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The Border
Utilities sponsored Solway Sharks are back in Scottish Premier
Hockey League action against the Fife Flyers in Kirkcaldy on
Saturday night and hope to go one better than their magnificent
draw there last weekend. On Sunday night a Sharks win over the
Braehead Paisley Pirates at Dumfries Ice Bowl could go a long
way towards securing a place in the end of season SPHL play-offs
as it would appear that one of these two teams will take the
fourth and final spot. Matches against the Pirates are always
tasty affairs with hard-hitting, fast-skating offensive displays
and this one promises to be no different. Face-off at the Ice
Bowl on Sunday night is at 6pm.
 Last
Sunday night at Kirkcaldy the match started at a fast pace and
the first five minutes flew by with a display of end-to-end
attacking play from both sides. Bari McKenzie was the first
player to seriously trouble either netminder when he picked up a
loose puck in the Fife “D” and fired in a low shot that Daly
saved well with his pads. Six and a half minutes into the match
Fife were given a powerplay when Tim McKay was penalised for
interference but it was Solway who threatened first when Anthony
Payne broke free and, after beating two players, fired in a low
shot that Daly saved low with his pads. Fife immediately broke
up to the other end of the rink where Beattie fired in a shot
from close range that Scott McMeeken did well to block. Seconds
later Wilson found Mitchell on the right-hand boards and his
pass gave the unmarked McAlpine an easy finish from three yards
out.
Solway had a half
chance to equalise almost immediately when the referee indicated
a delayed penalty on Connan for hooking. Tim McKay brought the
puck up the left wing but chose to shoot from distance when the
better option may have been to keep play alive as the Sharks had
pulled the netminder and had the advantage of an extra skater.
On the following powerplay Fife looked well organised and only
Bari McKenzie was able to trouble the netminder with a shot that
Daly saved high to his left. As the clock approached the
fourteen minute mark the Flyers were encamped in the Sharks
defensive zone and Scott McMeeken performed acrobatics to save
from Wands, Beattie and Mitchell in quick succession
unfortunately the loose puck fell to King who spotted Glasgow
free and the youngster shot low into the net to put Fife ahead
by two. With the first interval approaching the Flyers were once
more on the attack and McMeeken did well to save at the foot of
his left-hand post but the Solway defence were incensed when a
Fife player went in late on the netminder. Ian Defty used too
much force in pushing the Fife player away and was penalised for
cross-checking while the Kirkcaldy man escaped unpunished.
 With
the Sharks two-nil down at the first interval to the best team
in Scotland it was going to important to keep things tight at
the beginning of the second period as the third goal was going
to be crucial to the final outcome of the match. Mid-way through
the session, with the Sharks holding their own, Gunn broke free
and fired a low shot towards the Solway net but McMeeken was in
fine form and he got down well to push the shot wide. Almost
immediately Bari McKenzie skated effortlessly around two Fife
defenders before firing towards the Flyers goal but Daly managed
to save and then dive on the rebound to smother the danger. As
the Sharks started to build momentum Daly again had to save from
Downes and then Crane from the right and left-hand point
positions respectively. With just over three minutes left in the
period Mark Gallagher tried to set McKenzie free through the
centre but the pass was cut out by a Fife defenceman who
immediately miss-controlled the puck. Kevin Conway was onto the
mistake in a flash and took possession around behind the Flyers
goal before picking out McKenzie free in the centre and he
lifted his shot into the net over the advancing Daly. On the
thirty-eight sixteen mark referee Allsopp gave Ian Defty a
double penalty for the second weekend running, this time for
holding and tripping. A four minute powerplay for Fife is
usually the equivalent of a judge putting on the black cap but
luckily for the Sharks the second interval split the penalty
into two more manageable halves.
The final period
began with the Flyers looking to discover the killer instinct
that had so far been absent from their play and as time
progressed the Sharks came under more and more pressure. While
Fife undoubtedly had the greater share of possession Solway were
defending well and even though the pressure forced the penalty
count up the Sharks penalty-kill was holding firm and fast. As
the match entered the final two minutes there was still only one
goal in it and the Dumfries faithful in the crowd began to dream
as they watched the clock tick down. With ninety seconds to go
Kevin Conway won possession at a face-off to the right of the
Fife goal and the puck broke back to Bari McKenzie at right
point. Looking up and seeing no-one free, he took aim and fired
low through traffic, the first time the Fife netminder saw the
puck was when it trickled back out from the goal. While Fife
laid siege to the Sharks goal for the remaining seconds the
defence held firm and the Dumfries side left Kirkcaldy with a
hard-earned and very valuable point.
Scoring statistics
for the Sharks were as follows; Bari McKenzie two goals and no
assists, Kevin Conway 0+2 and Mark Gallagher 0+1. Scott McMeeken
saved thirty-five of the thirty-seven shots that he faced (save
percentage 94.60%) and was named man-of-the-match for the Sharks
while Craig Mitchell received the award for Fife.
The views and statistics in
this report are individual and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of the Solway Sharks.
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