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| Bailey Thomson scored the winning goal away at Deeside (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies) |
The Widnes Wild NIHL team picked up their first regulation time win of the season with a 4-5 derby day victory away over local rivals Deeside Dragons on Sunday.
Widnes travelled with a very strong squad - quite possibly the strongest line-up they have managed all season following various injuries and other player availability issues - and the difference that this made in their performance was noticeable.
The game was goal-less in the first period and Deeside eventually took the lead with a goal just 1 minute into the second period.
Widnes turned the game on its head with two goals within a minute of each other – from Ross Chalmers and Robbie Thomson - and led 1-2 at the halfway point in the game. Two more quick fire goals later in the second period – from team captain Andrew Hopkins and Mikey Gilbert further extended the lead but a late strike from Deeside’s gifted American Jake Witkowski saw the score standing at 2-4 at the second interval.
Deeside pulled themselves back into contention with a third goal 42 seconds into the third period and the game remained tight until Bailey Thomson scored what would turn out to be the winning goal for Widnes on 55 minutes.
The Dragons removed their netminder for the last minute in the hope of salvaging the game and the addition of an extra attacker helped for a goal with just 30 seconds left. However, the Wild held out as the clock ticked down and managed to secure their first win of the season in regulation time – at the 15th attempt – and the all important 3 points.
Despite the win, Widnes remain bottom of the Moralee Division table with 5 points, 5 behind Sheffield Scimitars and Leeds Knights who both have 10, although they have both played more games.
The Wild are next in action this Sunday 1st December when they take on Whitley Warriors at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.
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Widnes Wild NIHL player Damarni James has been handed a 2-game suspension by the governing body’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS) after having passed the threshold of 10 disciplinary points for the season.
The EIH has a system which involves the accumulation of penalty points for committing offences and receiving penalties prior to, during and after games, which are:
- 5-minute penalty: 1 point
- 10-minute misconduct penalty: 2 points
- Game misconduct penalty: 4 points
- 5+ game misconduct penalty: 5 points
James passed the 10 point mark for the season with his 5 minute penalty for fighting in the recent home game against Sheffield Scimitars.
