The Whitley Bay Islanders go into their game against fierce rivals Durham Dragons on Thursday [face-off 10:30pm free entry], knowing just a point will see them lift the Summer Cup League Trophy, and if they can get the job done it will be the third straight year the Tynesiders have claimed that particular piece of silverware.
Two years ago the Islanders won their first Summer Cup and followed that up with winning the playoffs too. Last time out though, the Islanders defended their League Championship but due to poor ice conditions at Hillheads, their season came unstuck throughout the closing weeks of the season.
The ice at Whitley has never been great but last summer the ice melted completely and meant some games were forced into being called off. Thankfully Widnes Wildcats, one of the sides still set to travel to Whitley, very sportingly forfeited the game themselves so that the Islanders could claim the points and not lose out on the trophy through a technicality.
While that was all well and good in being able to win the regular season trophy, come the playoffs the Islanders had not been able to play in weeks and so were lacking match practice. That ultimately cost the Islanders in their semi-final against a very experienced Kingston Cobras side and then again to arch rivals Durham in the Plate final.
This season the Islanders have been on something of a mission, racking up wins and goals on a relentless pursuit to right the wrongs of last season. After ten games so far they are 9-0-1, their sole dropped point coming at home to closest challengers Cleveland.
The Islanders campaign got underway back in early April, when they dispatched the Grimsby Lightning 17-1 and have never looked back since. Over the next 10 weeks the all-conquering side recorded road wins in Widnes, Grimsby and Blackburn, despite being short-benched for some of those trips. There was also time to win the Overs 35s tournament in Nottingham, beating holders Cleveland in the final before the two sides met again a fortnight later at Hillheads.
It was probably the one occasion this season that the Islanders weren’t on top form but they were still able to recover from being down 4-2 with a couple of late goals to snatch a point against an experienced Comets side packed with former Billingham Bombers players.
As we entered the month of July the Islanders were facing perhaps the toughest run of games all season with their three most difficult road games played within eight days of each other. First up they had to make a trip down the A19 to face Cleveland on Teesside before a double weekend playing Kingston in Hull and then Durham ‘away’.
The Islanders and Comets have been far and away the best two sides in the competition this season and met at the Forum in what should have been the hardest game of the season for the Islanders but in the end they eased to another victory [7-3] to put themselves in pole position down the stretch.
The following weekend, saw the Islanders put another seven goals past a title rival before having an easy win over the Dragons [9-1], the next day. The Dragons brought a sizeable crowd with them from Wearside but the Islanders soon silenced them in an impressive display.
Over the following couple of weeks the Islanders gained further success, first when Blackburn Falcons were unable to travel so had to forfeit and give the points to Whitley and then an 8-4 success over Solihull.
That brings us up to date for this season and with just four games remaining it’s surely a question of when not if the Islanders claim this latest trophy. Kingston have already refused to travel North due to the latest bout of Whitley flu sweeping the competition. Originally the sides were set to face each other on August 13 but with the EIHA referee seminar that weekend the game had to be moved and despite the Islanders re-arranging their schedule and securing ice time for the game to take place following the Cobras clash with the Dragons last Sunday the Humberside-based outfit opted to change their mind leaving Whitley with another blank weekend and the cost of paying for ice time. With the Cobras now refusing to complete their fixtures, the Islanders will be awarded a second 10-0 forfeit victory, and leaves just a trip to Solihull and a home clash with Widnes to complete before the playoffs get underway on August Bank Holiday weekend.
There was a time when a Whitley/Durham clash meant one thing. A very one-sided victory for the big blue machine on Wearside as the Wasps buzzed their way to another trophy. Now though it’s quite different, with Whitley being the dominant force in the North East now, the Yellow Submarine is looking to sink all who stand in their way for silverware this season starting with the Dragons on Thursday!
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