 |
| Dragons players celebrate their OT cup win away at Blackburn (Photo by Emilia Roberts Photography) |
Saturday 17th January 2026 – Moralee Cup S/Final 1: Deeside D1 Dragons 2 – Blackburn Hawks 4
Sunday 18th January 2026 – Moralee Cup S/Final 2: Blackburn Hawks 1- Deeside D1 Dragons 4 (OT)
Deeside win 6-5 on aggregate
The Deeside Dragons won through to the Moralee Cup
final in the most sensational fashion with a two-legged semi final victory over Blackburn
Hawks, losing 2-4 at home on Saturday and then winning 1-4 away in overtime on Sunday to triumph 5-6 on
aggregate.
In the home leg on Saturday, Deeside actually
looked the better team in the first period but were unable to make the most of
their chances.
Their efforts were eventually rewarded with a Matty
Barlow goal on 18 minutes and they took a 1-0 lead into the first period break.
Blackburn upped their game in the second period and
former Deeside import Jakub Hajek equalised on 23 minutes.
The Hawks edged into the lead on 34 minutes and,
shortly after this, Dragons’ former Hawks Damarni James picked up a 5 plus game
penalty for slashing, leaving the Dragons a man short for the rest of the
period.
The defence stood firm, however and Tyler de la
Bertouche made some crucial saves in the Deeside net to help weather the storm,
and the score remained 1-2 at the second interval.
Blackburn continued their pressure in the third
period and two early goals - one from former Deeside favourite Andy McKinney –
gave the visitors a 3-goal lead heading into the last 10 minutes.
The Dragons pushed hard to try and drag themselves
back into the game and the pressure paid off with a second goal of the night for
Matty Barlow on 52 minutes.
They were unable to build any further on that,
however, and the final score of 2-4 result meant that they had to carry a
2-goal deficit into the away leg in Blackburn the next day.
Blackburn hadn’t lost a game at home all season and
looked pre-game favourites to win this one as well. However, Deeside had a point to prove and put
in an impressive all-round performance - and the game remained goal-less at the
end of the first period.
The Hawks were awarded a penalty shot early in the
second period after a slashing call but Tyler de la Bertouche - who was having
an outstanding night in the Deeside net – made the save.
Blackburn eventually scored the first goal of the
game on 32 minutes to extend their aggregate advantage to three but Jake
Wikowski levelled on the night for the Dragons
with just 1 second left on the clock to leave the score at 1-1 at the
second interval .
Deeside upped their game in the third period and
caused Blackburn all sorts of problems - and they picked up a number of
penalties as they battled to keep the marauding Dragons at bay. Deeside got
their noses in front 1-2 with a powerplay goal from Matty Barlow on 47 minutes
and then another powerplay goal – from Colin
Cromie on 55 minutes - dramatically levelled the aggregate score.
With just 30 seconds left on the clock, Deeside had
the chance to grab a late winner when Jake Witkowski was awarded a penalty shot
after a check to the head. He beat the
Hawks’ netminder but the goal was disallowed as the puck had travelled
backwards, which is not allowed on a penalty shot.
With the scores level at the end of the 60 minutes’
regulation time, the game went to a 5 minute period of sudden death overtime to
decide a winner and a goal from “Man of the Weekend” Matty Barlow two minutes in
won the tie for the Dragons and secured their place in the cup final.
In the other semi final, Telford Tigers staged a
similar second leg fightback to beat Solihull Barons 10-9 on aggregate and will
now meet the Dragons in the two-legged final on 21st & 22nd
February.
With the top four teams all having been in cup
action this weekend, the Moralee Division table looks pretty much the same as
it did last week with leaders Blackburn still 19 points clear of second place
Deeside, although they have played two games more.
The Dragons are locked in a fascinating three-way
tussle for second spot along with Telford Tigers and Solihull Barons and just
two points separate those three teams . This is important because the final
league table positions will determine who plays who in the end of season Play
Offs, with the higher placed teams getting an easier draw in the quarter final
ties.
The Dragons are back in league action this Sunday
25th January when they take on the Moralee Division’s bottom club
Sheffield Scimitars – who remain without a win from 25 starts this season - at
Deeside Leisure Centre, 5.15pm face off.
