Friday, 29 September 2023

Wild Women Season Starts This Weekend

The DMUK Widnes Wild Women at the 2023 Play Offs (Photo by Mike Lennon) 

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team have put together a strong roster mixing youth and experience for the forthcoming 2023/24 WNIHL season where they will, once again, be competing in Division 2 North.

They will be hoping to go one better after finishing as runners up to champions Solway Sharks Ladies and regain the title that they won themselves back in the 2019/20 season.

WNIHL North 2 comprises 8 teams again this year with promoted Solway being replaced by another Scottish team – the Caledonia Steel Queens from Edinburgh - and all teams play each other once home and once away for a 14-game regular season. 

The Wild women’s league fixtures for the 2023/24 WNIHL season are:
1st Oct: Home v Grimsby Wolves, 4.25pm face off 
14th Oct: Away @ Caledonia Steel Queens, 10.15pm
4th Nov: Away @ Leeds Roses, 7.30pm
12th Nov: Away @ Sheffield Shadows, 5pm
25th Nov: Away @ Telford Wrekin Raiders, 4.15pm
10th Dec: Home v Kingston Diamonds, 4.25pm 
7th Jan: Home v Whitley Bay Beacons, 4.25pm
27th Jan: Away @ Kingston Diamonds, 6.30pm
4th Feb: Home v Caledonia Steel Queens, 4.25pm
24th Feb: Away @ Grimsby Wolves, 1.10pm
9th Mar: Away @ Whitley Bay Beacons, 12.00 noon
24th Mar: Home v Telford Wrekin Raiders, 4.25pm
28th April: Home v Sheffield Shadows, 4.25pm
12th May: Home v Leeds Roses, 4.25pm

You can see brief player profiles for the full Wild women’s squad for the new season HERE

Tuesday, 26 September 2023

Wild Academy Round Up - 23rd & 24th September


The Widnes Wild Academy junior teams had a busy weekend with the Under 14s, 16s and 18s team all in action.

The Under 18A team lost 10-4 at Bradford while the Under 18B team lost 13-1 away at Whitley Bay. The Under 16 team lost 2-7 at home to Manchester and the Under 14s lost 13-1 away at Hull.

This coming weekend sees the Academy Under 18B team at home to Deeside on Saturday, with the Under 18A team away at Hull, the Under 14s way at Billingham and the Under 10s away at Deeside.

On Sunday, the Under 16s team travel away to face Solihull. 

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.   


Monday, 25 September 2023

Wild Women’s Roster Complete

The DMUK Widnes Wild Women's Elizabath Loss (Photo by Wil Evans)

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team have completed their roster for the forthcoming 2023/24 WNIHL season with the return of 6 more players from last year’s team and the arrival of a new player.

Experienced centre Elizabeth Loss was one of the original Manchester Phoenix team that moved to Widnes in 2015 and, in her 6 seasons with the Wild women, has played 45 games, scoring 4 goals and 16 assists - and never picking up a single penalty minute.

Liz was a key member of the Widnes team that won the 2019/20 Division 1 North league title and finished as runners up last season. 

Commenting on her return for the new season, Loss said: “I’m feeling very positive about this season. We had a really good season last year and we know what we need to work on to get to the play offs again and win this year.”

Suzie Miller in action for the Wild women (Photo by John Lewis)

Suzie Miller is back for her 4th season in Widnes colours, having originally joined the Wild women for the 2019/20 title winning season.  In that time she has played 31 games, contributing 3 assists from her defensive role.  Behind the scenes, Suzie is also a qualified coach and manager.

Miller said on her re-signing: “I am excited to go into the new season with an existing team who have come together well, with some new faces ready for the upcoming challenges”.

Katie Adshead returns for 5th season with the team, having originally joined as part of the big experiment 2018/19 season. She has notched up 53 matches in that time, scoring 2 goals and 6 assists with 22 penalty minutes and was another key member of the 2019/20 title winning season.

