REPORT: MATCH WEEK 12

BILLINGHAM STARS home double header yielded 21 goals as the forward lines ran riot against Widnes Wild and Hull Jets in National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1 at the Forum at the weekend.

Once again suspensions and unavailability meant multiple changes to the Stars lineups for both games, Sam Dowd and Tom Wakefield both continuing on the third line instead of travelling with the N2 Buccaneers. Basement side Widnes made their second journey to Teesside in a fortnight on Saturday buoyed by an improved result against Whitley Warriors last Sunday and included new signing Matty Barlow in the squad.

Billingham were in no mood to show the Wild any mercy and made the gulf in class count from the start. A personally outstanding evening for captain Michael Elder began in the fourth minute when he opened the scoring, a feat he followed up three minutes later to double the lead. A rare foray forward saw Bailey Thomson pull a goal back in the tenth minute, but it was to be a false dawn, and the advantage was restored in the 13th minute with a solo effort from Tommy Spraggon. Leading goal scorer Iain Brown got in on the act less than two minutes later, then bagged his second a minute after that to wrap up a dominant first session and see the end of Widnes netminder Logan Reid, who gave way for Paul Maudsley.

The goals continued to flow in the middle period, starting with a natural hat trick from Elder in the opening 12 minutes to take his tally to five. Mikey Gilbert notched the Wild’s second in the 34th minute before Rolands Gritāns added his name to the score sheet a minute later. Brown made it double figures whilst completing his hat trick in the 37th minute.

There was no let-up in the third stanza, Gritāns with his second in the 42nd minute before Elder moved his dial to six on the night in the 47th minute. Brown scored season goal number 30 less than a minute later, followed by Chris Sykes in the 52nd minute and Elder with his seventh in the final minute to complete the Wild’s misery, 15-2 the final score.

Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was Michael Elder.

Stars Stats:

Michael Elder 7+4; Iain Brown 4+3; Rolands Gritāns 2+0; Chris Sykes 1+7; Tommy Spraggon 1+3; James Hellens 0+4; Lucas Dowdle 0+1

SOG: Mark Turnbull 23 (13 / 5 / 5)

Wild Stats:

Michael Gilbert 1+1; Bailey Thomson 1+0

SOG: Logan Reid 10; Paul Maudsley 46 (3 / 26 / 17)

Billingham were expecting a much tougher match the following evening as fourth-placed Hull came to the Forum on the back of two consecutive home wins over Deeside Dragons and Nottingham Lions. The Stars started at full speed, keeping their guests pinned into their defensive zone and giving netminder Brandon Stones plenty to do. It was very much against the run of play that the Jets opened the scoring just past the seven-minute mark, Connor Lewis adjudged to have struck the back bar with Billingham claiming the puck had in fact bounced off the crossbar without having entered the net. The home side kept their foot on the gas and were level in the 14th minute, Brown letting fly from the left dot. Three minutes later Callum Wilkinson got the go-ahead goal, roofing from close range to beat Stones, then he bagged his second with just 11 seconds left before the buzzer to give the hosts a small cushion at the break.

The second period saw the Stars make more of the chances they were creating. Brown scored the best of the bunch in the 26th minute with a shot under the bar from just inside the blue line. A minute later and Gritāns tapped in the fifth after an Elder effort rung the crossbar. Elder himself made the game safe in the 35th minute when he delayed his shot in front of goal until Stones had committed before shooting over him.

The final session was much more closely fought as the Jets steeped up their game. Jacob Hammond in between the Stars pipes found himself called into action far more whilst at the other end Stones stood firm as the two sides played out a goalless twenty for a 6-1 final score.

Man-of-the-Match for Billingham was Callum Wilkinson.

Stars Stats:

Callum Wilkinson 2+1; Iain Brown 2+0; Michael Elder 1+1; Rolands Gritāns 1+0; Tommy Spraggon 0+2; Chris Sykes 0+2; Joe Walls 0+1; James Hellens 0+1; Joe Dowdle 0+1

SOG: Jacob Hammond 35 (7 / 9 / 19)

Jets Stats:

Connor Lewis 1+0; Scott Morris 0+1; Kieran Beach 0+1

SOG: Brandon Stones 58 (14 / 29 / 15)

Weekend Results:

NIHL N1 Saturday:

🗡️ Sheffield Scimitars 3️⃣ - 4️⃣ Solihull Barons ⚜️

💫 Billingham Stars 1️⃣5️⃣ - 2️⃣ Widnes Wild 🐾

✈️ Hull Jets 5️⃣ - 1️⃣ Nottingham Lions 🦁

NIHL N1 Sunday:

🏹 Whitley Warriors 1️⃣2️⃣ - 2️⃣ Deeside Dragons 🐉

💫 Billingham Stars 6️⃣ - 1️⃣ Hull Jets ✈️

⚜️ Solihull Barons 3️⃣ - 8️⃣ Blackburn Hawks 🦅

🐾 Widnes Wild 2️⃣ - 5️⃣ Sheffield Scimitars 🗡️

⚔️ Leeds Knights 2 1️⃣ - 7️⃣ Nottingham Lions 🦁

Stars Stats:

Wild Stats:

Stars Stats:

Jets Stats:

Weekend Results:

NIHL N1 Saturday:

NIHL N1 Sunday:

PREVIEW: MATCH WEEK 13

REPORT: MATCH WEEK 11

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