Deeside Dragons Players Win End Of Season Awards

The Deeside D1 and D2 Dragons have been well represented in the end of season player awards organised by the NIHL North Updates organisation, who ran a fans’ poll via their social media pages, with Dragons players claiming an impressive 9 of the 18 awards on offer across both the Moralee (D1) and Laidler (D2) Divisions.

Leading the way was Dragons’ record points scorer Jake Witkowski, who carried off both the Forward Of The Year and the Season’s Most Valuable Player awards for the Moralee Division

Tyler de la Bertouche was named as D1 Goaltender of the Year and Ross Kennedy was Most Valuable Player in the Play Offs.

Young Dan Fadajevs, who has played for both the D1 and D2 Dragons this season was named as Most Under-Rated Player in the Moralee Division and long-term Dragons favourite James Parsons - who is now a player coach with the D2 Dragons - was given the Sportsmanship Award.

Finn Ogden was named as the Most Valuable Player in the Play Offs in the Laidler Division and the Dragons achieved a clean sweep in the Tough Guy category with Damarni James and Karl Bacon winning the D1 and D2 votes respectively.

The full list of winners in the 2026 NIHL North Updates Awards is:  

• Underrated Player D1: Daniels Fadejevs, Deeside Dragons
• Underrated Player D2: Noah Barnes, Sheffield Titans
• Tough Guy D1: Damarni James, Deeside Dragons
• Tough Guy D2: Karl Bacon, Deeside Dragons
• Young Player Of The Year D1: Alex Rushby, Nottingham Lions
• Young Player Of The Year D2: Harry Roebuck, Sheffield Titans
• Sportsmanship Award D1: Zack Brown, Telford Tigers
• Sportsmanship Award D2: James Parsons, Deeside Dragons
• Goaltender Of The Year D1: Tyler de la Bertouche, Deeside Dragons
• Goaltender Of The Year D2: Ryan Wardell, Billingham Buccaneers
• Defenceman Of The Year D1: Sam Zajac, Blackburn Hawks
• Defenceman of the Year D2: Artem Pavlov, Billingham Buccaneers
• Forward Of The Year D1: Jake Witkowski, Deeside Dragons
• Forward Of The Year D2: Sam Dowd, Billingham Buccaneers
• Play Offs Most Valuable Player D1: Ross Kennedy, Deeside Dragons
• Play Offs Most Valuable Player D2: Finn Ogden, Deeside Dragons
• Season’s Most Valuable Player D1: Jake Witkowski, Deeside Dragons
• Season’s Most Valuable Player D2: Josh Milnes, Altrincham Aces

You can see the Awards panel’s comments in full about the various winners – and keep up with lots more NIHL North news - on the NIHL North Updates Facebook page HERE

Coach Clancy Gets GB Silver Medal

Deeside Dragons coach Dave Clancy with the GB Women's Silver Trophy at the World Championships  (Photo by Great Britain Ice Hockey)  

Deeside Dragons’ coach Dave Clancy has helped to guide the Great Britain women’s team to the silver medal at the IIHF World Championships in Spain.

Clancy has been an assistant coach with the GB women’s team for a number of years and was joined on the back room staff by Robyn Crebbin, who is the Dragons’ Sports Therapist.

The GB team beat the host nation 3-2, Korea 3-2 in overtime, Kazakhstan 3-1 and eventual tournament winners the Netherlands 1-0 in a thrilling penalty shoot out.  Their only defeat came at the hands of Latvia, to whom they lost 4-3 in overtime.

Team GB finished in 2^nd place in the overall table with 11 points from their 5 games, 2 points behind gold medal winners Netherlands, who actually won the same amount of matches but got extra points for regulation time victories.

The full GB Women’s World Championship Schedule was:

IIHF Women’s World Championship – Div I Group B – Puigcerda, Spain

• 12th April: Korea 2 – Great Britain 3
• 13th April: Great Britain 3 – Spain 2
• 15th April:  Latvia 4 – Great Britain 3
• 17th April: Great Britain 1 - Netherlands 0
• 18th April: Great Britain 3 - Kazakhstan 1

You can see all the results, game reports and player stats from the Women’s World Championships in Spain on the IIHF website HERE

Match Report: Kingston Diamonds 11 Widnes Wild Women 0 (WNIHL Division 1 North)

Wild netminder Stephanie Drinkwater makes one of her many saves away to Kingston (Photo by Lois Tomlinson)

Sunday 19^th April 2026 – WNIHL Division 1 North: Kingston Diamonds 11 Widnes Wild Women 0

The Widnes Wild Women went to Hull and Back on Sunday, suffering an 11-0 defeat at the hands of league title favourites Kingston Diamonds.

