Wild Women Head To Leeds

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team will be looking to get their Division 2 North title challenge back on track as they travel across the Pennines to take on the Leeds Roses on Saturday 4th November.

The Wild women opened the new season with a 5-0 home victory over Grimsby Wolves but then slumped to a 10-1 defeat away to new team Caledonia Steel Queens in Edinburgh in their last game.

Following Saturday’s game, the Wild women have two more away games  - at Sheffield Shadows (12th November) and Telford Wrekin Raiders (25th November) before their next home game on Sunday 10th December when they entertain Kingston Diamonds at Planet Ice Widnes.

Match Report: Whitley Warriors 7 - Widnes Wild 1 (Moralee Division)

The minute's silence before the game at Whitley in memory of Nottingham Panthers #47 Adam Johnson (Photo by Whitley Warriors Ice Hockey Club) 

Sunday 29th October – Moralee Division: Whitley Warriors 7 – Widnes Wild 1

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a difficult weekend on the road in the Moralee Division, losing 5-3 away to Solihull Barons on Saturday and 7-1 to Whitley Warriors on Sunday.

The game on Sunday away against Whitley was overshadowed by the tragic death of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson following a freak accident in an Elite League game against Sheffield Steelers on Saturday night. A number of games were called off across the country and games that were played saw acts of reflection and commemoration before the puck drop.

The game saw Widnes travel with a healthier bench than the previous game – icing a full three lines, with Wild NIHL debuts for Wild Academy Under 18 player Luke Alston and young Scottish player Bailey Thomson, on a 2-way deal from Kilmarnock – and, although they had never won in Whitley before, they set manfully about their task.  

The Warriors took the lead on 7 minutes and then doubled their advantage with a powerplay strike on 18 minutes to lead 2-0 at the first period break.

Whitley further extended their lead with a third goal on 28 minutes and Wild player coach Joey Coulter eventually fired in a goal for Widnes on 33 minutes and, despite more chances for both sides, the score remained 3-1 at the second period break.  

Whitley extended their lead with a 4th goal 2 minutes into the third period and, despite a number of powerplay opportunities for the Wild, added a 5th on 52 minutes.

Two more goals followed late in the game - on 58 and 59 minutes – to give the Warriors a 7-1 victory, albeit making the result seem a little more one-sided than it actually was.

Wild netminder Luca Tessadri put in another heroic performance in the Widnes goal to keep the score down – turning away an impressive 53 of the 60 shots that he faced over the 60 minutes - and was rewarded for his efforts by a second MVP award for the weekend, after having also received that same honour in the Solihull game the night before.

The Wild are away to Hull Jets this Saturday 4th November and are next at home when they play the same opposition the day after on Sunday 5th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

The Wild Junior Academy have two home games this Saturday 4th November at Planet Ice Widnes. The Under 16 team take on Billingham U16s in a 4.20pm face off game and the Under 18B team face Grimsby U18s 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: Solihull Barons 5 - Widnes Wild 3 (Moralee Division)

Jonathan Williamson and Luca Tessadri defend a Solihull attack (Photo by Keith and Jenny Davies)

Saturday 28th October 2023 – Moralee Division: Solihull Barons 5 – Widnes Wild 3

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a difficult weekend on the road in the Moralee Division, losing 5-3 away to Solihull Barons on Saturday and 7-1 to Whitley Warriors on Sunday.

The game on Saturday saw a first visit of the season to Solihull Barons who were sitting in second place in the Moralee Division table after an exceptionally good start to the new campaign.  Widnes had a short bench due to a number of key players not being available for the game but their numbers were boosted by the addition of 17 year old Justin Dennison from Peterborough Phantoms.

Despite their numerical disadvantage – with only 12 skaters in their line-up, as opposed to a full bench of 22 for the Barons  – the Wild had the better of the first period and goals from Jonathan Williamson on 6 minutes and Mikey Gilbert two minutes later gave them a 0-2 lead at the first break.

The Barons upped their game in the second period and the shots on goal tally began to stack in their favour. The strength in numbers began to have an effect and two home goals on 23 and 31 minutes levelled the score.

Luca Tessadri made numerous saves in the Wild net to keep the Solihull attack at bay but the Widnes defence were forced into taking a number of penalties in the face of mounting pressure.

