Solihull Barons vs The Dragons

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Recap

Tom Soar goes in on goal (Steve Crampton)
Tom Soar goes in on goal (Steve Crampton)

Airport Placements Limited Solihull Barons : 10
The Dragons : 7

In what was the game of the season so far, the Airport Placements Limited Solihull Barons supporters who slapped their £8 entrance money on the counter at the Solihull rink on Sunday got their money’s worth and more, with 17 goals, a comeback from a 4-0 deficit and result which could have gone either way with five minutes to go.

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Ed Eaton wrestles for the puck (Steve Crampton)

Six minutes into the first period it would be the visitors who would take the lead, an attempted Barons defensive zone clearance coming to Peter Gazda guarding blue line who whistled the puck in from the point. A couple of minutes later and the Dragons lead would be doubled, Scott McKenzie breaking away with his shot only partly slowed by Sam Hewitt in the Barons goal. A further two goals for the visitors would follow in quick succession to see the Barons in the unfamiliar territory of being four goals down inside the first period.

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Geoff Wigglesworth and Josh Bruce battle along the boards (Steve Crampton)

A time-out was called by Barons coach Perry Doyle which steadied the Solihull ship and a few minutes later a lofted pass from behind the net by Tomas Janak would be collected by Matt Maurice for Solihull’s opener, while a further goal would be pegged back courtesy of Ryan Selwood.

Whitehouse, Rogers and Crowe celebrate (Steve Crampton)
Whitehouse, Rogers and Crowe celebrate (Steve Crampton)

The second period would be marked out by a number of early goals, two for the Barons – Richard Crowe and Tomas Janak finding the net for Solihull. It would however fall to Dave Rogers to bring things even with a blistering shot from the point. The even scoreline prove to be short-lived with Scott McKenzie poking the puck under Sam Hewitt to once again bring the advantage to the visitors. The Barons however would continue to counter, Tom Soar forcing the puck through from short range, while Elliott Farrell would score his first goal in a Barons shirt with 30 seconds of the period remaining to put Solihull in front for the first time in the evening.

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Matt Maurice gets the go-ahead goal (Steve Crampton)

By midway through the final period the scoreline had been evened out to 7 goals apiece, as Ryan Kemp brought the visitors back on par. With the sides closely matched going into the final minutes of the game, the tension was racked up, each attack by either side offering the possibility of a winner but any errors likely to be punished on the counter. It would be the Barons who would however put the most into the final five minutes with a flurry of three goals, Matt Maurice taking the lead, Richard Slater consolidating and Josh Bruce rounding things off with an empty net goal much to the relief and joy of the home support.

Rich Slater enjoys his goal which sealed things up for the Barons (Steve Crampton)
Rich Slater enjoys his goal which sealed things up for the Barons (Steve Crampton)

After the excitement of this game the Barons have a full weekend to look forward to. On Saturday they make the short trip north to take on local Midlands rivals the Telford Tigers before welcoming Sheffield based side the Sutton Sting to Solihull for Sunday’s clash. Face-off 6:00pm.

(Steve Crampton)
(Steve Crampton)

Barons MoM : Matt Maurice

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(Steve Crampton)

Dragons MoM : Geoff Wigglesworth

gamesheet

Elsewhere in the League

Whitley Warriors 6 : 0 Blackburn Hawks
Telford Tigers 5 : 6 Sutton Sting

Details

Date Time League Season
October 23, 2016 6:00 pm Moralee Division 2016/17

Results

Team1st2nd3rdT
Solihull Barons271010
Deeside Dragons4677

Solihull Barons

# Player Position G A PIM SA GA SV
4Dave RogersDefence104000
6Richard CroweDefence100000
7Joe HenryOffence024000
8Ryan SelwoodDefence100000
11Edward EatonOffence002000
14Tomas JanakDefence122000
15Matt MauriceOffence200000
16Andy WhitehouseOffence020000
17Richard SlaterOffence110000
21Dale WhiteDefence000000
22Phil KnightDefence010000
27Kieran PappsDefence000000
31Sam HewittGoalie00041734
40Josh BruceOffence122000
44Elliot FarrellOffence110000
77Jacob SmithDefence000000
79Tom SoarOffence110000
 Total 10121441734

Deeside Dragons

Position G A PIM SA GA SV
 7101047938

Venue

Planet Ice Solihull Ice Rink
Hobs Moat Rd, Solihull B92 8JN