Match Report: Widnes Wild 2 – Blackburn Hawks 16 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Tomas Vyrostek
(Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)

Sunday 20th October 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division : Widnes Wild 2 – Blackburn Hawks 16

The Widnes Wild NIHL team suffered a disappointing 2-16 defeat at the hands of North West rivals Blackburn Hawks at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

Blackburn were the better team throughout this game and took the lead just 90 seconds into the first period. They led 0-5 at the first period break and scored three more goals before Widnes finally managed to find the net themselves.

A well taken strike in the top corner of the net from Bailey Thomson broke the Wild duck on 38 minutes and then a first goal for the club from Tomas Vyrostek just 90 seconds later sparked faint hopes of a Widnes fightback.   

However, that was as good as things got for the Wild fans and the score stubbornly remained 2-8 at the second interval. Eight unanswered goals for the Hawks piled on the misery in the third period and the Wild slumped to their heaviest defeat of the season.

Having lost all 8 of their league games so far this season, the Wild will be hoping for a change of fortune when they face high-flying Hull Jets in their next game this Sunday 27th October at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

*****

The Widnes Wild Academy Junior teams had a mixed weekend, picking up 1 win, 1 draw and 2 defeats.

The Academy Under U18 team lost 2-8 at home to Sheffield on Saturday while the Under 16s drew 3-3 away at Nottingham.

On Sunday, the Academy Under 19 team won 0-7 away at Nottingham while the Under 12s lost 6-2 at Deeside.

The Under 10s also went to Deeside on Sunday to take part in a 4 team cross-ice tournament facing Blackburn, Manchester and the host club. These games are played with the emphasis on developing skills, rather than necessarily winning, and no scores or player stats are recorded.

The Wild Academy are always keen to recruit new players across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and hold training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Planet Ice Widnes.

Separate “Learn To Play” sessions are also available for anybody new who would like to take up the sport. For more information, contact Academy Head Coach mike.gilbert@wildacademy.co.uk

Match Report: Sheffield Titans 6 – Deeside Ducks 0 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Deeside Ducks in action away at Sheffield (Photo by Jake Renzi / @renzimedia)

Sunday 20^th October 2024 – NIHL Laidler Division: Sheffield  Titans 6 – Deeside Ducks 0

The Deeside Ducks suffered a 6-0 defeat to the Sheffield Titans away in the Steel City on Sunday.

The game was very close in its early stages – with numerous chances for both sides – but remained goal-less until the Titans finally broke the deadlock on 17 minutes.

Paul Jones MVP
(Photo @renzimedia) 

The hosts took a narrow 1-0 lead into the first interval but 4 more unanswered goals in the second period left the Ducks trailing 5-0 with 20 minutes left to play.

Deeside have struggled to score on their away trips so far this season and the only goal of the third period fell to Sheffield, handing them a 6-0 victory.

Despite the defeat, netminder Paul Jones put in a creditable display in goal and was named Most Valuable Player for the Ducks.

The Ducks travel to face last season’s league and cup champions Telford Tigers this Saturday 26^th October, 5.30pm face off.

 

 

Widnes Wild Women Seeking Sponsors

Wild Women’s previous shirt sponsor DMUK (Photo by Paul Breeze) 

The Widnes Wild women’s team are looking for sponsors to support them during the 2024/25 Women's National Ice Hockey League season.

The Wild Women are a not-for-profit women’s ice hockey team with players ranging across from 14 years to 50+ years old, playing out of the Planet Ice rink in Widnes. They are playing this season in the women’s Division 2 North and are hoping to make it to play offs in May for promotion to the national Division 1 for next year.

The 2024/25 season runs until the end of May and sees the Wild women travelling far and wide across the country, facing opposition from Hull, Sheffield, Leeds, Telford, Whitley Bay and Edinburgh.

There are a number of sponsorship package options, which include company promotion such as: 

• Company logo on playing jerseys
• Ceremonial puck drops & MVP presentations
• Regular social media coverage
• Company announcements on match days

Another sponsorship option, which has been popular in previous years is an individual, player sponsorship. The benefits of Individual Player Sponsorship include: 

• Company logo on the player’s home and away jerseys
• Company name announcements at every home game, and when your player scores or is awarded MVP
• Tagged in social media posts about the player

Interested parties are requested to contact the Wild Women’s team in the first instance via their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/widneswildwomen.

The Wild Women are away to Whitley Bay Beacons this Sunday 27th October, 5pm face off, and play their first home game of the season against the same opposition on Sunday 24th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

Mayhem Players in World Women’s Challenge

Mayhem’s Emily McLean – photo by Blindside Trading Cards

Four members of the Mayhem sledge team are heading to Skien in Norway this week for the 2024 World Women's Challenge.

Felicity Gregory and Emily Mclean will be playing for the Great Britain women’s team while Mayhem manager and coach Peter Hagan will travel as Equipment Manager. Mayhem’s Canadian born player Peggy Assinck will play for the Canadian national team.

This is the third time that this event has take place and it currently acts as an unofficial World Championship for women’s international teams. There are, however, hopes that the World Women’s Challenge will help pave the way for ultimately creating a formal Women’s World Championships and, one day, adding the sport to the Paralympic Winter Games programme.

This year’s competition features five teams, with the USA, Canada and Great Britain national teams being joined by composite regional teams called “Team Europe” and “Team Pacific”.  Each team will play four round-robin games across four days of competition and Team GB’s fixtures are follows:

25 October - Canada v Great Britain

26 October – Great Britain v USA

27 October - Great Britain v Team Pacific

28 October - Great Britain v Team Europe

The tournament will take place at Skien Fritidspark, a multi-purpose stadium originally built in 1968 and redone in 2008 with indoor sports halls, an ice hockey rink, a large water park, and several out-door sports facilities. The venue also played host earlier this year to the World Para Ice Hockey Championships B-Pool.