Solihull edged into the lead for the first time on 34 minutes and a powerplay goal two minutes later gave them a 4-2 lead at the end of the second period, leaving Widnes a lot to do if they were to salvage something from the game.

The period break seemed to disrupt the Barons’ momentum and Widnes managed to pull a goal back through new boy Dennison with 6 minutes left to play.  Solihull hit back, however, and restored the two goal advantage with a strike with just 3 minutes to go.  

Widnes removed netminder Tessadri for the final minute in favour of an extra attacker in the hope of forcing a late strike but it was to no avail and the Barons took the game 5-3.

Match Report: Blackburn Hawks 3 - Widnes Wild 5 (Moralee Division)

Will Harper rounded off the scoring for the Wild in their win away at Blackburn (Photo by Ste Cunningham / Shots by Ste)

Sunday 22nd October – Moralee Division: Blackburn Hawks 3 – YKK Widnes Wild 5

The Widnes Wild NIHL team put in an impressive performance to beat north west rivals Blackburn Hawks 3-5 away in East Lancashire on Sunday.

Having been humbled in their previous encounter with the Hawks 0-5 on their own ice back in September and lost 1-9 to league leaders Billingham Stars in their last game, the Wild needed to regain their spark in order to give their stop–go start to the season a bit of a boost - and that is exactly what happened.

The game saw a call up for 17 year old Gabriel Lingard as back up to starting netminder Luca Tessadri but recent Scottish signings Innes Gallacher and Gregor Donaldson - who had impressed since their respective arrivals in Widnes - were unavailable for the trip.

The Wild got off to a flying start and took the lead after 5 minutes with a powerplay goal from Connor McNulty punishing an early Hawks slashing call.

4 minutes later, the score was 0-2 for the Wild after Mikey Gilbert tapped in an Andrew Hopkins pass and then a shorthanded strike from Torran Anderson with 1 minute left in the period gave Widnes a commanding 0-3 lead at the first break.

Blackburn finally scored a goal of their own 99 seconds into the second period and further narrowed the score with a second strike on 30 minutes.

They almost drew level shortly after that but were thwarted by a great save from Wild netminder Tessadri and despite further chances at both ends, the score remained 2-3 to Widnes at the second period break.

Having weathered a difficult second period, Widnes came out the stronger for the final 20 minutes and Matty Barlow put away a superb breakaway effort on 45 minutes to bring the score to 2-4.

Blackburn pulled a goal back to narrow the deficit to just 1 on 53 minutes but a fluke “own goal” from the Hawks netminder 2 minutes later, who deflected a long shot from Will Harper into his own net, restored the two goal cushion.

There was no more scoring after that and Widnes were able to celebrate their third league win of the new season.

The Wild have a tough run of three more away games in a row with trips to Solihull Barons this Saturday 28th October, Whitley Warriors on Sunday 29th October and Hull Jets on Saturday 4th November.

They are next at home when they face Hull on Sunday 5th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

*****

The Academy Under 16 team are away to Sutton on Saturday 28th October, 4.30pm face off and the Under 18A team are away to Manchester Storm U18 the same day.

The Under 10s team host a 4 team cross ice tournament on Sunday at Planet Ice Widnes starting at 4.15pm, featuring opposition from Blackburn, Manchester and Deeside, and that is followed by the Under 14 team’s home game against Leeds U14s at 5.50pm.

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 Academy U18B 3 - Billingham U18 5

Tristan Lewis was the Wild MVP in the U18 match against Billingham (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Saturday 21st October – EIHA Under 18 North: Widnes Wild Academy U18B 3 – Billingham U18 5

The Widnes Wild Academy Under 18 B team put in a battling performance against Billingham Under 18s but ultimately lost out 3-5 in an entertaining match at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.

After a closely contested start, Billingham scored two goals – on 13 and 18 minutes – to take a 2-0 lead into the first period break.

Widnes finally scored their first goal of the game 77 seconds into the second period with a powerplay goal from Jared Knowles.  Billingham scored again two minutes later to restore their two goal advantage.

The second period was rather robustly contested with a lot of penalties handed out to both sides.  At one point, Widnes had two men in the penalty box serving 5 minutes each and the Wild youngsters had to defend against a 5 on 3  powerplay.

They managed to keep the Billingham attack at bay during this extended spell of pressure and a second goal from Knowles on 38 minutes brought the score to 2-3 with one period left to play.

