Swindon Wildcats 6 Solway Sharks 2
Solway Sharks faced Swindon Wildcats in their second road game on the bounce on Saturday, taking a 6-2 defeat, despite leading by two goals after the opening 20 minutes.
The Sharks dominated early, firing shots at Marr through Gardiner, however, Danskin picked up a tripping penalty at 2.30 giving the Wildcats an early opportunity to capitalise. The Sharks quickly returned to the attack and a tip-in by Gardiner following the snipe on the blue line from Stenton put the visitors ahead at 6.46.
Solway’s lead was later doubled as Nell’s tripping call allowed Gardiner to fire a one-timer over Marr’s shoulder after the feed from Stenton again on the blue line. The Sharks continued to apply the pressure, but Swindon finally found their feet and prevented the visitors extending their lead for the remainder of the opening period.
Swindon were determined to claw back a goal early in the middle frame; however, Solway displayed an excellent defensive performance as Marr made multiple saves in quick succession to retain the lead for his side. Neither side could find a way past the Marr brothers for over half of the second period, but the hosts finally broke the deadlock at 32.30 through Nell who fired the puck top-corner, assisted by Malasinski and Plews to post the score at 1-2.
The Wildcats stepped up their offensive play, allowing Canadian import Bricknall to equalise at 36.26 after the feed from Plews who picked up his second assist of the evening. Solway found themselves a man short in the closing minutes of the second period as captain Stenton was called for boarding Jones at 38.28. Seconds later, Anderson picked up an elbowing penalty, leaving the Sharks 3on5 momentarily. Swindon capitalised on the opportunity as Nell rifled the puck past Marr at 39.39 to give the hosts the lead heading into the final period.
The Wildcats wasted no time and extended their lead to 4-2 at 40.26 thanks to a one-timer by Jones on the powerplay. The Sharks quickly looked to answer back which resulted in Bradley picking up a tripping call at 45.55, however, Solway failed to punish the Wildcats. Despite their multiple efforts through Gardiner, Dunbar and Alderson, Marr made the stops between the pipes for the hosts allowing them to clench onto their lead.
The Swindon captain, Bullas was then handed a hooking penalty at 52.23 giving the visitors another power-play opportunity, although it was the Wildcats who picked up a short-handed marker at 53.38 as Nell claimed his hat-trick goal. Swindon found themselves a player short yet again at 57.00 after Smith caught Young with a high stick and Martin Grubb opted to pull Marr for a 6on4 advantage. However, Nell fired the puck from the neutral zone into the empty net at 57.36 to secure a 6-2 victory for the Wildcats after a slow start.
MVPs were awarded to Solway captain, Stenton following both a strong defensive performance and claiming two assists. Meanwhile, Plews claimed the award for the Wildcats after picking up two assists on the opening Swindon goals.
Solway Sharks 3 Hull Seahawks 4
On Sunday, the Sharks faced Hull Seahawks in the Shark Tank for their second game in as many days, taking a narrow 3-4 defeat to the visitors after sudden death penalty shots.
The Sharks won the opening face-off and immediately turned onto the attack causing Bruton to pick up a tripping penalty inside the first minute at 00.30, however, the hosts failed to punish Hull early. Solway soon set the tone for an exhilarating match-up after Dunbar sniped the puck from the blue line on the left wing over Zimozdra’s shoulder at 4.56 to hand his side the lead.
The Seahawks were eager to answer back and claimed more possession of the puck in the second half of the period, firing several shots on Marr who had answers for them all. Hull’s captain then led by example at 12.42 with a shot that snuck past Marr to level the game to 1-1. The visitors upheld their offensive pressure for multiple minutes, but Marr kept them at bay as he matched their efforts. Although, a low shot from Bonner slid past the goal line at 19.15 to give the Seahawks an advantage heading into the middle frame.
Both sides returned for the second period eager to add to the scoreline which resulted in numerous tense battles in the neutral zone and a penalty for each team but neither could capitalise on the opportunities. Zimozdra caused numerous problems for the Sharks as he prevented every shot which came his way during the first half of the period. However, Solway’s top-points scorer found a way past the Hull netminder soon after as he tipped the puck over Zimodzra’s shoulder at 30.35, following the shot from Robertson.
Tensions flared in the final moments of the second period as ex-shark McGill landed a hit on Young in the Seahawks zone, which saw him receive a 5+game penalty for checking from behind at 37.14. This then handed the Sharks a five minute powerplay opportunity to put themselves ahead once again.
Despite numerous efforts from the firepower of the forwards, Solway failed to find the go-ahead goal during the Seahawks penalty kill, maintaining a 2-2 scoreline. Both sides sent a flurry of shots into the respective zones, but neither netminder allowed rubber past them. After almost 20 minutes of goal-less hockey, Hull claimed the breakthrough goal after Hewitt slotted the puck past Marr following a feed on the left wing by Haywood.
The Seahawks landed themselves on the penalty-kill once more at 53.17 as Jones sat two minutes for interference. Sharks were clinical on the man advantage as Gardiner claimed his second goal of the evening after collecting the loose puck and firing over Zimozdra’s pads, following a major scramble in the Hull crease at 54.15. Solway landed themselves an opportunity to clench a game-winning goal at 59.12 as Bonner was called for slashing, however, the buzzer sounded before they could punish the Seahawks, forcing the game into overtime.
The Sharks dominated the puck through Dunbar and Arseneau during the 4on3 period of overtime, but they failed to fire it past Zimozdra to clench the win. Meanwhile, Svec pinged the puck the wrong side of the pipes for the Seahawks, taking the game into penalty shots.
Both Kerr and Chamberlain found the back of the net during the first round of five penalty shots, resulting in a sudden death shootout. After seven turns of penalty shots, Canadian import Sobchak clenched the extra point for the Hull Seahawks after firing the puck into the bottom right slot of Marr’s goal.
MVPs were awarded to Jordan Marr who displayed a superb performance between the pipes for Solway across the entirety of the game. Meanwhile, Lee Bonner claimed the title for the Hull Seahawks following his late first period goal.
The Sharks are back at home this Saturday when they face-off against the Telford Tigers. Doors open at 5.30 pm and puck drops at 7pm. Tickets from https://sharksihc.com/tickets/ or in person at Dumfries Ice Bowl.