Seahawks Come Back to Beat the Steeldogs as Momentum Builds
Hull Reckitt Seahawks v Sheffield Steeldogs – 16/02/2025
They say that commitment is the ignitor of momentum and, as we enter the business end of the Planet Ice NIHL National Division season, we are starting to see a battered and bruised Hull Reckitt Seahawks team hitting form and grinding out result after result in the relentless pursuit of a play-off berth and to finish as high in the standings as possible.
At the weekend, a 5-4 win on the road against the Solway Sharks was followed by a hugely important 6-5 Yorkshire derby victory against the Sheffield Steeldogs in front of a packed Hull Arena.
Those results mean back-to-back four-point weekends for the Seahawks, as they continue to pull away from the chasing pack and narrow the gap on the top three of Swindon Wildcats, Leeds Knights and Milton Keynes Lightning.
On Saturday, Hull made the trip north of the border to Dumfries to face a Solway side still harbouring their own ambitions of making the end-of-season showpiece in Coventry.
Indeed, the Sharks would strike first, with Scott Henderson scoring at 10:41. However, the lead would be short-lived as Emil Svec restored parity for the Seahawks just two minutes later, assisted by Owen Sobchak and Bobby Chamberlain.
The Seahawks would then turn the tables 31 seconds later through an Owen Bruton marker, at 13:15, assisted by Lee Haywood and Alex Kent, to go 2-1 up.
The Sharks would find a leveller before the first period intermission, at 14:51, through Kyle Carruth, to send the teams into the locker rooms at 2-2.
Into the second period, Callum Boyd struck at 28:40 to put the hosts back in front but just over a minute later it was all-square again as Seahawks skipper Chamberlain scored the equaliser.
As the period headed into its closing minutes, Hull would forge ahead again thanks to Czech forward Svec’s second of the night, but, before the second stanza finished, the Sharks would be afforded an opportunity to tie the game again, as Seahawks defenceman Josh Hodgkinson sat a two-minute penalty for holding.
With 27 seconds left on the clock, John Dunbar netted a fourth for Solway to end the period 4-4.
What followed next could probably be politely described as ‘a melee’, as a brawl resulted in Declan Jones and Rhys Edwards for the Seahawks and Carruth and Liam Stenton for the Sharks all being called for fighting.
Midway through the third period, Sharks forward Joey Coulter was given a 2+2 for tripping and hooking to put Hull on the powerplay.
At 54:01, Svec netted his hattrick goal, assisted by Chamberlain and Johnny Corneil, to put the Seahawks ahead.
However, the Sharks would find yet another leveller, at 57:42, through Olivier Arseneau, with the Canadian defenceman scoring on the powerplay as Hull’s Declan Balmer sat in the penalty box for roughing.
With the game drawing to a close, both teams felt it could go there way and it would only need a single opportunity to seal the points.
That chance would fall the way of the Seahawks when, at 57:55, Liam Danskin was called for tripping, which put Solway on the penalty kill.
The Hull bench called a time out and a plan was devised to smash and grab.
The Seahawks special teams have been in fine form of late, making the creation of a clear goalscoring opportunity an inevitability.
It finally came ay 59:09, with veteran GB forward Jason Hewitt finishing his chance, assisted by Svec and Corneil, to send the Seahawks home with two more valuable points.
On Sunday, a season-high attendance of 1,609 fans filled Hull Arena to see the Seahawks face-off against their south Yorkshire rivals, the Sheffield Steeldogs, for the final time in the regular season.
The opening goal of the contest came in unusual circumstances, when a standard pass across the ice by the Steeldogs defence went awry as Samuel Cooper’s stick broke and sent him sprawling to the ice.
Owen Bruton picked up the loose puck and drove towards the Sheffield net, unleashing a close range shot that Curtis Warburton saved with his pad. However, the netminder could do nothing about the rebound which was buried by Emil Svec at 07:29.
The first period would only yield another goal, this time for the visitors, as they took advantage of a powerplay opportunity with five seconds left in the first stanza.
Walker Sommer converted a chance as Jordan Fisher sat a two-minute penalty for holding.
The second period looked like it would be defined by a controversial penalty called on Seahawks forward Lee Bonner, at 24:47, as he was given a five-minute penalty for charging.
Down a man, Hull would ship two goals on the powerplay, firstly through Ivan Bjorkly-Nordstrom, at 25:33, and then Nathan Ripley, at 27:17, to put the Steeldogs into a 3-1 lead.
However, a moment of ill-discipline from the Steeldogs would give the Seahawks a route back into the game, with Hull scoring two powerplay markers with Ollie Turner and Thomas Barry sitting two-minute penalties for cross-checking and holding the stick, respectively.
Johnny Corneil tipped a shot in at 35:42, assisted by Jason Hewitt and Emil Svec, before Bobby Chamberlain tied the match up, at 36:45, finishing an opportunity at the back door, assisted by Svec and Hewitt.
Into the third period, the Steeldogs would go ahead for the final time in the game, with Sommer scoring his second of the night, at 51:44.
With five minutes to go in the match, the Seahawks again drew level, this time thanks to Owen Sobchak who was set up by Chamberlain, as the pair finished a 2v2 breakaway.
At 57:09, Barry was sent to the penalty box for a second time, for roughing, which enabled the Seahawks to complete the comeback 20 seconds later, on the powerplay, with Sobchak netting the game-winning goal, assisted by Svec and Hewitt.
“These have been important games for us to build momentum, as we head towards the playoffs,” said Hull Seahawks Captain Bobby Chamberlain post-match.
“Our team has been built to get to Coventry and to win silverware, so it is great to have secured back-to-back four-point weekends.
“Both Solway and Sheffield are trying to push up the standings to secure their places in the post-season – so it means a lot that we can turn in performances like we have, especially as we are short benched at the moment.”
Looking ahead to the weekend’s double-header against the Berkshire Bees, Chamberlain believes his team can’t afford to be complacent.
“Berkshire are a good team on their day, they’ve beaten the likes of Leeds and Milton Keynes at their place this season, so we need to make sure we go there in the right frame of mind, wanting to win.
“If we do things right, I am confident we can win.”
By Mark Bateman
