SOLWAY Sharks remain in with a chance of reaching the NIHL play-offs following a mixed round of results last weekend.
A strong start in the opening moments last Saturday in Dumfries helped Solway to a 7-4 victory, despite Sheffield clawing back the scoreline to 5-4 early in the final frame.
Solway scored four in a dominant opening period. Caly Robertson fired over Ben Norton’s pad after a brief scramble at 2:55.
Kell Beattie soon doubled the advantage as he fired a rocket of a one-timer from the slot after the thread from Bailey Thomson at 3:47.
Two minutes later Robertson bagged his second of the game on the rebound attempt at 5:58 to send Solway three goals clear.
Late in the period, Solway capitalised on the 5-on-3 play as Beattie fired his second one-timer of the evening on one-knee past Norton, extending the lead to four goals.
The Steeldogs returned for the second period with visible intent to reduce the deficit.
However, a connection between the Canadian forwards for Solway saw the hosts go five goals clear, after Nolan Gardiner tipped John Dunbar’s initial shot over Norton’s blocker at 24:31.
But, soon after, a fourth penalty kill in quick succession for the Sharks proved too much to overcome as Elmeri Hällfors deflected the puck past Jordan Marr after the initial strike from Ivan Björkly-Nordström at 38:35.
The final penalty of the period was handed to Gardiner at 39:13, which allowed Sheffield to reduce the deficit further through #8 Walker Sommer.
Early in the third period Hällfors fired a one-timer to put Sheffield just two goals behind.
And just eight seconds later, Brady Doxey fired low under Marr’s five-hole to make it four unanswered goals for the Steeldogs.
However, Solway’s youngest Shark, Thomson soon claimed a break, deking past the d-man to slot the puck five-hole under Norton at 50:53.
And late on Robertson secured victory as he fired Solway’s seventh and his hat-trick goal at 57:22 with a lovely solo finish.
Solway travelled South to face the Leeds Knights on Sunday in search of a four-point weekend. However, the hosts claimed the NIHL title for the third consecutive season with a 4-2 victory, despite the Sharks leading 0-1 after 20 minutes.
Both sides created chances in the opening period, forcing play end-to-end yet Sharks had arguably the better opportunities through their first line of Dunbar, Gardiner and Robertson.
After maintaining possession on the powerplay, Dunbar broke down the right wing to deke past the defence and fire top-corner at 12:24.
Solway aimed to double their lead early in the second period, yet the forwards were denied on each occasion by Sam Gospel for the Knights.
Leeds soon equalised through Matt Bissonnette after a low shot from the crease at 29:49.
Momentum shifted in favour of the Knights, resulting in Mac Howlett claiming the lead with a strong shot over Marr’s shoulder at 31:28.
Leeds capitalised on the powerplay via a wrap-around from Matt Haywood, assisted by Jordan Buesa at 36:38 to extend the lead to 3-1.
The Knights were relentless from the opening face-off of the final frame, testing Marr early but he matched their efforts successfully. After a battle to retain the puck in the zone, Bow Neely fired and sent the puck wide of Marr after traffic in the crease to send Leeds three goals clear after 42:31 of play.
A penalty flipped momentum for Solway, allowing Thomson to slot the rebound from Gardiner’s initial shot under Gospel’s five-hole at 56:50.
Solway return to the Shark Tank this Saturday, March 22, for their final home game of the season against the Milton Keynes Lightning.
