Dragons Go Clear In Second After 5-Point Weekend

Colin Cromie scred two goals away in Solihull (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)

Saturday 31^st January 2026 – NIHL Moralee Division: Solihull Barons 2 - Deeside D1 Dragons 4

Sunday 1^st February 2026 – NIHL Moralee Division: Deeside D1 Dragons 5 – Telford Tigers 4 (OT)

The Deeside D1 Dragons went clear in second place in the Moralee Division league table after winning 2-4 away at Solihull Barons on Saturday and then beating Telford Tigers 5-4 in overtime at home on Sunday.

The Barons had actually looked like potential title challengers earlier in the season but a recent run of defeats has seen them fall out of contention. But away trips to Solihull are always tricky and Saturday’s game proved to be no exception.

The Dragons got off to a dream start with a goal from Ross Kennedy after just 59 seconds. Solihull eventually equalised on 16 minutes and the score remained 1-1 at the first period break.

Colin Cromie fired Deeside back into the lead with a goal on 25 minutes and then doubled the advantage on 32 minutes with a powerplay goal punishing a Solihull charging penalty.

The score stood at 1-3 to the Dragons at the second interval but a goal for Solihull just 48 seconds into the third period narrowed the deficit to just one, signalling that the contest clearly wasn’t over yet.

There were chances for both sides in the final 20 minutes and Matty Barlow finally re-established daylight between the two teams with a goal on 54 minutes, which proved to be the last of the game.

The game on Sunday against the Tigers was always going to be close, with the two teams going into the weekend level on points in the league table and with an identical playing record.

Deeside opened the scoring just 90 seconds into the game with a powerplay goal from Jake Witkowksi and, despite chances for both sides, the score remained at a very close 1-0 at the first period break.

Deeside went 2-0 up with a Colin Cromie goal after just 50 seconds of the second period but Telford pulled two goals back to level matters by the halfway stage and the score stood finely balanced at 2-2 at the second interval.

Two goals within 40 seconds of each other early in the third period – a first goal from youngster Theo Malone following his recent move to the club, and then one from MJ Clancy - looked to have put Deeside back in the driving seat – but there was more drama to come.

The Tigers narrowed the deficit to 4-3 on 47 minutes and put the Deeside net under enormous pressure. 

Heading into the last 2 minutes, the score remained 4-3 and the tension around the rink was almost unbearable.

Telford withdrew their netminder in favour of an extra attacker in an attempt to force a late equaliser and the pressure paid off with an equalising goal with just 49 seconds left on the clock.

20 seconds later, the Tigers incurred a tripping penalty but they still pressed forward and, with 8 seconds left, almost snatched the game with a two man breakaway but were called offside.

The score was still level at 4-4 at the end of regulation time and this meant that the game would have to be decided by an extra 5 minute period of sudden death overtime.

As Telford had a player in the box, this meant that Deeside had a powerplay opportunity for the first 1.31 of overtime and they made the extra man count when Jake Witkowski fired in the overtime winner just 3 seconds shy of the expiration of the penalty.

Deeside get 2 league points for the overtime win and Telford get one for having been level at the end of normal time. They also have a slight psychological edge over the Tigers, who they are due to meet again in the two-legged Moralee Cup final later this month.

The Dragons’ five point haul from their two weekend games means that they have pulled clear in second place in the table with 61 points from 27 games – four points ahead of Telford in third and 10 points ahead of Solihull in fourth, although they have played one game more than both of those teams.

Blackburn Hawks still lead the table with 78 points from 28 games, having beaten Hull Jets on Sunday, and have a 17 point lead over the Dragons.

The Dragons are in action again this Saturday 7^th February when they travel away to face Nottingham Lions in an early 1pm face off.

They are back at home the next day – Sunday 8th February - when they take on league leaders Blackburn Hawks at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5.15pm face off.

The D2 Dragons return to Laidler Division action after a four week break with a trip to Nottingham on Sunday 8th February when they play the Lions D2 team, 5pm face off.  They are next at home on Saturday 14th February when they host the Coventry Blaze at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5.15pm face off. 

Match Report: Solway Sharks 7 – Widnes Wild Women 4 (WNIHL Div1 North)

Leen de Decker (#5) attacks the Solway goal (Photo by MadMac Photography)

Saturday 31^st January 2026 – WNIHL Div1 North: Solway Sharks 7 – Widnes Wild Women 4

The Widnes Wild Women put in an impressive performance on their latest trip to Scotland but came out just short, losing 7-4 away to Solway Sharks Ladies on Saturday.

The game saw a Wild Women debut for Lydia Lutwyche, a Great Britain Under 18 women’s international player who is also playing for the Wild Academy U19 (mixed) team this season.

Despite the final score, this game was actually quite close and it took until the 14^th minute for Solway to open the scoring.  They scored again 2 minutes later and took a 2-0 lead into the first break, but Widnes weren’t outclassed by any means.

The Wild Women’s pressure on goal eventually paid off with a goal from Leen de Decker on 23 minutes and this sparked a frantic 2 ½ minutes that saw 4 more goals fly in.

Solway restored their 2 goal lead with a strike 37 seconds later but Tayla Huxley–Richards pulled a goal back for Widnes straight from the restart.

Another De Decker goal 45 seconds after that saw Widnes draw level but they weren’t able to build any further on this – despite outshooting their hosts during the middle period - and Solway edged back into the lead with their fourth goal of the game on 25 minutes.

The score remained at a tantalisingly close 4-3 at the second interval but, after a nail biting 10 minutes of back and forth early in the third period, Solway pulled away with 3 straight goals to lead 7-3.

Leen de Decker scored her hat-trick goal on 55 minutes with a delayed penalty strike punishing a Solway holding call but that was the last goal of the game.

Following on from their first win of the season at home to Nottingham Vipers last weekend, the Wild Women can take a number of positives from this away defeat.

Their four-goal haul is their highest of the season so far and they pretty much matched the opposition in terms of shots on goal over the 60 minutes of play.

Lydia Lutwyche contributed an assist in her first game for the club and Elizabeth Bird was named Player of the Game for Widnes.

The Wild Women are next in action on Sunday when they go to Hull and back to take on league leaders Kingston Diamonds on Humberside – 12.30 (noon...) face off.  They are next at home on Sunday 8^th March when they host Solway Sharks at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25 pm face off.