The Wild Women had lost 16-0 on their last visit to Humberside back in February and also lost the two home fixtures 0-18 and 0-7 earlier in the season so, even with best will in the world, this latest encounter was only ever likely to go one way.

Kingston opened the scoring after just 60 seconds but Widnes actually put in a pretty solid performance in the first period and the score remained at 1-0 at the first break.

The hosts scored again on 23 minutes but the Wild Women still held firm and it wasn’t until two more quick goals went in within 15 seconds of each other on 28 minutes that they began to wobble.

Dee Vause was the Wild Women's
MVP away at Kingston
(Photo by Lois Tomlinson)

Another goal followed and the score stood at 5-0 at the second interval and 6 further unanswered strikes came in the third period which didn’t really do justice to the battling performance that the Wild Women had put in.

Netminder Stephanie Drinkwater actually turned away 62 of the 73 shots that she faced and, were it not for her heroics, in the Widnes goal, the score would undoubtedly have been much higher.

Ice hockey trivia fans might be interested to note that this was the Wild Women’s fourth shut-out of the season against the Kingston Diamonds – which may well be some sort of unwanted record.

The Wild Women have another difficult away trip ahead of them this Saturday 25^th April when they travel north of the border to face the league’s second place team, the Caledonia Steel Queens, in Edinburgh - 12.15 (noon..) face off .

They are next at home on Sunday 3^rd May when they take on Nottingham Vipers in their last game of the season at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

Match Report: Deeside Dragons U16G 7 – Sheffield U16G 4 (WNIHL Under 16 Girls North)

Dragons' celebrations after the win over Sheffield (Photo by Rachael Feather)

Sunday 19^th April 2026 – WNIHL Under 16 Girls North: Deeside Dragons U16G 7 – Sheffield U16G 4

The Deeside Dragons Under 16 Girls team remain level on points with league leaders Whitley Bay after a 7-4 win over the Sheffield Shadows at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.

Lana Botes opened the scoring for the Dragons just 85 seconds into the game but Sheffield equalised on 5 minutes.

Deeside hit straight back with three quick goals within 90 seconds of each other – from Poppy Ward, Botes again and Hallie Morgan – around the 6 minute mark to put some daylight between the two teams but Sheffield scored again on 10 minutes to leave the score standing at 4-2 at the first period break.

Sheffield pulled another goal back 3 minutes into the second period but a second goal of the game for Ward on 23 minutes re-established the two goal cushion for 5-3 at the second interval.

Lana Botes was the Dragons
MVP against Sheffield
(photo by Katy Lennon)

Deeside edged further ahead again with a goal from Grace Taylor on 32 minutes, only for Sheffield to pull another goal back 8 minutes later. A hat-trick goal for Poppy Ward in the dying seconds of the game rounded of the scoring for a 7-4 win for the Dragons.

With league leaders Whitley Bay having beaten Kingston Diamonds 22-0 on Humberside on Saturday, the Dragons remain tied on points with them at the top of the league table, although they have played a game more. 

The Deeside girls are away to Whitley this Saturday 25^th April for a crunch 1^st v 2^nd encounter and then travel to Sheffield on Saturday 9^th May to round off the regular season.

Dragons' Malone Gets GB Bronze In World Championships

The Great Britain Under 18 team celebrate their bronze medal at the World Championships in Romania (Photo by Great Britain Ice Hockey Facebook Page)

Deeside Dragons’ Theo Malone missed the play off weekend at Sheffield but he had a good excuse as he was away on international duty playing for the Great Britain Under 18 team at the World Championships in Romania.

The GB team beat the host nation 5-4 and Spain 4-1 but narrowly lost 0-1 against China, 3-2 to Croatia and 4-3 to Japan in the 6-team group.

