Warriors 2 defeated by Mavericks
On Sunday 21st May, our Warriors 2 team travelled to Ice Sheffield to take on the Sheffield Mavericks in the return fixture.
The teams previously met in Leeds on Saturday 29th April, when the Mavericks took away a 7-16 victory.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they were without their Captain - Niku Ghaemi.
Warriors 3 Captain, Rich Guttridge accepted the invite to play and this would be his second Warriors 2 game of the season, having also played in the previous game.
The team also welcomed the return of Simon Morrow and Tom Cokill who were missing from the previous fixture against the Kingston Fat Dads.
1st period
The Warriors conceded an early goal after 4 minutes and picked up a couple of back to back minor penalties which meant they were shorthanded between the 9th and 13th minute of the period. But, thankfully they were able to kill off both penalties and keep the score at 1-0.
After 16 minutes, the Warriors were able to get the equaliser. Simon Morrow grabbing the goal, unassisted.
At the end of the first period, the score was:
Mavericks 1 Warriors 1
2nd period
Going into the second period at 1-1, the Warriors had good reason to be optimistic.
In the corresponding home fixture, the team were 1-7 behind after the opening period, so this was great progress.
The second period saw both teams picking up a lot of minor penalties, as both teams fought out a tense game.
The Mavericks picked up two consecutive high sticking penalties after 22 minutes and 24 minutes, meaning the Warriors had a period with a powerplay.
Whilst the Mavericks were still killing off their second penalty, both teams took roughing penalties, meaning the Warriors had a short 4 v 3 powerplay.
Unfortunately, the Warriors were unable to make the powerplays count and shortly after both teams returned to full strength, the Mavericks scored their second on 28 minutes and third on the 30 minute mark.
This was a blow to the Warriors, and there was more hard work to come as they had to deal with two more minor penalties in the 34 minute, meaning they had to defend a 5 v 3 for 2 minutes.
This was achieved, but it would take a lot out of the team. No further goals were scored in the period, meaning the Mavericks won the second period 2-0.
Mavericks 3 Warriors 1
3rd period
With it being only a two goal deficit, it was all to play for in the final period.
In stark contrast to the second period, neither team picked up any minor penalties in the final period, as both teams battled it out at full strength.
The Warriors pushed as hard as they could to mount a comeback and the game was a stalemate up until the 52nd minute, when the Mavericks grabbed their fourth of the night, killing the game.
This was a demoralising blow for the Warriors as the score was now 4-1 with only 8 minutes left.
The Mavericks added their fifth and final goal of the game on 55 minutes as the Warriors were out of gas.
FINAL SCORE:
Mavericks 5 Warriors 1
Points scorers:
Simon Morrow 1+0
Corey Clough-Howard
Warriors’ player of the game
Ben Cohen
Captain’s player of the game
Player of the game for the Warriors was the ever reliable D-man, Corey Clough-Howard and the Captain’s player of the game went to netminder Ben Cohen, who had 50 shots on his goal. Well done guys.
Another tough game for the Warriors 2 guys, but considering the scoreline of 7-16 from the corresponding home fixture, this is great progress and the team should be proud of that.
Warriors 2 are next in action at the Bone Idle tournament in Bradford, which is hosted by the Ice Wolves.
Saturday 24th - Sunday 25th June 2023
@ Bradford Ice Arena
Free entry
