|
 On
Sunday night the Solway Sharks, sponsored by the Black Bull of
Moffat, travelled to Kirkcaldy to face the Fife
Flyers in the first leg of the Autumn Cup semi-final. The twelve
skaters and two netminders knew they would be up against it as
they tried to be the first team this season to beat Fife.
Although the visitors did not manage that feat they did,
however, battle right to the end and only lost by a single goal
as both teams left everything on the ice in what was a terrific
spectacle of hockey for both sets of supporters.
Following a one-one first period, the teams
skated to a goalless second frame although the Sharks' Bari
McKenzie did put the puck in the back of the net on a powerplay
midway through the period but unfortunately for the visitors it
rebounded out too quickly for the goal judge to notice.
In the third period play opened up a little bit
and the Sharks started to take the game to the Flyers despite
being outscored by two to one in the final twenty minutes.
Sharks Wayne Slater got his marching orders near
the end after going toe-to-toe with Flyers' Chad Reekie.
Sharks coach Kevin Doherty had this to say
following the game: "Tonight was a real 'backs to the wall'
effort and I am very proud, as I'm sure that the supporters that
made the trip are, of the commitment and perseverance from every
single player. It was not pretty but the boys battled hard and
it sets up an exciting return leg."
Man of the match for the Solway Sharks was Mark
Gallagher (pictured above) and the Sharks statistics were as
follows: Mark Gallagher one goal and one assist, Chris Gracie 1+0,
Bari McKenzie
0+1. Sharks netminder, Dewar Anderson, saved twenty-seven of the
thirty-one shots he faced (Save percentage 87.10%).
The views and statistics in
this report are individual and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of the Solway Sharks.
Report courtesy of the Dumfries &
Galloway Standard |