Natalie Buckles joined the Wild women for the post-Covid 2021/22 WPL season and is now back for her third campaign. She has played 18 games for Widnes, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist.  Buckles is also a qualified coach, has occasionally helped on the bench at Wild NIHL men’s games and also works with the juniors.  She also plays recreational hockey with the Widnes-based Earle Road Elks and Cheshire Pistons teams. 

Olivia Wilson returns to the Wild women for her third season in Widnes colours, having originally joined in 2021.  She previously played WNIHL league hockey for the Whitley Bay Squaws but also has an impressive background in University Hockey where she has notched up almost 100 games playing for Newcastle, London and Scottish teams.

Wilson has played 22 games for Widnes to date, contributing 1 assist.

Sophie Hill was a new player to the Wild women’s team last season. She has made just 1 appearance so far – against Grimsby in March - but scored an assist and was named Most Valuable Player for the game.

The new arrival on the Wild women’s team is Katya Oliver who previously played for the Chelmsford Cobras in the Women’s Premier League and U16 girls’ hockey for Bracknell.  She has most recently played two seasons of university hockey with Manchester Metros, making 30 appearances and scoring 3+5.  

The DMUK Widnes Wild women play their first game of the new season on Sunday 1st October when they take on the Grimsby Wolves at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.


Match Report: Connah's Quay Cobras 10 - Halton Huskies 3 (Challenge Match)


Sunday 24th September – Challenge Match: Connah’s Quay Cobras 10 – Halton Huskies 3

The Connah’s Quay Cobras rounded off their first year of competition with a comprehensive 10 –3 victory over Widnes based Halton Huskies in a challenge match at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.

The game started well for the Cobras as Slavomir Sykora fired in the opening goal with just 55 seconds on the clock. Less than 2 minutes later, the score was 2-0 after a strike from Luke Wainwright and further goals from Sam Krempasky and Stewart Cutting saw the home side leading 4-0 at the first period break. 

The second period opened with a second goal for Wainwright, to bring the score to 5-0, but the Huskies kept on battling and were eventually rewarded with two goals of their own within the space of a minute of each other around the half-way mark.

The Cobras fought back and three more goals late in the second period – one from Sykora and two from Krempasky to round off his hat-trick – saw them leading 8-2 with 20 minutes left to play.

A first goal of the night for Kenny Williams edged Connah’s Quay yet further ahead in the 52nd minute, picking up on a great pass from Ken Valyear, although this was countered when the Huskies scored their third and final goal of the game 3 minutes later.  But the Valyear / Williams combination paid dividends again with just 61 seconds left on the clock to round off an impressive victory - and to cap an all round superb team performance, netminder Paul Jones kept out a Penalty Shot as well. 

This was the Cobras’ second win in a row after beating the Shropshire Huskies back in July and they can be pleased with the progress they have made in their first season, having only started to train together as a team in January.

Cobras captain Evan McKinney presents the MVP awards to Dominic Gray for Halton and 
Ryan Clark for Connah's Quay

The Connah’s Quay Cobras end the 2023 season with a record of 2 wins and 2 defeats from their 4 challenge matches, and they also finished in a creditable second place at the Sheffield RecFest tournament. 

You can follow their fortunes on their Facebook page HERE 

Match Report: Widnes Wild 0 - Blackburn Hawks 5 (Moralee Division)

Netminder Harrison Walker was back in the Wild goal after a season away (Photo by Ste Cunningham)


Sunday 24th September – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 0 – Blackburn Hawks 5

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a frustrating weekend losing 4-1 away to Whitley Warriors on Saturday and then 0-5 at home to North West rivals Blackburn Hawks at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The home game against Blackburn on Sunday – a north-west derby fixture always keenly anticipated by both sets of fans – saw the Wild debut for Damarni James, who switched from the Hawks during the summer and also a return to Widnes for highly rated netminder Harrison Walker after a season away.