The previous two Women’s World Challenge tournaments were held at Green Bay in Wisconsin, USA. At the inaugural competition in 2022, Team USA went undefeated to win gold on home ice, Canada claimed silver and “Team World” took the bronze. In 2023, the USA went undefeated again to defend their title, with Canada once again taking silver and “Team World” skating to bronze.

The full Great Britain squad is:

 Players:

• Alysha Atkinson - Peterborough Phantoms
• Freya Levy - Peterborough Phantoms
• Shannon Couch – Cardiff Huskies
• Helen McGivern – GB Women
• Dani Czernuszka-Watts – Cardiff Huskies
• Emily McLean - Manchester Mayhem
• Felicity Gregory – Manchester Mayhem
• Stacey Quirk - Peterborough Phantoms
• Davina Hall – Peterborough Phantoms
• Nicola Terrell - GB Women
• Jodi Hill – Cardiff Huskies
• Jade Williams – Sheffield Steelstings

 

Peter Hagan, GB Equipment Manager – photo by Team GB Media

Team Staff:

• Breanna Wagner – Head Coach
• Louise Beresford – Asst Coach
• Shirley Packwood – Team Manager / Medic
• Peter Hagan – Equipment Manager

Deeside Ducks - Forthcoming Fixtures

The Deeside Ducks were without a game at the weekend and now face three tough trips on the road. They are away at Sheffield this Sunday 20^th October and travel to face last season’s league and cup champions Telford Tigers the following Saturday 26^th October. 

They cross the Pennines to take on the Bradford Bulldogs on Sunday 3^rd November and then have their next home game - against Telford - on Sunday 17^th November at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

These early season games against Bradford and Telford all count towards both the league standings and the cup qualification group, so the Ducks will be keen to get some more points on the board as they continue with their exciting debut season.

You can follow the progress of the new Deeside Ducks team on their Facebook page HERE

New Book Available: Widnes Review - Season 2023/24

It’s a bit later this year as I had to wait for the British Para Ice Hockey play offs to be completed, but here - once again - you can relive all the excitement of the 2023/24 ice hockey season with our in-depth coverage of the various Widnes-based teams. 

Crammed into one single volume we have player statistics, reports and final standings for the:

• Widnes Wild NIHL team
• Widnes Wild Women's team
• Wild Academy Junior teams

Also includes the Mayhem sledge team's 2024 British Para Ice Hockey League campaign, the Riverside Raiders and Halton Huskies recreational teams - and lots more besides!

Illustrated throughout with superb photos.

Available by mail order via Amazon HERE

Match Report: Widnes Wild 3 – Solihull Barons 8 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Andrew Hopkins scored the Wild’s third goal against Solihull (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies) 

Sunday 13th October 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 3 – Solihull Barons 8

The Widnes Wild NIHL team put in a spirited performance against the Solihull Barons but it wasn’t enough to prevent them slumping to a 3-8 defeat at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The Wild started the game well and actually took the lead with a goal from Jonathan Williamson after 5 minutes but were pegged back and trailed 1-2 at the first period break. 

A third goal for Solihull just 31 seconds into the second period saw the visitors edge further ahead but Widnes struck back and a goal from Damarni James narrowed the deficit back to just one. A successfully converted penalty shot on 33 minutes saw the Barons re-establish their two-goal lead and the score stood at 2-4 at the second interval.

Two more goals for Solihull early in the third period effectively put paid to any hopes of a late Widnes fightback and a seventh goal on 50 minutes simply confirmed their superiority. 

Team Captain Andrew Hopkins fired in a third goal for Widnes just 25 seconds after that - but that was the last thing that the home fans got to cheer about and the Barons piled on the misery with an eighth goal of their own with just over a minute left to play.

The result extends the Wild’s losing streak to 7 defeats in a row for this Moralee Division season and you have to go right back to February for their last competitive win – when they beat Sheffield Scimitars in over time.

A surprise win at the weekend for the struggling Scimitars away at early season league leaders Hull Jets saw them leapfrog the Wild off the bottom of the league table, leaving Widnes as the only team without a point so far this season.

Widnes will be hoping to bounce straight back from this latest setback when they take on fierce rivals Blackburn Hawks in their next game – a tantalising north west derby - this Sunday 20th October at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off. 

*****

There were two matches for the Wild Academy Junior teams at the weekend.  The Academy Under 19 team beat Nottingham U19s 4-1 at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday while the Under 16 team won 0-4 away to Solihull on Sunday.

The Academy Under 10 team took part in a 4 team cross-ice tournament at Blackburn on Saturday taking on Deeside, Manchester and the host club. These games are played with the emphasis on developing skills, rather than necessarily winning, and no scores or player stats are recorded.

The Wild Academy are always keen to recruit new players across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and hold training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Planet Ice Widnes.

Separate “Learn To Play” sessions are also available for anybody new who would like to take up the sport. For more information, contact Academy Head Coach mike.gilbert@wildacademy.co.uk

Match Report: Sheffield Shadows 1 – Widnes Wild Women 2 (WNIHL Div2N)

Stephanie Drinkwater was the
Wild Women's MVP at Sheffield
(Photo by Wild Women IHC) 

Saturday 12th October 2024 – WNIHL Div2N: Sheffield Shadows 1 – Widnes Wild Women 2

The Widnes Wild women’s team continued their unbeaten start to the new season with a 1-2 win away to Sheffield Shadows on Saturday.

As the score suggests, this was a very close game and the result could have gone either way until the very last seconds. 

Sheffield took the lead in the 5th minute but Widnes drew level on 10 minutes with a goal from former Belgium international player Leen de Decker. The Wild Women went ahead on 15 minutes with another de Decker strike, this time a powerplay goal punishing a Sheffield stick-holding penalty.

The score remained 1-2 at the first period break and, despite numerous chances for both sides, it also ended up as the final score.

