Matty Barlow scored the OT winner for Widnes and was named MVP (Photo by David Tattum)
Sunday 2nd March 2025 – NIHL Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 5 – Leeds Knights 4 (OT)
The Widnes Wild NIHL team put an end to their 7-game losing streak with a hard fought and well deserved 5-4 overtime win against Leeds Knights at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.
As the final score suggests, this was a very close game between teams who were 8th and 9th in the league table and there was very little to choose between the two teams all the way through.
Leeds took the lead on 5 minutes but Luke Alston equalised for the Wild on 13 minutes and the score remained 1-1 at the first period break.
The second period was just as close and Widnes took the lead with a back door tap in from captain Andrew Hopkins on 31 minutes. However, Leeds hit back 5 minutes later and the match was all tied at a very finely balanced 2-2 at the second interval.
The third period was goal-less for the first 10 minutes but Bez Hughes fired in to edge the Wild ahead again at 50.20. Leeds equalised two minutes later and got their noses back in front with another goal on 57 minutes to take a 3-4 lead. Two minutes after that, with just 74 seconds left on the clock, Mikey Gilbert scored to put the Wild back on level terms and send the game into a nail-biting period of sudden death over time.
Matty Barlow popped up as the hero of the piece as he fired in the golden goal winner, giving the Wild their first victory since mid-January. It was their second overtime win of the season - and their 6th win overall.
Unfortunately, as far as the league table is concerned, an overtime win only yields two league points for the winners instead of the 3 for a regular time win, and it also gives the losing team one point for having been level at the end of 60 minutes.
This means that Leeds’ advantage is now down to 5 points from 6 in the race for 8th spot, with both teams having 4 games left to play. Widnes have two games coming up against 7th place Nottingham Lions but also a tricky weekend on the road with trips to Hull and Whitley.
They are next in action this Saturday 8th March when they play the first of those crunch ties at home to Nottingham at Planet Ice Widnes, 7pm face off.
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The Widnes Wild women’s team continue their league title chase in WNIHL Division 2 North this Sunday when they take on Sheffield Shadows at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.
