Div One News 19 Nov 2011

Whitley bay Squaws v Shadows

Game three for the Div One girls and a road trip to boot, it just HAD to be Whitley didn?t it?

Not my favourite rink by any means, but then again, not the worst in the league,(Blackburn and Bradford take note, Hank?s on the way!) An early start for the trip and time to watch the girls warming up didn?t help the fact that Icouldn?t get warm wherever I went.

Problems were evident early on inside the rink with heavy condensation on the inside of the plexi preventing any view of the ice surface,(who?d be a goal judge?). From my vantage point up high in the stands so I could see over the plexi, it was difficult tosee the ice markings too, (who?d be a stripey?).

A strong line up for the hosts suggested it would be a tough game for Shadows and they?d need to be up for this from the first puckdrop and what a start it was for Shadows. Hazel Wilson won the face off, took two paces forward and pinged one off the keepers? left post, Emma Allender was at the other postand lit the lamp for 0-1 before Whitley had touched the puck!

That set the tone for the remainder of the game and it was end-to end stuff from that point.3:21 in and it was all square after Ashleigh Holland squeezed the puck past Potter. This was gonna be a close one. Shadows deservedly took the lead again on 4:41 with a goal of pure quality from HazelWilson, Picking the puck up mid-ice, she weaved through the Squaws defence andplanted it beyond a helpless netminder for 1-2.

The away support were outnumbered by a ratio of 92:4; (by that I mean there were 23 ofthem and me!!!).

Back came Whitley and on 6:15 it was 2-2 with a role reversal goal, Ashleigh Holland found Kate Ord in space and despite Potters best efforts, the black biscuit hit the onion bag 2 Minutes later the visitors fell behind to a contraversial goal here was more than a hint of offside as Claire Milburn crossed the blue line but she played on and fired home for a 3-2 lead. Relentless pressure from Shadows deserved reward and it came on 13:36 from a now familiar scoring line. Emma Johnson started the move deep in her own D zone and found Emma Brown in centre ice, Lauren Scruby had found space on left wing and a peach of apass found her, the one-timer flew through the netminder?s 5 hole for the equaliser.

Shadows finished the period short-handed and might have grabbed the lead as Squaws failed to capitalise on the advantage.

A humdinger of a period which left the crowd begging for more. After a very short break, considering the periods were only fifteen minutes, there was barely time to grab breath before the 2nd started.

On 17:23 the Shads were back in front, Emma Allender came out from a scrap on the boards with the puck and found player-coach Georgina Farman in space, She showed great stick-handling skills and composure before slotting home number 4 and restoring the slender lead. 18:50 saw the scores level again, Shadows failed to clear the zone effectively and after a real scramble in front of Potter?s crease, Ashleigh Holland poked home another equaliser.

It was a very even game and apparent that one goal was going to settle this one, Shadows kept pushing forward, but gaps were appearing and Potter was called on to keep the score level on several occasions.

On 21:19 Whitley went ahead again, Once again Shadows weren?t able to clear the zone and Kate Ord was on hand to score from close range for 5-4.

Shadows were not finished by any means and created several good chances as the periodran down. The Whitley netminder was riding her luck and just how the puck stayed out on 25:30 beggars belief, a long-range shot squeezed under the pads and trickled towards the corner somehow stopping just short of the goal line.

Shadows ended the second as they had the first, short-handed, but had 3 good chances to nick a goal. Lauren Scruby shot just high and wide, Emma Allender only just failed to connect with the goal at her mercy and Georgina Farman made a great move from back to front but was denied the goal the move deserved.

There was all to play for in the third. Sheffield had just about edged it for me and had created by far the better chances, but the finishing had let them down a little. The defence needed to keep an eye on the high-man tactics Squaws had adopted and theforwards needed to drop back a little quicker to defend the break-out. Shadows first power play came on 35:09 and they needed to make it pay dividends as they had been under a great deal of pressure from the start of the third. It was a poor PP with passes going a stray and players out of position when it counted. They would have to find another way through, but time was running out.Another PP came and it was kitchen sink time for Shadows. No goals to show for the player advantage but they were much stronger on this one, chances were created and the netminder had luck on her side.With 1:33 left, Georgina called a time-out with the whistle blowing in the offensive zone. The last chance for Shadows to grab the goal their efforts were worthy of, they kept the pressure on and Potter was pulled with just 17 seconds left, Shadows just couldn?t find that all-important goal though and the game ended 5-4 in the favour of Whitley.

So we returned empty-handed from the North-East, but with many positives to take from the performance and a return game to savour.

Until next time

Hank x x x

Look out for the next match report

Hank

Hank Marvin (Sheffield Shadows Reporter)