Malone scored 1 goal in the win over Spain, got two assists each in the games against Romania and Croatia and one in the final game against eventual group winners Japan.

Team GB finished in 3rd place in the overall table – winning the bronze medal - with 6 points from their two wins, 6 points behind runners up China and 9 behind gold medal winners Japan, who won all 5 of their matches.

The full GB schedule was:

IIHF Under 18 World Championship - Div II Group A - Targu Secuiesc, Romania

• Sunday 12th April: Great Britain 5 – Romania 4
• Monday 13th April: Great Britain 0 - China 1
• Wednesday 15th April: Great Britain 4 – Spain 1
• Thursday 16th April: Croatia 3 - Great Britain 2
• Saturday 18th April: Japan 4 - Great Britain 3

You can see all the results, game reports and player stats from the Under 18 World Championships in Romania on the IIHF website HERE

Deeside Players To Take Part In Rob Craig Memorial Game

Dragons' Ethan Mayoh will be playing the Rob Craig Memorial game in aid of the Calm Zone mental health charity (Photo by Emilia Roberts Photography)

A number of Deeside players are to take part in this year’s Rob Craig Memorial charity game, which will be played at Blackburn on 26^th April.

The game is played every year in memory of former Blackburn recreational player Rob Craig who took his own life in 2017 and aims to raise funds and awareness for mental health charities.  

The Deeside contingent at this year’s game will include current D1 Dragons player Ethan Mayoh, along with long-term Dragons favourites James Parsons - who is now player coach with the D2 Dragons team - and Marc Lovell, who mainly coaches juniors nowadays but also made a few guest appearances for the D1 Dragons last season.

The memorial event is now in its 7th year, having been first staged in 2018 as a friendly match between groups of Craig’s former team mates, and it has become bigger every year as more people have wanted to become involved.

As the profile of the event has grown, more companies and sponsors have come on board and the game has been able to attract bigger player names to boost the team rosters.

Other notable players who will be involved this year include:

• Canadian-born Manchester Storm and GB international defenceman Dallas Erhardt
• Former Manchester Storm and GB international player Cameron Critchlow
• GB women’s player CJ Ashton
• Plus Adam Barnes, Jacob Lutwyche, James Riddoch and Aaron Davies from Blackburn Hawks.

More players will be added to the line up in the run up to the event and they will be spread across two teams to ensure an entertaining and competitive game.

Marc Lovell (Photo by
Keith & Jenny Davies)

Talking about taking part in the Rob Craig Memorial game this season, Marc Lovell sais:

“I am really looking forward to being part of this event. There are some great names involved and it will be fun to get out on the ice together, hopefully we will raise a good amount of money and awareness for a very worthy cause.”

The beneficiary of the 2026 Rob Craig Memorial game will be the CALM Zone (Campaign Against Living Miserably), a suicide prevention charity on a mission to help people end their misery, not their lives.

You can find out more about the Calm Zone via their website https://www.thecalmzone.net

Advance tickets for the game on 26^th April are now on sale via the Planet Ice Blackburn ticketing website at £5 for adults  and £3 for Under 16s HERE – or you can pay on the door.  

Match Report: Deeside Dragons Under 16 Girls 2 – Caledonia Iron Maidens 0 (WNIHL Under 16 Girls North)

Deeside Dragons U16 Girls at home to Caledonia (Photo by Rachael Feather)

Sunday 12^th April 2026 – WNIHL Under 16 Girls North: Deeside Dragons Under 16 Girls 2 – Caledonia Iron Maidens 0

The Deeside Dragons Under 16 Girls team moved level on points with league leaders Whitley Bay after a 2-0 home shut out of the Caledonia Iron Maidens at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.

The Deeside girls had trounced the Iron Maidens 1-13 when the two teams met up in Scotland back in December but this was a much closer, tenser game.

The first period played out goal-less but Deeside eventually opened the scoring on 18 minutes when Emmie Lauder fired in a shorthanded goal.

The lead was doubled seven minutes later when Poppy Ward scored a powerplay goal and the score remained at 2-0 at the second period break.

Caledonia had chances of their own and actually out-shot Deeside by almost 2 to 1 over the course of the game but were unable to make the most of their opportunities on goal.

The third period also passed without a goal being scored, meaning that Deeside netminder Violet Lennon was able to record a 27-shot shut out. 

