Warriors 1 beat Sheffield Blazers
On Saturday night Warriors 1 headed south to face the Sheffield Blazers at IceSheffield.
The last time the two teams met the Warriors were victorious 16-7, and they were looking for a similar performance in the Steel City. They’d have to do it without a number of regular players as captain Chris Giles, assistant captain Sam Cromack, Raivis Voitans, Jacob King, Rich Williams, and Wes Nixon were all unavailable.
The Warriors struck first with a goal from Niks Kamaldins after less than three minutes, and by 5:29 they were up 4-0, with Mitch White, Lewis Astill, and Adrian Garcia each adding to the lead. However, with the Warriors wasting too many opportunities, the Blazers rallied with two goals to bring the score to 4-2 at the break.
The second period saw the Blazers really come back into the game, winning the period 3-2, and bringing the score to within a single goal. The Warriors goals were scored by Dan Zylinski and a second from Adrian Garcia. However, Warriors coach Alex Jones was not happy with the team’s showing in the period and challenged them to be much better in the third.
The third period started with Leeds leading 6-5, and there was a definite response to coach Jones’ message as they shut-out the Blazers and added four goals of their own to skate off with a 10-5 victory. Mitch White and Dan Zylinski both scored their second goals of the night, and Niku Ghaemi and Ash Pryce rounded out the scoring.
Jordan Batty was awarded the Player of the Match by the Blazers following a dependable display on the Warriors blue line, and Warriors 2 captain Niku Ghaemi was the winner of the Captain’s helmet with an impressive all-round performance and his first goal for Warriors 1. Goalie Ben Briggs also deserves a mention with a solid outing between the pipes.
Overall a good win, and the first on the road for the Warriors club. The real challenge now for this talented team is to put in a full 60-minute performance.
Player stats:
Mitch White 2+3
Adrian Garcia 2+1
Dan Zylinski 2+1
Niks Kamaldins 1+0
Lewis Astill 1+0
Niiku Ghaemi 1+0
Ash Pryce 1+0
Andy Giles 0+2
Jordan Batty 0+1
Jordan Batty
Player of the game - awarded by the Blazers
Niku Ghaemi
Captain’s player of the game