Walker was a key member of the Widnes team that won the Division 1 National Championship in 2021, the Moralee Cup in 2022 and was the top netminder in the division for the 2021/22 season.  He is available to play for the Wild this season on a 2-way arrangement with National Division team Leeds Knights.

The game started badly for Widnes and Blackburn took the lead with just 65 seconds on the clock with a goal from former Wild player Adam Barnes.  The same player edged the Hawks further ahead on 12 minutes and the score was extended to 0-3 to the visitors by the first break.

Widnes never really got going in this game and were comprehensively outshot over the whole 60 minutes by 49 to 14.  There were quite a lot of penalties for both sides – with the Hawks also leading that tally by 20 to 10 – but, even on their various powerplay advantages, Widnes were constantly thwarted by a stubborn Blackburn defence.

The Hawks scored again on 31 minutes to lead 0-4 at the second break and then rounded off a thoroughly disappointing weekend for the Wild with a 5th goal with 75 seconds left to play. 

The Wild are away to Nottingham Lions on Sunday 1st October and are next at home to Whitley Warriors on Sunday 8th at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.  

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team play their first game of the new WNIHL Division 2 North season this Sunday 1st October when they take on Grimsby Wolves at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

*****

The Halton Huskies recreational team lost 10-3 away to Connah’s Quay Cobras at Deeside on Sunday evening.

The Huskies goals were scored by Jake Berry, Matthew Kohler and Ethan Trickett and Rebecca Donnelly put in a brave performance in the Halton goal keeping out 38 of the 48 shots that she faced.




Match Report: Whitley Warriors 4 - Widnes Wild 1 (Moralee Division)

Wild attack the net away at Whitley Bay (Photo by Ste Cunningham)


Saturday 23rd September 2023 – Moralee Division: Whitley Warriors 4 – Widnes Wild 1

The YKK Widnes Wild lost their first away game of the new Moralee Division season 4-1 to early season title favourites Whitley Warriors in the North East on Saturday evening.

The game was littered with minor penalties throughout and these constant disruptions made it difficult for the Wild team to build up any sort of rhythm.

Whitley took the lead on 3 minutes and, despite plenty of huffing and puffing by both sides,  the score remained 1-0 to the hosts at the first period break.

5 minutes into the second period, Widnes slipped further behind to a powerplay goal but they finally found the back of the net in the 35th minute with a tap in from Mikey Gilbert after a great pass from player coach Joey Coulter. Unfortunately, the Warriors restored the 2-goal cushion just 2 minutes later and the score stood at 3-1 after two periods.

A rush of penalties early in the third period saw the Wild facing a 3 on 5 powerplay and they conceded a Penalty Shot while trying to defend against a Whitley attack.  That shot was converted to give the Warriors a 4-1 lead and it turned out to be the last scoring action of the game.  


Tuesday, 19 September 2023

Connah's Quay Cobras To Play Halton Huskies

The Connah's Quay Cobras (Photo by HJ Photography)

The Connah’s Quay Cobras play their last game of the 2023 rec season this Sunday 24th September when they take on the Halton Huskies at Deeside Leisure Centre, 8.30pm face off.

The North Wales team only formed in January, following the re-opening of the Queensferry rink after an extended Covid shutdown and refurbishment, and this tantalising “Deeside v Widnes” clash will be a good way to assess how far the Cobras have progressed in their first year.

The team roster is composed of an interesting mix of youth and experience, including former Deeside junior players, recreational players and a number of former NIHL league players.

The Cobras have put in some respectable performances thus far in their first season, narrowly losing to Riverside Raiders and Trafford Thunder, beating the Shropshire Huskies and finishing as runners up in the Sheffield RecFest.

The game on Sunday follows on after the Deeside Dragons v Whitley Warriors Moralee Division fixture (which is a 5.15 face off…) and is free admission, so any Dragons, or - indeed - Warriors fans, who fancy an extra ice hockey fix on a Sunday night might like to stay on and watch.

