After a fantastic finish to 2025, the Blackburn Hawks opened 2026 with a decisive double-header weekend. Before the reignition of last season’s title rivalry up in Billingham, the Hawks had to host a much-improved Nottingham Lions side. The travelling team were in eighth place as the entered The Nest, having finished 2025 with an impressive 7-4 victory against the reigning champions. Though their striking starlet Alex Rushby had been called up for international duty with Team GB, the Lions packed plenty of firepower in an effort to start the new year with a bang. However, this Lions team paled in comparison to Blackburn’s arsenal, as for the first time this season the Hawks had full access to every single registered squad member. With the home side firing on all cylinders, Nottingham would have their work cut out trying to stop this table-topping team.

Blackburn wasted no time asserting control in Saturday night’s opener, striking just four minutes in through Tom Barry. Stationed confidently at the top of the zone, Barry was rewarded for his offensive awareness as he scored from a signature snipe from just inside the blue line. This early breakthrough set the tone for what was going to be a long night for Isaac Ballinger in the Nottingham net. The lead was doubled midway through the period by an unlikely source. Defensive defenceman Cade King stepped into the high slot and unleashed a beautifully placed effort into the top corner, registering his first goal of the season. King’s teammates swarmed him in celebration, leaving the defenceman facedown on the floor after all the festivities. This humorous moment was quickly underlined as the Hawks went back on the offensive. The Lions barely had time to regroup before the Hawks struck again, Jacob Lutwyche marking his return from injury in style. A fantastic finish from the forward came after slick build-up play involving Barnes and Barry, restoring Lutwyche’s scoring touch and extending the advantage to three. Blackburn showed no signs of easing off as the period drew to a close. With two minutes remaining, Adam Barnes extended his lead at the top of the team’s scoring table, thrashing in his 33rd of the season and finishing up the first period in style.

The Lions showed more composure in the middle frame and enjoyed spells of sustained pressure, but Blackburn’s defensive structure held firm. When opportunities did arise, Harrison Walker stood tall, denying breakaway chances from Joe Humphries and Ewan Woodward with a pair of sharp saves. However, the Hawks still found a way to fly through with it taking just four minutes for Andy McKinney to fire home number five. The home side managed to hit Nottingham for six just after the halfway mark. A James Royds clapper sailed an inch wide of Ballinger’s right-side post, with the shot bouncing back of the boards for Liam Charnock to tap home his tenth of the campaign. The Lions showed pride in the second period performance, stretching the Hawks much further than in the first.

However, any lingering resistance from the Lions was extinguished early in the final period. Lutwyche bagged his brace just seconds in, before Dylan Hullaby hammered home an audacious one-timer past Ballinger’s right-shoulder. Defenceman Sam Zajac stepped-up to produce one of the moments of the weekend: dancing and ducking through all of Nottingham’s defence before taking the puck all the way around the keeper for a showstopping solo spectacle for goal number 9. Two consecutive Lions penalties opened the door for Blackburn’s powerplay unit, and the Hawks were ruthless. Andy McKinney became free on the far side and after a pinpoint pass from Sam Zajac, the Captain crunched a one-timer past Ballinger’s left shoulder in similar fashion to Hullaby. Adam Barnes then struck again just thirty seconds later to score his second of the evening. The scoring was rounded off by Bobby Streetly, whose blue-line slapshot found its way through traffic to cap a commanding 12–0 victory and a near-flawless team performance.

Less than 24 hours after their emphatic display on home ice, the Hawks were back on the road making the long trip north to Teesside. Awaiting them was a familiar foe in Billingham, a rivalry that has burned brightly in this division for many years. While the Stars have set the benchmark in seasons gone by, last year’s quadruple winners are struggling to break into the league’s top four just six months after their Sheffield celebrations. That context did little to dull the edge of this contest. Tensions were always going to be high following the previous meeting at the Forum, where Blackburn stole a dramatic 6–5 victory courtesy of a last-minute Tom Barry winner that still lingered in the memory of both sets of supporters. Not at full strength after Saturday night’s exertions, the Hawks travelled without Jacob Lutwyche and Kane Morin, adding another layer of challenge to an already hostile environment as they prepared to face a Stars side eager to settle the score.

The feisty feeling within The Forum bled into the on-ice action as the Hawks started slightly hot-headed. Early ill-discipline from Sam Zajac saw James Moss punish Blackburn just a minute in through a powerplay goal. Another avoidable infringement, this time for elbowing, handed the Stars a second powerplay opportunity which Moss converted again midway through the period to double the home side’s advantage. A shattering start for the traveling team, it had been some time since Blackburn had faced such adversity. Dom Osman’s men hunkered down for the remainder of the opening twenty-minutes and managed to find a foothold late in the frame. The first even-handed goal of the game came as Jakub Hajek threaded a clever pass through to Jack Brammer, who finished calmly to halve the deficit and shift momentum heading into the break.

That momentum carried straight into the second. A high-sticking call against Billingham gave Blackburn a powerplay just as the period started. It took just seven seconds for the Hawks to utilise their extra man, with Sam Zajac sliding the puck across to Adam Barnes on the right-side hash marks. A keen eye for goal when the Hawks are in need, the forward blasted a barnstorming effort past Jacob Hammond to level the scoreline. Billingham responded with two goals in quick succession through Ian Brown and Lucas Dowdle, threatening to wrestle control back. However, Blackburn refused to fold. Another powerplay opportunity saw Hajek show great awareness, reacting quickest after an initial McKinney effort was saved to slip the puck under Hammond and make it 4–3. As the Stars used their home ice advantage to push forward, the Hawks managed to catch them on a break, Sam Zajac pounced upon a loose puck and wheeled up the ice before chipping a cross-crease pass over to Adam Barnes who buried the equalising goal from a Zajac assist for the second time of the evening. The remainder of the middle period was meticulous in its detail. Each team looked ready to make the most of any marginal mistakes from their opponents. Both goaltenders were challenged and produced standout saves to keep the score locked at 4–4 heading into the final frame.

What followed was a defining twenty minutes. Blackburn emerged with authority, silencing the home crowd just a minute in as James Royds finished clinically after good work from Charnock and Hullaby. The same combination struck again four minutes later, Dylan Hullaby bursting past the defence before laying the puck on a plate for Liam Charnock to convert and stretch the lead. With the mood fully shifted amongst the supporters in the stands, the Hawks channelled the cheers from the away section to enter seven goal heaven. Adam Barnes completed his hat-trick at the 46-minute mark, ripping home his third of the night to put daylight between the sides. Although Moss completed his own hat-trick with a short-handed effort for Billingham, Blackburn remained composed, shutting the game down defensively and winding the clock out to secure a hard-fought 7–5 victory.

These two victories see the Hawks stretch their advantage at the summit to 19 points clear of the 2nd-placed Deeside Dragons. Fate now sets the stage for a mouth-watering showdown, with the league’s top two sides drawn together in the Moralee Cup Semi-Finals. Blackburn will enter the Dragons’ Den first on Saturday before flying back to The Nest for the second leg. With silverware and supremacy on the line, this cup clash shapes up as one of the most consequential match-ups of the entire season.

 

The Blackburn Hawks will play against the Deeside Dragons @ Deeside Leisure Centre on Saturday January 17th, Face-Off: 5:15pm

 

The Blackburn Hawks will also play against the Deeside Dragons @ Blackburn Arena on Sunday January 18th, Face-Off: 6:00pm