Warriors 2 at Bone Idle tournament
On the weekend of Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th June 2023 our Warriors 2 team competed in the Bone Idle tournament.
The tournament was hosted by the Ice Wolves at Bradford Ice Rink.
The tournament consisted of six teams. The five other teams were:
Bradford Ice Wolves, RAF Blackhawks, Cheshire Pistons, Grimsby Falcons and Sheffield Mavericks.
Teams were split into two groups. The Warriors were in Group B alongside Ice Wolves and Pistons.
On day one, each team played the teams in their group twice, before playing against the teams in the other group on day 2.
Day one games consisted of one x 25 minute period with a running clock. Teams were awarded 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tied game.
In team news, the Warriors were without two of their most influential players - Captain, Niku Ghaemi (F) and Simon Morrow.
Also, netminder Ben Cohen was to play all games on day one and a decision would be made later in the tournament about when to swap with Lewis Pickering.
DAY 1
Game 1
The Warriors opening game was against the hosts, the Bradford ice Wolves. A team the Warriors had played against previously and lost, so this was a tough first assignment. But, the team were victorious, taking a 1-2 win. A great start to the tournament.
Final score:
Ice Wolves 1 Warriors 2
Game 2
The Warriors were now hoping to build on their great start against their next opponents - Cheshire Pistons. A team the Warriors had never faced before, so they were an unknown quantity. The team passed this test with flying colours. Netminder Ben Cohen was able to shut-out the Pistons as the team won 2-0.
Final score:
Warriors 2 Pistons 0
Game 3
Having played both teams in the group once, the Warriors third game of the day was against the Bradford Ice Wolves again.
With the Warriors having won both their games so far, confidence was high. But they knew the Ice Wolves would be keen to avenge the previous defeat. The Ice Wolves had beaten the Pistons 5-1 earlier in the day, so will have been highly motivated to take the 3 points and be equal with the Warriors.
This was a much closer game than the first, with both teams playing out a 2-2 draw and taking a point each. This was a better result for the Warriors than the Ice Wolves as our guys now had 5 points from 3 games, whereas the Ice Wolves had 3 points.
But.. there was one more game to play on day one.
Final score:
Warriors 2 Ice Wolves 2
Game 4
The Warriors final game of the first day was against Cheshire Pistons. The Warriors had beaten them earlier in the day, when legs were a lot fresher, so it would be interesting to see if fitness would play a part in this later game.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they faced a determined Pistons team who really wanted the win. They took the win by 3-1.
Final score:
Pistons 3 Warriors 1
A great first day for the team. 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. This meant the Warriors were on 7 points and topped Group B.
Warriors player of the day was Jeff Hardy. Well played Jeff.
DAY 2
Game 5
Day 2 involved playing a game against each of the teams from Group A - Sheffield Mavericks, Grimsby Falcons and RAF Blackhawks.
First up was the Mavericks. They were in confident mood after their performances on day 1. They won each of their games - 6-0, 4-1, 4-0, 7-1, so they had the maximum of 12 points, having scored 21 goals and only conceding 2.
Whilst this seemed like a tall order for the Warriors, they beat the Mavericks 2-0. A huge win and a great effort from the team.
Final score:
Warriors 2 Mavericks 0
Game 6
After such a big win against the Mavericks, the team were in a positive mood and ready to take on the Grimsby Falcons.
The Falcons had won 2 and lost 2 on day 1, so were not going to be an easy opponent.
But with confidence high in the Warriors camp, our boys came through with a resounding 3-0 win and yet another shut-out. This time it was for netminder Lewis Pickering, who made his tournament debut.
Final score:
Warriors 3 Falcons 0
Game 7
The final group game of the tournament was against RAF Blackhawks. The Blackhawks had endured a miserable first day in the tournament, losing each of their four games.
But, with teams tiring, games could go either way. So the Warriors could not afford to be complacent. The game turned out to be extremely tight, but the Warriors claimed a slender 1-0 victory to round off day 2 with 3 wins out of 3, zero goals against and 6 goals for.
An amazing effort by the team. The boys now waited to find out who they would face in the semi-final stage.
Final score:
Warriors 1 Blackhawks 0
Semi-final
Semi-finals and the final would be played over 2 x 20 minute periods with a running clock.
The team would face Cheshire Pistons in their semi-final.
The Warriors played the Pistons twice on day one, having won 2-0 and lost 1-3, so this was likely to be a close game.
The Warriors went into a commanding 2-0 lead and progression to the final looked likely. But, despite having a lot of great scoring opportunities, they could not increase their lead. Pistons netminder, Sessions, was on great form was able to keep the Warriors at bay, whilst the Pistons forwards got their team back into the game.
Eventually, the Pistons took the lead at 2-3 and managed to see out the game and head to the final for a match-up against the hosts, Bradford Ice Wolves.
Unlucky for the Warriors. After such an amazing second day and tournament in general, it was a harsh defeat, but they could hold their heads high.
Warriors player of the day was Liam Symington. Well played Liam!
Final score:
Warriors 2 Pistons 3
In summary, it was a great weekend for the team.
They played 8 games, winning 5, losing 2 and drawing 1.
4 games included a shut-out.
They beat the favourites, Sheffield Mavericks.
Having played the eventual winners twice (Bradford Ice Wolves) they beat them 2-1 and drew 2-2.
Well played guys!
Our Warriors 2 team are in action again this weekend. They travel to Altrincham to play Manchester Swarm in the M62 Cup.
Details below:
Swarm v Warriors
M62 Cup
Sunday 9th July
Face-off: 17:45
Planet Ice, Altrincham