 You can find out more about the Connah’s Quay Cobras by following their Facebook page HERE

Wild Junior Academy Round Up

The Wild Academy team were last season's North Division Under 12 champions (Photo by Hannah Walker)

The Widnes Wild Academy junior teams had a busy weekend with opening games of the new season for the Under 12s, U14s and U16s.

The Under 14 team won 9-6 at home to Billingham, while the Under 12s – who are looking to defend the league title that they won last year - lost 0-8 to Solihull. 

The Under 16 team lost 4-1 away to Coventry.

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.


Monday, 18 September 2023

5 More Sign For Wild Women

Laura Moran (in purple) playing for Oxford against Widnes at the Bristol Tournament, seen with Wild's Victoria Connelly (#88) (Photo by Flyfifer Photography)

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team have a new player to boost their squad for the forthcoming 2023/24 WNIHL North season, as well as the return of a familiar face.

Laura Moran has played for the Oxford Midnight Stars in Division 2 South for the past 8 years and has over 70 WNIHL matches under her belt. In that time she contributed 4 goals and 11 assists from her defensive role and notched up 42 penalty minutes.

Moran also played University hockey for 4 seasons with the UAE (University Of East Anglia) Avalanche, scoring 1+2 in 18 games. 

Talking about her move to the Wild women, Laura said: “I can’t wait to get this season started with Widnes! I was sad to be leaving Oxford at the end of last season after 8 years but Widnes have been so welcoming. I’m looking forward to getting to know all the girls more and seeing how much we can achieve on the ice this year!”

Jemma Brown
(Photo by Geoff White)
Returnee Jemma Brown needs no introduction to Widnes fans as she played three seasons for the Wild women from 2018 to 2022 before taking a break from competitive hockey last year.

In that time she played 38 league and challenge matches scoring 6 goals and 8 assists and was a member of the Wild women’s team that won the Division 1 North title in 2019/20.

Before joining Widnes, Jemma had played for the Kingston Diamonds in the Women’s Premier League as well as junior hockey for Blackburn and Trafford and has over 90 competitive games to her record.

She said of her return to the Wild women’s team: “I am incredibly excited to be returning back to playing for the women after having a season off. After seeing how well the team performed last season, I am excited to see how well the team performs this season.”

“I’m sure it will be an amazing season with new team members and some very experienced players with lots of fun and exciting memories for us all to remember as a team.”

Three more players from last season’s squad have also returned to the Wild women for the new campaign.  

Ontario-born Lise Gillen brings a wealth of experience having played 3 seasons for the Guildford Lightning in the Womens’ Elite League, as well as playing in her native Canada. She played 10 games for Widnes last season, scoring 2 goals and 4 assists

Victoria Connelly also played 10 games for Widnes last season, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists she is also a former Guildford Lightning Elite player, previously playing for the Bracknell Fire Bees and, in total, has made over 50 WNIHL appearances.

Jennifer Hickey joined the Wild women for the 2021/22 and has played in all 30 games that the team have played since then.   She has contributed 3 goals and 4 assists and picked up just 4 penalty minutes.

Hickey also plays University hockey for the Manchester Metros, scoring 6+9 in 28 games over two seasons.

The DMUK Widnes Wild women play their first game of the new season on Sunday 1st October when they take on the Grimsby Wolves at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.


Match Report: Widnes Wild 4 - Nottingham Lions 3 (OT) - Moralee Division

 

Jonathan Williamson scored an all-important Wild equaliser against Nottingham (Photo by Ste Cunningham)

17th September 2023 – NIHL Moralee Division: YKK Widnes Wild 4 – Nottingham Lions 3 (OT)

THE Widnes Wild NIHL team staged a dramatic fightback to win both points with a 4-3 overtime victory over Nottingham Lions at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

This was the Wild’s first Moralee Division game of the season, following on from back to back challenge match wins over lower league Telford Tigers2 and was a significant test for player coach Joey Coulter’s new look squad.