Widnes drew level with a shorthanded goal from Tristan Lewis on 50 minutes but Billingham edged back into the lead just 30 seconds later.

The Wild pushed forward in an attempt to salvage something from the game but a fifth Billingham goal left them too much to make up in the final minutes.

*****

The Academy Under 16 team are away to Sutton on Saturday 28th October, 4.30pm face off and the Under 18A team are away to Manchester Storm U18 the same day.

The Under 10s team host a 4 team cross ice tournament on Sunday at Planet Ice Widnes starting at 4.15pm, featuring opposition from Blackburn, Manchester and Deeside, and that is followed by the Under 14 team’s home game against Leeds U14s at 5.50pm.

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 Academy U12 6 - Manchester Storm Academy U12 5

Wild Academy Player Oliver Kitchen was the MVP in the Widnes win over Manchester Storm (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Saturday 21st October – EIHA Under 12 North: Widnes Wild Academy U12s 6 – Manchester Storm U12s 5

The Widnes Wild Academy Under 12 team picked up a 6-5 victory over local rivals Manchester Storm in a thrilling and highly entertaining encounter at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.

The Wild took the lead after just 24 seconds with a goal from Ollie Cliffe but Manchester equalised just 30 seconds later.  Caleb Eddleston edged Widnes back in front again in the 8th minute but, once again, the visitors drew level and the score remained 2-2 at the first break.

Two Wild goals within 30 seconds of each other – both from Oliver Kitchen – looked to have put daylight between the two teams but a further brace from the Storm levelled the score once again.  A second goal from Eddleston with 3 minutes left in the period gave Widnes a slim margin and the score stood at 5-4 after two periods.

A goal from Heiko Petrusevicius on 39 minutes restored the two goal advantage but Manchester hit back once again and narrowed the lead to just one goal.  The remaining 9 minutes were very tense as both teams had their chances but there were no more goals and Widnes held on to record a 6-5 victory.

 *****

The Academy Under 16 team are away to Sutton on Saturday 28th October, 4.30pm face off and the Under 18A team are away to Manchester Storm U18 the same day.

The Under 10s team host a 4 team cross ice tournament on Sunday at Planet Ice Widnes starting at 4.15pm, featuring opposition from Blackburn, Manchester and Deeside, and that is followed by the Under 14 team’s home game against Leeds U14s at 5.50pm.

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: Shropshire Huskies 5 - Connah's Quay Cobras 6 (Laura Carrillo Memorial Match)

The Connah's Quay Cobras team celebrate after their 5-6 win away over Shropshire Huskies

Saturday 21st October – Laura Carillo Memorial Match: Shropshire Huskies 5 – Connah’s Quay Cobras 6

The Connah’s Quay Cobras picked up a sensational 5-6 win away over the Shropshire Huskies away in Telford on Saturday night. The game was a memorial match arranged by the Shropshire club in memory of Huskies player Laura Carrillo who was tragically killed in a motorbike accident 10 days ago, aged just 27.  

It was the Cobras’ first game of the new recreational season, which runs from October to October although due to ice time availability, “rec games” generally tend to be played more in the summer months when the professional leagues have their break.

The Cobras’ line up features an exciting mix of former Deeside juniors, traditional rec players and a number of former league players with NIHL experience. A new signing for this season is Kieran Clarkson, who played over 100 competitive junior games for Deeside and Manchester and also spent three seasons in the NIHL with Altrincham Aces and Bradford Bulldogs.

This game was very close throughout and was played in great spirit. It took until the 13th minute for the first breakthrough – and that fell to the hosts. The Cobras equalised on 16 minutes with a debut goal from Clarkson but Shropshire hit back with a powerplay goal just 30 seconds later and another strike just 20 seconds after that to lead 3-1 at the first period break.

Connah’s Quay halved the deficit just 44 seconds into the second period with a goal from Sam Krempasky and another lengthy spell stalemate ensued.  

The Huskies scored again on 33 minutes but another powerplay goal from Krempasky brought the score to 4-3. However another Shropshire strike just 37 seconds from the buzzer meant that the score stood at 5-3 after two periods.

The Cobras upped their game in the third period and they outshot the Huskies by 14 to 6 over the final 20 minutes. That pressure paid off as they managed to draw level with goals from Louis Ellwood on 47 minutes and Clarkson, again, on 53 minutes.

