Barons muzzle Bulldogs threat

Bristol Street Motors Solihull Barons : 17
Bradford Bulldogs : 1

For what was billed by most to be a walkover - the Barons having yet to drop a point in the league, the Bulldogs yet to win one, the first half of the first period between the Bristol Street Motors Solihull Barons and the Bradford Bulldogs was tighter than many might have expected. Tight Bradford defences and a Barons offence struggling to find the final touch ensured the first ten minutes of the game remained scoreless.

The deadlock was broken shortly after the middle of the period, the Barons Jake Larkin firing in the opener as he raced down the right hand side of the ice. The lead was doubled shortly thereafter, Tom Soar firing a rocket of a slapshot from the left hand half boards for goal number two. A spell of 5 on 3 powerplay gave the Bulldogs a bit of hope of staying in the game, however the Yorkshire side failed to capitalise and it was Soar who rounded of the first period's scoring with his second and the Barons third goal just before the period end.

The second period continued in a similar manner, with the Barons in the ascendency and play almost entirely in the Bradford end but the Bulldogs put up a solid defensive performance belying their lowly league position. Goals would come and by the end of the second twenty minutes the Barons were eight goals to the good, Ed Eaton, Erik Bakalar, Rich Slater, Joe Henry and Niklas Ottosson on his return to the Solihull squad following a spell in the Elite league, all found the net for the Barons.

The final period saw the two lines of Bradford players tire while the Barons would get into full scoring flow. Of particular note was the Ottosson, Eaton, Soar forward line, responsible for four goals in the final period and which became visibly stronger as the game went on and they became reacquainted following the return of Ottosson. In addition to this line the Bradford net was also found by Erik Bakalar, Andy Whitehouse, Josh Bruce, Simon Harrison and Rob Eley with a cheeky backhand tap in from just outside the Bradford goal crease. Bradford would get a consolation goal courtesy of Corey Stones to leave the score 17 to 1.

The Barons have a busy weekend coming up. On Saturday they face the short trip to Telford to take on the Tigers in what is likely to be the trickiest tie of the season so far. While the Barons have won all their games in the season so far, the Tigers have only lost twice, one of these to Solihull early in the season. Since then Telford have grown as a team and the Barons will need to be on form to ensure their winning streak continues.

Sunday will see the Barons back on home ice for a big A45 derby, as the squad welcomes local rivals the Coventry NL Blaze to Solihull for the Barons last game before the seasonal break. With so much local pride at stake the Barons will be looking for a big crowd as they aim to round off 2015 with a Christmas Cracker. Face-off : 6pm.