A NARROW 7-5 victory for Solihull Barons at home to Telford Tigers could prove to be two points that go a long way to securing a spot in the NIHL North 1 play-offs in Sheffield.
The Barons overcame their opponents in what proved to be a tight affair and took home the spoils for what could prove to be a decisive victory.
The first period showed two evenly matched sides setting their stalls out with the first ten minutes being dominated by high tempo hockey and there were very few clear cut chances for either side.
It was the Barons who found the net first with Dave Rogers seizing on a puck from Josh Bruce for the evening’s opener.
But the lead last just five minutes before Philip Mulcahy drew the Tigers level at 1-1.
The game turned on its head at the beginning of the second period after the Barons went a man down and Telford’s Callum Bowley slotted the puck home.
Within a minute the Barons had levelled things up. Joe Henry put the puck in the Telford net off of an offensive end face-off but the Tigers regained the lead once more thanks to another powerplay opportunity with Daniel Croft pulling the puck back to the blue line where a waiting Corey Goodison made no mistake with his shot.
By the half-hour mark the game had become more expansive and the Barons would bring things level as Andy Whitehouse and Rob Eley combined to give Matt Maurice the equaliser.
The final period started brightly for the Barons with Josh Bruce firing in number four for Solihull a minute into the period.
Two minutes later and Andy Whitehouse found himself breaking up the ice but with little options open and fired in a speculative shot as he crossed the blue line to surprise Dennis Bell in the Telford net and give Solihull a two goal lead for the first time in the game.
More Barons goals would follow with Rob Eley getting a popular goal in his final season for the club and this advantage would be reinforced by Dave Rogers getting number seven.
The Tigers maintained focus and were rewarded with a pair of goals late on but the damage had been done by Solihull in the first five minutes of the period and the home side took the victory.
This weekend the Barons have a long haul weekend which started with a home clash against Solway Sharks before travelling to Whitley Bay on Sunday.