Sheffield upped the pressure as the game progressed, looking for an equaliser forcing Widnes into taking a few defensive penalties as they battled to keep them at bay. Wild netminder Stephanie Drinkwater put in a superb performance in front of goal keeping out 32 of the 33 shots that she faced - and was named MVP for the Wild women.

The Wild Women have another away fixture - at Whitley Bay on 27th October - before their first home game of the season against Whitley Bay Beacons on Sunday 24th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

*****

Leen de Decker
(Photo by Paul Breeze)

Leen De Decker is one of the original Wild Women players who moved to Widnes when the club was relocated from Altrincham in the wake of the Manchester Phoenix fiasco back in 2015, and had previously played 8 seasons for Kingston Diamonds before arriving at Widnes via Altrincham. 

She was, until recently, the most capped player for her native Belgium with 52 World Championship games under her belt, along with 3 WC bronze medals and 1 silver medal.

Leen has played in 7 of the Wild Women’s 8 seasons – having been behind the scenes in a coaching capacity last season – and in that time, scored 86 goals and 34 assists in 72 competitive matches.  She was an important member of the Wild women’s team that won the Division 1 North league title in the 2019/20 season and was team captain for the 2022/23 season when they were league runners up.

Nostalgia : Peterborough Pirates Top Of The League! (1989)

(Source: Ice Hockey News Review, 14th October 1989)

• 7th October 1989: Nottingham Panthers 6 – Peterborough Pirates 7
• 8th October 1989: Whitley Warriors 7 – Peterborough Pirates 9

Yes – this really did happen. Just the once, and it lasted for just one week or so. But for this brief period in their 20 year history, the Peterborough Pirates were officially the top ice hockey team in the whole country.

True – it was a bit of a fluke, mainly down to a combination of two, rather unexpected, wins over a single weekend and other teams not having played as many games – but it was certainly fun to be a supporter of the Heineken League Premier Division leaders for a short while. 

The Peterborough Herald and Post newspaper – which had just been introduced to replace the long running weekly Peterborough Standard – dated 12th October 1989 “heralded” (pardon the pun...) the achievement as follows: 

“Pirates made a sensational start to their Heineken League campaign after just three wins in 12 challenge and cup matches as Heineken Champions Nottingham were dispatched 7-6 and tough North East outfit Whitley 9-7.”

“In 24 hours Pirates scored more away wins than in their three previous Premier Division years (one apiece in 1985-86 1987-88 1988-89) It was the first time Pirates scored consecutive top-flight away victories and in one weekend matched their away points haul of 1987-88 and 1988-89.”

“Saturday’s success was Pirates’ first in Nottingham and Sunday’s win was the first at Whitley for Peter Smith since leaving his native North East.”

Interestingly enough, the win away at Nottingham was the first Pirates appearance for new import Gary Stewart  

He had been brought in by head coach John Griffith to replace Wayne Crawford who had been controversially released the week before, as the coach had decided to play with two import defencemen to bring more stability to the team and offer more attacking options for home-grown players. 

With summer signing - and former NHLer - Michael Dark and returning long term favourite Todd Bidner filling the other import berths, this strategy appeared to be paying off – at least in the first few games of the league season.    

They actually won their next game as well – 9-7 at home to Ayr Raiders (a game that I was at) – on Sunday 15th October - but were caught up in the league standings as other teams played more games that weekend. 

The Pirates’ amazing start to the HBLP season came to an abrupt end the following weekend when they lost 10-6 away to Ayr and 9-3 away to Murrayfield on consecutive nights and they only won 4 more league games all season after that.

But it was good while it lasted!

Mayhem Players Off To GB Training Camp

Felicity Gregory on GB duty (Photo by Peter Hagan)

Four Mayhem sledge players will be travelling to Finland later this week to take part in a special international training camp.

Mark Colquitt, Felicity Gregory and Karl Nicholson have all been selected for the Great Britain Para Ice Hockey national team that will attend the 4-day event in Vierumäki – some 30 Km north of Helsinki where they will play exhibition matches against Sweden and the host nation.

Mayhem's Canadian player Peggy Assinck also travels as Head Coach while Peterborough Phantoms coach Ian Offers is Assistant Coach and Media Manager.

The Full GB squad for the trip is: 

• Damien Barker – Sheffield Steelkings
• Jon Le Galloudec – Cardiff Huskies 
• Tyler Christopher – Cardiff Huskies
• John Mellor – Cape Breton Sledgehammers
• Josh Davies – Cardiff Huskies
• Mark Colquitt – Manchester Mayhem 
• Felicity Gregory – Manchester Mayhem
• Karl Nicholson – Manchester Mayhem 
• Ben O’Brien – Sheffield Steelkings
• Stacey Quirk – Peterborough Phantoms
• Callum Shakespeare – Peterborough Phantoms
• Jodi Hill (NM) – Cardiff Huskies  
• Bryan Hackworth (NM) – Sheffield Steelstings

Widnes Wild NIHL Weekend Round Up - 5th & 6th October

Mikey Gilbert scored both Wild goals away at Whitley (Photo by Geoff White).

Saturday 5th October:  Leeds Knights 5 – Widnes Wild 2

Sunday 6th October: Whitley Warriors 9 – Widnes Wild 2

The Widnes Wild NIHL team’s disappointing start to the season continued with back to back away defeats – 5-2 at Leeds Knights on Saturday and 9-2 away to Whitley Warriors on Sunday.

The weekend saw a Widnes debut for 16 year old Tomas Vyrostek, who is a Solway Sharks junior player with Scottish international honours, and the return of a number of 2-way players to the team, but this – sadly – it wasn’t enough to change the fortunes of the struggling Wild side.

In the game in Leeds on Saturday, Widnes actually took the lead with a goal from Bailey Thomson in the 6th minute but they were then pegged back to 1-1 at the first period break.  Two unanswered goals in the second period saw the Knights edge into the lead and two more goals early in the third put them well in control.