A hat-trick goal from Kieran Clarkson on his Cobras debut with just over 2 minutes left on the clock secured a 5-6 victory for Connah’s Quay and also the MVP award for himself.

The Cobras have a number of games planned for the coming months, with the next one at home to the Widnes based Riverside Raiders on Sunday 26th November at Deeside Leisure Centre, 8.30pm face off.

Wild Academy Round Up - 14th October

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

The Academy Under 16 team beat Nottingham 11-0 at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday while the Under 18 team lost 1-6 at home to Leeds. The Academy Under 18B team travelled away to Nottingham the same day and lost 16-7, while the Under 10s took part in a 4 team cross-ice tournament away in Manchester.

The Wild Junior Academy have two home games this weekend with the Under 12s taking on Manchester at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday, 4.20pm face off, and the Under 18B team facing Billingham 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.

Mayhem Players In GB Action At Para World Championships

The Great Britain team at the 2023 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan

Mayhem sledge players Mark Colquitt and Felicity Gregory were members of the Great Britain team that took part in the World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 6th to 11th October.

GB were playing in Pool B of the championships for the first time, having won promotion from Pool C last year, and expecting it to be a tough challenge,  their main objective was to try and stay in the division.

The Great Britain team lost their opening game against eventual Pool B champions Japan 0-13 and then lost 5-1 to Sweden, with Nathan Stephens scoring the consolation goal.

They were hammered 18-1 by Slovakia  (GB goal from Stephens again) but then picked up to beat Finland 4-1, with goals from Stephens, Gary Farmer and Tyler Christopher (2).  

They came close to another victory in their final game with a narrow 4-3 defeat to hosts Kazakhstan – with goals from Dani Watts, Stephens and Christopher – but their overall record was enough to avoid bottom place in the final table and retain their Pool B status for next year.

The top GB points scorers for the tournament were Tyler Christopher with 3 goals and 4 assists, Nathan Stephens 4+2 and Gary Farmer with 1+2.  Dani Watts, Stacey Quirk, John le Galloudec and Paul Brown all picked up 1 point each.

The Mayhem pairing of Mark Colquitt and Felicity Gregory played in all 5 games and Colquitt got his name on the scoresheet for picking up 4 penalty minutes in the win over Finland.

The full Great Britain squad was: Dani Watts (1+0), Stacey Quirk (0+1), Tyler Christopher (3+4, 4PIM), Felicity Gregory, Gary Farmer (1+2, 24PIM), Ben O’Brien, Leanne Emmerson, Jon le Galloudec (0+1, 2PIM), Mark Colquitt (4PIM), Paul Brown (0+1), Nathan Stephens (4+2, 4PIM) Emily McLean and netminders Bryan Hackworth  & Susi Rogers-Hartley.

Match Report: Widnes Wild 1 - Billingham Stars 9 (Moralee Division)

Matty Barlow scored the only goal in the Wild's home defeat to Billingham (Photo by Ste Cunningham / Shots by Ste)

Sunday 15th October – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 1 – Billingham Stars 9

The Widnes Wild NIHL team slipped to a disappointing 1-9 defeat at the hands of league leaders Billingham Stars at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The game started badly for the Wild, with the Stars taking the lead after just 39 seconds and Widnes never really got going after that.

Both teams had their chances in front of goal – in fact the Wild actually narrowly outshot the visitors by 36 to 31 over the course of the game – but Billingham were able to make more of theirs when they came.  

The Stars edged further ahead in the 10th minute and made the score 0-3 with a goal just 13 seconds from the first period buzzer.

The second period continued in similar vein with Billingham scoring three more goals before Matty Barlow finally found the back of the net for Widnes at 39.45.  Unfortunately, the Stars struck right back with another goal just 9 seconds later to lead 1-7 at the second period break. 

Phil Pearson replaced Harrison Walker in the Wild net for the final period but a fresh pair of gloves was unable to stop the flow of goals and Billingham scored again on 47 and 55 minutes. Pearson had to leave the ice for treatment after picking up an injury under a Stars challenge just prior to the 9th goal and Walker came back on for the final 5 minutes.

There was no more scoring in the game and Billingham were able to head back to the North East celebrating a comprehensive 1-9 victory.