It was highly entertaining to watch throughout, very closely contested, and could really have gone either way. 

The first period played out goal-less and it took until the 24th minute for the first breakthrough to come.  Despite Widnes having the edge on shots on goal in the early stages, it was the visitors who scored first with a shorthanded strike while the Wild were pressing forward on a hooking powerplay.

The Wild outshot the Lions by almost 2 to 1 during the second period, but a stream of minor penalties stopped them building up any kind of momentum and Nottingham struck again – on a powerplay - with just 5 seconds left on the clock to take a 0-2 lead into the second break.

Home fans finally got something to cheer about 6 minutes into the third period when Nathan Britton fired the puck home to open the Wild account for the evening.  

Things began to get niggly after this and some heavy checks were dealt out by both teams.  Rhys Edwards took particular exception to a check from behind and the influential youngster picked up a 5+game major penalty for fighting and missed the remainder of the match.

If anything, this fired the Wild team up all the more and just 60 seconds later, the scores were tied with an equaliser from Jonathan Wilkinson, leaving it was much “game on” with 10 minutes left to play.

Nottingham edged back into the lead again on 53 minutes on a powerplay punishing the Edwards penalty but, undeterred, the Wild kept pushing forward and their efforts were rewarded with another equaliser on 56 minutes with a goal from Matty Barlow.

The score remained at 3-3 at the end of the regulation 60 minutes playing time so an additional period of sudden death overtime was played to decide a winner.

Overtime is played with just 3 players against 3 on the ice and is fast moving and very tense. With a single “sudden death” goal deciding who wins the match there is everything to play for - and no room for error!

Both teams had their chances in overtime and the unbearable tension around the rink was racked up even further as both sides called 30 second time outs to discuss strategy. But, just as it looked as if the game might have to go to a penalty shoot out, and with just 90 seconds left on the clock, the Lions picked up a penalty for high sticks.

If a penalty is awarded in overtime, rather than playing on with just 2 skaters, the opposing team is allowed to bring on an extra player so Widnes had a 4 on 3 man advantage in these crucial remaining seconds of the game. 

In the ensuing powerplay, with just 43 seconds left on the clock, Kyle Carruth slotted the puck home to give Widnes a dramatic overtime win.

The result means that the Wild get 2 Moralee Division points for the win, while Nottingham get a single point for an “overtime loss”.

The Wild are next in action this Saturday 23rd September when they make the long journey to the North East to face the Whitley Warriors – 7pm face off - and are then at home the following night when they take on North West rivals Blackburn Hawks at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off. 

****

The Halton Huskies recreational team have a challenge match away to Deeside-based Connah’s Quay Cobras on Sunday – face off 8.30pm. Admission is free.


Monday, 11 September 2023

More Signings For Wild Women

Charlotte Cramp (Photo by Anne Bennison)

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team continue to prepare for their 2023/24 WNIHL Division 2 North league title challenge with the return of 4 more players from last season’s squad. 

Forward Charlotte Cramp returns to the Wild women for her third season, having joined the team in 2021 from a background of university hockey with Manchester Metros.

In her two seasons with the Wild to date, she has played 31 games and scored 5 goals and 11 assists.

Cramp is very versatile and even played in goal for the first game of last season, picking up the MVP award away at Solway.  She is also a qualified Level 3 match official and regularly referees junior matches and can cover senior men’s games at NIHL 2 level if required.

Charlotte also has an IIHF licence, which allows her top officiate at international women’s tournaments.

She will be the captain of the Wild women’s team for the new season.

Karyn Cooper (Photo by Wil Evans)

Karyn Cooper  has re-signed for her 5th season with the Wild women, having joined the team from the 2018/19 season. She also played University hockey for the Manchester Metros team, clocking up 43 games in 4 years.