Matt Tarpey pulled a goal back for the Wild with just 62 seconds left on the clock but it was too late in the game to spark a fightback and the match ended 5-2 to Leeds.

Away games in the north east are always tough affairs but Widnes fared quite well in the early stages of the match at Whitley on Sunday and the score was 1-1 after the first period, courtesy of a Wild goal from Mikey Gilbert. 

Unfortunately, 6 unanswered goals in the second period put paid to any hopes of the Wild bringing any points home from this lengthy road trip - and a second Gilbert goal in the third period was pretty much the only other thing for the travelling fans to cheer about in the resulting 9-2 defeat.

The weekend results mean that the Wild are still looking for their first league win of the season, with 6 straight defeats under their belts. They are joined at the bottom of the Moralee Division table by Sheffield Scimitars who also have “nul –points” after having lost 8 from 8 starts.   

Widnes will be hoping to kick-start their season with a win this Sunday 13th October when they take on Solihull Barons at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off. 

*****

There were two matches for the Wild Academy Junior teams at the weekend.  The Academy Under 14 team beat Manchester Storm U14s 8-3 at Planet Ice Widnes while the Under 16 team lost 4-3 away to Leeds.

The Wild Academy are always keen to recruit new players across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and hold training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Planet Ice Widnes.

Separate “Learn To Play” sessions are also available for anybody new who would like to take up the sport. For more information, contact Academy Head Coach mike.gilbert@wildacademy.co.uk

Match Report: Deeside Ducks 3 - Bradford Bulldogs 4 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Josh Jones (#73) was the MVP for Deeside Ducks against Bradford (Photo by Paul Breeze)

5^th October 2024 – Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 3 – Bradford Bulldogs 4

The Deeside Ducks narrowly lost out in a highly entertaining and closely fought 3-4 defeat to the Bradford Bulldogs at Deeside Leisure Centre on Saturday.

The game started well for Deeside as Michael Speare fired them into the lead after just 36 seconds but Bradford struck back and were level 4 minutes later. Deeside edged ahead once again on 15 minutes with a goal from Josh Jones but the visitors again had an answer and equalised just 24 seconds later to leave the score standing at 2-2 at the first period break.

The second period was very close - with chances for both teams - but produced no goals, and the score remained at a finely balanced 2-2 with just 20 minutes left to play.

The Bulldogs were fastest out of the traps for the third period and finally got their snouts in front with a goal 31 seconds in. 

Despite having outshot the visitors by some margin over the course of the game, the Ducks were finding it difficult to break down the stubborn Bradford defence – but they got a helping hand with just over 6 minutes left to play.

A Bulldogs player was banished from the ice for a dangerous cross check, for which he was handed a 5 plus game penalty by the match officials. This meant that the Ducks would have a man advantage for pretty much the rest of the third period.

Charlie Spridgeon pulled Deeside back level with a powerplay goal two minutes later and the Ducks pushed forward to try and force a late winner. Unfortunately, they got caught out at the back and Bradford fired in a shorthanded goal to retake the lead with just 3 minutes left to play.

Deeside were unable to bounce back from this – even with their continued man advantage - and they even withdrew their netminder in favour of an extra attacker for the last 30 seconds, but the game finished 3-4 to Bradford.

The Ducks are without a game this weekend and then have three away trips in a row – away to Sheffield on 20^th October, Telford on 26^th October and Bradford on 3^rd November – before their next home match, which will be against Telford Tigers on Sunday 17^th November at Deeside Leisure Centre.

 

Coach’s Comments

After the game, Ducks Head Coach Gary Shaw said: 

The team went into the game open minded as both clubs are building, with Bradford a little ahead of us because they have had a more stable junior setup.

With a bit more confidence after the first win of the season, the team started well bringing some of the work we had done in training. We moved the puck well and broke out of our own defensive zone easily, but our offensive play still needs work gaining the zone to make different decisions and gain better possession.

Once we got into the zone, we made some good progress and we went ahead - only for Bradford to come back and take advantage of our indecision in the defensive zone.

So, the conversation between the periods was to make the right decisions and play the puck low in the zone and take the opportunity to shoot in good areas.

The game was back and forth with both netminders making some good saves. We applied some good pressure but came up empty handed for most of our efforts.

We focused on telling the team to be patient and do the right things, at the start of the period Bradford had stepped up their game and for the first five minutes we struggled to get into our game.

The game was still to and fro and we scored to equalise as the game progressed it was down to who would make the fewer mistakes that would take the spoils. So Bradford took the lead with us making a mistake on the half way line, they chipped the puck out and then went on to score.

Then Bradford took a five minute penalty in the last six minutes of the game and we had a lot of chances but shot the puck high and wide, with three minutes of the game left we scored the equaliser, still having the advantage of the penalty we pushed for the winner. But, as before we lost the puck on half way and they went on to score the winning goal.

After the final whistle, we spoke about the mistakes that had lost us the game – and also about shot variety, because we had shot the puck high a lot and quite a lot missed the net and ended up with an easy exit from the zone for the opponents.

Although we had lost right and fair, we had a lot of positives to take out of the game, and as a coaching team have again identified where we need to work on to improve their game and hopefully make us stronger and harder to beat.

As we move on, the players can hold their heads up high as they are getting better with each game and their bond with each other is growing."

You can follow the progress of the new Deeside Ducks team as they continue on their debut season in the NIHL Laidler Division on their Facebook page HERE

 

Match Report: Deeside Ducks 4 – Sheffield Titans 3 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Ducks' MVP against Sheffield Rory Sillery (Photo by Chris Jones)

Sunday 29^th September – NIHL Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 4 – Sheffield Titans 3

The Deeside Ducks picked up their first ever win with a 4-3 victory over Sheffield Titans at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday

Two goals from Kieran Clarkson, one from Cody Ogden and a short-handed winner from captain Chris Jones with 14 minutes left to play secured the historic first league win for the Ducks.

