Wild Women Raring To Go

Wild Women's Lise Gillen
(Photo by Flyfifer Photography)

Having had a well-earned festive break to recharge their batteries, the Widnes Wild Women return to league action this Sunday when they take on the Caledonia Steel Queens at Planet Ice Widnes. 

The Wild Women start the new calendar year bottom of the Division 1 North table with 8 defeats from their 8 games so far this season.  While that may sound disappointing, it is not completely unexpected because there is huge chasm in playing standards between this division and Division 2 where they were playing last season.

Having said that, the Wild Women do have a number of positives to take from the early part of the season and have seen their performance improve as the campaign has progressed.

In a season where goals have been hard to come by, Canadian born Lise Gillen is the Widnes top scorer with 2 goals and 1 assist while former Belgium international Leen de Decker has two goals. The other players to have found the back of the net so far this campaign are Karyn Cooper, Dee Vause and Ilyssa Flemington, all with one strike each, while Nicola Wallace, Eleanor Johnson and Abigail Aldred have all contributed assists.

There is still a long way to go in this marathon-esque season with 12 of the 20 scheduled league games yet to come. While they have had difficulties against teams at the top of the league table, the Wild Women have yet to play fellow strugglers Solway Sharks, who they will meet 4 times in the business end of the season – twice at home and twice away – so there is still plenty to play for.

The Widnes Women take on the Caledonia Steel Queens this Sunday at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off. Admission is free for all spectators and there is ample free parking around the rink. 

Match Report: Deeside D1 Dragons 11 – Nottingham Lions 2 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Ryan Jones was the Dragons' MVP against Nottingham (Photo by Emilia Roberts Photography)

Sunday 4^th January 2026 – NIHL Moralee Division: Deeside D1 Dragons 11 – Nottingham Lions 2

The Deeside Dragons Moralee Division team got 2026 off to a winning start with an 11-2 victory at home to Nottingham Lions at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.

The Dragons hit the ground running and took the lead with a Colin Cromie goal after just 24 seconds but Nottingham put up a good fight in the early stages and actually outshot Deeside by almost 2 to 1 in the first period.

In fact, it took until 17 minutes in for Cromie to score the Dragons’ second of the night and the score stood at 2-0 at the first period break.

Nottingham fired in a powerplay goal just 61 seconds into the second period and the score remained at a rather nervy 2-1 at the midway point in the game.

Two further Dragons’ goals did eventually follow – from team captain Jared Dickinson and Jake Witkowksi - but it was far from a done deal at that period, despite a 4-1 lead at the second interval.

The mounting Deeside pressure paid off in the third period, however, and a goal-fest ensued. Witkowsi scored his second goal of the night straight from the face off and then added his hat-track strike 5 minutes later.

Then, Ross Kennedy got in on the act on 50 minutes exactly and Deeside looked to be cruising.

Nottingham did pull another goal back on 52 minutes but it was too late by then to mount any sort of comeback and two more goals from Kennedy brought him a third period hat—trick.  

Witkowski added a fourth to his tally and defenceman Ryan Jones also fired in a goal – his second of the season - and went on to be named Dragons’ MVP for the game.

The win means that the Dragons move back up into third place in the Moralee Division table, overtaking Solihull Barons who didn’t have a game this weekend, and they now have 47 points from 22 games

Telford Tigers have climbed into second place after back to back away wins over Sheffield and Widnes and they are now 3 points ahead of Deeside, although they have played a game more.

League leaders Blackburn Hawks were also without a game at the weekend but are now further ahead at the top of the table after two wins over the festive period and they now have 66 points from 24 games.

The Dragons have back to back matches against fierce local rivals Widnes Wild this weekend – with the away game on Saturday, 7.00pm face off, and the home game on Sunday at Deeside Leisure Centre - 5.15pm start.  

Match Report: Sheffield Titans 6 - Deeside D2 Dragons 2 (NIHL Laidler Division)

D2 Dragons' James Shaw
(Photo by Lewis Cleveland)

Sunday 4^th January 2026 – NIHL Laidler Division: Sheffield Titans 6 - Deeside D2 Dragons 2

The Deeside D2 Dragons team opened 2026 with a narrow 6-2 defeat away to league leaders Sheffield Titans on Sunday.

Sheffield started the strongest and took a 3-0 lead into the first period break but Deeside kept them out in the second and pulled a goal back through leading scorer James Shaw for 3-1 at the second interval.

Three more goals followed for the home side in the third period but a strike from Noah Percival gave the final score a bit more respectability.

The D2 Dragons have three more away games in a row -with trips to Coventry this Saturday 10^th January, Altrincham on Sunday 11^th and Nottingham on 8th February.

They are next at home on Saturday 14^th February when they take on Coventry Blaze at Deeside Leisure Centre.