HAWKS SLAY DEESIDE AT DRAGONS DEN
After the previous weekend’s trip to Teeside ended in defeat, the Hawks crossed the Welsh border in search of victory against Deeside. A packed Deeside Ice Arena bared witnessed to Sunday’s match-up between the local rivals, with Blackburn hoping to return back to Lancashire with maximum points.
There was a fiery atmosphere inside ‘The Dragons Den’ on Sunday. Whilst this was aided in large part by the significant contingent of travelling Hawks faithful, Deeside’s supporters filled the air with sounds of beating drums and raucous chants. However, a minute into the game and the only noise in the arena was the jubilant cheers of the away fans as they celebrated James Riddoch opening the scoring just 44 seconds into play. This early goal was a sign of things to come as Blackburn’s first period presence was firmly positioned in the Dragons’ zone. Goals from Lutwyche and Riddoch (again) saw the Hawks end the opening period 3 goals up, with notable assists coming from youngsters Hine, Spawnforth and Kaariainen.
It was more of the same in the second period. Blackburn’s powerplay punished Deeside’s propensity for picking up penalties as goals from Pollitt, Barnes and Lutwyche (again) saw the Hawks double their lead going into the final period of play. There was an attempt by Deeside supporters to reignite the optimistic pre-game energy, however, hopes of a late game comeback were quickly dashed by a Jacob Lutwyche snipe under a minute into the third period. This goal ended the race for first Hawks hattrick of the season, just edging out James Riddoch who would complete his hattrick hunt 4 minutes later. Whilst Blackburn’s offensive prowess took centre stage, an impressive defensive performance was unfortunate not to be rewarded with a clean sheet, as Ross Kennedy picked up a consolation goal for Deeside. After Bobby Streetly treated fans to a short but sweet tilt with Ryan Broster-Jones, the game concluded with Blackburn leaving Wales 8-1 victors.
It wasn’t just the travelling Hawks fans who were happy with this performance, with Head Coach Dom Osman noting how ‘impressed’ he is with all the players’ ‘effort levels, tenacity and grit’. Whilst Coach Osman was quick to highlight how ‘all the lads stood out by playing their part’, particular praise was directed towards Aaron Davies, Sam Warnock and Luke Watson, who ‘as a line were unreal at the weekend’.
Looking ahead to the opening half of Blackburn’s first double header of the season, Coach Osman was characteristically single-minded in his analysis of the Nottingham Lions. ‘We don’t really worry about the opponents – we go out and play our game. We don’t want to drop any points so we can’t take any team lightly’. This being said, Sunday’s cup clash versus Leeds Knights 2 is set to be an interesting one. As Coach Osman highlights, ‘we don’t know who they’re going to have – you never do with a team like Leeds because they are one of those teams who are going to be sending guys down’. Regardless of opponent, one thing excites everyone in the Hawks camp for this weekend, and that’s the return of competitive hockey back at The Nest…
The Blackburn Hawks will play against the Nottingham Lions @ Blackburn Ice Arena on Saturday 21st September, Face-Off: 6:00pm
The Blackburn Hawks will also play against the Leeds Knights 2 @ Planet Ice Leeds on Sunday 22nd September, Face-Off: 6:00pm
ARTICLE COURTESY OF NATHAN DOVE.
Photo credit Pete Sheffield. Psd-images photography.