Rambo was the Deeside girls'
MVP against Caledonia
(Photo by Rachael Feather)

The Dragons girls team are in their second season of competition and have made remarkable progress in such a short time.  In their first season, they finished 4^th out of 7 teams with 3 wins from the 11 league games that they played. This season they are in second place in the league table, having won 12 out of their 13 games so far, and have already qualified for the end of season play offs.

They are currently level on points with league leaders Whitley Bay – the only team to have beaten the Dragons this season – although they have played a game more.  The two top teams have to meet again this season up in the north east, so the Dragons girls are still in with a mathematical chance of winning the league title.

They are at home again this Sunday 19^th April when they take on the Sheffield Shadows in their last home fixture of the season at Deeside Leisure Centre, 4.30pm face off.

They then play away in Whitley next Saturday 25^th April for a crunch encounter and then travel to Sheffield on Saturday 9^th May to round off the regular season.

*****

The Deeside Dragons club have announced an initial trial for the new women’s team that they plan to operate next season.

The one-hour trial session will take place at Deeside Leisure Centre on Monday 20th April from 7.15 to 8.15pm and will cost £10.00 per person. Interested parties must complete and submit the “Expression Of Interest” form HERE before attending.

Match Report: Blackburn Hawks 4 - Deeside D1 Dragons 3 (Moralee Play Off Final)

Jake Witkowski opened the scoring for the Dragons in the Play Off final at Sheffield (Photo by RDG Digital)

Saturday 11^th April 2026 – Play Off Final (at Sheffield): Blackburn Hawks 4 - Deeside D1 Dragons 3

The Deeside D1 Dragons’ otherwise highly successful season finished on a slightly disappointing note after they narrowly lost out 4-3 to Blackburn Hawks in the Moralee Division play off final at Sheffield  on Saturday.

As the score suggests, this was a very tight game, played between two very closely matched teams at a breakneck pace throughout. The result was in doubt until the very last second and it was a superb advert for NIHL ice hockey.

Deeside took the lead with a Jake Witkowski goal in the 5th minute but Blackburn eventually equalised with a hotly debated goal on 16 minutes to leave the score at 1-1 at the first period break.

The second period saw an incredible 4 goals scored within 80 seconds of each other, with Blackburn taking the lead on 27 minutes, Ross Kennedy firing the Dragons level 41 seconds later and Rhys Edwards putting Deeside back into the lead 30 seconds after that. This frantic phase was rounded off with another Blackburn goal straight from the restart to level the score at 3-3 at the midway point of the game.

The score was still 3-3 with the clock ticking down to the last minute of the period but a goal from former Dragons import Jakub Hajek with just 32 seconds left handed the Hawks a narrow 4-3 lead with 20 minutes left to play.

The third period played out goal-less, despite numerous chances for both teams, and Blackburn were able to hang on to secure the play off title to go with their league championship crown.

The Dragons did come home with one trophy, however, as top scorer Jake Witkowksi was named Moralee Division Player of the Season in the official NIHL league awards.

Despite Saturday’s defeat, the Dragons still have plenty to be pleased about this season.  It was their first appearance in a play off final for 10 years - and their most successful league campaign since 2016 was rewarded with the runners up position in the Moralee Division.

They also won the Moralee Cup for the first time and the Welsh Cup for the second year in a row, making plenty of new friends along the way.

Match Report: Sutton Sting 9 - Deeside D2 Dragons 0 (Laidler Play Off Final)

D2 Dragons' James Parsons in action in the Play Off final at Sheffield (Photo by RDG Digital)

Saturday 11^th April 2026 – Play Off Final (at Sheffield): Sutton Sting 9 - Deeside D2 Dragons 0

The Deeside D2 Dragons put in a plucky performance in the Laidler Division play off final at Sheffield on Saturday but slumped to a 9-0 defeat at the hands of league champions Sutton Sting.

The Sting opened the scoring on 5 minutes and led 3-0 by the first period break. The score was 5-0 at the second break and four more goals were added in the third period.

Despite the one-sided look to the score, the Dragons players’ heads did not drop and they gave a good account of themselves but, unfortunately, weren’t able to make the most of their chances in front of goal.

