SOLIHULL Barons clinched the Laidler Division title in style thanks to a dominant performance over A45 rivals Coventry Blaze on Saturday evening.
While few would have predicted an upset in the Coventry tie, it took a while for the Barons to settle and it was approaching the seventh minute before Tom Soar got the opener off an assist by linemate Niklas Ottosson.
Five minutes later Joe Henry had added number two for the Barons before a late first period goal by the Blaze’s Matt Maurice saw things fairly evenly balanced as the sides headed to the dressing room with the Barons holding a 2-1 advantage.
The second period would however see the Barons hit their scoring stride with no fewer than eight goals in the second twenty. Josh Bruce, Perry Doyle and Andy Whitehouse were among the scorers, as the Solihull team peppered Blaze netminder Graham Laverick’s goal. The Blaze countered with two further goals by Maurice but the game was now running away from the Coventry side.
The final period saw the Baron’s continue to torment Coventry with a further six goals, Jake Larkin completing a hat-trick, with Tomas Janak rounding off the scoring for a 16-4. The Blaze would get a consolation goal but really the night had been all about the Barons and their dominance of the league.
Barons were back in action the on Sunday as the champions travelled to Humberside and defeat Hull Jets 7-4 to maintain their unbeaten record.
It was slightly sluggish start for the new league champions with only a single goal advantage and a 4-3 scoreline after the first two periods of the game. The highlight was a brace of goals from Swedish import Niklas Ottosson, the first of which notched up an incredible 300 goals for the Barons squad this season.
By the final period the Barons had started to find some form, with further goals including the completion of his hat-trick by Ottosson to end the game with a relatively comfortable 7-4 margin.
Next week the Barons have a tricky double header when they travel to league runner-ups Telford Tigers on Saturday before welcoming the Tigers to Solihull on Sunday evening.
