BLACKBURN HAWKS 7-1 BILLINGHAM STARS 15/12/13

In their final home match before Christmas, the Hawks were looking to give their fans the ideal present of two much-needed League points. Standing in their way, however, were 'play-off' rivals, Billingham Stars. After suffering a major setback against Whitley the previous weekend, Blackburn had much to prove, and went about their task in spectacular fashion.

Straight from the opening face-off, the home side asserted their dominance, pinning the visitors in their own zone. Indeed, Danny 'Dangy' Brittle, the Hawks netminder was an interested bystander for the first two minutes, as the puck did not even cross the half-way line. The 'all-action' Aaron Davies made his intentions very clear, as he went shoulder-to-shoulder with Ben Davison - a collision which left both players on the ice....and the Arena foundations shaking!! The first powerplay of the evening came the way of the home side, as Campbell tripped Dimitrijevs, but a Jared Owen slapshot was as close as they came to a goal. Blackburn then saw Adam Brittle lose possession on the offensive blue line, and with the defence stranded up the ice, had little option but to take a hooking call, as the Stars forward was poised to test Dangy. A needless trip by David Miekle gave Billingham a 2-man advantage for 40 seconds, but the defence worked tirelessly to close down the Stars forwards. On the one occasion that the goalkeeper came into contact with the visiting front line, Ollie Lomax jumped straight to his defence, sparking a mini-tussle in the Hawks crease. With the home team still short-handed, they broke the deadlock on 7 minutes - courtesy of Adam Brittle. He broke away on the right, cut inside just beyond the blue line, and fired beyond Watson. Two minutes later, and the score was doubled, this time the defence playing a big part. Scott Robson carried the puck the length of the ice, and was just about to shoot when he was tripped. The officials called a delayed penalty, but let play continue, and when Davies took possession, he found Craig Rogers at 'point', and he smashed an unstoppable slapshot into the corner. 

Once again, Blackburn found themselves killing a 5-on-3 penalty, when things threatened to boil over in the home side's defensive zone. Reece Cairney-Witter took exception to some 'rough' play by Moss, and having escorted him to the corner for 'further discussion', asked if he would like to drop the gloves - however, he declined. On 13 minutes, the Stars got themselves on the scoreboard when they managed to force the puck over the line at the fourth attempt, although there was a question of players being in the crease. With the clock ticking down and the Hawks on the powerplay, the puck was recycled behind the visitors net, and came out to Davies, who fired speculatively towards the far post. Watson seemed to lose sight of it for a moment, and then reacted too late to stop it, allowing the Hawks to take a 2-goal advantage into the first break.

The second period started with a breath-taking passage of one touch play by Jon Adams, Jared Owen, Adam Brittle, and home debutant Jake Nurse, but the resulting goal-bound shot was plucked out of the air by the glove of Watson. On 22 minutes, Blackburn did find a way past the visiting keeper, when Rick Hughes set David Miekle free on the right. He moved forward, and picked his spot in the bottom corner, with a precise finish, to register the second short-handed goal of the evening. Even at 4-1 down, Billingham still posed a threat, and their forwards tested Dangy with increasing regularity, but he was in defiant mood, determined to keep his goal intact. Nurse was having a good debut, and almost crowned it with a breakaway goal, but his effort struck the crossbar, and flew over. 

The final 20 minutes began with both teams a man light, and although there was plenty of space on the ice, neither could fashion any chances of note. Then, on 45 minutes, the Hawks scored their fifth goal of the evening, to wrap up the game as a contest. Adam Brittle danced around Campbell on the left, went around the back of the goal, and spotted Owen in support, who finished coolly. Within 30 seconds, Watson was once again pulling the puck from out of his net, as Owen doubled his tally with a carbon-copy strike. This time, the architect was Adams, who intricate skills bamboozled the opposing defence, and the Blackburn player-coach had the simplest of tasks - firing home from in-close. Moss had his head down next to the boards, and received a bone-crunching 'double' hit from Aaron Davies and Rick Hughes, who arrived at the same time. Both teams took a number of minor penalties throughout the remainder of the match, but a mixture of disciplined defending and agile net-minding kept each set of forwards at bay. The final word went to Owen, who benefited from some good play by Sam Dunford and Chris Butler, to complete his hat-trick with only 3 minutes remaining.

