The Whitley Warriors recovered from a disappointing start to claim a point in Shropshire and move to the top of the NIHL-North Division 1 standings.
It would prove to be a very hectic opening few minutes, with the Warriors finding themselves on a 5-on-3 Powerplay (or a 2PP if you're from Arizona) just 27 seconds into the game.
Telford were able to kill that double penalty and no sooner were they back to full-strength, broke away down the other end of the ice to take a shock lead.
James Smith and Callum Bowley combined to put the home side ahead, with the former unleashing an-unstoppable shot beyond goalie Richie Lawson.
Around three minutes later and the Warriors were dealt another blow when a mid ice collision between Andre Payette and a Tigers player saw Alex Lawson caught in the middle and had to be helped off the ice with a serious looking knock to his knee.
Whitley were finding it hard to break down a very resolute Telford side who had goalie Denis Bell standing on his head, keeping every shot out that came his way. Callum Watson made a clever drive to goal on more than one occasion but each time Bell pulled off great saves.
Bell wasn't the only goalie playing well, the Warrior's Lawson was also called upon to make some important saves. Telford could well have gone into the first intermission with a two goal lead when a shot struck the post, and with their forwards closing in to get to the re-bound, Lawson quickly adjusted to smother the puck.
The second period followed much the same as the first with both goalies keeping their respective sides in the game. David Longstaff received the puck on the blue line and caught the Tigers defense on a breakaway, but Bell saved well from his shot. Telford then hit the crossbar with a shot whilst on the Powerplay before eventually doubling their lead at 27:47.
Telford found themselves with a 2-on-1 rush, and with a Whitley defenseman drawn to cover the puck handler, Karol Jets, James Smith was left unmarked to hit a shot that deflected past Lawson.
With frustration starting to set in, Longstaff mixed up his lines to try and find some chemistry that could break down Telford's resistance. As the period was edging towards a close the home side started to deal out some cheap hits. Youngster Bradley Betteridge, who was only 16 (or was he 17 depending on the home fans comments) was making a nuisance of himself, with Andre Payette far from impressed. A few seconds later Payette was tripped with no penalty called, before Telford's danger man, Smith, appeared to stick Jordan Barnes in the face. Again the officials didn't call a penalty but they did call a cheap penalty on Lawson for tripping. Josh Maddock was angered by the call and the officials decided to hand him a misconduct too.
Feeling more than hard done by seemed to galvanise the Warriors though, and when Jordan Barnes managed to steal the puck on the Penalty Kill, he found Harry Harley who was able to halve the deficit just before the second intermission.
The third period saw a marked improvement from the Warriors, with Callum Queenan using his pace to speed past the Tigers defensemen but his shot was well saved yet again by Bell.
The Warriors were soon given a rare power play though, and with Payette on the point, he received the puck straight from the face-off and fired home to tie the game with his first goal in a Whitley jersey.
The dirty tricks from Telford continued. Adam Taylor had spent the game delivering late and cheap hits, and on this occasion he thought it was a good idea to rush Lawson. Both would receive minor penalties setting up a 4-on-4 situation. With ten minutes of the game remaining the '16/17 year old' Betteridge dealt out a check to the head to earn a 2+10 penalty.
The Warriors appeared to have completed the most unlikely of comebacks at 52:39 when DJ Good scored an un-assisted, and first goal of the season. It came at a crucial time in the game and was celebrated emphatically by his team-mates.
Had Whitley gone on to win the game it probably would have been harsh on Telford, but as the clock ticked down, you just had the feeling tonight wasn't quite going to be the Warriors night.
A timeout was called with 70 seconds to go, and the pressure was starting to build. Within four seconds of the re-start Telford had tied the game after a cleared puck found it's way back to Bowley who found Smith for the third time in the game. Those two combined for all of Telford's goals and will have to be watched in the return game next week at Hillheads.
Team News
Whitley started the game with the same top two forward lines, but Martin Crammond found himself with two new line mates on the third. Andre Payette started the game centering Crammond's line before spending time on the blueline. That allowed Ben Richards to come back in on the Left Wing. Jordan Barnes is usually found on defense these days but he did a good job on the Right Wing and was one of the better performers on the night.
Dan Pye and Josh Maddock resumed their partnership on the top Defensive line, while Joe Stamp and Harry Harley were paired together on the second unit. Scott Cooper and Stuart Tomlinson were on the third line.
Kyle Ross was dressed for the game but didn't see any on-ice action.
Lines
25 Longstaff - 27 Tinsley - 15 Queenan
11 Kippin - 9 DJ Good - 6 Watson
18 Crammond - 7 Payette - 17 Barnes
64 Richards - 13 Ross
38 Pye - 19 Maddock
3 Stamp - 24 Harley
21 Cooper - 71 Tomlinson
35 Lawson - 84 Turnbull
Opposition View
Much was made before the game of Telford's top line of Macauley Heywood, Karol Jets and Adam Taylor, but those players were actually mixed up for this game. Youngster Bradley Betteridge found himself with Heywood and cheap-shot Taylor, while Jets was on a line with James Smith and Callum Bowley who were the two danger men for the Tigers. The third line saw Joe Aston, Philip Mulcahy and Michael Washburn together.
Like Whitley the Tigers played with three defensive pairings in this game with Daniel Croft alongside Corey Goodison, Matthew Lees with Simon Harrison and Joshua Hustwick with Daniel Harrison.
Kurt Graham, James Callagher and Matthew Price were dressed to play but were unused. Denis Bell was the only goalie named for the game.
News
* Denis Bell was an unsurprising choice as Man of the Match for Telford, but there was no award for the Warriors.
* On a day where just about everything that could have gone wrong, did. The Team bus carrying the U-18 Braves team broke down at Woodall Services just outside of Sheffield. The Braves were on their way to a game in Coventry at the time.
* Due to a technical problem Telford Ice Rink were unable to play the National Anthem before the game. Loyal Whitley supporter Bobby Dixon decided to burst into song with a rousing rendition of 'God Save The Queen'. He received a standing ovation from both the other travelling Whitley fans and the Tigers Supporters.
* Game Officials: Roy Hamilton (Referee), Matthew Carrington & Dave Appleby (Assistants).
* SOG Telford [16,4,18 - 38] Whitley [8,8,9 - 25]
Other Results
Solway Sharks v Sheffield Senators 12-1
Whitley are back in action later on today (Sunday 20th) when Perry Doyle's Solihull Barons make the return journey from last weekends encounter. After what was an entertaining match-up with some good fights, I am sure every fan inside Hillheads will be hoping for more of the same.
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