Ducks’ Head Coach Gary Shaw said of the game:

“The team went into this game with a line less then we have playing to see if it would benefit the players as we had run 4 lines before to get everyone ice time.”

“The game was a very close affair and Sheffield went 2 goals up capitalising on mistakes made by our players. The team rallied and pulled a goal back before the end of the period.”

“With a tight second period and end to end plays the period ended goal less. So the first goal in the 3rd period was a big factor and we instructed the team to compete in Sheffield's zones and to keep the puck low and only shoot if a good opportunity arose.”

“And doing this Kieran Clarkson came around the net and banked the puck in off the goalie into the roof of the net to tie the game short-handed. A few minutes later, another short-handed goal from Cody Ogden put us in front.”

“Having spoken to Chris Jones about shooting more in-between the periods he took a speculative shot from our on blue line and, with the netminder not ready, the puck ended in the net. Sheffield scored again to draw it to a one goal advantage but we managed to hold out for the first win for the Ducks.”

The Deeside Ducks are next in action this Saturday 5^th October when they take on the Bradford Bulldogs at Deeside Leisure Centre – 5pm face off.

Match Report: Kingston Sharks – Deeside Ducks (Abandoned after 20 mins) NIHL Laidler Division

Players discuss the damaged ice surface at Hull (Photo by Maxine Roscoe)

Saturday 28^th September – NIHL Laidler Division: Kingston Sharks – Deeside Ducks (Abandoned after 20 mins)

The Deeside Ducks Laidler Division game away to Kingston Sharks was abandoned after a single 20 minute period had been played on Saturday evening at Hull Arena.

The home side had taken the lead 1m17 into the game and led 5-0 by the first period break.  However, the surface of the ice was damaged during the routine ice cleaning operation between periods and it took over an hour for the rink staff to plug up the resulting hole and get the ice to freeze properly again.

With the amount of time lost - and concerns about player safety - the match was called off at that point and the remaining two periods were not played.

Ducks’ Lead Coach Peter Bleackley commented:

“We expressed concerns regarding player safety - but rules apparently state that both coaches have to agree that the surface is unsafe. Their coach would not as they don’t have any available dates to replay and they didn’t want to forfeit. I decided player safety was more important after the team sitting for more than an hour. The ref agreed.”

The sport’s governing body – England Ice Hockey - will now have to decide whether the game should be replayed, although that will depend on ice time being available for an alternative date that suits both teams.

Depending on the outcome of the Association’s investigation into the matter, other possible scenarios include:

1)    allowing the result to stand as a 5-0 win to the Sharks, in which case the players’ appearances and match stats for the game will be included in their records,

2)    awarding it as an unplayed “no fault” draw with one league point being given to each team - in which case player stats are not recorded - or

3)    awarding it as a 5-0 forfeit win, with one or the other of the teams possibly being subject to further disciplinary action by way of a fine or points deduction.

Match Report: Widnes Wild 2 – Leeds Knights 7 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Jonathan Williamson was the Wild NIHL team’s MVP against Leeds (Photo by Keith and Jenny Davies)

Sunday 29th September 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division : Widnes Wild 2 – Leeds Knights 7

The Widnes Wild NIHL team lost their 4th league game in a row with a 2-7 defeat at the hands of Leeds Knights at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday. 

The Leeds Knights NIHL 1 team are new to the Moralee Division this year and they have assembled an impressive roster that includes three overseas born players – among them a US AAA trained junior - as well as Matty Barlow and Alex Mitchell, who both played for Widnes for the past two seasons.

This cross-Pennine derby game was niggly from the off and was littered with minor penalties throughout. The only goal of the first period came on 13 minutes and it fell to the visitors who took the 0-1 lead into the first interval.

Bailey Thomson equalised for the Wild on 28 minutes but Barlow fired the Knights back in front just 30 seconds later. 2 more goals put Leeds further ahead and they led 1-4 at the second period break.

The Knights went 1-5 up just 36 seconds into the third period but Jono Williamson pulled a goal back for Widnes 3 minutes later.  However, this wasn’t enough to spark a late revival and two more goals for Leeds late on made the score look a little more one-sided than the game actually was.

It was Leeds’ first win of the season after 4 straight defeats and the result leaves Widnes and Sheffield both adrift at the bottom of the Moralee Division table, still looking for their first points.

The Wild have back to back away games at the weekend when they play away to Leeds on Saturday 5th October and then make the long trip to the North East to take on Whitley Warriors on Sunday.

They are next at home on Sunday 13th October when they take on Solihull Barons at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

*****

The Wild Junior Academy hosted games for their Under14 and Under 16 teams against their Nottingham counterparts at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday. The Under 14s lost 1-13 to Nottingham while the Under 16s lost 2-4.

The Academy Under 18 team lost 4-3 away to Telford while the Under 10s took part in a 4 team tournament at Blackburn where they played against Manchester Storm and Deeside U10s as well as the host team.  Under 10s games are played for fun and no scores are recorded.

The Wild Academy are always keen to recruit new players across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and hold training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Planet Ice Widnes.

Separate “Learn To Play” sessions are also available for anybody new who would like to take up the sport. For more information, contact Academy Head Coach mike.gilbert@wildacademy.co.uk

Match Report: Kingston Diamonds 4 – Widnes Wild Women 4 (WNIHL Div 2 (N)

New Wild Women signing Ruth Leopold in action for Swindon – Photo by Flyfifer Photography

Sunday 29th September 2024 – WNIHL Div 2 (N): Kingston Diamonds 4 – Widnes Wild Women 4

The Widnes Wild women’s team started their 2024/25 Division 2 North season with a 4-4 draw away to the Kingston Diamonds in Hull on Sunday. 

The game saw Wild debuts for new signings Jennifer Greenwood, Ruth Leopold, Nicole Rainey and Niamh Horsfield – and returns to the team for Sav Sumner and Charlotte Jackson after spending some time away with other clubs. 

