Warriors 2 at Lightning Invitational Tournament 2024
On the weekend of 15-16th June 2024 our Warriors 2 team competed in the Leeds Lightning “B” Level Tournament at Planet Ice in Leeds.
The tournament consisted of 8 teams, with the other teams being Leeds Lightning, Cleveland Comets, Whitley Bay Islanders, Sheffield Ice Tigers, Sheffield Blazers, Kingston Reapers, and Nottingham Cyclones. Group games were 28 minutes in duration with a running clock, with the semi-finals and final being 2 x 20 minute periods.
The Warriors opponents and timings for day one
DAY 1
Game 1
The Warriors first game of the day was against the tournament hosts, Leeds Lightning, with Lewis Pickering getting the nod in net.
Hoping for a strong start, the opposite happened as the Lightning scored with the first shot of the game after less than 30 seconds. While the Warriors looked like the better, deeper team, they weren’t able to put things together and the Lightning scored again to take 2-0 lead.
While the Warriors were able to pull a goal back through D-man Luke Cadman, they couldn’t find an equaliser and the game finished in a disappointing defeat.
FINAL SCORE
Warriors 1 Lightning 2
DAY 1
Game 2
The second game saw the Warriors face the Nottingham Cyclones, with Lewis Pickering again making the start in net.
Once again looking like the stronger team overall, the Warriors continued to struggle to settle and play to their potential. This time Leeds did manage to take the lead, with another D-man scoring the goal - Josh Edwards finding himself open in front of the Cyclones’ net and burying a nice pass from Howie Barwick.
However that was as good as it got, as the Cyclones scored two unanswered goals to take the win.
Final score:
Warriors 1 Cyclones 2
DAY 1
Game 3
The Warriors really needed to find their game quickly against their next opponents, the Kingston Reapers, or they’d effectively be out of contention before the first day was over.
Encouraged to relax and enjoy their play by coach Niks Kamaldins, the Warriors finally started to click.
Goals from Jamie Thurston (2), Tom Cokill, Chris Scampton and Jamie Farrar gave the Leeds squad a convincing 5-0 victory.
Ryan Marsh picked up an assist, as did Scampton and Thurston. Joe Quinn was between the pipes for this one, picking up the shutout..
Could this be the spark the team needed to kick on?
Final score:
Warriors 5 Reapers 0
DAY 1
Game 4
In their final game of the first day, the Warriors needed a result to have a shot at the semi-finals.
Their opponents were the Cleveland Comets, a team that never gives the Warriors an easy game at any level.
Joe Quinn made the start again in goal. Feeling confident after their big win in the last game, the team made a strong start and took the lead through Adam Gibbons, assisted by Tom Cokill .
It looked like 1-0 would be enough to take the win, but the Comets kept coming and eventually broke through to tie the game, and that was how it finished..
This result was enough to land the Warriors in fourth place in the group stage table, and secured them a quarter-final spot in which they’d once again face the Cleveland Comets for a place in the semis.
Final score:
Warriors 1 Comets 1
A summary of how day one went for the Warriors
DAY 2
Quarter Final
Having tied with the Comets the day before, the Warriors were feeling confident they could go one better and come out on top in this one.
Starting in goal was Joe Quinn.
Much like the group stage tilt, this was a tightly fought game with both teams going close to taking a crucial lead.
The breakthrough eventually came, and it was the Warriors’ youngest player, Jamie Farrar who made it with a crucial unassisted goal. The team were able to hold off a late push from the Comets and take the win. On to the semi-final!
Final score:
Warriors 1 Comets 0
DAY 2
Semi Final
The Warriors would face a tough test having drawn the Whitley Bay Islanders, one of the tournament favourites.
For the semi-final, the format changed to two, twenty minute periods.
Lewis Pickering got the nod to start.
It was clear from the first face-off that the Warriors would need to be at their best, as the Islanders made a strong early push. Pickering was solid in net and helped to keep the game scoreless for the first period.
The Warriors had a few good chances but were unable to convert. The second period was more of the same, and the Islanders eventually broke the deadlock, finding a way past Pickering to go up 1-0.
The Warriors pushed back and again had some good opportunities, however they were unable to beat the Islanders goalie. With time running down, Whitley Bay grabbed a second goal, and despite a final push from Leeds, the game finished 2-0 to the Islanders.
Final score:
Warriors 0 Islanders 2
In the end it was a great effort from the Warriors 2 squad. Despite a tough start to the tournament, they pulled together and found their game, and ran a strong Whitley Bay team close in the semi-final.
Thanks to the Leeds Lightning for a fun couple of days!
