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The Black Bull of Moffat sponsored Solway Sharks
fell just short once again in Kirkcaldy as the Fife Flyers won
an intriguing Northern League contest seven-five. Following the
five-four Fife victory weeks before the Flyers started strong
and took the play to Solway in the first period, but Sharks
goalie, Scott McMeeken, stood strong conceding just a single
goal as the teams went to the first intermission with the score
one-nil. Andy Samuel was the scorer as he netted on a powerplay
after redirecting the puck off Sharks defenseman Alan Crane.
Bari McKenzie had the best effort of the period for Solway
ringing the puck off the left-hand post with Flyers' gaolie
Blair Daly handcuffed.
 Both
teams came out for the second period full steam ahead as four
goals were scored within seven minutes. First Flyers took a two
gaol advantage after less than a minute of play as Samuel scored
again. The Sharks could have dropped their heads but instead had
a spirited fight-back with two markers of their own as Tim McKay
(pictured right) unassisted and Corrie Telfer, after a neat pass
from Mark Gallagher, tied the score. Shaun Kippin also
picked up an assist on the second goal. Fife, however, took the
lead for good on the twenty-seven minute mark as John Haig hit
the back of the net. At three-two Flyers and time running out in
the second frame the final period was set-up to be a thriller
but that is not always the case against the Fifers and they
showed exactly why with three goals in a twenty-four second span
in the final minute. Todd Dutiaume started the quick procession
as he hammered home an off balanced first-timer. Nine seconds
later Jamie Wilson scored on a rebound and with sixteen seconds
remaining Steven King scored on a backhand effort to the short
side of McMeeken.
The game looked all but over during the break and
the Sharks backs were against the wall. Solway, however, did
come out come out for the last twenty minutes and made a game of
it. Sharks out-shot the Flyers eighteen to seven in the period
and clawed their way back to within two as man-of-the-match Tim
McKay scored again with a 'top-shelf' wrist shot, followed by a
blueline slapshot by John Ballentyne as the Sharks had the man
advantage, and Bari McKenzie also scored on a breakaway. Chris
Wands scored the Flyers sole marker in the final period on a
screen shot from the point.
The final shots on goal tally was thirty-eight to
thirty-two in favour of Fife as the Kirkcaldy outfit ran out
justifiable winners although the Sharks defiantly did not
embarrass themselves on the night earning the respect of the
nine-hundred strong partisan crowd.
Sharks coach Kevin Doherty had this to say: "We
did not play our best game to date but sometimes things just do
not click. There was no real jump from the start and the
twenty-four seconds of mayhem killed us off. The positive side
if there was one is that we only lost narrowly when far from our
best."
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 |