The two teams were very closely matched throughout this game and the first period remained goal-less until the very last minute when Jennifer Hickey opened the scoring for the Wild with just 35 seconds left on the clock.

Two goals early in the second period put the Diamonds in the lead and they edged further ahead with a goal on 30 minutes to lead 3-1 at the second interval.

The Wild Women visibly upped their game in the third period and two goals in two minutes – from Katie Fairclough and Leen de Decker – put them on level terms with 13 minutes left to play.

Kingston got their noses back in front with a 4th goal on 50 minutes but de Decker equalised again with 4 minutes left on the clock to secure the point for Widnes.

The Wild Women have two more away fixtures - at Sheffield on 12th October and Whitley Bay on 27th October - before their first home game against Whitley Bay Beacons on Sunday 24th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

*****

Ruth Leopold is a new face in a Widnes shirt this season but has been very well-known around the women’s game for many years. She started playing for the Blackpool Blades women’s team in 1987/88 and then moved to the Blackburn Falcons in 1991. 

She joined the newly formed Sheffield Shadows for the 1993/94 season – scoring the club s’ first ever goal – then moved down to Bristol for work and joined the Swindon Top Cats in 1995. Ruth won a number of Division One titles with Swindon and also had a WPL title-winning year with Slough in 1998/99 before returning to the Top Cats and later playing for the Bristol Huskies.

Talking about joining Widnes for the new season, Leopold said; 

“I moved back up to Lytham last year and thought I had retired, but was inspired by Rachael (Pearce) to come back and started training with Blackburn women. I enjoyed that so wanted to play league hockey again, and I decided to come along to Widnes.” 

“I am really looking forward to the season, where I hope my experience can be an asset to help the team. I am very grateful to the Wild for giving me a chance to continue playing the sport I have loved for 37 years!”

You can watch video coverage of the whole of the Kingston Diamonds v Wild Women match on the Diamonds’ YouTube channel HERE 

Widnes Wild Women Season Preview

Wild Women's Head Coach Steve Furber (left) with Assistant Coach Paddy Horner and Player Coach Leen de Decker (Photo by Widnes Wild Women IHC)  

The Widnes Wild women’s team have announced their leadership teams in preparation for the new 2024/25 WNIHL season, which starts this weekend.

The Head Coach for the new season is Steve Furber, with Thomas (Paddy) Horner as Assistant Coach.  Leen De Decker, Katie Fairclough and Suzie Miller will all be Player / Coaches. 

Charlotte Cramp returns as team captain in the role that she filled so admirably last season and Rachael Pearce and Elizabeth Loss are Alternate Captains.

The Wild Women will, once again, be playing in WNIHL Division 2 North where they will take on opposition from: Hull, Sheffield, Whitley Bay, Edinburgh, Telford and Leeds.  

Last year’s strugglers Grimsby withdrew from the league during the summer and a new 3-team Northern Cup competition has been introduced between Widnes, Telford and Sheffield to provide extra matches to make up the shortfall.

The Wild Women start their season with a trip to Hull and back this Sunday 29th September when they take on the Kingston Diamonds. They then have two more away fixtures before their first home game against Whitley Bay Beacons on Sunday 24th November at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

The full Wild Women’s fixture list for the 2024/25 season is:

• 29th Sept: away @ Kingston
• 12th Oct: away @ Sheffield
• 27th Oct: away @ Whitley
• 24th Nov: home v Whitley
• 7th Dec: away @ Caledonia
• 15th Dec: home v Sheffield (Cup)
• 12th Jan: away @ Telford
• 26th Jan: home v Telford
• 2nd Feb: away @ Sheffield (Cup)
• 16th Feb: home v Telford (Cup)
• 9th Mar: home v Sheffield
• 16th Mar: home v Kingston
• 22nd Mar: away @ Leeds
• 13th April: home v Leeds
• 27th April: home v Caledonia
• 3rd May: away @ Telford (Cup)

Wild Women's home games are on Sunday afternoons at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25 pm face off.  Admission is free for all spectators and there is ample free parking outside the venue.  

Match Report: Widnes Wild 2 – Deeside Dragons 7 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Luke Alston was the Wild's MVP in the home defeat against Deeside (Photo by Steve Cunningham)

Sunday 22nd September – Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 2 – Deeside Dragons 7

The Widnes Wild NIHL team’s disappointing start to the season continued with a 2-7 defeat at the hands of local rivals Deeside Dragons at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

Due to the close proximity of the two teams – and regular interchanges of players over the years - matches with the Dragons are always feisty affairs and this was no exception.

A short-benched Widnes - caused by mounting injury worries - actually scored first with a goal by Kai Hathaway but three strikes for the Dragons – including a brace from former Wild favourite Jakub Hajek - saw the visitors leading 1-3 at the first period break.

Luke Alston narrowed the deficit to just one goal midway through the second period but two goals late on handed the Dragons a 2-5 lead with one period left to play.

The game was pretty much dominated by Deeside’s new import and former Leeds Knights National Division player - American Jake Witowksy – and he rounded off an impressive hat trick to go with his three assists to bring the score to 2-6 midway through the third period.

A seventh goal for the Dragons late in the game further rubbed salt in the Wild wounds and bragging rights remain at the western end of the M56 – at least until the next Widnes / Deeside encounter.

The Wild are next in action this Sunday 29th September when they are at home to the new Leeds Knights 2 team in the Moralee Division at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

Match Report: Coventry NIHL Blaze 13 – Deeside Ducks 1 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Deeside Ducks' first ever away game - against Coventry NIHL Blaze (Photo by Maxine Roscoe)

Saturday 21^st September: NIHL Laidler Division – Coventry NIHL Blaze 13 – Deeside Ducks 1

The Deeside Ducks had a difficult time on their first ever away trip – losing 13-1 to a highly organised Coventry Blaze side on Saturday.

Continuing their policy of encouraging young talent and providing a stepping stone into senior league hockey, the Ducks gave NIHL debuts to three more promising players – Mackenzie Wilkes, Liam Yarwood and 16-year old Deacon Wilkes.