The Hawks' high-intensity, hard-working display throughout warranted the 7-1 scoreline, and they sent their fans home in great spirits.

MVP went to Jared Owen for his 3 goals.

BLACKBURN HAWKS 3-2 SUTTON STING (CUP) 30/11/13

The news that Blackburn's Canadian signing Jon Adams had been cleared to play ensured a real buzz around the Arena on Saturday evening. Coupled with the return to the ice of Ivo Dimitrijevs, this meant the Hawks were virtually at full strength for the Cup game - with only Tom King and Danny Mackriel not icing. Jared Owen further strengthened his bench by adding local youngster, James Riddock, and gave a start in goal to netminder, Stuart Ashton. Dressing for the opposition were ex-Hawks Bobby Streetly and Miles Dacres.

The game started with the home side straight onto the offensive, although the first 'shot in anger' came from Sutton - a rasping drive from the blue line, which Matt Viney bravely threw his body in front of, to block. Many of the opening chances fell to the visitors, particularly Dacres, and Ashton was called upon to make two sharp saves to deny him. Aaron Davies roughed up the forward by the Blackburn bench, which provoked a spirited reaction from the youngster, and had it not been for the rapid intervention of Reece Cairney-Witter to remove him away from the scene, may have received more of the same from the wily veteran. This resulted in a powerplay for the Sting, and this was compounded when Ollie Lomax took a roughing call, to leave the Blackburn defence facing a lengthy 5-on-3 situation. The penalty was killed-off without too much concern, and within seconds, the Hawks went ahead. Scott Robson received the puck from Adam Brittle, and headed up the ice, before unleashing a ferocious slapshot towards Bagshaw in the Sutton net. Adams had shrewdly positioned himself in line with the shot, and his presence was sufficient to distract the goalkeeper. Undaunted, however, Sutton came roaring back into the contest, as they continued to bring the best out of the Blackburn keeper, but he stood up to the test admirably - ensuring the home side went into the break with a slender lead. 

The second period began with a 2+2 for Lomax, for 'hooking' and 'delay of game', respectively. This allowed the Sting players to encamp themselves in the offensive zone, putting shot after shot on the over-worked Ashton. With the penalty ticking down, the visitors finally beat the valiant efforts of the Hawks net-minder, when patient passing around the goal created an opening, and the deflected shot fell invitingly onto the stick of the waiting forward, who couldn't miss. Jon Adams was beginning to grow into the game, and fired a powerful wrist-shot into the chest of Bagshaw. Parity only lasted for 3 minutes, however, as Blackburn regained the lead - courtesy of a cool finish from Davies. Matt Viney went into the corner, to contest possession with the defenceman, and having taken control, passed into space for the waiting Davies, who slid a classy back-hand finish beneath Bagshaw. Stuart-Dant tried on several occasions to coax a reaction out of Robson, but the defenceman refused to be drawn by his under-hand tactics. The game was then delayed for 10 minutes, when Adams and Dant came together in a corner, and shattered the plexi-glass. Once the game resumed, the Hawks upped the intensity, and the visitor's goal lead a charmed life, as both Adams and then David Miekle struck the pipe-work within a minute of each other. 

The final 20 minutes began with the home side looking rather lethargic - handing the initiative to Sutton. A 3-on-2 breakout looked certain to end in an equalising goal, but quick-thinking by Ashton saw him come sprinting from his crease, and poke the puck from the stick of the forward. However, the Hawks did not heed the warning, and only minutes later, another 3-man rush had their defence on it's heels. Robinson crossed from the right, and Colgate deflected home, to tie the game. Two extremely harsh calls against Blackburn incensed the crowd, and they voiced their opinions towards the officials in vocal fashion. The game was very stop-start, as penalty after penalty was called - disrupting the flow of the game. With 2 minutes remaining, Adams had the chance to become an instant hero, when he broke clear from his own blue-line. He bore down on Bagshaw, but interference by a chasing defenceman was sufficient to put the Canadian off, and he hit the post. With only just over a minute left in the match, he got another chance, and this time he 'delivered' - in style. Adam Brittle played the puck out to Adams on the right, and as he crossed the blue line, cut in front of the net, and powered an unstoppable shot beyond the prone goalkeeper. There was little time for a response from Sutton, and the clock ticked down with the Hawks keeping possession.

MVP went to Jon Adams.