Warriors slayed by Dragons
Our Warriors 1 team travelled up to Whitley Bay on Saturday 30th July for an away game against Durham Dragons.
The Warriors took an early lead, with an unassisted goal from Sam Forrester. But, a strong Dragons offence struck back four times to make it 4-1 going into the final minutes of the period.
The Warriors pulled one back through a Mitch White goal (assisted by Niks Kamaldins) but unfortunately, the Dragons also scored a fifth to retain their three goal lead by the end of the period at 5-2.
During the break, the Warriors were keen to tighten things up defensively in the second period. This was achieved, but, the Dragons scored a further three goals, with no reply from the Warriors, meaning the Warriors were now 8-2 down going into the final period.
With nothing to lose, the Warriors needed to throw everything at the game. The team scored the first goal of the period through an Adrian Garcia goal (assisted by Ellen Gallimore), bringing the score to 8-3.
The Dragons responded strongly with two unanswered goals, increasing their lead at 10-3.
Determined to keep the score respectable, the Warriors kept fighting and got a final reward with a fourth goal, coming from Ash Pryce, with the assist from Mitch White.
Final score : 10-4 to Dragons.
This was a tough game under difficult circumstances. The guys had trained late on the Friday evening and had to travel early the next day.
Our guys were also without a lot of players:
Paddy Horner (D)
James Way (D)
Rich Williams (D)
Raivis Voitans (F)
Andy Giles (F)
Lewis Astill (F)
Wes Nixon (F)
As a result, 3 of our D played as forwards - Tom Mallon, Sam Forrester and Jordan Batty.
Durham Dragons are very strong opposition and Whitley Ice Rink is a difficult environment to play in. But no excuses, the score-line reflected the superiority of the Dragons on the day.
Well played both teams.
For the first time, the Captain’s Player of the Game was shared between two players - Niks Kamaldins and Will Gibbons. Both guys worked tirelessly on the ice. Well done.
Will Gibbons & Niks Kamaldins
Captain’s Player(s) of the Game
The Dragons awarded the Man of the Match award to Warriors’ Mitch White who picked up 1+1. Well played Mitch.
Mitch White
Man of the Match
A few of the guys made the most of the early face-off by heading off to the Whitley Bay sea front to enjoy some fish and chips. Special mention to Rich Guttridge and Stella Giwisser for once again travelling to support us on the road.