Even getting to the final was quite an achievement for the D2 Dragons, who are only in their second season of competition and have a squad composed of mainly young and less experienced players. They only finished 6^th in the final league table yet went on to exceed most people’s expectations by beating higher placed teams in the quarter final and semi final to win through to the Sheffield showdown.

They will have gained a lot from their experiences this season and will, undoubtedly, come back stronger and wiser next time around.

Match Report: Widnes Wild Women 2 – Sheffield Shadows 10 (WNIHL Division 1 North)

Laura Bibby was the Wild Women's MVP against Sheffield (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Sunday 12th April 2026 – WNIHL Division 1 North: Widnes Wild Women 2 – Sheffield Shadows 10

The Widnes Wild Women got off to a good start in their latest WNIHL Division 1 North game at home to Sheffield Shadows before eventually losing out 2-10 at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

The game was quite even in its early stages, with the Wild Women giving as good as they got. However, disaster struck in the 8th minute when there was a mix up in defence and the puck somehow trickled over the goal line to hand Sheffield the lead. 

While this was technically an “own goal”, you don’t have own goals in ice hockey and the goal was credited to the last Shadows player to have touched the puck before it went in the net.

The Wild Women quickly recovered from this early setback and Tayla Huxley-Richards fired in a superb equalising goal on 11 minutes, and the score remained 1-1 at the first period break.

Widnes actually went ahead on 23 minutes with a superb goal from Jennifer Hickey but the lead only lasted 87 seconds before Sheffield equalised. They then edged back in front on 26 minutes and added another goal just 58 seconds after that to lead 2-4 at the halfway stage of the game.

Things got worse for the Wild Women in what was left of the second period as Sheffield scored 5 unanswered goals to lead 2-9 at the second break.

The Widnes ship was steadied in the third period, however, and, while they were unable to make anything from their own chances in front of goal, they did - at least - manage to restrict the visitors to just one goal for a final score of 2-10.

Overworked netminder Stephanie Drinkwater put in her habitual heroic performance in the Widnes goals, turning away an impressive 77 of the 87 shots that she faced.

The MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards for Wild Women home games are once again this season being sponsored by niche publishers Ice Hockey Review and, as well as the usual trophies, the winners also receive special edition pens handcrafted and donated by Anthony Stock. 

The awards were presented by the goal judge Lynda Bird and went to Charley Farr for Sheffield and Laura Bibby for Widnes.

The Wild Women are away to Kingston Diamonds in Hull this Sunday 19th April and then have a trip north of the border to face the Caledonia Steel Queens in Edinburgh the Saturday after.

They are next at home on Sunday 3rd May when they take on Nottingham Vipers in their last game of the season at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

Dragons Under 16 Girls At Home On Sunday

The Deeside Dragons Under 16 Girls team celebrate their recent 0-9 win away at Nottingham (Photo by Rachel Feather)

For any Deeside fans who are not travelling to Sheffield for the NIHL play offs this weekend, but who still fancy watching some live ice hockey, why not go and cheer on the Dragons Under 16s girls team who are playing the Caledonia Iron Maidens – from Edinburgh – this Sunday 12th April at Deeside Leisure Centre – 4.30pm face off.

The Dragons girls team are in their second season of competition and have made remarkable progress in such a short time.  In their first season, they finished 4th out of 7 teams with 3 wins from the 11 league games that they played.  This season they are in second place in the league table, having won 11 out of their 12 games, and have already qualified for the end of season play offs.

They are currently 2 points behind league leaders Whitley Bay – the only team to have beaten the Dragons this season – and a win on Sunday would see them draw level, albeit having played one game more.  The two top teams have yet to meet again this season up in the north east, so the Dragons girls are still in with a mathematical chance of winning the league title.

Their remaining matches this season are:

• 12th April: home v Caledonia Iron Maidens
• 19th April:  home v Sheffield Shadows
• 25th April: away @ Whitley Bay Beacons
• 9th May: away @ Sheffield Shadows

The Deeside Dragons club have announced an initial trial for the new women’s team that they plan to operate next season.

The one-hour trial session will take place at Deeside Leisure Centre on Monday 20^th April and will cost £10.00 per person.

Interested parties must complete and submit the “Expression Of Interest” form HERE before attending.