In her 4 seasons to date at Widnes, Karyn has played in 52 league, playoff and challenge matches, contributing 6 assists.

She is also the Wild women’s team manager and puts in a huge amount of work behind the scenes. 


Rachael Pearce (Photo by DMUK Widnes Wild women's team)

Rachael Pearce only joined the Wild women last season, but she has a fascinating background in ice hockey and brings a wealth of experience to the team.  

Rachael originally played with the Blackpool women’s team in the late 1980s and then joined the Blackburn Falcons rec team at the then newly opened  East Lancs rink. She then had a 20 year break from ice hockey, playing football up to county level, before playing for the Wyre Seagulls at the SubZero rink in Cleveleys in 2011/12 and then joining the Blackburn Thunder women’s team the following year.

She played 6 seasons for the Thunder from 2012 to 2018, finishing as a runner-up in the Division 1 North table before the team sadly folded at the end of that season.

4 years later, Pearce joined the Wild women’s team where she was an ever-present for the 2022/23 season, having her best campaign in terms of points with 8 goals and 10 assists in 15 league and play off games.

Talking about re-joining the Wild women for the new season, Rachael said:  

“Joining Widnes last season I couldn't have wished for a better bunch of team-mates to play with as I have learnt so much more in this last season and it has, once again, renewed my passion to keep playing this amazing sport as long as I can!” 

“This year, I hope to keep assisting and scoring goals - and hopefully get to the playoffs once again at the end of the season, with teamwork and a great bunch of people!”


Mayhem Players In World Women’s Challenge

Mayhem player Felicity Gregory at the World Women's Challenge (Photo by Peter Hagan)

Players and staff from the Widnes–based Mayhem sledge team travelled to Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, as part of the Great Britain women’s Para Ice Hockey to compete in a 4-team international tournament.

Felicity Gregory was named in the GB squad while Ontario-born Peggy Assinck lined up for her native Canada.  Karl Nicholson travelled as one of three Assistant Coaches and Peter Hagan was Equipment Manager.

Despite putting in plucky performances, the Great Britain team lost all three of their group games – 9-0 to Canada, 7-0 to USA and 5-1 to “Team World”, made up from a combination of players from Europe and Asia.  

In the final medal round, GB lost 7-0 to Team World in the bronze medal match while Peggy Assinck picked up a silver after her Canada team lost 2-0 to overall winners USA.

GB’s only goal of the tournament came 5.50 into their first game against Team World and was scored by team captain Stacey Quirk – who plays for the Peterborough Phantoms - assisted by Emily McLean of Sheffield Steelkings.

This was the second year that the World Women’s Challenge had taken place in Green Bay and there are plans for an official World Championship for next year.

Mayhem head coach Peter Hagan – who travelled to the tournament as Equipment Manager - said:

“The team performed exceptionally, the coaching team had specific things they wanted to get out of the tournament and the team accomplished them,  and the feedback from all the other teams reinforced how much the team had improved from the first year.” 

“The team should be immensely proud of how they played and it was an honour for me to be part of the off ice team. I am looking forward to what lies ahead for the programme and the sport.”

Team GB Results Schedule 

Group Games: 31st Aug: Team World 5 – Great Britain 1, 1st Sept: USA 7 – Great Britain 0, 2nd Sept: Canada 9 – Great Britain 0

Bronze Medal Play Off: 3rd Sept: Team World 7 – Team GB 0

Gold Medal Game: 3rd Sept: USA 2 - Canada 0 

GB Team Photo

Players (left to right): Susi Marguerite, Nicola Terrell, Leanne Emmerson, Freya Levy, Helen McGivern, Sarah Hope A, Stacey Quirk C, Felicity Gregory A, Shannon Couch A, Dani Czernuszka-Watts, Emily McLean, Alysha Atkinson, Jodie Hill

Team Staff: Peter Hagan (Equipment Manager), Ian Offers (Head Coach), Karl Nicholson (Assistant Coach - Offense) Breanna Wagner (Assistant Coach - Defence), Louise Beresford (Assistant Coach - Netminders).


