Warriors³ bitten by the Sharks
On Saturday 16th May 2026, our development team welcomed Whitley Bay Sharks to Planet Ice, Leeds for a challenge game.
Our Warriors³ team took a breather from competing in the Bottom of the Barrel (BOTB) Cup as they took on the Whitley Bay Sharks in a friendly.
This was the first time these two teams had met and we knew it would be a tough challenge for the Warriors against a strong Sharks team.
In team news, the Warriors were missing some important players - including both of their regular goalies, Kieran High and Rory Butcher. So, Dexter Duffy-Howard, who is normally a skater for Warriors 2, went between the pipes for this one.
This was also the debut game for their newest recruit - Jake Crabtree.
Dressed players:
Dexter Duffy-Howard (NM), Ash Davies, Charlie Tang, Andy Palfreyman, Chris Hamilton, Connor Brocklebank, Craig Baker, Dale Bedford, Gary Clough, Jake Crabtree, Phil Pearce, Heather McCarten, Paul Eaglestone, Jake Croft, Jonjo Marshall, Joe Quinn, Phil Bradley, Sam Crossland and Zach Huntley.
1st period:
The Sharks came out with intent and it wasn’t long before they started to pass the puck around and look threatening. So it wasn’t a major surprise when the visitors opened the scoring at 5:25. The initial shot had been saved by Warriors goalie Duffy-Howard, but the rebound was followed up to give him no chance.
The Sharks were now dominating possession inside the Warriors zone and able to carve out clear scoring opportunities. They doubled their advantage at 7:17 before adding a third at 9:45.
With the visitors now peppering the Warriors goal, the score-line could have been a lot worse, had it not been for some fine saves from the Warriors’ goalie, Duffy-Howard.
The Warriors continued to struggle defensively against the Sharks’ speed and movement, and at 14:07, Whitley extended the lead further to make it 0-4 - the visitors taking advantage of a rebound into a busy slot area.
No sooner had the puck been dropped and the Sharks were straight up the ice to score their 5th goal within 9 seconds of the restart. This was such a demoralising blow to the Warriors (14:17).
But the Warriors dug deep and managed to keep the Sharks at bay for a long period after this, posing some offensive threat of their own.
So it was a cruel blow when the visitors added a 6th goal to their tally when there was only 9 seconds until the buzzer (19:51). The Sharks player skated all the way from the red line to the goal, evading challenges from Warriors players.
This was a difficult opening period and the team were looking to re-group during the first intermission.
Warriors 0-6 Sharks
2nd period:
The Sharks picked up where they left off by getting back on the attack immediately and they increased their lead to 7 at 24:20.
Despite this blow, the Warriors responded well. Not only did they defend the visitors attacks better, they finally got on the board. Having cut out two passes from Sharks players on his own blue line, Phil Pearce managed to set off on a breakaway down the ice where he duly buried it. Great goal, to make it 1-7 (33:31).
However, the Sharks continued to punish defensive mistakes, restoring their 7 goal lead with a goal at 37:40 meaning the Sharks ended the period firmly in command - leading 8–1 heading into the third.
Warriors 1-8 Sharks
3rd period:
Despite the game being out of touch for the Warriors, you can always be sure that they will never stop battling.
There were early set-backs in the period when the Sharks chalked up their 9th and 10th goals of the game at 45:04 and 45:31, but the Warriors hit back just over 90 seconds later with their 2nd of the game - Charlie Tang picked up the puck just inside his own blue line and raced up the ice, evading the Sharks D to bury the puck - the assist from Paul Eaglestone (46:42).
Despite there being over 13 minutes still left to play in the period, there were no further goals for either team. The Warriors managed to keep the Sharks at bay until the final buzzer and bring the game to a close at 2-10.
Final score:
Warriors 2-10 Sharks
Points scorers:
Charlie Tang 1+0
Phil Pearce 1+0
Paul Eaglestone 0+1
Charlie Tang
Player of the game
Jake Croft
Captain’s POTG
Player of the Game, as selected by the Sharks, went to Charlie Tang, while the Captain’s Helmet went to Jake Croft. Well played lads.
Also, shout out to goalie Dexter Duffy-Howard who had a great game between the pipes.
The Sharks filmed the game and uploaded it to YouTube, if you would like to watch it. The game starts at around 45 minutes, 30 seconds.
Well done to the Sharks. Thanks for making the trip down! Great effort from the Warriors against a very strong Whitley team.
Our development team’s next game is back in the BOTB Cup and on the road. See details below:
Bottom of the Barrel Cup:
Saturday 11th July 2026
Blackburn Renegades v Leeds Warriors 3
Face-off : TBD
@ Planet Ice, Blackburn
For all Warriors development fixtures, please check this page : fixtures and results.
