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| Stevie Moore grabbed Sharks’ fourth against Telford |
Solway Sharks are just one win away from their first NIHL1 North title after extending their unbeaten run to 29 games. Sharks twice came from behind to beat Telford Titans 4-2 and they followed up with a 3-1 win at Blackburn Hawks.
Billingham Stars also secured a four-point weekend – beating Coventry Blaze 8-2 and Whitley Warriors 4-1. Titans edged nearer to safety with a 4-1 home win over Sheffield Spartans.
Nottingham Lions moved nearer to the NIHL2 North title after a 13-2 win at Blackburn Eagles. Solihull Barons kept their promotion hopes alive with a 16-2 victory over the Eagles, while Sheffield Senators remain in the hunt despite only drawing 2-2 at Hull. The Stingrays followed up with a 7-6 win at Fylde Flyers.
NIHL1 South leaders Chelmsford Chieftains neat Invicta Dynamos 7-3 – James Ayling hit a hat-trick. Two goals by Juraj Huska helped Romford Raiders to a 6-4 win at home to Wightlink, though the IOW outfit stayed in the title picture with an 11-1 win over MK Thunder. In the NIHL South Cup Chelmsford beat Slough Jets 21-0.
Guildford Flames edged nearer to retaining their EPL crown with a 7-1 win at home to MK Lightning – Curtis Huppe (2) & Jozef Kohut (2) led their scoring. Joe Rand’s shoot-out winner helped Basingstoke to a 5-4 success over Slough Jets, but Bison followed up with a 6-2 defeat at Manchester – Michal Psurny scored twice for Phoenix. Tomas Fojtik hit the shoot-out winner as Swindon Wildcats won 5-4 at Slough.
Lloyd Gibson scored twice for Sheffield in their 6-4 win at Swindon and they followed up with a 6-3 home win over Telford Tigers – Steeldogs’ Lubomir Korhon scored three. MK Lightning beat Peterborough 4-3 and the Phantoms completed a miserable weekend with a 4-0 defeat at Bracknell Bees. Scott McKenzie’s hat-trick helped Telford to a 5-2 success over the Bees. Guildford will play Slough in the final of the EPL Cup after they beat Manchester 9-8 on aggregate.
Elite League leaders Nottingham Panthers enjoyed a successful road trip to Scotland with a trio of wins. Panthers won 4-1 at Dundee Stars and followed up by crushing Fife Flyers 10-2. The completed their six-point haul with a 6-1 win at Edinburgh Capitals – Matt Francis scored three. Belfast Giants stay in the title mix after two wins over Cardiff Devils – 5-4 & 5-0. Brent Patry’s shoot-out winner helped Edinburgh to a surprise 3-2 win at Sheffield Steelers.
Two Adam Henrich goals helped Coventry to a 4-1 win at home to Dundee and Blaze secured their second win of the week with a 3-2 victory at Cardiff. Hull won 2-1 at Braehead Clan after a shoot-out and 3-1 against Fife back on home ice. Clan slipped to another defeat – 3-0 at Dundee.
The Panthers secured their place in the Challenge Cup final after a 9-4 aggregate success over Belfast Giants. They await the winners of Braehead and Sheffield with the Steelers holding a 4-2 lead from the first leg.
(Image permission: David Morrison)