Match Report: Telford Tigers2 3 - Widnes Wild 6 (Challenge)


Saturday 9th September 2023 – Challenge Match: Telford Tigers2 3 – Widnes Wild 6

The Widnes Wild NIHL team rounded off their two game pre season challenge series against Telford Tigers 2 with a 3-6 win away in Shropshire on Saturday.

The game saw Wild debuts for former Chelmsford and Great Britain Under 18 netminder Luca Tessadri – who has signed for the Wild on a 2-way arrangement with National Division Leeds Knights -  and 17 year old forward Thomas Mardell who is on a 2-way contract with Laidler Division Bradford Bulldogs.

Widnes took the lead in the 9th minute with a goal from Rhys Edwards and doubled the advantage through Andrew Hopkins  on 15 minutes to lead 0-2 at the first break.

Bez Hughes fired the Wild further ahead with a goal just 85 seconds into the second period and Matty Barlow made the score 0-4 on 26 minutes.

A goal from Mikey Gilbert on 30 minutes brought the score to 0-5 to Widnes and it looked as if a whitewash might be on the cards but Telford struck back and scored their first goal just 20 seconds later.

A second goal for the Tigers just 53 seconds after that narrowed the score to 2-5 and the Wild held off some later pressure to hold on to the 3-goal advantage heading into the second break.

Hopkins scored his second goal of the game – and the Wild’s sixth - 65 seconds into the third period, putting Widnes firmly back in control. Both teams had their chances in the latter stages and Telford eventually scored again on 52 minutes but that was the last goal action of the game and the Wild came away with a 3-6 victory.

The MVP award for Widnes went to Gregor Donaldson and Luca Tessadri was able to record a 90.00% Save % in his first Wild game.

The Wild are next in action this Sunday 17th September when they take on Nottingham Lions in their Moralee Division opener at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off. 


Tuesday, 5 September 2023

New Book: Wild Review - Season 2022/23

The new season may be just getting underway but ice hockey fans have the chance to relive all the excitement of the 2022/23 season in the new “Wild Review” book that has been published by specialist publisher Ice Hockey Review.

As with the previous season’s edition, the book features in-depth coverage of all of the various Widnes Wild teams, with player statistics, reports and final standings for the:

YKK Widnes Wild NIHL team

DMUK Widnes Wild Women's team

Wild Academy Under 18 team

Wild Academy Under 16 team

Wild Academy Under 14 team

Wild Academy Under 12 team

Wild Academy Under 10 team

plus a 10 Year Record for the Widnes Wild NIHL team, 2013-2023 and the season’s collection of poems from Poet In Residence Lucy London. 

Newly added for this year are details of the Mayhem sledge team's 2023 British Para Ice Hockey League campaign, the Riverside Raiders and Halton Huskies in the Summer Classic Cup - and lots more besides!

The book is illustrated throughout with superb photos from, among others, Geoff White, Steve Cunningham and is available for mail order via THIS LINK   


Three More Return For Wild Women

Re-signed for the new Wild women's season: Ellen Tyrer, Ellie Green & Phoebe Patient (Photo by Paul Breeze)

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team have announced the re-signing of a trio of young players as they continue to build their squad for the forthcoming 2023/34 WNIHL season.

Ellie Green, Phoebe Patient and Ellen Tyrer have all previously played junior hockey for the Wild Academy and are a shining example of how developing local talent is reaping positive benefits for the Widnes senior teams.

Ellie Green began her career at Blackburn but played for the Wild Academy Under 18 team for the 2021/22 season and made her senior debut last season for the Wild women, when the team finished as runners up in the league. 

