Junior round-up

Billingham Wolves and Whitley Braves played out a tame 2-2 derby draw at the Forum Ice Arena in the English Under-19 North A league. Wolves finished the first period leading by a Liam Telfer strike in the 16th minute.

The middle period was not too good for Billingham as they had most of the possession out-shooting Whitley 14-3. However, it was Whitley that scored. The only goal of the period going their way was at 39.30 from Daniel Good.

Whitley took the lead for the first when they were short-handed through Robert Cairns at 46-19 and on the same powerplay Wolves equalised from a Scott Ward strike in the 48th minutes.

Wolves: Liam Telfer 1+1, Scott Ward 1+0, David Thomas, James McCabe 0+1.

Braves: Daniel Good and Robert Cairns 1+0, Sean Croft 0+1.

Whitley Tomahawks were in action in the English Under-16 North A League at the weekend. Two matches both resulted in defeats for Tomahawks. Bradford Pirates entertained Tomahawks on Saturday winning 4-0. They opened the scoring at 16.38 and a second followed at 27.15 which also saw Whitley manager Ray Hughes receive a gross misconduct.

Bradford doubled their winning margin with two further goals in the final period.

The following day Tomahawks hosted Kingston Crunch at Hillheads. Kingston gained the upper hand early in the game and went into a 3-0 lead at 13.47. Worse was to follow when it went to 4-0 in the first minute of the middle period.

Whitley cut the deficit to two with two goals in 67 seconds from Andrew Wile and Ben Campbell by 32.47. Tomahawks' Paul Shreeve and Crunch's Glenn Young both received match penalties following a clash in the 39th minute. Young also took a ten-minute and gross misconduct penalties for abuse of an official. Two minutes later Kingston went 5-2 ahead only for Whitley to complete the scoring when Campbell netted his second of the game in the 43rd minute.

Tomahawks: Ben Campbell 2+1, Andrew Wile 1+0, Philip Atherton 0+2.

Billingham Bears travelled to the East Midlands to face Nottingham Cougars and returned home 2-0 winners. Bears were under-strength with Robert Dowd and Michael McKenna sidelined due to football injuries while injuries also restricted Paul Smith and Michael Farn's participation. James Udell put Bears ahead with a short-handed goal in the 12th minute. Udell was on hand to double Bears' advantage after 20 minutes. The victory edged Billingham closer to a second place slot.

The Teessiders' host Whitley Tomahawks tomorrow and will have Liam Telfer back after a three match suspension. Stephen Pritchard's lengthy suspension has been reduced on appeal to four games.

Bears: James Udell 2+0, Adam Smith, Paul Smith, Michael Farn, Anthony Price 0+1.

Sunderland Arrows still head the Under-16 North B League after a 5-0 victory at Coventry Blaze. The win would have been by a much bigger margin but for Coventry's netminders Dan Burgess and Hayden Laverick who faced a total of 88 shots.

Shane Hewitt put Arrows ahead at 02.46 and not until 24.01 did Jamie Smithson score Arrows' second goal. Ben Connon increased the lead to 3-0 before the end of the second period.

Arrows: Shane Hewitt 1_2, Jamie Smithson, Ben Connon, Jeremy Lundin, Chris Hayes 1+0, Callum Hewitt 0+2, John Wilson, Adam Kelly 0+1.

English National Hockey League North

Whitley Warriors suffered a 11-5 defeat at Altrincham Aces and picked up 109 penalty minutes into the bargain. Andrew Carter was ejected from the game at 21.04 for butt-ending and Rob Wilson went for roughing at 46.05.

Paul McGinnety, Paul Matthews, Darren Taylor, Stephen Winn, Anthony Markham, Daniel Good, Liam Emerson and Bobby Bradley did not play due to injuries or unavailability. Coach Peter Winn played his first game of the season due to lack of experienced personnel.

Warriors fell foul of the referee Mark Gibson continually and conceded powerplay goals. Carter scored Whitley's first on 17.20 when trailing 0-3. Paul Graham bagged a brace in the middle period as Aces held an 8-3 lead. Bryan Dunn and Graham for his hat-trick scored in the final session.

Aces have now won six on the trot after losing their opening three games.

Warriors: Paul Graham 3+0, Andrew Carter, Bryan Dunn 1+0, Lee Baxter 0+3, Andrew Tindale 0+2, Kevin Bucas, Andrew Robinson 0+1.

Tomorrow's fixtures

Findus British National League: Cardiff Devils v Newcastle KBS Vipers (7pm).

English Under-19 North A League: Sunderland Tomahawks v Sheffield Steelhawks (noon).

English Under-16 North A League: Billingham Bears v Whitley Tomahawks (6pm)

English Under-14 North A League: Billingham Falcons v Whitley Mohawks (4.15pm)

English Under-12 North B League: Coventry Blaze v Billingham Pumas (4.15pm); Sunderland Cherokees v Sheffield Lasers (4.15pm).

English Under-10 North/Midlands League: Kingston River Rats v Sunderland Apaches (12.15pm).

Women's Premier League: Guildford Lightning v Sunderland Scorpions (6.30pm).

Challenge matches Under-16: Sunderland Arrows v Telford Rockets (7.30pm); Sunderland Under-14 v Sheffield Stormers (7.30pm); Sunderland Under-12 v Telford Tiger Hawks (6pm); Sunderland Under-14/16 Select v North Conference Under-13 (10.15am).

Sunday's fixtures

Findus British National League: Newcastle KBS Vipers v Coventry Blaze (6pm).

English Under-19 North A League: Nottingham Leopards v Billingham Wolves (7.30pm).

English Under-14 North A League: Whitley Mohawks v Nottingham Tigers (12.15pm).

l All Sunderland home matches are played at Newcastle Telewest Arena.