Deeside found themselves up against it right from the start and were 3-0 down by the end of the first period. It was 8-0 after two periods and they were 12-0 down by the time Michael Speare scored their first ever away goal in the third period. The netminding partnership of Callum Preston and Paul Jones were kept busy all night but managed to keep out 55 of the 68 shots that they faced between them.  Deacon Wilkes was named the Ducks’ Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the match.

After the game, lead coach Peter Bleackley said:

 “I’m not going to make any excuses. We just didn’t gel as a team last night. We’ve lots of areas to work on in training and I am putting this down to a bad day at the office. Coventry were a well organised team and played good simple hockey from the start. They outworked us and took every opportunity and capitalised on it.”

 “We will dust ourselves off and the team are looking forward to this weekend. It is early days for us all as a new development team and we just need to bring to the games the energy and competitive levels that we have at training.”

The Ducks have another away game this Saturday 28^th September then they go to Hull and back to face the Kingston Sharks, who they lost very narrowly to 4-5 in their first game of the season. They are then at home on Sunday to Sheffield Titans at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

(Note: gamesheet not provided so match details are incomplete).

Sheffield Steelkings Win BPIHL Play Offs

Sheffield Steelkings celebrate winning the 2024 BPIHL Play Off title at Nottingham (Photo by Sheffield Steelkings PIHC)

British Para Ice Hockey Play Offs 2024 (14^th & 15^th September - at Nottingham)

• Semi Final 1: Cardiff Huskies 4 – Mayhem 3
• Semi Final 2: Peterborough Phantoms 2 – Sheffield Steelkings 5
• 3rd Place Game: Peterborough Phantoms 7 – Mayhem 4
• Play Off Final: Cardiff Huskies 2 – Sheffield Steelkings 6

The Sheffield Steelkings won the British Para Ice Hockey play off title for the second year in a row with a 6-2 win over league champions Cardiff Huskies in Nottingham on Sunday.

The top four finishers in the league qualified for the play offs in the Lace City and the semi finals on the Saturday saw league champions Cardiff Huskies take on 4^th place Mayhem and runners up Peterborough Phantoms paired up with third place Sheffield Steelkings at the National Ice Centre.

The Mayhem put in a superb performance in their semi semi-final and led for much of the game. They were eventually overhauled by two late goals from Huskies’  Tyler Christopher with the winner coming just 3 minutes from time for a narrow 4-3 Cardiff victory.

Sheffield beat Peterborough 5-2 in the other semi-final with goals from Jake Oakley (2), Daniel Clarke (2) and Connor Grocock.  The league’s top scorer Gary Farmer scored both goals for the Phantoms.

The third place game on the Sunday paired Peterborough with the Mayhem.  Gary Farmer scored 4 goals and Callum Shakespeare 3 in the 7-2 Phantoms victory while Karl Nicholson (3) and Tom Kimm were on target for the Mayhem.

Sheffield got off to the better start in the final against Cardiff and were 4-0 up by the time the Huskies managed to score their opening goal.

Tyler Christopher and Jon Le Galloudec scored the Cardiff goals but Strikes from Oakley (2), Paul Brown (2) and one each for John Plummer and Daniel Clarke were more than enough for the Steelkings to see off the league champions in a 6-2 victory. 

Widnes Wild NIHL Weekend Summary - 14th / 15th September

Wild youngster Kai Hathaway was on target against Billingham (Photo by David Tattum / DJT Ice Hockey Photos)

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a losing start to their NIHL Moralee Division season with a 9-2 defeat away to Hull Jets on Saturday and a 3-6 home loss to defending champions Billingham Stars at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The home game on Sunday saw Billingham leading 1-4 at the first period – the only Wild goal coming from Widnes youngster Luke Alston - and the game was pretty much done and dusted at that point.  

Widnes had more of the play in the second and third periods – drawing each of them 1-1 - with goals from Mikey Gilbert and Kai Hathaway helping to keep the score respectable. 

The Wild are next in action this Sunday 22nd September when they take on local rivals Deeside Dragons at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

Match Report: Peterborough Phantoms 7 – Mayhem 4 (BPIHL Play Off 3rd Place Match)

Karl Nicholson scored 5 goals at the Play Off weekend (photo by Blindside Trading Cards)

Sunday 15th September – BPIHL Play Off 3rd Place Match: Peterborough Phantoms 7 – Mayhem 4

With Sheffield Steelkings beating Peterborough 5-2 in the other semi final, this set up a Phantom v Mayhem tussle for 3rd place on Sunday. 

Peterborough took the lead after just 57 seconds with a goal from the league’s top scorer Gary Farmer but Rob Allen put the Mayhem on level terms 2 minutes later.

A second goal from Farmer in the 10th minute edged Peterborough back in front and they led 2-1 at the first period break.

Two unanswered goals in the second period – from Callum Shakespeare and Farmer again saw Peterborough build up a commanding lead and the score stood at 4-1 at the second interval..    

Two more goals early in the third period – from Shakespeare and Farmer – further extended the Phantoms’ lead to 6-1 but this sparked a late surge from the Mayhem.

Three quick goals from Karl Nicholson in 4 minutes, brought the score to a tantalisingly close 6-4 with 90 seconds left on the clock and everything still to play for. However, 26 seconds later, Callum Shakespeare scored his hat-trick goal for Peterborough and that was to be the last goal of the game.

The 7-4 victory saw Peterborough secure the third place finish, while Sheffield beat Cardiff 6-2 in the final to retain the Play Off crown that they had previously won last year. 

Mayhem Head Coach
Peter Hagan
(Photo by Blindside
Trading Cards)

Looking back over the Play Off weekend, Mayhem Head Coach and Team Manager Peter Hagan said:  

“After missing out last year, we were thrilled to make this years play offs - especially as they were held at Nottingham – and, although the results didn’t go our way, I’m really happy how we performed - especially against Cardiff, the league champions. You can see the progression that the squad has made and those close losses will turn into wins soon, we have no doubt about it.”

