Warriors Dev reeled in by the Trawlers
On Saturday 22nd November 2025, our development team welcomed Grimsby Trawlers to Leeds for their first home game in the BOTB Cup.
Our Warriors 3 side began their Bottom of the Barrel Cup (BOTB) campaign on 8th November with a road trip to Peterborough, where they were shut-out by the hosts during a 5-0 defeat.
So this game gave the team an opportunity to bounce back on home ice against a short-handed Trawlers team.
Whilst the visitors were low on numbers, our guys were not underestimating the strength of this Grimsby team and this was sure to be a tough game.
Dressed players:
Rory Butcher (NM), Adam Szabo, Ash Farmer, Ash Davies, Brendan Hullah, Connor Brocklebank, Craig Baker, Dale Bedford, Dean Cadman, Gary Clough, Heather McCarten, Joe Quinn, Jonjo Marshall, Josh Moss, Paul Eaglestone, Philip Bradley, Phil Pearce, Stella Giwisser and Zach Huntley.
1st period:
At the start of this contest, the Trawlers came out fired up, bursting into the lead with only 19 seconds on the clock.
But despite this early blow, the Warriors didn’t allow this to affect them and they kept on fighting, getting their reward at 02:18 with a superb solo goal from Adam Szabo. Having picked up the puck on the red line, Adam powered all the way to the net, avoiding defensive attempts along the way and showed great composure to finish it. It was now game on at 1-1.
The following 10 minutes were a stalemate, as both teams traded half-chances but nothing clear-cut.
But with 12:14 on the clock, the Trawlers took the lead and were now starting to become more dominant in the game. 1-2 Trawlers.
It looked like the period would end at 1-2, but in a cruel blow to our guys, the visitors added a 3rd goal with only 5 seconds left on the clock (19:55).
Psychologically, this was a big goal as it turned the game from a close contest to more of an uphill battle for the Warriors.
Warriors 1-3 Trawlers
2nd period:
But our development team never give up. They knew that the next goal was crucial. If it went their way, it would be a one-goal game again, with all to play for, but if it went to the Trawlers, it would mean almost certain defeat.
Thankfully, our battling Warriors team scored that next goal. Brendan Hullah netting from a Gary Clough assist. At 2-3 it was all to play for!
Similarly to the first period, there was a large portion of the period where the game was a stalemate as both teams battled hard to create chances.
It took until almost the 37th minute for the next goal to register - and unfortunately, it went the way of the visitors - at 36:39 the Warriors took a penalty for ‘too many men’ and a mere 4 seconds later (36:43) the Trawlers extended their lead to 2-4 with a power-play goal.
The visitors scoring so late in the period was a huge blow to the team, as this meant the period drew to a close with there being daylight between the teams.
But on the upside, the period was an improvement from the first, as it was a 1-1 period.
Warriors 2-4 Trawlers
3rd period:
The team had put a lot of energy into those first two periods, so clawing themselves back into contention was a big ask - albeit not impossible.
But that task got considerably harder when, at 43:36 in the final period, the thorn in the Warriors side - #98 (Airey) scored their hat-trick goal for the Trawlers to make it 2-5 and effectively kill the game as a contest.
But having competed so well, the Warriors didn’t want the score-line to appear like the game was a hammering, as that would not be a fair reflection of how the game had played out - so they kept on fighting and playing for pride.
There was one final goal in the game and that went to the Trawlers #98 again. That fourth goal for Airey made the final score 2-6 to to the visitors.
Final score:
Warriors 2-6 Trawlers
It was a decisive 2–6 victory for the Trawlers in the end, but, up until the final period our guys were still in with a shout. Our dev team always compete hard but couldn’t match the finishing touch of the Trawlers and particularly #98 who scored 4 of their 6 goals.
Good luck to Grimsby with their upcoming BOTB fixtures this season. We’ll see you in Grimsby on Sunday 22nd March 2026.
Adam Szabo
Player of the game
Adam Szabo
Captain’s player of the game
Player of the Game, as selected by the Trawlers, went to Adam Szabo.
The Captain’s Helmet also went to Adam Szabo - and with such an amazing solo goal to his name, this wasn’t a big surprise. Well played Adam!
A final shout out goes to forward Joe Quinn. This was his first outing for the Warriors as a skater, as normally when Joe takes to the ice, he’s the netminder for our first team. Great effort out there Joe!
Our development team do not have any further games in 2025 but will be back in action early in the new year! See details below:
