Bradford Bulldogs and Kingston Sharks produce 18-goal derby thriller for NIHL North Two season opener

TREBLE DELIGHT: Lucas Vince marked the first game of the season with a hat-trick as the Bulldogs ran out 10-8 winners against NIHL North Two rivals Kingston Sharks Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium Prints.

TWO points may have been secured, but Andy Brown admitted there was plenty for his Bradford Bulldogs’ team to work on in the coming weeks and months if their play-off ambitions are to be realised.

At 9-3 ahead at the halfway point of their season opener against NIHL North Two newcomers Kingston Sharks, the hosts looked seemingly assured of two points.

But they couldn't ever quite put the game to bed, Kingston pulling themselves back to within two goals before the Bulldogs eventually ran out 10-8 winners, Lucas Vince leading the way with a hat-trick, while Connor Medley and Josh Stockton weighed in with two apiece.

Last season saw the Bulldogs post a similar scoreline when coming from behind to beat Nottingham Lions 10-9 in their opening home game of the campaign.

With a number of new faces in the line-up this year, head coach Brown is hoping his team are pushing for a top-four slot, having finished second-bottom in 2022-23. And while the win was obviously welcomed, there were some areas of concern, too.

PLEASED, BUT: Bulldogs’ head coach Andy Brown was pleased with his plauyers’ display in the first half of the season opener at home to KIngston Sharks.

“I was happy that we started the season off with a win and I felt for the first 30 minutes we were by far the better team,” said Brown. 

“Our passing was crisp, we created plenty of looks and scored some great goals. 

“Momentum in hockey is huge though and at 9-3 up we put in a lazy shift which resulted in taking a five-minute kill from which we conceded two goals and never recovered. 

“Kingston were the better team for much of the remainder of the game and I was glad the final buzzer came when it did. Another couple of minutes and I’m not sure we’d have taken all the points.”

The game was only just over two minutes old when the Bulldogs broke the deadlock through Vince, who doubled his tally with a shorthanded marker at 10.38, restoring the hosts’ lead after Ryan Kemp had levelled with a first-ever competitive goal for the Sharks at 6.46.

It quickly became a three-goal lead after Medley and then Tom Mardell got themselves on the scoresheet with less than 14 minutes on the clock, although Lewis Rogers’ hit back with a shorthanded marker with just over a minute of the period remaining to make it 4-2.

TWO-TIMER: Connor Medley struck twice in Sunday’s 10-8 win at home to Kingston Sharks. Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium Prints.

Chris Hogarth then made it a one-goal game when he beat debutant netminder Jake Lowndes one-on-one at 21.34, but the Bulldogs’ responded superbly with five goals in six minutes to put themselves firmly in control. 

Stockton was first to strike at 23.06, doubling his tally just over three minutes later after Ben Fox marked his debut by making it 6-3 at 25.13.

New D-man Joe Howie then got in on the act at 27.42 before Medley added to his earlier strike to extend the lead to 9-3 with just under half the game gone.

But a five-minute major call on Ben Darbyshire proved costly and ensured the Bulldogs could never fully relax on the night when it led to two power play goals for the visitors, Gavin Tidy beating Lowndes at 35.24 before Martin Ellis made it 9-5 just over two minutes later.

Just over two minutes into the third, Vince sealed a deserved treble when wristing one over Evan Byron-Bates’s right shoulder to make it 10-5, but strikes from Jack Hayward and Oliver Peers - the latter on the power play - brought the Sharks to within three goals with just over eight minutes remaining.

Thankfully, the Dogs held firm, preventing the Sharks from reducing the deficit any further until it was too late, Hogarth doubling his tally when driving the net on a breakaway with just seven seconds remaining. 

“There were lots of positives to take from the game,” added Brown. “The new boys all looked sharp and fitted in well and, on the whole, I felt our discipline was okay. 

“But we showed we’ve still got plenty of work to do if we want to achieve our goals this year.”