Shetland Dragons Skate Hockey

Match Report Saturday 2nd February 2002

Sandwick saw a new format and some new names on the scoresheet in the weekly skate hockey matches. With 22 players and the size limitations of the school hall the teams were split into 5 groups of 4 with 2 goalkeepers. The matches were played over 4 minutes, which doesn't sound very long, but with the speed and intensity of skate hockey is quite long enough to reach a state of exhaustion

The first game saw the Alphas taking on the Betas. The first minutes were an end to end toussle with neither team getting any openings, the ball eventually worked its way down the left wing and in his trademark way Joe O'Connor drifted off the play and took up position in the slot. Andy Harper sent a pass straight to Joe's stick and his shot slid under Jonathan Sandilands pads. The Betas second goal came from a goalmouth scramble, John McNeill flicked the ball into the goal mouth where it rebounded off Emily Garricks skate and passed a wrongfooted Jonathan.
Alphas 0 - 2 Betas.

In the next game the Gammas looked like being an impenetrable defensive barrier. Christopher Storey played deep in front of Steven Stoves goal with Robert Hannah and John McDiarmid covering the flanks. This left Amy Harper trying to attack on her own with no real chance of success. The Deltas, captained by Magnus Laurenson played almost the entire game in the Gammas half but were unable to manufacture a goal.
Gammas 0 - 0 Deltas

The Epsilons did not have a Junior player to add size and weight to their team so Guy Smith filled this role leaving the five Pee Wee's more freedom to roam the pitch. Danny Mullay played solidly in defence for the Epsilons and it looked like another draw was inevitable as James Nicolson for the Alphas seemed caught between his instinct to defend and his teams need to attack. Once his mind was made up though he broke down the right and his well timed pass put Emily Garrick clear on goal.
Epsilon 0 - 1 Alphas.

The Betas then took on the Gammas, Another stalemate looked on the cards as the Gammas defence was uniformly solid, until Andy Harper spotted his chance. He had been winning face off's with relative ease so on the next one he shot straight from the drop, catching eveyone off guard and scoring low to Steven Stoves left. This brought a more attacking look to the Gammas and with Amy, Robert and John McDiarmid moving forward at pace the Betas were caught flatfooted and Robert scored the equalizer off a pass from John.
Betas 1 - 1 Gammas.

The Deltas took on the Epsilons in the next game and Magnus Laurenson eventually got his name on the score board with a fine solo effort from inside his own half.
Deltas 1 - 0 Epsilon.

The final two games Alphas v Gammas and Deltas v Betas ended in 0 - 0 draws due in no small part to some fine goal keeping from both steven Stove and Jonathan Sandilands.

The Competition was jointly won by the Betas and Deltas with 4 points.

Junior Players

GP

G

A

Pts

PPGA

Magnus Laurenson152514382.60
Ruairidh Mackenzie13267332.54
Ben Davis9163192.11
Antony Okill12105151.29
Emily Garrick91120.22
Christopher Storey110220.18
Robert Hannah21010.50

PeeWee Players

GP

G

A

Pts

PPGA

Andy Harper1577140.93
Joe O'Connor13101110.85
Kieran Smith155490.60
James Nicolson144260.43
John McDiarmid10111.00
Alec Watt80110.13
Magnus Johnson121010.08
John McNeill61010.17

GP=games Played, G=Goals, A=Assists, Pts=Points, PPGA=Points per game average)