SOLIHULL Barons ended their pre-season schedule with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at home to Telford Tigers.
The Barons edged matters on Sunday evening in a tight game which saw two of the most fancied sides in the Moralee square off in their final pre-season warm-up tie before the start of the league proper this weekend.
The first period of Sunday night’s game proved to be a very cagey affair with both sides failing to convert any of their chance early on.
Penalties against the home side titled the ice more towards Telford but the visitors cold find no way past a sold Barons defence combined with some excellent goaltending.
The Barons eventually managed to break the deadlock when Niklas Ottosson fired in a shot from the edge of the right-hand circle which sailed past Tigers netminder Daniel Brittle.
Neither side could score another and Ottosson’s strike proved to be the only difference between the two sides at the end of the opening 20 minutes.
The second period began with the sides trading attacks and for a spell in the middle of the second period, the Barons did ride their luck with the puck hitting the Solihull pipework on 28 minutes.
It would be from the defence however that the Barons would build their second goal with Dale White and Phil Knight clearing to Ottosson who broke past two Telford players before finding a gap in the Telford goalmouth for both his and the Barons’ second goals of the night.
The tie was far from over heading into the final period and a goal five minutes into the period for Telford set up a tense finish.
Corey Goodison found a gap round the glove of the otherwise solid Josh Nicholls in the Barons net to make it 2-1.
The game continued at high intensity for the remainder of the period and at times it boiled over with something of a line brawl with three minutes to go but there was no further scoring as the Barons emerged from their short but successful pre-season schedule undefeated.
The season proper starts this Sunday with the Barons welcoming Sheffield-based Sutton Sting for the opener at 6pm.
