Monday 18 March 2024

Match Preview: DMUK Widnes Wild Women at Home to Telford

DMUK Widnes Wild womens’ team (photo by Wil Evans)

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team are back in home action this Sunday 24th March when they take on the Telford Wrekin Raiders at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

Because of the way that the fixture list has worked out this season, it is their first game since the beginning of February and morale in the camp is high following the women’s 3-15 trouncing of Whitley Bay Beacons in their away trip to the North East in their last game.

That was the Wild’s first away win of the season and, with an impressive 11 different players getting on the scoresheet, was good preparation for Sunday’s visit of Telford who are likely to offer stronger opposition.

The Raiders have been perennial title challengers in recent seasons but, this year - as with the Wild women – find themselves stuck in an uncharacteristic mid-table position.  Again, like the Wild women they have been narrowly beaten home and away by runaway league Caledonia Steel Queens, but they have won their last two games – at home against both Kingston and Sheffield - so may now feel that they are on a bit of a roll.

Both teams will be keen to improve on their current league positions so Sunday’s game is bound to be very fiercely contested.

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The Wild Women face a fixture backlog in the latter part of the season as they are waiting to hear about rearranging two away games.

The game away to Kingston Diamonds in Hull that was scheduled to be played on 27th January had to be postponed as the ice-time was required for the Hull Seahawks NIHL Cup semi final game that needed to be played on that particular weekend, and the game away at Grimsby on 24th February was abandoned after a home player got seriously injured during the first period.

The Women’s league season runs until the end of May and it is hoped that suitable dates can be arranged for both of these outstanding games to be played.


Widnes Wild Academy Round Up - 16th March


There was only one game for the Wild Academy at the weekend after the Under 18B team’s game away at Grimsby was cancelled. The Academy Under 14s narrowly lost 4-3 away to their Solihull counterparts on Saturday.

The Academy Under 10 team took part in a 4-team cross ice tournament at Deeside but those games are played purely for fun and scores are not recorded.

This weekend sees Wild Academy Under 16 and Under 18B teams take on their counterparts from Coventry at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday 23rd March – starting from 4.20pm. 

The Under 12 team are away in Blackburn the same day, 5pm face off. 

Admission is free for all spectators to Wild Academy home games at Planet Ice Widnes and fans are encouraged to go along and support the stars of the future.


Match Report: Widnes Wild 4 – Deeside Dragons 5 (Moralee Division)

Flynn Massie was the Wild MVP against Deeside (photo by Steve Cunningham)

Sunday 17th March 2024 – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 4 – Deeside Dragons 5

The Widnes Wild NIHL team staged a battling fightback in their last home game of the regular season but narrowly lost out 4-5 to local rivals Deeside Dragons at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The game started badly for the Wild as the visitors took the lead on 4 minutes and then doubled the advantage just 20 seconds later.  8 minutes in, it was 0-3 to the Dragons as former Wild import Jakub Hajek scored a shorthanded goal and Widnes looked in serious trouble.  They were outshot by a massive 26 to 4 during this opening period but a combination of solid team defence and resilient netminding from Phil Pearson gradually came to grips with the onslaught and the score remained 0-3 at the first break.

The second period was a lot closer in terms of puck possession and shots on goal and it took until the 33rd minute for the next breakthrough.  This also fell Deeside’s way and they edged further ahead with another short handed goal to make the score 0-4. Widnes finally opened their own account on 35 minutes with a strike from Bailey Thomson and the score remained 1-4 at the second interval.

The third period saw the Wild visibly up their game and the home crowd responded creating a pressure cooker atmosphere around the packed rink. 

Deeside scored again on 45 minutes but Matty Barlow pulled a goal back for Widnes 30 seconds later and the fightback began.  Widnes outshot Deeside by 14 to 8 in this final period and the pressure eventually paid off and the Dragons started picking up niggly penalties.

