Warriors 1 beat Cleveland Comets in NRHC opener
On Saturday 10th December, our Warriors 1 team welcomed the Cleveland Comets to Planet Ice, for their NRHC (Northern Recreational Hockey Cup) season opener.
This was the Comets’ second game of their campaign, having already beaten Sheffield Blazers.
1st period
The Warriors were keen to set a high tempo from the start - and this translated into a 4 goal lead by the 7th minute.
The first goal came from Raivis Voitans - assisted by player coach, Alex Jones. With Jones scoring the second himself - assisted by Wes Nixon.
The third goal came from Sam Forrester, assisted by Sam Cromack and Andy Giles - and the fourth was netted by Mitch White from a Niks Kamaldins assist.
The Comets replied with two unassisted goals from Andrew Serrell and Captain Peter Johnson, making it 4-2 to Warriors.
Warriors’ Raivis Voitans scored his second of the period from a Wes Nixon assist and this was followed by the Warriors sixth goal, scored by Ash Pryce - assisted by Mitch White.
The final goal of the period was scored by Comets - Andrew Serrell hitting the net from a Daniel Flavell assist.
At the end of the 1st period, the Warriors were leading 6-3.
2nd period
The Warriors started the 2nd period well, with Ash Pryce picking up his second goal of the night - assisted by Niks Kamaldins.
The Warriors extended their lead further with a power-play goal from Raivis Voitans - bagging a hat-trick. The assist coming from Tom Mallon.
The Comets struck back with a goal from Matthew Keeley, assisted by Gary Elston but the Warriors finished off the scoring for the period with an unassisted goal from Mitch White. With the puck cleared off the Warriors goal line directly to White, he skated the length of the ice for a superb solo goal. His second of the night.
At the end of the 2nd period, the score was 9-4 to Warriors.
3rd period
The final period was much tighter affair with only three goals scored.
Warriors 10th goal was arguably the highlight of the game as Simon Morrow netted his first goal for Warriors 1 after great work from Will Gibbons.
The Comets then struck back with their 5th and final goal of the game as Andrew Serrell picked up a hat-trick.
The final goal of the game was scored by Raivis Voitans. His 4th of the game. With the assist coming from Alex Jones.
Final score :
Warriors 11 Comets 5
Great start to the season for the Warriors, picking up a big 2 points against the Comets. A team that the Warriors hadn’t beaten previously and are a force in recreational hockey.
Hats off to the Comets for how well they played with a short bench. Great effort.
Points scorers:
Raivis Voitans 4+0
Mitch White 2+1
Ash Pryce 2+0
Alex Jones 1+2
Sam Forrester 1+0
Simon Morrow 1+0
Wes Nixon 0+2
Niks Kamaldins 0+2
Andy Giles 0+1
Tom Mallon 0+1
Sam Cromack 0+1
Will Gibbons 0+1
Rich Williams
Warriors’ player of the game
4th Line
Captain’s player’s of the game:
Simon Morrow, Will Gibbons, Tom Gabbitas
Player of the game for Warriors was #77 Rich Williams who was solid in defence.
For the Comets, player of the game was Thomas Cummings.
Captain’s player of the game for the Warriors was the 4th line of Will Gibbons, Simon Morrow and Tom Gabbitas. Both Simon and Tom were making their Warriors 1 debuts.
Special mention should go to Raivis Voitans who picked up 4 goals. A great performance.
Netminder Ben Briggs was on top form during the first 2 periods - and when Warriors 1 debutant Vadims Nazarenko stepped in for the final period, he also produced a great display of goal tending. Well done guys!