She played in 9 league and play off games, facing a total of 167 shots and conceding just 12 goals, for a hugely impressive Save % of 92.81 and a Goals Against Average of 2.37.

Phoebe Patient played for the Wild Academy Under 15 and Under 18 teams and made her Wild women’s senior debut in the Women’s Premier League in the 2021/22 season.

In 29 league, play off and challenge games over her two seasons with the Wild women so far, she has scored 3 goals and 4 assists and was named Best Forward at End of Season Award for last season.

Talking about her resigning, Patient said: “I’m excited about the season ahead and seeing how the team develops even more with new and established players. I have high hopes after least season’s brilliant performance as a team”

Ellen Tyrer also played for the Wild Academy Under 15 and Under 18 teams and made her Wild women’s senior debut in the Women’s Premier League in the 2021/22 season.

In 28 league, play off and challenge games over her two seasons with the Wild women so far, she has also scored 3 goals and 4 assists and, like Patient and Green, was a member of the Wild women’s team who finished second in the WNIHL Division 2 North last season.

With regard to her return to the Wild women for another season, Ellen said:

“I’m really looking forward to the upcoming season after the year we just had and watching the team grow closer and improve throughout.”

“I’m incredibly excited to have some new players joining us and becoming part of this brilliant team.  I’m sure it will be an awesome season with lots of fun and memorable moments.”


Match Report: Widnes Wild 7 - Telford Tigers2 6 (PS)

Wild's Andrew Hopkins (#17) edges Widnes back into the lead early in the second period against  Telford (photo by Steve Cunningham)

Sunday 3rd September 2023 – Challenge Match: Widnes Wild 7 – Telford Tigers2 6 (PS)

The Widnes Wild NIHL team got their 2023/24 season off to an entertaining start with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Telford Tigers 2 in their pre-season challenge match at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The game saw Wild debuts for a trio of young Scottish players Gregor Donaldson, Owen Rae and Kyle Carruth, who player coach Joey Coulter has taken on 2-way contracts from their home clubs Solway, Solway and Kilmarnock respectively – and also saw experienced netminder Phil Pearson play his first game for Widnes since 2021 after rejoining the club in the summer.

Extra frisson was added by the inclusion of former Wild player coach Scott McKenzie to the Tigers line up and the highly talented National Division – and former Elite League – player made quite an impact on the game.

Telford took an early lead after 2 minutes and, despite furious activity from both sides, it took until the last minute of the period for Alex Mitchell to fire in a Wild equaliser. Then, just as it looked as if it would remain all square at the first break, Matty Barlow nudged Widnes into the lead with 12 seconds left on the clock.

Telford scored a powerplay goal just 90 seconds into the second period to draw level; but Widnes re-established their narrow lead with a goal from Andrew Hopkins just 30 seconds later. 

McKenzie drew Telford level again on 26 minutes and Widnes got into penalty trouble and ended up conceding again to the same player on a 3 v 5 Tigers powerplay. A third goal for the former Wild boss rounded off a stunning hat-trick within just over 3 minutes and saw the Tigers leading 3-5 at the midway point of the game.

Mikey Gilbert eventually pulled a goal back for the Wild with 2 minutes left to play in the second period and Hopkins levelled the score at 5-5 with a quick-fire goal straight from the restart.

Widnes took the lead again with a goal from debutant Kyle Carruth on 41 minutes but Telford levelled once again just 25 seconds later. 

There were chances galore for both teams in the closing stages but the score remained stubbornly fixed at 6-6 at the end of the regulation 60 minutes play.  An extra period of 5 minutes sudden death overtime failed to decide a winner and the game went to a penalty shootout, where Coulter, Carruth and Hopkins all fired away their shots to hand Widnes the narrowest of victories.

The Wild play the Tigers2 in the return fixture away in Telford on Saturday 9th September– face off 7.30pm – and then play their first game of the new Moralee Division season at home to Nottingham Lions on Sunday 17th September at Planet Ice Widnes.