Powerplay goals from Kyle Carruth on 49 minutes and Flynn Massie on 58 minutes pulled the Wild to within one goal but they ran out of time and the buzzer sounded with the score standing at a frustratingly close 4-5 to the visitors.

The result means that Widnes have set an unwanted record of losing 6 games in a row for the first time in their history, surpassing the 5 consecutive defeats earlier in the season and similar spells back in 2013 and 2019.

They will be keen to buck this unfortunate trend in their last game of the regular Moralee Division schedule this Sunday 24th March when they travel the short distance to North Wales to take on the Dragons again at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5.15pm face off.

Following Sunday’s league finale, the Wild will be in action in the quarter finals of the Moralee Play Offs the weekend after with home and away ties against whichever team finishes second in the league.  Depending on the outcome of the final league games this weekend, that will be either Blackburn Hawks - who are currently occupying the runners-up spot - or Solihull Barons.


Monday 11 March 2024

Wild Players In Football Match For Halton Haven Hospice

Matty Barlow (#20) in football action for Mersey Town FC in the charity game in aid of Halton Haven Hospice (Photo by Sharon McLean)

With the Wild not having a match at the weekend, Widnes NIHL team players Matty Barlow and Andrew Hopkins swapped ice for grass and took part in a charity football match in aid of Halton Haven Hospice.

The game was between Mersey Town FC - who are a good causes football club set up to raise money and awareness for local charities - and “Team O’Neill” put together by prolific local fundraiser Paul O'Neill,  and was played on Saturday at Parklands Sports Club in Widnes.  The football match was part of a family fun day in aid of the Hospice that also had children’s activities, a raffle and an auction of sporting collectibles.

The game was thoroughly entertaining and closely fought throughout, finishing in a 4-3 victory for Mersey Town FC. The goalscorers were Jon McEvoy (2), Matty Barlow and James Griffiths for Mersey Town FC and Carl Williams, Simon Atkinson and Joe Willcay for Team O’Neill.

Over £4.000 was raised for the Hospice on the day - with more money to come in - and there are a number of items still available to bid for in an online auction, which runs until the end of the month.

You can view the online auction items HERE   

Widnes Wild Qualify For Moralee Play Offs



The Widnes Wild NIHL team qualified for the Moralee Division end of season play offs at the weekend without even having to strike a puck.

The Wild need to finish in 8th place or better in the final league table to ensure post season hockey but that scenario was under threat from both Sheffield Scimitars and Nottingham Lions who were both trailing on points but had games in hand.  Had both teams secured maximum points from their remaining games, they could both have – mathematically – overtaken the Wild and taken the remaining playoff positions. 

However, results at the weekend went in Widnes’ favour with both the Scimitars and Lions losing their games, meaning that the Wild can no longer be overtaken for 7th place.

The match-ups for the play off quarter final ties are decided by final league positions with the team that ends up 1st playing the team that ends up 8th, 2nd v 7th and so on.

This means that Widnes will play whichever team finishes up as runners up in the Moralee Division – who are currently Solihull Barons, although they could still be overtaken for second spot by Blackburn Hawks who have more games yet to play to complete their regular season schedule.

The quarter-finals will be played over two legs – home and away – over the weekend of 30th /31st March, with the winners progressing to an NIHL North finals weekend in Sheffield on 6th and 7th April.

The timings for the quarter-final matches will be announced once the Wild’s opponents are confirmed.

The Wild play their last home game of the regular season this Sunday 17th March when they take on local rivals Deeside Dragons at Planet Ice Widnes, face off 5.30pm.


Widnes Wild Academy Round Up - 9th/10th March


The Widnes Wild Junior Academy had a mixed weekend with one win and two defeats from the three games played across the age groups. 

The Wild Academy Under 16 team won 4-7 away at Deeside on Saturday while the Under 18A team lost 0-4 at home to Manchester. On Sunday, the Under 18B team lost 10-2 away to Leeds U18s. 

