No promotion play-off
played at Blackburn last season and 20-5 on aggregate over two legs to Whitley Warriors back in 2015.
As might be expected for a game of such importance, the opening phase saw some robust plays by both teams and a number of penalties were handed out before the Dragons took
Overtime is played with just three skaters on the ice from each team instead of the usual five, with no imports allowed.
The Dragons put the Wild goal under extreme pressure and it took several great saves by Croyle to keep Widnes in the game.
They seemed to have weathered the storm and a fierce shot from Andrew Turner rattled the Dragons’ goal post but then – with just 1.50 left until the game would go to a penalty shoot-out, Wild’s Stuart Brittle picked up a two minute slashing penalty.
This meant that Widnes would be a man short for the rest of the game and the pressure finally told with just 51 seconds left on the clock as the Dragons scored the winning goal that would keep them in the Moralee Conference for another season.
Hockey Disappointment As Ice Rinks Remain Closed
Ice hockey players and fans across the country have been left in limbo following the government’s decision not to allow ice rinks to re-open as part of the latest measures for the easing of lockdown restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
With pubs, restaurants and most other businesses being allowed to open from July 4 onwards, it had been hoped that ice rinks would be able to follow suit and open up again to stage public skating and limited ice hockey and figure skating sessions.
In fact, staff at the Planet Ice rink in Widnes have been busy putting new safety measures in place such as cash-less payments, enhanced hygiene regimes, revised customer capacities and social distancing for ice users, but, unfortunately, the rinks currently remain closed – alongside other sports venues.
In preparation for the hoped for reopening of the rinks, the English Ice Hockey Association actually issued a “Return To Play” strategy back in June that set out a five stage plan for getting players back into training while, at the same time, strictly enforcing safety measures.
Phase one is where we are now, with rinks being closed and players training on their own or in small groups at home and in gardens, where they can at least practice certain stick and puck handling skills.
The progression on to Phase two is completely dependent on rinks being allowed to open again but, once this happens, the EIHA has identified how players can get back onto the ice, albeit with a lot of additional restrictions in place.
These include changing at home rather then using the changing rooms, a limited number of participants on the ice per session and keeping two metres apart at all times.
While this precludes any kind of contact, it would at least allow for basic skating skills and stick and puck drills – which will be highly welcome to players who have not been able to practice on ice for over three months.
Phase three of the plan would see a larger group of participants allowed onto the ice at the same time without distancing requirements.
It also allows for body contact to be reintroduced and “proper” ice hockey training to recommence.
Phase four – although this is a long way off at the moment – would see unlimited player numbers and unrestricted activity allowed on the ice and would pave the way for friendly matches to be played and Phase five would look at the return of competitive ice hockey and the start of the new league season.
Obviously, nobody knows how the pandemic crisis will develop over the next few months and to what extent further relaxations of the lockdown are going to be possible.
Even after the ice rinks have been allowed to reopen and ice hockey teams are able to train again, the question of public access to venues and how to safely accommodate paying spectators at games will still have to be addressed.