A minute's silence was held before the Wild v Hull game in memory of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson
(Photo by Rebecca Hindle
Sunday 5th November – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 0 – Hull Jets 5
The Widnes Wild NIHL team suffered back to back defeats at the hands of Hull Jets over the weekend, losing 4-2 away on Humberside on Saturday and then 0-5 at home at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.
The home game on Sunday was preceded by a minute’s silence and a minute’s applause in memory of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson who tragically died the weekend before following a freak accident in an Elite League match against Sheffield Steelers.
The Wild were able to ice a stronger team than in the previous night’s game – with 18 skaters as opposed to just 13 – and the game saw a Wild debut for 16 year old Scottish player Flynn Massie on a 2-way deal from SNL club North Ayrshire.
Having put in a spirited performance with a weakened team in the away game on Saturday, and only really losing out in the dying seconds, it is difficult to put into words how a stronger Wild side finished up on the wrong end of a 0-5 scoreline in the home game against the same opposition just 24 hours later.
The game was fairly even in terms of overall puck possession and shots on goal – 31 for Widnes and 32 for Hull over the 60 minutes – but a certain spark appeared to be missing.
While Hull were able to make the most of their chances in front of goal, Widnes weren’t and not being able to ice the same lines on a regular basis has meant that the team has been lacking a sense of cohesion in their play.
The Jets took the lead in the 5th minute with a powerplay goal punishing an early Wild charging call and, two minutes later, the score was 0-2 following a goal from former Wild player coach Richard Haggar.
The next 28 minutes played out goal-less and the only breakthrough of the second period fell, once again, to Hull, handing them a 0-3 lead at the second break.
A 4th goal for the visitors just 84 seconds into the third period effectively killed the game off as a contest and a powerplay strike on 50 minutes rounded off the scoring for the game.
The two defeats over the weekend mean that the Wild have lost four games in a row, which is their worst run of results since October / November 2019.
They will be looking to give their season a bit of a kick start next weekend when they face Solihull Barons at home on Saturday 11th November at Planet Ice Widnes – 7pm face off – and then travel to face Sheffield Scimitars away at iceSheffield on Sunday.