This weekend sees the Wild Under 14 team away in Solihull on Saturday 16th March and the Under 18B team away in Grimsby the same day. Also on Saturday, the Academy Under 10 team play in a 4-team cross-ice tournament away at Deeside – 4.35pm start.

The next home action for the Wild Academy teams is on Saturday 23rd March when the Under16s and Under 18B team take on their counterparts from Coventry at Planet Ice Widnes – starting from 4.20pm.  

Admission is free for all spectators to Wild Academy home games at Planet Ice Widnes and fans are encouraged to go along and support the stars of the future.


Match Report: Whitley Bay Beacons 3 – DMUK Widnes Wild Women 15 (WNIHL Div2 N)

Ellen Tyrer scored a hat-trick at Whitley for the Wild women – photo by Wil Evans

Saturday 9th March 1014 – WNIHL Div2N: Whitley Bay Beacons 3 – DMUK Widnes Wild Women 15

The DMUK Widnes Wild women finally broke their road trip hoodoo with an emphatic 3-15 win away to Whitley Bay Beacons on Saturday.  

The Wild women had lost their first 4 away games of the season and then seen two more postponed or abandoned for various reasons, but everything fell into place for this potentially tricky visit to the North East.

Widnes took the lead with a goal from Katie Adshead on 3 minutes and then doubled the advantage with a Preston Gennoe strike just 40 seconds later.

Whitley hit back with two goals of their own to tie the score but further goals from Ellen Tyrer and Jennifer Hickey saw the Wild women leading 2-4 at the first period break.

Katie Fairclough edged the Wild further into the lead with a goal just 2 minutes into the second period and then the floodgates opened with 5 more unanswered goals – from Gennoe (2), Tyrer, Phoebe Patient and Tyrer again – to put the game well out of reach of the home side at 2-10 after 40 minutes of play.

The third period saw Widnes keep the pressure up and 5 more goals followed – from Fairclough (2) Sophie Hill (2, her first for the club) and Preston Gennoe for her fourth of the game.

The resulting 3-15 victory is the Wild women’s biggest win of the season so far and their highest score since their 15-2 home win over Kingston in March 2023.

They are next in action Sunday 24th March when they take on Telford Wrekin Raiders at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.


Monday 4 March 2024

Riverside Raiders Conquer Mt Snowdon

The Riverside Raiders team at the top of Mt Snowdon on their charity hike.

The Widnes based Riverside Raiders ice hockey team have hiked to the top of Mt Snowdon in aid of a mental health charity.

The Raiders had won the Summer Classic Cup competition twice in recent years but this was an altogether different type of challenge as they set out to conquer the 1085 meters of the highest mountain in England and Wales, battling against the wintry weather as well as the steep incline itself.

It is thought that this is the first time that an ice hockey team has undertaken  the walk –especially wearing full ice hockey gear - and Raiders coach Ben Donkin planned to go the whole way wearing ice hockey skates, which if you have ever tried walking in them, you will know is difficult enough on the flat surfaces around an ice rink, let alone on the rocky slopes of a mountain.

The idea came about the Raiders wanted to do something unusual and dramatic to mark their 10th anniversary as a club and also to support a worthy cause, so they decided to do the walk to help raise funds and awareness for the Rethink Mental Illness who are a charity that seek to improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness through their networks of local groups and services, information and campaigns.

The walk to the top of the mountain and back down again took 6 hours to complete and coach Donkin managed to do the whole route in his skates. Afterwards he commented: 

“It was amazingly not as bad as I was expecting in skates.  An absolutely amazing effort by the boys. We smashed it - even in the snow”!

The Raiders had originally set themselves the target of raising £1000 for Rethink Mental Illness but have already doubled that through online donations and are keen to keep the tally rising.

For anybody who would like to sponsor the Raiders’ walk up Mount Snowdon, they have a justgiving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/team/dropthepuck

You can find out more about the Rethink Mental Illness charity on their website at www.rethink.org


Widnes Wild Academy Round Up - 2nd March


The Widnes Wild Junior Academy had a mixed weekend with two wins and two defeats from the four games played across the age groups. 

