Calum Hepburn started in goal for the Solway Sharks’ first Sunday home game of the year against the Sheffield Steeldogs at the Shark Tank.

End to end stuff in the Shark Tank!!

On Saturday night, the Sharks suffered a 4-1 defeat in Sheffield; as a result, they were hoping to get off to a strong start and a good start against the Steeldogs. Mason Alderson put in some hard work to set up Ross Murray for a shot that went directly into the Daniel Crowe chest in the Steeldogs’ net.

It was end of end stuff and the post came to the rescue for the Sharks as some strong work by the Steeldogs almost gave them the lead at the Shark Tank.

As the time approached the halfway point, the Sharks began to create chances, and some deft movement from Scott Henderson found Nolan Gardiner, who sent a shot off the crossbar.

As the first period came to a close, both sides’ intensity increased, and after Calum Hepburn clutched onto a puck, Ross Connolly and Jack Brammer started fighting.

The Sharks capitalised on the extra man with some nice work from the powerplay unit, and it fell to John Dunbar to make it 1-0 Sharks!!

After conceding, the Steeldogs began to put more pressure on the Sharks net, and that pressure paid off with a close range finish by Vladislavs Vulkanovs to tie it up in the first period.

Sharks score..then Steeldogs tie it up!

The period began with both teams having chances, but it was the Sharks who scored the next goal, an early goal and Craig Peacock’s second of the weekend with a finish past Daniel Crowe to make it 2-1.

The Steeldogs soaked up the pressure while the Sharks were on the powerplay, and as they returned to full strength, Jonathan Phillips scored to tie the game at 2-2 in a furious second period.

As both sides battled for the lead, both netminders made top-draw saves, and Hepburn and Crowe held fast to keep the scores level at the end of the second period.

Steeldogs bite back to take the win!

After a couple of Sharks chances, it was the Steeldogs who took the lead for the first time in the game, with Jack Brammer sliding it past Calum Hepburn to make it 2-3 early in the third period

The Sharks were behind for the first time and tried to maintain the puck in the offensive zone. They had plenty of possession and shots on Crowe, but they were unable to get a goal to equalise the game.

The game ended 2-3 at the Shark Tank as the Sharks fought hard in the closing moments but were unable to score to tie the score.

Sharks MoM – Kyle Carruth

Steeldogs MoM – Daniel Crowe