offensive in search of an equaliser and Gary Russell had to make several excellent saves, most notably from David Meikle and Adam Brittle as the popular keeper maintained his shut-out. In the stands the seconds flowed like hours for the Sharks supporters but time did pass and eventually the hooter sounded to signal victory for the Dumfries side.
The Sharks may have taken the points from this game but the real winners were ice hockey and the supporters of both sides who witnessed a tremendous game that was a credit to both sets of players and to the attacking instincts of coaches Martin Grubb and Jared Owen. Furthermore it was an indication of the strides that all the teams in the league have made to improve the standard of play and entertainment value in recent years and make many NIHL North games some of the most exciting games in the country.
Scoring statistics for the Sharks were as follows: Pavol Melichercik one goals and no assists, Alan Crane and Craig Thurston both 0+1. Gary Russell in the Solway goal saved all thirty-seven shots that he faced. The Man of the Match Awards were presented to the two tremendous netminders, Gary Russell (100% save percentage) for the home side and to Daniel Brittle (97.44% save percentage) for the visitors.
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