The Wild Academy Under 12 team beat Deeside Under 12s 4-1 away in North Wales on Saturday while the Under 14s narrowly lost out 2-1 away to the Dragons U14s.

On the same day, in a Widnes v Solihull double bill at Planet Ice Widnes, the Wild Academy Under 16s lost 3-4 and the Under 18B team won 10-2. 

This weekend sees the Wild Under 12 team away in Coventry on Saturday 9th March and the Under 18B team away in Leeds on Sunday 10th March.

The Under 16s are at home to Deeside on Saturday at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.20pm face off and the Under 18A team face Manchester straight afterwards.

Admission is free for all spectators to Wild Academy home games at Planet Ice Widnes and fans are encouraged to go along and support the stars of the future.


Match Report: Widnes Wild 3 - Blackburn Hawks 7 (Moralee Division)

Joey Coulter was the Wild MVP against Blackburn (photo by Steve Cunningham)

Sunday 3rd March – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 3 - Blackburn Hawks 7

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a disappointing weekend, suffering back to back defeats at the hands of north west rivals Blackburn Hawks - losing 10-3 away on Saturday and 3-7 at home at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday. 

The home game on Sunday saw a much grittier and determined performance from the Wild team but the end result still came out pretty much the same. Blackburn opened the scoring after 90 seconds and were, once again, 0-4 up by the end of the first period.

A fifth goal for the visitors just 64 seconds into the second period looked to have already put the game past the reach of the Wild but a powerplay strike by Owen Rae gave them some hope.

Widnes noticeably upped their game after this and were battling to reduce the deficit when they were caught out by another Blackburn goal on 31 minutes. 

A goal from Wild player coach Joey Coulter just 16 seconds after that pulled the score back to 6-2 but another Hawks strike two minutes later saw the visitors leading 2-7 at the second period break.

Widnes kept plugging away in the third period but Blackburn shut up shop and it took until the 54th minute before the Wild were rewarded with another goal for their efforts. This came from the stick of Damarni James – scoring against his former club – but was to be the last goal of the night and the match ended up as a 3-7 win for the Hawks. 

These weekend results mean that the Wild have now lost 5 games in a row for the second time this season – a sequence they will be keen to break with two games coming up against Deeside Dragons in the coming weeks.

They remain 7th in the Moralee Division table – a distant 12 points behind 6th place Hull Jets – but are not yet guaranteed a place in the end of season play offs and could still – mathematically, at least – be overtaken by Nottingham Lions or Sheffield Scimitars for that coveted top 8 spot.

The Wild NIHL team are without a game next weekend and are back in action on Sunday 17th March when they take on local rivals Deeside Dragons at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

Following that, they play their last game of the regular season away to Deeside on Sunday 24th March, with two-legged quarter final ties in the Moralee Play Offs scheduled to take place the weekend after.


Match Report: Trafford Thunder 6 – Halton Huskies 5 (Challenge Match)

Nathan Hewitt opened the scoring for the Huskies away at Trafford (photo by David Tattum)

Saturday 2nd March 2024 – Challenge Match: Trafford Thunder 6 – Halton Huskies 5

The Halton Huskies put in a battling performance in their first match of the new recreational season but narrowly lost out 6-5 away to Trafford Thunder at Altrincham on Saturday.

The Huskies opened the scoring in the 4th minute with a goal from Nathan Hewitt and then doubled the lead with a Matt Kohler strike 3 minutes later

Trafford pulled a goal back just 23 seconds after that and then drew level on 12 minutes. A third goal for the hosts saw them take the lead with just 90 seconds to play in the first period and they led 3-2 at the first interval.

This was a very closely fought and entertaining encounter and, while the Huskies actually outshot their hosts by 2 to 1 over the course of the game, it was the Thunder that retained the narrow advantage  that they had carried over from the first period.

