Solway Sharks Announce Return of Captain Mark Gallagher

The Solway Sharks are delighted to announce the return of club captain Mark Gallagher for the upcoming 2013-14 season. Mark is the long serving Captain and is very popular amongst the players and fans alike and the club are very happy that Mark will returning to lead the team this year as they prepare to defend the league and cup crowns that he lifted.

The 27 year old forward is a product of the Dumfries Junior Development system and has played his entire career in Dumfries. He has represented Scotland on numerous occasions including travelling to Sweden under current coach, Martin Grubb. Mark has contributed greatly to the Sharks successes and since the Sharks joined the English League he has scored 149 points in 56 league games.

Mark was more than happy to finally agree to return and commented “I am delighted to have re-signed with the Sharks. Having been here for many years through the successes and the hard times I wanted to make sure I was ready to commit for another season. We have to rebuild again and having been part of this several times before I wanted to ensure I was going to make the contribution I have come to expect of myself and my team. After talking to Martin and with the players we have brought in I am confident and excited about the new season. I feel we can more than compete and have high hopes of retaining our titles and would like to add the playoff title to our collection after it sadly eluded us last year”.

Head Coach Martin Grubb was extremely happy to have finally secured his captains signature and said “Mark is one of the first players I try to sign every year as he is the natural leader of our team and my Captain and he has everyone’s respect due to the person he is. It has taken a little longer this year to persuade Mark to return but I believe the decision to come back is one we both benefit from and both the players and I are very happy he is back. He is one of the hardest working players in the league and he has proven over the years that he can form a partnership with anyone and help them contribute to the team as well as maintaining his own high standards. When I looked at my roster I was always desperate to sign Mark as we would hugely miss what he brings to the team and he will be as important as ever this year as we rebuild and try to better last season. We have had several long chats and going out of the playoffs affected us both and together I am confident we will lead the team to further silverware”

Mark will return in his familiar number 10 shirt and has been looking sharp in practice as the countdown to the season begins. The line-up just wouldn’t have looked the same without our Captain and we are all eagerly anticipating the teams return to the ice this weekend as the pre-season starts.

Your first chance to see all our new (and old) faces comes this Saturday evening at Dumfries Ice Bowl when the Sharks take on the Bristol Pitbulls at 7pm in the first of our pre-season challenge games. Bristol play in the NIHL South Division 2 and are one of the favourites for promotion and their pre-season tour shows how serious they are to attain that aim so they will provide stiff opposition for the Sharks.

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