Mixed fortunes for the Sharks
Written by author on October 21, 2015
Building Craftsmen Dumfries-sponsored Solway Sharks are in action once again at the Ice Bowl this Saturday as Whitley Warriors travel from north east England to south west Scotland for the NIHL North clash (faceoff 7pm).
The Sharks are still struggling for consistency in this season’s league competition, having lost on Saturday at home to Blackburn Hawks before defeating Sheffield Senators on the road on Sunday afternoon.
Saturday’s match at Dumfries Ice Bowl was the first home game for a month, the Sharks competing well with defending champions Blackburn for the first period without being able to find the net – trailing 1-0 at the first interval.
The visiting Hawks exploded for four goals without reply in the middle period including three in a 2:17 spell after half an hour. Solway were able to score twice in the final session – Craig Mitchell and Martin Cingel on target – but Blackburn also netted twice more for a final score of 2-7. The sides meet again at the Ice Bowl in Northern Cup action on 31 October.
On Sunday afternoon the Sharks travelled to Sheffield to take on the Senators. Martin Cingel opened the scoring after just 97 seconds and that was the first of six unanswered goals for Solway in a dominant first period. Ross Murray, Steven Moore, Duncan Speirs (2) and Cingel again were on target giving a 6-0 lead at the first break.
Sheffield were able to weather the storm in period two, despite another 17 goal attempts from Solway the Sharks could not add to their goal tally, while Sheffield scored once through Jack Dransfield.
The final stanza saw Craig Mitchell, Marc Fowley and Ross Murray light the lamp for a resounding win by 9-1 for the Sharks..
On Sunday night, Grubb said: “We played well enough in the first period and it was over as a contest after that.
“Sheffield battled hard and made it tough for us after that but we did what we needed to do. We know we need to continue to improve and try and get some consistency in our game and put a run of results together.”
photos from Solway Sharks
That run hopefully starts on Saturday as Whitley Warriors make their first trip to Dumfries of the season. Under new player-coach David Longstaff and featuring Canadian power forward Andre Payette, the Warriors have won six and drawn one of their seven games to date and are second in the NIHL North standings. Warriors defeated the Sharks on Tyneside in the season opener at the beginning of September.
By contrast, the Sharks have two wins from eight League games and sit in seventh place in the nine team division. The top four sides qualify for the end of season playoff competition.
Saturday’s game at Dumfries Ice Bowl faces off at 7pm with tickets on sale from Ice Bowl reception from 6pm.