Trafford scored again on 28 minutes to lead 4-2 but the Huskies pulled a goal back through Edward Ridding at the half way mark. Halton then drew level on 37 minutes with a goal from Jon Lomax but the Thunder cancelled that out with a strike with 33 seconds left on the clock to lead 5-4 after 40 minutes of play.

The third period played out in similar vein with Trafford extending their lead again on 46 minutes and the Huskies pulling a goal back again through Jack Berry with a superb short-handed effort on 52 minutes. That rounded off the scoring for the game and the Thunder were able to hold on to record a narrow 6-5 victory.

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards went to former Altrincham Aces league netminder Aran Fox for Trafford – who kept out 55 of the 60 shots that he faced - and Jack Berry for Halton.

The Halton Huskies are next in action on Saturday 30th March when they travel across the Pennines to face the Leeds Warriors in a 9.45pm face off.

Further match dates are:

Sunday 21st April: home v Sheffield Ice Tigers

Saturday 4th May: away @ Blackburn Renegades

Saturday 25th May: home v Blackburn Renegades

Saturday 8th June: home v Manchester Swarm

Sunday 7th July: home v Bradford Cannibals

Saturday 3rd August: home v Leeds Warriors


Match Report: Blackburn Hawks 10 - Widnes Wild 3 (Moralee Division)


Photo by Luke Riley / lrileystudio

Saturday 2nd March – Moralee Division: Blackburn Hawks 10 – Widnes Wild 3 

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a disappointing weekend, suffering back to back defeats at the hands of north west rivals Blackburn Hawks - losing 10-3 away on Saturday and 3-7 at home at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday. 

The Wild came into the weekend’s games on the back of a 3-match losing streak, while Blackburn were on a high following their 21-6 two leg demolition of league leaders Billingham Stars the previous weekend in the Moralee Cup final.

Unfortunately for Widnes, the away game on Saturday went pretty much to current form and Blackburn raced to a 4-0 lead by the first interval.

Widnes eventually found the back of the net themselves with a powerplay goal from Matty Barlow in the 23rd minute punishing a Blackburn interference call but the Hawks hit back 90 seconds later with a shorthanded goal to restore the 4-goal cushion.

Gregor Donaldson fired in his first ever goal for Widnes on 26 minutes to raise hopes of a Wild fightback but these were soon quashed by a disastrous spell that saw Blackburn score 4 more goals to lead 9-2 at the second interval.

The Hawks edged further ahead on 43 minutes with their 10th goal of the game and Matty Barlow scored his second of the night 53 seconds later for Widnes to round off the scoring.  Tempers boiled over after this as Bailey Thomson took exception to an overly robust challenge from former Wild player Calum Ruddick and was handed a 2+2 penalty for roughing plus a 10 minute misconduct call while Ruddick just got 2 minutes for roughing.



Monday 26 February 2024

Match Report: Connah's Quay Cobras 11 - Telford Spartans 1 (Challenge Match)

Cath Thornton was the Cobras' MVP against Telford  

Sunday 25th February – Challenge Match: Connah’s Quay Cobras 11 – Telford Spartans 1

The Connah’s Quay Cobras team notched up their 8th win in a row with an 11-1 victory over the Telford Spartans at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday night.

To be fair to both sides, it should be pointed out that this was a “development” game, rather than a “full on” competitive encounter, and the main aim was to give extra ice time to some of the less experienced players.  As such, the former league players on the Cobras’ roster did not play in this game and the taking part was far more important than the actual result.

For the record, Slavomir Sykora was the top points scorer for the Cobras in the game with 2 goals and 4 assists.  Ken Valyear weighed in with 1+4, Luke Wainwright 3+1 and Louis Ellwood 2+1.  The other Connah’s Quay goals came from Emma Dutton, Cath Thornton (her first Cobras goal) and Mike Filek, with Louie Bailey and Sam Plant both contributing assists.