The weekend results see Billingham retain their place at the top of the Moralee Division with 14 points from 10 games, ahead of a chasing pack of 3 teams with 10 points each. The Wild slip down to 8th place in the league table with 2 wins from their 6 games so far but they do have matches in hand over everybody else.

The Wild have a tough run of four away games in a row now with trips to Blackburn Hawks next Sunday 22nd October, Solihull Barons on Saturday 28th October, Whitley Warriors on Sunday 29th October and Hull Jets on Saturday 4th November.

They are next at home when they face Hull on Sunday 5th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

*****

The Wild Junior Academy have two home games this weekend with the Under 12s taking on Manchester at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday, 4.20pm face off, and the Under 18B team facing Billingham 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: Caledonia Steel Queens 10 - DMUK Widnes Wild Women 1 (WNIHL Div2N)

The Caledonia Steel Queens and Widnes Wild Women after the first ever WNIHL game to be played in Edinburgh (Photo by Steel Queens IHC)  

Saturday 14th October  - WNIHL Div2 North: Caledonia Steel Queens 10 – DMUK Widnes Wild Women 1

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team underwent a baptism of fire on their first ever visit to Edinburgh as they suffered a 10-1 defeat at the hands of the Caledonia Steel Queens on Saturday.

The Steel Queens are a new team in the division for this season, having originally started out as a University team and Saturday saw their first ever league game.  That match faced off at the somewhat unsociable hour of 10.15pm, although that was actually an improvement - as far as the Wild women were concerned - on the original start time of 7.30pm on the Sunday, which would have meant getting home on the Monday morning milk train.

Victoria Connelly (#88) was the
MVP for the Wild Women 

The game saw the Wild women on the back foot for much of the time but overall gave a good account of themselves. They were heavily outshot over the course of the 60 minutes playing time but, despite this, they actually took the lead on 17 minutes with a goal from Victoria Connelly and the score remained 0-1 to Widnes at the first period break.

The Steel Queens scored their first ever league goal on 23 minutes then edged into the lead with a further strike on 36 minutes.  With the score standing at 2-1 at the end of the second period, there was still hope of a Wild fightback but that was all scuppered with two quick Caledonia goals within 10 seconds of each other right at the start of the third period.

More goals followed in quick succession and, by the end of a disastrous final 20 minutes, the Wild women found themselves 10-1 down.

Over the course of the game, the Steel Queens outshot Widnes by 78 to 21 but overworked netminder Stephanie Drinkwater put in an heroic performance in the Wild goal and stopped an incredible 68 of them to end up with an 87.18 Save Percentage.

The Wild women are next in action on Saturday 4th November when they travel across the Pennines to face the Leeds Roses.  

After that, they have games away to Sheffield Shadows (12th November) and Telford Wrekin Raiders (25th November) before their next home game on Sunday 10th December when they entertain Kingston Diamonds at Planet Ice Widnes. 

Wild Academy Round Up - 7th October

The Widnes Wild Junior Academy teams had a superb weekend with two of the three teams that were in action winning their matches.

The Academy Under 12 team beat Deeside 4-0 at home at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday while the Under 14 team followed that up with a 7-4 victory over the same opposition – with Caleb Eddleston scoring 6 of the 7 goals!

The Academy Under 18 team travelled away to Coventry the same day and put in a battling performance, although they were beaten 9-1.

This weekend sees the Wild Academy Under 16 and Under 18A teams both at home on Saturday at Planet Ice Widnes.  The U16s take on Nottingham in a 4.20pm face off, while the Under18A team face Leeds at 6pm.

The Under 18B team are away at Nottingham the same day – 4.50pm face off - while the Under 10s take part in a 4 team cross-ice tournament away in Manchester, starting at 4.15pm.

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.

Wild Women Head North

Wild Women v Caledonia at the Bristol Tournament – photo by Flyfifer Photography

The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team face the tough prospect of a trip to Edinburgh this weekend to face the Caledonia Steel Queens in their first game of the new WNIHL season.

The game is being played at the unusual time of 10.15 pm on Saturday night after the original face off time of 7.30pm on Sunday was deemed unworkable because of travelling back late afterwards. 

The Steel Queens are a new team in the league this season, having originally started off as a University side.  Saturday’s game will be their first ever WNIHL league match – and they warmed up for it by winning back to back challenge games against the Ireland women’s national side last weekend.