Play Off Semi Final Report: Deeside D1 Dragons v Hull Jets (NIHL Moralee Division)

Colin Cromie scored 5 goals over the weekend against Hull (Photo by Angel Devlin)

Saturday 4^th April 2026 – Play Off S/Final (1): Hull Jets 2 - Deeside D1 Dragons 6

Sunday 5^th April 2026 – Play Off S/Final (2): Deeside D1 Dragons 6 – Hull Jets 5

Deeside win 12-7 on aggregate

The Deeside D1 Dragons won through to their first play off final for 10 years after beating Hull Jets 12 –7 on aggregate over two legs in the semi final at the weekend.

They won 2-6 away in Humberside on Saturday and then narrowly edged a much closer game 6-5 at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.

In the away game on Saturday, after a tense opening phase, Colin Cromie gave Deeside the lead on 14 minutes and Ross Kennedy doubled the advantage just 36 seconds later.

Cromie edged the Dragons further ahead 58 seconds into the second period and a goal from Theo Malone and hat-trick strike from Cromie saw them leading 0-5 before the first Hull goal came on 35 minutes.

Hull scored again 79 seconds into the third period but that was it in terms of a Jets revival and a second goal of the night for Malone rounded off the scoring for the game 2 minutes later.

The first period had been penalty-free but things got more tetchy as the game went on and tensions came to a head with a mass altercation on 50 minutes that saw 3 players from each team sent to the penalty box.  Luckily, this had no bearing on the final result and the Dragons came home with a 2-6 advantage to take into the second leg.

Sunday’s home game also started well for the Dragons  with goals from Matty Barlow on 8 minutes – his first since his return from injury - and Jake Witkowski on 14 minutes giving them a 2-0 lead.  Hull pulled a goal back 60 seconds later and the score stood at 2-1 at the first period break.

The visitors were the quickest out of the blocks in the second period and equalised on 24 minutes before taking the lead just 38 seconds after that.  Colin Cromie levelled the score for Deeside with 57 seconds left in the period and the match remained balanced on a knife edge at 3-3 at the second interval.

Ross Kennedy fired the Dragons back in front 16 seconds from the puck drop and Cromie doubled the advantage on 44 minutes.

There seemed little likelihood of Hull overturning the aggregate deficit by this point but they didn’t give up and two more goals saw them draw level once again, setting up a dramatic last 10 minutes.

Jake Witkowski scored the game winning goal on 56 minutes and the Dragons were able to round off their home games for the season with a 6-5 victory on the night and a 12-7 overall aggregate victory.

The Dragons will now meet league champions Blackburn Hawks – who beat Billingham Stars 11–6 in the other semi final – in the single game play off final this Saturday 11^th April at iceSheffield.

The match is part of the annual Sheffield Showdown play off weekend which sees all four regional division finals  being played on the Saturday and then north v south finals at division 1 and division 2 level on Sunday to decide overall national champions.

The full weekend programme is as follows:

Saturday 11^th April

10.15:  Laidler (N2) Play Off Final

13.15:  Wilkinson (S2) Play Off Final

16.15:  Moralee (N1) Play Off Final

19.15:  Britton (S1) Play Off Final

Sunday 12^th April

13.00:  National Champions Div 2 Final

16.30:  National Champions Div 1 Final

Advance tickets for the play off weekend can be purchased via the England Ice Hockey website here:

https://eih.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/steel_city_showdown_2026

 

For any Deeside fans not going to Sheffield at the weekend, the Dragons Under 16 girls team are at home on Sunday to Caledonia Iron Maidens in their penultimate home game of the season at Deeside Leisure Centre, 4.30pm face off.

Play Off Semi Final Report: Deeside D2 Dragons v Sheffield Titans (NIHL Laidler Division)

The D2 Dragons celebrate their play off semi-final win away at Sheffield (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)

Saturday 4^th April 2026 – Play Off S/Final (1): Deeside D2 Dragons 6 – Sheffield Titans 2

Sunday 5^th April 2026 – Play Off S/Final (2): Sheffield Titans 4 - Deeside D2 Dragons 1

Deeside win 7-6 on aggregate

The Deeside D2 Dragons play off fairytale continued as they beat highly rated Sheffield Titans 7-6 on aggregate in the Laidler Division semi final, winning 6-2 at home on Saturday and then losing 4-1 away on Sunday

In the home game on Saturday, the D2 Dragons put in what was arguably their best performance of the season. Cody Ogden fired them into the lead on 10 minutes and they never really looked back from there.