Netminder Theo Coulson – playing his first game in goal for the Cobras and only his second game ever -  put in a solid display and turned away 9 out of the 10 shots that he faced over the 60 minutes. 

Talking about the game, Cobras’ coach Emma Dutton said:

“The sportsmanship shown from both sides was amazing, recognising huge individual achievements within the game as well as practicing plays and gaining experience.” 

“A real moment of joy was Cath’s first Cobras goal, which was cheered and celebrated by both teams equally.”


Widnes Wild Academy Round Up - 24th / 25th February


The Widnes Wild Junior Academy had a mixed weekend with one win and one defeat from their two away games. The Wild Academy Under 14 team won 0-8 away at Coventry on Saturday and the Under 18A team lost 10-2 at Leeds.

This weekend sees the Wild Under 12 and Under 14 teams both away at Deeside on Saturday 2nd March, with games starting at 4.30pm. The same day, the Wild Academy Under 16 team are at home to Solihull Under 16s at Planet Ice Widnes - 4.20pm face off – with the Under 18B team taking on their Solihull counterparts straight afterwards. 

Admission is free for all spectators to Wild Academy home games at Planet Ice Widnes and fans are encouraged to go along and support the stars of the future.


Match Report: Widnes Wild 3 - Sheffield Scimitars 9 (Moralee Division)

Jake Meehan was the Wild's MVP against Sheffield  (Photo by Steve Cunningham)

Sunday 25th February 2024 – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 3 - Sheffield Scimitars 9

The Widnes Wild NIHL team slumped to their third defeat in a row with a 3-9 home drubbing at the hands of the league’s bottom team Sheffield Scimitars at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The visitors took the lead in the 4th minute and then doubled the advantage 3 minutes later. It took until 17 minutes into the period before the Wild finally found the back of the net themselves with a powerplay goal from Nathan Britton, who is standing in as team captain while regular skipper Tom Jackson is out injured. 

The second period was a disaster for the Wild as they were outshot by more than 2 to 1 and a string of niggly penalties hampered them from building up any sort of momentum. Four unanswered goals left them trailing 1-6 at the second break with a lot of catching up to do in the final 20 minutes.

A 7th goal for Sheffield just 11 seconds into the third period made the proverbial mountain to climb even higher for the Wild but, to their credit, their heads did not drop and they continued to battle away. 

The Widnes efforts were rewarded with a goal from Mikey Gilbert on 46 minutes and another from Will Harper just 80 seconds later to bring the score to 3-7 but that was as far as any late revival actually got.

Two more goals in the latter stages rounded off the scoring for Sheffield and handed the Scimitars only their 5th win of the league campaign.

The result leaves the Wild nervously looking over their shoulders in terms of league position as they are still not mathematically guaranteed a play off spot and have 4 tough games still to come.

They are next in action next weekend with back to back games against north west rivals Blackburn Hawks, away on Saturday and at home on Sunday at Planet Ice Widnes.     

The Hawks are sure to be on a high after demolishing league leaders Billingham Stars 21-6 over two legs last weekend in the final of the Moralee Cup (13-4, 2-8) and they still have a chance of overtaking Solihull Barons for the runner’s up spot in the league.  Widnes v Blackburn games are always very passionate and hard fought affairs and both teams will have a point to prove next weekend.

Following that, the Wild have another tantalising pair of derby games to look forward to - home and away against Deeside Dragons, who are also enjoying a better than expected season - to complete their regular Moralee Division schedule.  


Wild Women's Game At Grimsby Abandoned

Lucy Kirkham was stand-in netminder for the Wild Women at Grimsby (Photo by Anne Bennison) 

Saturday 24th February 2024 – WNIHL Div 2 N: Grimsby Wolves – DMUK Widnes Wild Women 

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team‘s game away at Grimsby was abandoned in the first period after a Wolves player suffered a broken ankle on the ice.