“We went in without our goalie who had surgery last week, and 3-4 players missing through work & injury, so we were up against it and huge thanks go to Sheffield & Cardiff for loaning us a netminder so we could compete.”

“We have a strong foundation to build on for 2025 and are excited for the future. We are recruiting & continuing looking for sponsors to help, and hopefully can bring silverware to Widnes soon.”

Match Report: Cardiff Huskies 4 – Mayhem 3 (BPIHL Play Off Semi Final)

Mayhem’s Felicity Gregory contests a face off against Cardiff. (photo by Blindside Trading Cards)

Saturday 14th September – BPIHL Play Off Semi Final: Cardiff Huskies 4 – Mayhem 3

The Mayhem sledge team took part in the British Para Ice Hockey League’s end of season play offs at Nottingham’s prestigious National Ice Centre over the weekend and, although they lost both of their games, they gave a good account of themselves and helped to sign the season off in style.

The top four finishers in the league qualified for the play offs and the semi finals on the Saturday saw league champions Cardiff Huskies take on 4th place Mayhem and runners up Peterborough Phantoms paired up with third place Sheffield Steelkings.

The Mayhem had lost both of their league encounters with Cardiff during the regular season – but only by narrow margins – and this semi final game was just as closely fought.

The first period was goal-less – which is quite unusual in ice hockey - and both teams had an equal number of shots on goal, but the Mayhem took the lead 36 seconds into the second period with a goal from Karl Nicholson.

Cardiff quickly struck back and equalised just 44 seconds later with a goal from their top scorer Tyler Christopher but a second goal from Nicholson 67 seconds after that restored the slim Mayhem advantage.  

Cardiff drew level again on 23 minutes with a strike from Jon Le Galloudec but a goal from Tom Kimm edged the Mayhem back in front to lead 2-3 at the second period break.

The third period was similarly close but two goals from Christopher – on 37 minutes and 42 minutes – levelled the scores and then put Cardiff in front for the first time in the game.  The Mayhem were unable to manage a late reply and the Huskies went on to book their place in the final with a narrow 4-3 victory. 

Match Report: Deeside Ducks 4 - Kingston Sharks 5 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Ducks netminder Callum Preston receives the MVP award from team sponsor Richard Beevers, CEO of Customer Plus (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Saturday 14^th September 2024 – NIHL Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 4 - Kingston Sharks 5

The Deeside Ducks put in a plucky performance in their first ever league game, only narrowly losing out 4-5 to the Kingston Sharks at Deeside Leisure Centre on Saturday.

The Ducks team has been set up this season to provide a stepping stone between the highly regarded Deeside junior set up and the senior Dragons side and comprises mainly younger players with a few older heads to offer experience and stability.  As such, the game saw NIHL debuts for 12 players who had never played at this level before.

Before the face-off, there was a minute’s applause in memory of Ken Taggart - the former player, referee and long time Chairman of the English Ice Hockey Association – who died earlier in the week at the age of 78.

Once the puck had dropped, the visitors were quickest out of the blocks and took an early lead after just 42 seconds. However, the Ducks managed to settle down and their first ever league goal came on 12 minutes 32 seconds scored by Thomas Milnes, assisted by Charlie Spridgeon.

The score remained 1-1 at the first period break and although they had been outshot by almost 3 to 1, the Ducks had given a good account of themselves.

The second period saw 2 unanswered goals for the Sharks and they edged further ahead early in the third period to lead 1-5 with 15 minutes left to play.

The Ducks second goal of the game came on 50 minutes with team captain Chris Jones firing in a delayed penalty strike punishing a Sharks tripping call and this served to spark a late Deeside fightback.

Further goals for the Ducks – from Cody Ogden on 54 minutes and the same player on 57 minutes - drew the home side to within one goal of their opponents. 

Both teams called timeouts in the latter stages to discuss last ditch tactics, wrenching up the tension around the rink, but there was no further scoring and the game finished 4-5 to the Kingston Sharks.

The MVP awards were donated and presented by Mr Richard Beevers, CEO of Customer Plus - who are one of the Ducks team sponsors for the season.

These went to Joe Gray for Kingston and Deeside netminder Callum Preston who managed to turn away an incredible 42 of the 47shots that he faced over the 60 minutes.

Speaking about the game afterwards, Head Coach Gary Shaw said:

“For the first competitive game for the newly formed Ducks, the team performed well together. They had to overcome not really knowing each other’s game as they have been on the ice for less than 2 months and only 1 practice game. The experienced players in the team helped the junior players at this level.”

“As the game progressed, they made a few mistakes, which we expected to happen, and we can see as a coaching team what we need to focus on to be able to build on this performance. We have a good base to build on, and as the team grows together from this strong performance, we should see that they will have a good competitive season.”

The Ducks now have two away games – away to Coventry NIHL Blaze this Saturday 21st September in a combined league and cup game and then to Kingston in Hull the following Saturday.

They are next at home on Sunday 29th September when they take on the Sheffield Titans at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

You can follow the progress of the new Deeside Ducks team as they embark on their debut season in the NIHL Laidler Division on their Facebook page.   HERE

Ducks Line-Up v Kingston Sharks:

Paul Jones (NM), Charlie Spridgeon, Michael Speare, Louis Morgan, Gary Dixon, Stewart Cutting, Henry Phillips, Thomas Milnes, Kieran Clarkson, Heather Clarkson, Ben Roscoe, Louis Ellwood, Cody Ogden, Callum Preston (NM), Chris Jones, Joshua Jones, George Spofforth, Kenny Williams, Rory Sillery, Luke Wainwright, James Morgan, Jack Davies

Bench staff:  Peter Bleackley (Coach), Steven Fellows (Coach), Angela Wilkes (Manager).