Lions tamed as Edgar the hat-trick hero

WHITLEY Warriors defeated the Nottingham Lions 3-1 at Hillheads last night in the National Hockey League North Division, writes CHRIS MACKENZIE.

The Warriors were skippered by the experiencedd Dan Pye as they were without regular captain Dean Holland.

Mark Turnbull started the game in goal for the home side after a superb start to the campaign.

The Lions travelled north with a healthy roster as the side from the lace city were able to bring a squad which included 20 skaters and two goaltenders.

Eight minutes into proceedings Warriors’ import forward Phil Edgar broke the deadlock when he fired home after being nicely set up by Liam Smedley and Adam Finlinson.

Young blue-liner Smedley was also involved in the game’s second goal when he and player coach David Longstaff picked up the assists on a strike from the in-form Shaun Kippin. The middle session of play saw no further goals scored.

However, there was still plenty of action as the officials on duty handed out 20 minutes in penalties to the two sides.

It was Edgar who grabbed the game’s next goal when he fired home an unassisted marker with 43 minutes gone to extend the Warriors’ advantage to 3-0.

Turnbull was denied his shut-out late on as Marc Levers grabbed a consolation effort for the visitors.

The young goalie had a superb game between the pipes, though, as he was able to save 41 out of the 42 shots which came his way during the contest.

That was not the end of the goalscoring as Edgar grabbed his hat-trick marker with an empty net goal and he deservedly picked up the man of the match award for yet another impressive display.