Nathan Briton was the Wild MVP in Sunday's Moralee Division game against Deeside (Photo by Ste Cunningham / Shots by Ste)
Sunday 3rd December – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 2 – Deeside Dragons 4
The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a mixed weekend with a 10-8 win over local rivals Deeside Dragons on Saturday in the M56 Cup and then a 2-4 home defeat to the same opposition in the league on Sunday at Planet Ice Widnes.
The game on Sunday was a much tighter affair than the night before – with fewer goals but plenty of end to end action – and penalties.
The opening phase was very tense and it took until the 11th minute for the first breakthrough. That fell to Deeside with a goal from their import Petr Valusiak but Widnes drew level just 60 seconds later with a delayed penalty goal from Jonathan Williamson punishing a Dragons interference call.
The score remained 1-1 at the first break and, indeed, despite numerous chances at both ends, it was still 1-1 after two periods of play.
Deeside edged back into the lead again 76 seconds into the third period and then went 1-3 up with a goal three minutes later.
Nathan Britton pulled one back for the Wild on 50 minutes but they were unable to build on this and the Dragons rounded off the scoring for the game on 55 minutes for a 2-4 win.
The Wild are next in action this Saturday 9th December when they take on Whitley Warriors at Planet Ice Widnes, 7pm face off.
The game will see the club’s annual Teddy Toss event where spectators are invited to donate soft toys, which will be distributed to local charities and good causes over the Christmas period.
At a pre-arranged point during the game everyone throws their toys onto the ice and, to avoid them getting damaged by surface water, fans are asked to make sure that their donations are securely wrapped in plastic before propelling them rink-wards.
For reasons of health and safety, donated toys should be new but any that are unsuitable for handing out to children will be taken to a local animal shelter, so no gift will go to waste!