Warriors 1 dazzled by the North Stars
On Sunday 21st July our Warriors 1 team travelled to Nottingham to take on the North Stars in their final challenge game of the season.
This was the Warriors final game in season 2023-24 as we approach the August break and also the second meeting between the two teams, as they previously battled out a 9-9 draw at Planet Ice in April.
The Warriors were unbeaten in challenge games this season, but due to a lack of numbers (and important players) they expected this to be their toughest test yet.
The Warriors were without :
Lewis Pickering (NM), Dylan Noonan, Sam Cromack, Sam Forrester, Tyler Heming, Ollie Gannon, Jamie Farrar, Jordan Batty, Chris Preston and Wes Nixon.
Dressed players
Ben Briggs (NM), Chris Giles (C), Andy Giles (A), Adam Gibbons, Ellen Gallimore, Tom Mallon, Chris Blashko, Mitch White, Niku Ghaemi, Will Gibbons, Niks Kamaldins, Simon Morrow and Dzintars Jonuss.
1st period
Before the Warriors could get a foothold in the game they were down 1-0. The North Stars first shot found its way into the goal after 14 seconds. Not an ideal start to the game. However, the Warriors kept their heads up and created some good chances of their own, but were often on the backfoot - trying to deal with the speed of the North Stars forwards.
Unfortunately, they succumbed on multiple occasions and were 3-0 down within the first 6 minutes. Undeterred, the Warriors kept trying to make the breakthrough and it eventually came when Dzintars Jonuss bagged his first Warriors 1 goal after 8 minutes, assisted by Andy Giles.
But the North Stars smelt blood and continued to dominate the game, increasing their lead to 4-1 on 11 minutes. In the following minute, the Warriors picked up a minor penalty for high-sticking which lead to the North Stars scoring a power play goal. It was now 5-1 to the hosts.
The Warriors needed to stop the bleeding to make a game of it. Thankfully, within 30 seconds of the restart the Warriors reduced the deficit to 5-2 after Will Gibbons converted from a Mitch White assist.
Whilst the team were hoping this might be the start of a comeback, the North Stars had other ideas. Within another 20 seconds of the face-off the hosts extended their lead to 6-2. After 15 minutes the Warriors picked up a minor penalty for cross-checking and conceded another goal from the subsequent North Stars powerplay. It was now 7-2 to the hosts.
It soon became clear the officials were calling minor penalties for everything, as the Warriors picked up their third minor penalty of the period after 16 minutes. This resulted in another North Stars goal, making it 8-2.
Despite this, the Warriors were determined to avoid a humiliation, and managed to score a third goal in the final minute of the period. Mitch White scoring from a Simon Morrow assist.
The period closed with the Warriors 5 goals down. They had picked up 3 x minor penalties and the hosts capitalised each time.
North Stars 8 Warriors 3
2nd period
The team were disappointed in their first period performance and wanted to do themselves justice in the second period. With the pep-talk complete, the team hit the ice again and put on a much improved display throughout the middle period. The Warriors were limiting the number of scoring opportunities for the hosts and carving out some opportunities of their own.
Despite the increased intensity and physicality in the second period, the Warriors only picked up one minor penalty from the officials and managed to kill off the North Star powerplay.
The hosts picked up 2 minor penalties in the 26th minute, meaning the Warriors had a 5 on 3 advantage for over a minute. Unfortunately they couldn’t convert and to make matters worse, the hosts’ star player carried the puck up the ice to score a short-handed goal. It was now 9-3 to the North Stars.
The period ended with the hosts winning it 1-0. It had been a much improved defensive display from the Warriors but it was a shame they couldn’t get past the North Stars goalie to reduce the deficit.
North Stars 9 Warriors 3
3rd period
Going into the final period, the Warriors felt that if they could score a couple of unanswered goals, the hosts might panic and become less effective. But, it was difficult to make this happen because the officials were consistently throwing Warriors players into the penalty box for minor infringements, such as - calling a tripping offense from a good check etc. Also, one of our players was wiped out by a North Stars player in the middle of the ice after the puck had gone, but the officials didn’t call it.
The Warriors picked up 8 minutes of minor penalties for tripping, boarding and roughing (x2) which made it difficult for them to come back into the game. But hats off to the team - despite playing almost half the period short-handed, they only gave up one goal, on 47 minutes.
So the final period ended in the same way as the second - 1-0 to the hosts. The Warriors were left to rue their first period performance - as this was where the game was lost. But, the team rallied in the second and third periods and performed well despite being hampered by soft penalties and the impact of being low of numbers.
Final score:
North Stars 10 Warriors 3
Points scorers :
Mitch White 1+0
Will Gibbons 1+0
Dzintars Jonuss 1+0
Andy Giles 0+1
Chris Giles
Player of the game
Niku Ghaemi
Captain’s POTG
The Player of the Game for the Warriors, as selected by the North Stars, went to Captain, Chris Giles and the helmet went to Niku Ghaemi.
Thanks to the North Stars for a good game of hockey! We hope to play you again soon!
And that’s a wrap for our first team’s 2023-24 season! Our first team played 8 games during the season, scoring 58 goals along the way.
The team only lost one game. They won 6 games and the other game had to be stopped after 2 periods due to ice problems.
They reached the final of the Kingston Cobras Tournament which included some of the top recreational teams in the UK, beating favourites Samurai in the semi-final.
It’s been a good season overall. Leeds Warriors IHC are a known force in the UK recreational ice hockey world and this season has put the club on the map. Especially when also considering what the second team have achieved.
As a club, we can be proud of what we have accomplished in this 2023-24 season. See you next season!
We are Warriors ♡
2023-24 season points scorers (excluding tournaments) and games played (GP) :
(GP 7) Mitch White 17+12
(GP 8) Andy Giles 1+15
(GP 4) Dylan Noonan 6+4
(GP 6) Wes Nixon 5+4
(GP 5) Sam Cromack 5+3
(GP 8) Niku Ghaemi 4+3
(GP 4) Ash Pryce 4+3
(GP 7) Chris Giles 1+5
(GP 1) Nathan Clegg 2+2
(GP 8) Niks Kamaldins 2+2
(GP 6) Simon Morrow 2+2
(GP 5) Chris Preston 1+3
(GP 6) Will Gibbons 2+1
(GP 7) Tyler Heming 2+1
(GP 4) Dzintars Jonuss 1+1
(GP 7) Chris Blaschko 1+2
(GP 2) Ollie Gannon 1+1
(GP 8) Tom Mallon 1+1
(GP 7) Sam Forrester 0+2
(GP 5) Ellen Gallimore 0+1
(GP 8) Adam Gibbons 0+1
2023-24 season points scorers (including tournaments)
Mitch White 22+16
Andy Giles 3+20
Dylan Noonan 8+6
Sam Cromack 6+3
Wes Nixon 5+4
Ollie Gannon 4+5
Niku Ghaemi 4+3
Niks Kamaldins 4+3
Ash Pryce 4+3
Sam Forrester 2+4
Chris Giles 1+5
Nathan Clegg 2+2
Chris Preston 1+3
Tyler Heming 2+1
Simon Morrow 2+1
Chris Blaschko 1+2
Will Gibbons 3+2
Tom Mallon 2+1
Jordan Battty 0+3
Ellen Gallimore 0+1
Adam Gibbons 0+1
