Ice hockey: Telford Tigers roar into finals weekend
A stunning first-leg performance paved the way for Telford Tigers to be crowned NIHL North play-off champions in Sheffield tonight.
The Tigers beat the Sheffield Steeldogs 6-0 in Shropshire on Saturday and completed the job with a 3-2 defeat in the second leg this evening, giving them an 8-3 triumph on aggregate.
They now go forward to face Peterborough Phantoms in the semi-finals of the NIHL Final Four in Coventry on Saturday (1pm), with the hope of making the National Championship final on Sunday (4.30pm).
Tigers were without Dale White, Filip Supa and under-18 players Brodie Jesson, Louis Morgan, Jed Moreland and Dan Mitchell for the return in Sheffield yesterday, but were able to add Nick Oliver, coach Tom Watkins and Joe Miller to their line-up.
Miller had reversed his decision to retire earlier in the season and agreed to return for the play-off series with Sheffield and the NIHL Final Four weekend in Coventry next weekend.
Adam Taylor went close when his shot was juggled by Sheffield netminder Dimitri Zimozdra before Jason Silverthorn shot wide with only Zimozdra to beat.
Sheffield started to apply pressure to the Tigers’ goal and scored the opener in the 13th minute when Cameron Brownley tipped Adrian Palak’s shot past Denis Bell.
The second period started badly for Tigers, with Adam Jones getting called for a tripping penalty and Sheffield taking full advantage when Lewis Bell’s shot was saved by Denis Bell, but Ashley Calvert was on hand to slam home the rebound.
Sheffield scored their third goal in the 27th minute with a carbon copy of their second, Calvert netting on the rebound again.
A break in play to fix an acrylic glass panel behind the goal gave the Tigers a welcome break, and they sealed their victory in the third period. Ricky Plant sent a pass off the boards to Macauley Halford, who toe-dragged the puck past a defender and fired home into the top right-hand corner.
Bell was then required to make two huge saves to keep Sheffield out and in the 54th minute the Tigers secured the aggregate victory when Warren Tait’s shot was saved, but Tom Watkins was on hand to fire the rebound into the net.