A second Ogden goal on 14 minutes extended the lead and a fine breakaway strike from Rhys Howells gave the Dragons a well-deserved 3-0 lead at the first period break. 

Sheffield scored 73 seconds after the restart but a James Parsons goal just 17 seconds later restored the 3-goal cushion. Goals from Stewart Cutting and James Shaw followed for the Dragons and they led 6-1 at the second interval.

The Titans scored again just 23 seconds into the third period but that was the last goal of the game and the Dragons were able to take a 4-goal aggregate lead into the away leg on Sunday.

The away game against the league runners-up at their home venue was always likely to be a lot tougher and Sheffield raced to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period.

The Dragons steadied the ship, however, and top scorer James Shaw fired in the only goal of the second period on 32 minutes to leave them leading 7-5 on aggregate with 20 minutes left to play.

Sheffield threw the proverbial kitchen sink at the Dragons during the final period but were only able to score one more goal and Deeside managed to hold on to book their place in the play off final.

Finn Ogden was the Dragons' MVP in both matches against Sheffield (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Young netminder Finn Ogden put in an heroic performance in the Deeside goal for the second night in a row – turning away 48 of the 52 shots that he faced - and was rewarded with his second MVP award of the weekend.

The D2 Dragons will now face treble-chasing Sutton Sting, who beat Billingham Buccaneers 13-5 in the other semi final, in the play off final at Sheffield next Saturday.

Women's Team Trial At Deeside

The Deeside Dragons club have announced an initial trial for the new women’s team that they plan to operate next season.

The one-hour trial session will take place at Deeside Leisure Centre on Monday 20^th April and will cost £10.00 per person. Interested parties must complete and submit the “Expression Of Interest” form HERE before attending.

The Deeside club have been running an Under 16 girls team in the Under 16 North division of the WNIHL (Women’s National Ice Hockey League) for the past 2 seasons and the team are currently second in the league table with 4 games left to play.

Their remaining matches this season are:

• 12^th April: home v Caledonia Iron Maidens
• 19^th April:  home v Sheffield Shadows
• 25^th April: away @ Whitley Bay Beacons
• 9^th May: away @ Sheffield Shadows

Deeside Dragons Players Named in All Star Teams

Matty Barlow, Jake Witkowski, Jared Dickinson, Colin Cromie and Ross Kennedy (Photo by Emila Roberts Photography)

A number of Deeside Dragons players have been named in the “All Star Team” poll for the Moralee Division for the 2025/26 season.  The vote was organised by the NIHL North Updates organisation, who ran a fans’ poll and a players’ poll via their social media pages.

Dragons’ top scorer Jake Witkowski was named as the top forward in both the players’ poll and the fans’ poll following his record breaking points total for the season and was joined in both lists by Colin Cromie and Ross Kennedy.

Witkowski topped the Moralee Division points scoring standings with 138 points (66 goals and 72 assists), breaking the record for points in a season that had stood since 2018/19. His tally of 72 assists was also the highest in the Moralee Division for the season but he was pipped for the most goals by Telford’s impressive Czech player Vladimir  Luka who scored 72 and finished second in the overall points charts with 72+47=119.

Ross Kennedy finished fourth in the Moralee list with 40+55=95 and Colin Cromie came fifth with 35+52=88.

Ethan Mayoh was named as top defenceman in the All Star fans’ poll and also appeared in the players’ votes, while Matty Barlow and Bailey Thomas both made it into the fans’ final list.

Tyler de la Bertouche (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)

Tyler de la Bertouche was named as top netminder in the Moralee Division in the fans’ selection and came second to Blackburn’s Harrison Walker in the players’ voting.

