The Tomahawks were back to full strength with the return of Jack Davies to the line up, having missed the last 4 games through suspension and then injury. Telford travelled with a short bench, but are a team that always provide tough opposition. Whitley won the corresponding fixture in Telford 5-4, but were more comfortable than that scoreline suggests.
The 1st period was only 25 seconds old when Sean Bamling tried his luck with a shot from halfway that James Owen-Jones in the Telford net turned aside. The visitors then had 2 chances in quick succession to take the lead, firstly an odd man rush which was saved by Mark Turnbull in the Whitley net, then when Telfords Nick Oliver had a wide open net to aim for, Turnbull somehow scrambled across his goal to pull off a great glove save. Matty Campbell then had a shot from the point saved by Owen-Jones, but Whitley chances were few and far between in the opening period as Telford laid siege to the home net. Only a combination of some desperate defending and Turnbull “standing on his head” kept the scores level at the end of the period. How Telford didn`t score remains a mystery.
Turnbull started the 2nd period as he had finished the 1st, denying Telford again when they had a 2 on 1 opportunity, before Callum Read saw his shot through traffic from the blue line, hit the unsighted keeper and bounce away to safety. Turnbull produced his best save of the match midway through the period, when after initially saving with his stick from Jack Spotwood , the puck was laid back to Oli Hunt who must have thought he couldn`t miss with Turnbull lying flat on the ice , but incredibly the keeper stuck up his glove and Hunts 1 timer flew into it. Telfords Cameron Good received a 2min penalty at 23.12 for boarding, but as he returned to the ice found himself clear of the home defence and a 1 on 1 with Turnbull, which the home keeper came out on top of again. At 26.41, and totally against the run of play , the Tomahawks took the lead when Sean Bamling blasted a shot from the blue line, that took a deflection on the way past the unfortunate Owen-Jones. The last action of the period saw Turnbull again making a fine glove save, this time denying Josh Holden.
The 3rd period was barely underway when Whitleys Miker was levelled at centre ice by a thunderous hit by Telford captain Cameron Blakemore, with the Czech having to be helped back to the home bench. The Tomahawks doubled their lead at 35.36 when Harry Harley scored at the goalies near post unassisted. A minute later, Hunt had a great chance to cut the deficit to 1, but unbelievably fired wide of an open goal when set up with a pass from behind the net. Harley put the game beyond doubt at 39.23, Davies winning a battle for the puck behind the Telford net and setting him up to fire high over the keepers shoulder at the near post. Telford had one last chance to get on the scoreboard when man of the match Turnbull again made a point blank save to this time deny Dominic Martin and register his 3rd shut-out of the season. Another good, if fortunate win for the Tomahawks, to complete the double over Telford this season.
Spirit of the Game; #84 Mark Turnbull.
Goals; Harry Harley 2+0, Sean Bamling 1+0, Ben Richards 0+1, Jack Davies 0+1,
Callum Queenan 0+1.
PIMs; Whitley 4, telford 4
Shots Faced; Mark Turnbull ( Whitley )29. James Owen-Jones ( Telford )17.