ICE HOCKEY: SOLIHULL Barons were victorious in a 17-goal thriller at home on Sunday night against Hull Pirates.
Barons had to rely on Phil Mulcahy’s late overtime marker to wrap up the two-points as 16 regulation time goals proved not enough to separate either side.
The win follows a series of narrow losses for the Barons which sees them still hurting – currently sat in the bottom half of the league table.
Barons signalled their intent from the off as Niklas Ottosson scored Solihull’s opener with the game less than a minute old.
Pirates were soon level though as Jason Hewitt scored the night’s first equalising goal on eight minutes.
But Barons soon stretched their legs and were quickly 3-1 up thanks to markers from the Niklas Ottosson, Luke Brittle, Tom Soar line in the 11th minute.
Hull gained momentum from a few on-ice scraps though as Sam Towner and Jason Hewitt levelled the game at 3-3.
That was before Matty Davis’ last minute first period goal handed the visiting side the advantage for the first time.
A shorthanded breakaway led to Barons’ fourth goal of the night before Hull re-took the lead once more when James Archer’s shot rebounded off Nicholls’ stick to put Hull 5-4 up.
Further goals from Bobby Chamerlain and Jason Hewitt – who completed his hat-trick – meant Hull had built a three-goal cushion mid-way through the middle period.
But that was reduced to just one goal before the second period buzzer sounded as Ryan Selwood and Luke Brittle netted to make the score 6-7.
A tame third period followed as Pirates looked to have wrapped the game up with 18 minutes remaining when Chamberlain bagged Hull’s eight goal.
Refusing to give in though, Ottosson bagged a pair of late goals to in the concluding four minutes to force overtime.
The three-on-three period saw no goals scored, meaning penalty shots were needed.
Barons’ netminder Josh Nicholls denied Hull their first two chances, while at the other end Josh Bruce and Phil Mulcahy sounded the buzzer to ensure Barons scooped the additional point.
Solihull are back in action this Sunday against the Dragons.
Picture: Harish Chavda.