The home side were leading 4-1 at the time of the stoppage, although the Wild Women had travelled without a regular netminder and senior player Lucy Kirkham bravely took up the pads and played in goal. The sole Wild goal was scored by team captain Charlotte Cramp. 

There are hopes that the game will be rescheduled for a later date if a suitable ice time slot can be arranged at the Lincolnshire rink.

Widnes are away to Whitley Bay on Saturday 9th March and are next at home on Sunday 24th March when they take on the Telford Wrekin Raiders at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.


Mayhem Players in GB World ChampionshIp Call Up

Felicity Gregory and Mark Colquitt in action for the Mayhem (Photo by @haganovaphoto)

Four players from the Widnes–based Mayhem sledge team have been selected to play for the Great Britain national side at the 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Norway. 

Mark Colquitt, Karl Nicholson, Dean Lahan and Felicity Gregory will be part of the 18-strong squad that will compete in Pool B of the championships in Skien, Norway from the 15th-20th April.

Great Britain will go up against Norway and Germany, who were relegated from the A-Pool last year, as well as Sweden, Kazakhstan, and France in the six-team tournament.

Team GB Head Coach Peggy Assinck – who is also a Mayhem player – said: 

“I am looking forward to working with this skilled group of athletes this year as we prepare for the Pool B world championship. We have a nice mixture of four rookies making their GB team debut and several experienced veterans to round out the team. We’ve been working hard since last October’s tournament in Astana, and I’m looking forward to leading the team in Skien in April as we look to cement our B-Pool Team status.”

Mayhem team manager Peter Hagan said of the player call ups:

“Everyone at the Mayhem is so proud of those selected to GB for World Championships, especially looking at the GB squad. Mark & Karl are senior players with the national programme with Dean & Felicity building up their international experience which can only help both the mens & women’s teams. We all wish the team good luck & will be following them over in Norway.”

The Full GB squad is:

Netminders:

Bryan Hackworth – Sheffield Steelkings

Jodi Hill – Cardiff Huskies

Defence:

Damien Barker – Sheffield Steelkings

Shannon Couch – Cardiff Huskies

Mark Colquitt – Manchester Mayhem, 

Jonathon Le Galloudec – Cardiff Huskies

Paul Brown – Sheffield Steelkings

Felicity Gregory – Manchester Mayhem

Gary Farmer – Peterborough Phantoms


Forwards:

Callum Shakespeare – Peterborough Phantoms

Tyler Christopher – Cardiff Huskies

Karl Nicholson – Manchester Mayhem

Dani Czernuszka-Watts – Cardiff Huskies

Dean Lahan – Manchester Mayhem

Stacey Quirk – Peterborough Phantoms

John Mellor – Cape Breton Sledgehammers

Josh Davies – Cardiff Huskies

Ben O’Brien – Sheffield Steelkings


Reserves:

Netminder: Susi Rogers-Hartley (Peterborough Phantoms)

Defence: Leanne Emmerson (Cardiff Huskies), Jade Williams (Sheffield Steelkings), Gaz Lawton (Sheffield Steelkings)

Forwards: Dan May (Cardiff Huskies), Emily McLean (GB Women)


Team Staff:

Peggy Assinck – head coach

Patrick Assinck – assistant coach

Breanna Wagner – assistant coach / equipment

Lauren Bolger – sports therapist

Shirley Packwood – team manager / medic


Monday 19 February 2024

Wild Women Off To Grimsby

Preston Gennoe is the Wild women’s top scorer so far this season – photo by Flyfifer.

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s travel to the Lincolnshire coast this Saturday 24th February when they take on the Grimsby Wolves, 13h10pm face off.

The Wild women have yet to win on their travels this season, having lost all 4 of their away games so far. The away game against strugglers Kingston Diamonds that had been scheduled for 27th January was postponed as the Humberside ice time wasn’t available so they will be looking for a win on Saturday to give their “stop-start” season a bit of a boost.

The Wild Women beat Grimsby 5-0 in the home meeting back in October and the Wolves have lost all of their 8 games to date this season. 

