Stars put up a spirited performance, but lacked creative flair converting only two from 41 shots against the Sutton keeper
Billingham Stars thought Andy Munroe had equalised after Sutton Sting had struck first but the 'goal' was not allowed
Billinhgam Stars came out on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline against Sutton Sting.
In a game that contained controversial decisions for both sides the Ultimate Windows sponsored Stars put up a spirited performance, but lacked creative flair converting only two from 41 shots against the Sutton keeper.
Sutton, on the other hand, converted three goals from 23 shots to grab two points as the race for the play-offs shows no sign of being put on ice.
Sting struck first after a looping shot went high into the Billingham goal after eight minutes. In a power play Stars defender Andy Munroe went close with a shot that appeared to come off the post and in, only to rebound straight back out.
With no goal light and no appeals from the Billingham bench, Sting held on to their advantage.
The home side piled on the pressure and out-shot the Sting 15 to five with a number of efforts appearing to indicate that keeper Dmitri Zimodra was carrying an injury, however the keeper held on despite looking uncomfortable.
The second session mirrored the first with the Stars peppering Zimozdra to no avail.
A boarding call against Jamie Spurr late in the second raised the hopes of the Billingham fans in the stands and those hopes were fulfilled by a Stephen Wallace powerplay shot from just over the blue line that whizzed past Zimozdra and into the Sutton goal.
The second period closed all square at 1-1.
Two minutes into the third session Billingham again found themselves chasing the game after Spurr slotted home a rebound to restore the Sting’s lead.
Only 26 seconds into the powerplay a Richie Thornton shot levelled.
With under 12 minutes to go a disputed delay game call against James Flavell saw Sutton sting the Stars on the power play when they forced the puck over the line in a scramble.
An aggrieved coach Terry Ward felt the points were lost due to a bad call.
“It’s disappointing the way we lost the game. We got a bad call by the linesman where the puck hit the very top of the glass and went out. He said it didn’t but we could see from the other side of the ice. So he’s called it and to add insult to injury they got a goal from it. I’m disappointed.
“The boys were in the dressing room absolutely deflated. They went out there and gave it everything they had.
“They got back into the game twice and a bad call took the game away from them. I feel aggrieved, all the boys feel aggrieved.
“We gave everything. The lads worked their socks off, you can’t ask any more than that”.
“We need to get a win and I think if we get that win under our belts we make the play-offs. We have to go to Telford in the right frame of mind and get the points we need”.
Sting Coach Ian Johnson said: “We needed that – coming here is never easy. I asked the guys to dig deep and to be honest I think that’s one of our best performances, not in terms of good hockey but in grinding a result out.
“There was a good crowd in – it’s difficult to coach, the fans are always in the background giving you banter.”
This weekend brought a win and a draw for Blackburn to secure their play-off spot, with Billingham, Sutton, Whitley and Sheffield all scrapping for the last two slots.
Bottom side Telford gained their first win of the season as they edged Sheffield out 6-5.
Stars are in league action at Telford this coming Saturday followed by a cup game against Sutton in Sheffield next Sunday.
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