The Wild Women have, in fact, played the Steel Queens twice before – losing 7-9 in a highly entertaining challenge game at Planet Ice Widnes back in July 2021 and then drawing 0-0 in a short format game at the Bristol Tournament this summer.

Following Saturday’s expedition north of the border, the Wild Women have further away trips - to Leeds, Sheffield and Telford - before their next home game on Sunday 10th December, when they entertain Kingston Diamonds at Planet Ice Widnes.

New Book: Ice Hockey Poems 2013 - 2023 by Lucy London

The Widnes Wild Poet-In-Residence Lucy London has published a book of ice hockey poems celebrating the achievements of the various Widnes-based teams.

The main focus is the Wild NIHL team but there are also poems about the Wild women’s team, the Academy Juniors, the Riverside Raiders and Halton Huskies recreational teams, the Mayhem sledge team and various other personalities from around the Planet Ice rink.

Lucy was appointed as Poet In Residence in 2017 and it is thought that the Wild are the only NIHL team to have their own bard.

As well as the poems themselves, the book includes the humorous story behind Lucy’s famous “French & Ormes” poem and a detailed history of the Wild Women’s team’s MVP awards, which she has sponsored for the past 5 seasons. 

“Ice Hockey Poems 2013-2023” is available by mail order from Amazon HERE

Match Report: Widnes Wild 5 - Whitley Warriors 2

Wild netminder Luca Tessadri scored a rare goal against Whitley Warriors (Photo by Ste Cunningham)

Sunday 8th October – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 5 – Whitley Warriors 2

The Widnes Wild NIHL team brought their recent 3-game losing streak to an end with a superb 5-2 victory over Whitley Warriors at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The game saw Wild debuts for three more young Scottish players – Innes Gallacher, Connor McNulty and Torran Anderson - who have all signed on 2-way deals with Scottish National League side Kilmarnock Thunder.

The game was very close throughout with chances for both sides and the first goal did not come until late in the first period.

With less than two minutes left on the clock and the Wild defending a 5 on 4 powerplay for too many men on the ice, netminder Luca Tessadri fired a clearance down the rink and the Whitley defender - under pressure - managed to steer the puck into his own net.  

There is no such thing as an “own goal” in ice hockey and the goal is, therefore, awarded to the last attacking player to have touched the puck – in this case, Wild netminder Tessadri. Netminders do not a score goal very often so this was quite a rare occurrence.

The score remained 1-0 at the first break but Whitley equalised just 2 minutes into the second and it took until the 36th minute for Widnes to edge back in front again with a debut goal from Innes Gallacher.

With the score standing at a very close 2-1, there was much to play for in the final period.

A second goal of the night from Gallacher on 50 minutes finally put daylight between the two teams but this was countered by another Whitley strike just 4 minutes later.

The 2-goal cushion was restored two minutes after that with a goal from Joey Coulter and a hat-trick goal from Gallacher on 58 minutes made sure of the win for the Wild.

The Wild are next in action this Sunday 15th October when they entertain league leaders Billingham Stars at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

Wild Academy Round Up - 30th Sept / 1st Oct

The Widnes Wild Academy junior teams had a mixed weekend with a home win for the Under 18B team and away defeats for the Under 14s and Under 18A teams.

The Academy Under 18B team beat Deeside 9-1 at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday, while the Under 18A team lost 10-1 away at Hull, and the Under 14s lost 6-0 away at Billingham.

The Wild Academy Under 10 team took part in a 4 team cross ice tournament away at Deeside where they took on the home side as well as teams from Manchester and Blackburn.  Cross ice games are played purely for fun and no match scores or player stats recorded.

This weekend sees the Academy Under 12 and Under 14s teams both at home to Deeside on Saturday at Planet Ice Widnes – face off times 4.20 and 5.30pm respectively – and the Under 18 B team away to Coventry in a 6pm start. 

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: DMUK Widnes Wild Women 5 - Grimsby Wolves 0 (WNIHL Div2N)

Laura Moran receives the MVP award on her debut for the Widnes Wild Women (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Sunday 1st October 2023 – WNIHL Division 2 North: DMUK Widnes Wild Women 5 - Grimsby Wolves 0

The DMUK Widnes Wild women got their 2023/24 Division 2 North campaign off to the best possible start with a 5-0 win over Grimbsy Wolves at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The game saw debuts for new signings Laura Moran, Katya Oliver and Eleanor Johnson and a return to the team after a year away for Jemma Brown.