Widnes narrowly lost out 2-4 to league leaders Caledonia Steel Queens in their last game but were without a number of regular players due to illness.

Preston Gennoe scored 1 goal and 1 assist in that game to take over at the top of the Wild Women scoring standings for the season.  She now has 10 goals and 3 assists from 7 games while Katie Fairclough is in second place with 6+6.

Following Saturday’s game, Widnes are away to Whitley Bay on Saturday 9th March and are next at home on Sunday 24th March when they take on the Telford Wrekin Raiders at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.


Widnes Wild Academy Round Up - 17th/18th February


The Widnes Wild Junior Academy had a mixed weekend with two wins and one defeat from the three games that were played across the age groups.

The Wild Academy Under 18A team beat Hull U18s 4-2 on Saturday at Planet Ice Widnes and the Under 14s won 0-8 away to Sheffield the same day. On Sunday, the Wild Academy Under 18B team narrowly lost 6-5 away to Billingham U18s. 

This weekend sees the Academy Under 18A team away to Leeds on Saturday – 7.30pm face off – and the Under 14s away to Coventry on Sunday, 4pm start.

The next Wild Academy home games are on Saturday 2nd March at Planet Ice Widnes when the Widnes Under 16 and Under 18B teams take on their counterparts from Solihull at Planet Ice Widnes, with the action starting at 4.20pm.

Admission is free for all spectators to Wild Academy home games at Planet Ice Widnes and fans are encouraged to go along and support the stars of the future. 


Match Report: Widnes Wild 2 – Nottingham Lions 5 (Moralee Division)

Flynn Massie scored his first goal for the Wild and was named MVP in the match against Nottingham – photo by Steve Cunningham

Sunday 18th February – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 2 – Nottingham Lions 5

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a disappointing - and winless – weekend, losing 9-0 away to north west rivals Blackburn Hawks in the M56 Cup on Saturday and then crashing 2-5 to league strugglers Nottingham Lions in the Moralee Division at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday. 

On Sunday, it was a short-benched Wild that took on league strugglers Nottingham Lions at Planet Ice Widnes and the game didn’t really go to expectations.

Widnes actually took the lead after just 34 seconds with a goal from Will Harper picking up a pass from player coach Joey Coulter but Nottingham equalised 3 minutes later with a powerplay goal punishing a Damarni James tripping penalty and then went ahead with a second goal on 11 minutes.

At 1-2 down after the first period, there seemed little cause for concern but as the game went on, the Wild’s fortunes showed no sign of improving. They had their chances in front of goal but were unable to make the most of them and Nottingham edged further ahead with goals on 34 and 38 minutes to lead 1-4 at the end of the second period.

The Lions scored again on 48 minutes, leaving Widnes with a lot of catching up to do in the closing stages and the home side finally found the back of the net again with a last gasp goal from Flynn Massie. That was the young Scottish player’s first goal for Wild and he was rewarded with the MVP award.

The result leaves the Wild in a rather uncomfortable position in the lower half of the Moralee Division table – in 7th place with 19 points from their 27 league games to date. They could – mathematically, at least - still be overtaken by both Nottingham Lions and Sheffield Scimitars who are in 8th and 9th place respectively, but they are engaged in their own battle to avoid the wooden spoon and overall league form for the season suggests that all three clubs will probably finish up in the places they are currently in. 

The Wild NIHL team are next in action this Sunday 25th February when they take on strugglers Sheffield Scimitars in the game that had to be rescheduled from 19th November due to a Carbon Monoxide issue at the Widnes rink.

Following that, Widnes have a run of 4 tantalising clashes with local rivals Blackburn Hawks and Deeside Dragons - once home and once away in each case – to round off their regular season schedule.

While local bragging rights will clearly be at stake in these games, the main aim will be to ensure that the Wild accrue points to finish in the best possible position in the Moralee Division table ready for the end of season play offs – the quarter finals of which take place over the last weekend in March.