SHARKS WIN, SUTTON STUNG, GAME OVER?
On Sunday the Solway Sharks made the long journey down to Ice Sheffield to meet the Sutton Sting in a fixture that many people were predicting would be a title decider even at the half-way mark in the season. With the Sharks having won the two previous meetings between the teams the onus was very much on Sutton to win the remaining two head-to-head fixtures if they were to pip the visitors to the title and automatic promotion. Over the last couple of weeks Sutton had added three players to bolster their squad and their website had been “talking up” the game all week to try to build-up extra interest amongst the supporters and motivate their team. Unfortunately for them it only served to motivate Solway and encouraged them to cement the work they had already done this season.

Sutton’s big signing in the lead up to the game was Thomas Jeffrey from EPL team Sheffield Steeldogs, a veteran, battle-hardened defenceman, who unfortunately took an accidental puck to the head in the warm-up and only played one shift during the match. Still he did get to see the opening goal of the game close-up which is more than any late arriving supporters did. With thirty-seconds on the clock a Frazer Goldie pass sent Mark Gallagher around the boards and behind the home goal. The Sharks captain looked up to spot Calum Henderson moving unmarked into the slot and with a cool nerve that belied his young age he fired a rising wrist-shot into the roof of the Sutton goal. The visiting supporters had hardly retaken their seats before they were on their feet once more as Struan Tonnar picked of a loose pass at centre-ice and raced up the middle before firing a low shot from the slot which somehow found its way between the netminders pads and into the goal. It might have been three-nil two minutes later when Lewis Gold found himself free in front of goal but on this occasion Alex Birch spread himself well to produce a good block save. Sutton’s first shot on goal from Sharples brought the best out of Solway netminder Gary Russell with a fine low save but almost immediately a defensive error from Daniel Sayer allowed Nathan Salem to shoot from the high slot and the Sting defence breathed a collective sigh of relief when  the puck cannoned to safety from the goal frame.

A penalty on Salem for interference in the sixth minute gave the home side a powerplay and the chance to exert some continuous pressure on the Sharks defence but they found the Sharks penalty kill in resolute frame of mind and could only produce two long range shots from Ashton and Butterworth that were well dealt with by Gary Russell. As the teams returned to full strength Russell was again called into action to block bravely when Lane tried an inventive wrap-around effort on the visitors goal and then from Daniel Sayer as he tried to force the rebound home. However, as Sutton tried desperately to force their way back into the game they were leaving gaps at the back and Solway duly exploited that as the clock ticked towards the twelve minute mark. From a face-off just outside the Sharks blueline the puck found its way to Lewis Gold on the left wing. He sped forward and into Sutton territory before threading a pass along the hash marks to Struan Tonnar who duly fired low into the bottom right-hand corner of the home goal. Just after the fifteen minute mark the visitors received their first powerplay of the evening when Richard Oliver was penalised for hooking. It was looking like the Sutton penalty kill was going to hold when Adam Reynolds collected a Mark Gallagher pass in the centre of the Sutton “D” and with nothing else on he fed the puck out to Nathan Salem on the right-hand boards. With the powerplay about to end the big Sharks forward decided to try his luck and fired in a powerful slapshot from a narrow angle which found a gap between the keepers pads and the post and Solway were four goals ahead. At that point the home side replaced netminder Birch with back-up Begley. Almost immediately Sutton had a chance to pressure the visitors goal when they were awarded a powerplay but both Lane and Ashton were thwarted by an in-form Gary Russell and even thirteen seconds of five-on-three play could not defeat the Solway penalty kill who saw out the period undefeated.

The Sting began the second session with renewed vigour but their efforts failed to penetrate a resolute rearguard and often they were forced into shooting from long range, something that was never likely to trouble Russell in goal. An altercation between Andrew Offord and Conor McCallum saw both men receive penalties with the Sharks man getting an extra two minutes for instigating the incident. After what seemed an eternity the referee correctly restarted the match with both men in the penalty box and with Sutton enjoying a man advantage. It was looking like the Solway penalty kill might stand firm again when Simon Butterworth and James Goodman combined to allow Paul Lane to net from close range at the back post. On the midway point in the match Ashton should have reduced the deficit further when though one-on-one with Sharks keeper but again Russell made a good block and was quickly back in position to save the rebound from Jeffcock. Solway went on the offensive immediately and forced a powerplay of their own when Jeffcock was called for slashing but this time it was the home penalty kill that looked like holding firm. That was until a combination of Goldie and Chalmers sent Struan Tonnar around behind the Sting goal. He faked to come out near post but swung around to the far side from where he somehow managed to force the puck home when the home keeper seemed to have the post covered. While Sutton looked for an opening for the remainder of the period the Sharks defence held firm and the second intermission arrived with their four goal cushion intact.

Sutton needed a fast start to the final period if they were to cling to any lingering hopes of being in a position to claim the league title at the end of the season but those hopes were effectively dashed fifty-eight seconds later. Aaron Greger collected the puck in his own “D” and quickly fed it forward to Mark Gallagher, one touch later the puck was in the possession of Adam Reynolds who bore down on the Sting goal before firing home from the high slot. Sutton heads visibly went down at that point although they did rally briefly when they received two powerplays one after another from the forty-six minute mark but when the Sharks penalty kill again remained unbroken the game was effectively up. The final nail in the coffin came four minutes from time when an attempted clearance in the home defence failed to make it past Calum Henderson who combined with Stevie Adams to allow Nathan Salem to fire home the seventh and final goal from the slot. At the final buzzer Solway had claimed a tremendous victory which in effect means they have to be beaten at least four times in the league if they are to fail to claim the title although it cannot be mathematically won until the beginning of March.

Scoring statistics for the Sharks were as follows: Struan Tonnar three goals and no assists, Nathan Salem 2+0, Adam Reynolds 1+1, Calum Henderson 1+0, Mark Gallagher 0+3, Frazer Goldie 0+2, Aaron Greger, Robert Chalmers, Conor McCallum, Stevie Adams, and Lewis Gold all 0+1. Gary Russell in the Sharks goal saved thirty-eight of the thirty-nine shots that he faced for a save percentage of 97.44%. The man of the match awards were presented to Calum Henderson for the Solway and to Simon Butterworth for Sutton.