The Wild women opened the scoring after just 48 seconds with a goal from Preston Gennoe and then two goals within a minute of each other around the 10 minute mark – from Katya Oliver and Katie Fairclough – handed them a commanding lead.

A superb piece of individual play saw Fairclough score her second goal of the game in the 17th minute and Widnes were able to take a 4-goal lead into the first period break.

The Wild women outshot Grimsby by over 2 to 1 over the course of the game and it was no great surprise when Fairclough scored her straight hat trick goal just 4 ½ minutes into the second after sustained pressure around the Wolves net.  With the score standing at 5-0 – and with 35 minutes still to play - Widnes took their foot off the gas a bit and took the opportunity to give the whole of the bench plenty of ice time.

There was no more scoring after that and Ellie Green came on to replace Stephanie Drinkwater in the Wild goal for the final 30 minutes to take a share in the resulting shutout.

The Wild Women’s Most Valuable Player awards for this season have been sponsored by Lucy London - Poet In Residence for the 5th year in a row and consist of goodie bags containing a limited edition MVP teddy bear and a selection of Body Shop products provided by Running Mum Beauty.

The awards were presented by Wild Women matchday volunteer co-ordinator Clair Johnson and went to Erin Dommett for Grimsby and Laura Moran for Widnes.

The DMUK Widnes Wild Women are next in action on Saturday 14th October when they make the long journey to Edinburgh to take on new league team Caledonia Steel Queens at Murrayfield Ice Rink.

They then have further away trips to Leeds, Sheffield and Telford - before their next home game  on Sunday 10th December, when they entertain Kingston Diamonds at Planet Ice Widnes.  

Match Report: Nottingham Lions 4 - Widnes Wild 1 (Moralee Division)

Bez Hughes scored the Wild's only goal away at Nottingham (photo by Geoff White)

Sunday 1st October 2023 – Moralee Division: Nottingham Lions 4 – YKK Widnes Wild 1

The YKK sponsored Widnes Wild slumped to their third Moralee Division defeat in a row with a 4-1 loss away to Nottingham Lions on Sunday.

Widnes travelled to the Lace City with a shorter bench than usual with a number of players missing through suspension, injury and other availability issues. They had beaten the Lions in overtime in their first meeting at Planet Ice Widnes 2 weeks before and Nottingham had yet to win a game this season and were, therefore, keen to break their duck.

The first period was pretty even - with both sides having their chances in front of goal, but neither being able to make a breakthrough - and the score remained 0-0 at the first break.

The second period continued in similar vein, with plenty of end to end play, the odd penalty, but no goals.  However, the whole complexion of the game suddenly changed in a brief spell at the end of the second period.

After a spell of pressure on Luca Tessadri’s net, the Lions finally opened the scoring with 3 minutes left to go in the period. They scored again with their very next attack just 18 seconds later and then added a third – a shorthanded goal  - with 26 seconds left on the clock.  By this stage, the Wild had been outshot by more than 2 to 1 over the two periods and had a bit of catching up to do.

Nottingham edged even further ahead with another strike in the 44th minute and Widnes finally found the back of the net themselves on 49 minutes when Bez Hughes fired the puck in from close range.

The Wild pushed forward to try and build on this and had a couple of powerplay opportunities late in the game.  They were unable to make any further headway, however, and the score remained 4-1 at the final buzzer.

The Wild are next in action this Sunday 8th October when they entertain Whitley Warriors at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

***** 

Wild summer signing Damarni James had been handed a 10 game ban by the EIHA’s Department of Player Safety following an incident in last weekend’s game against Blackburn Hawks.

It was James’ first appearance for the Wild and was, ironically, against his former club and the controversy centred around a check against the boards on Hawks’ import Devids Jurinenoks, who subsequently had to leave the game for treatment.  

No action was taken by the referee at the time but, after a video appeal after the game, the governing body’s disciplinary board decided that the it was an illegal check from behind, adding that the player was not aware that the hit was coming and was, therefore, in a vulnerable position, and that the check was late and was made after the puck had been released.