The full 2025/26 All Star Team listings are as follows:

Moralee Division – Fans’ All Star Team (in order of votes)

• Netminders: Tyler de la Bertouche (DEE), Harrison Walker (BLA)
• Defencemen: Ethan Mayoh (DEE), Sam Zajac (BLA), Bailey Thomas (DEE), Corey Goodison (SOL), Bobby Streetly (BLA), Thomas Barry (BLA)
• Forwards: Jake Witkowski (DEE), Vladimir Luka (TEL), Colin Cromie (DEE), Alex Rushby (NOT), Niklas Ottosson (SOL), Adam Barnes (BLA), Ross Kennedy (DEE), Andrew McKinney (BLA), Jacob Lutwyche (BLA), Chris Sykes (BIL), Matty Barlow (DEE), James Moss (BIL)

Moralee Division – Players’ All Star Team (in order of votes)

• Netminders: Harrison Walker (BLA), Tyler de la Bertouche (DEE)
• Defencemen: Sam Zajac (BLA), Corey Goodison (SOL), Henry Adams (SOL), Ethan Mayoh (DEE), Dan Harrison (TEL), Thomas Barry (BLA)
• Forwards: Jake Witkowski (DEE), Vladimir Luka (TEL), Niklas Ottosson (SOL), Alex Rushby (NOT), Andrew McKinney (BLA), Colin Cromie (DEE), Adam Barnes (BLA), Ross Kennedy (DEE), Jason Silverthorn (TEL), Jacob Lutwyche (BLA), James Moss (BIL), Dan Mulcahy (SOL)

NIHL North Updates operate a Facebook page where they post - as is suggested in the title - match updates for games being played in the NIHL North Moralee and Laidler Divisions each weekend.

In fact, during the current – and somewhat elongated - “transition” period while we wait for the EIH(A) to get their new Gameday online scoring and stats system up and running properly, NIHL North Updates is pretty much the only place where you can find an up-to-date and centralised summary of what is happening on match days across the two divisions.

You can follow all the latest news in the NIHL Moralee and Laidler Divisions on the NIHL North Updates Facebook page HERE  

D2 Dragons Players Named In All Star Teams

Deeside D2 Dragons top points scorer James Shaw (Photo by Lewis Cleveland)

Deeside D2 Dragons’ top points scorer for the season James Shaw has been voted onto the Laidler Division All Stars Team for the 2025/26 campaign.

The vote was organised by the NIHL North Updates organisation, who ran a fans’ poll and a players’ poll via their social media pages and Shaw was elected to both the fans’ and the players’ final selection of forwards.

Shaw scored 26 goals and 11 assists in 21 games and topped the D2 Dragons standings ahead of James Parsons in second, who got 15+10, and Chris Jones in third who got 7+18.

D2 Dragons popular “enforcer” Karl Bacon was voted onto the fans’ All Star Team as a defenceman.

The full 2025/26 All Star Team listings are as follows:

Laidler Division – Fans’ All Star Team (in order of votes)

Netminders: Ryan Wardell (BIL), Chris Outhwaite (BIL)

Defencemen: Artem Pavlov (BIL), Luke Reid (SHE), Karl Bacon (DEE), Charles Coney (COV), Alfie Kelly (ALT), Ethan McLaughlin (BIL)

Forwards: Sam Dowd (BIL), Morgan Glasby (SUT), Josh Milnes (ALT), Thomas Humphries (SHE), Matty Pickup (BIL), James Shaw (DEE), Lawson Glasby (SUT), Joe Colton (SUT), Jake Frost (ALT), Lewis Swaffield (SHE), Dan Caple (BIL), Steven Wallace (BIL)        

Laidler Division – Players’ All Star Team  (in order of votes)

Netminders: Nathaniel Bell (SUT), Ryan Wardell (BIL)

Defencemen: Artem Pavlov (BIL), Josh Rawsthorne (SHE), Charles Coney (COV), Jacob Truswell (SUT), Luke Reid (SHE), Jamie Scott (SUT)

Forwards: Morgan Glasby (SUT), Thomas Humphries (SHE), Sam Dowd (BIL), Josh Stockton (BRA), James Shaw (DEE), Josh Milnes (ALT), Joe Colton (SUT), Sam Parkin (SHE), Lawson Glasby (SUT), Lewis Swaffield (SHE), Harry Roebuck (SHE), Mackenzie Barker (KIN)

NIHL North Updates operate a Facebook page where they post - as is suggested in the title - match updates for games being played in the NIHL North Moralee and Laidler Divisions each weekend.

In fact, during the current – and somewhat elongated - “transition” period while we wait for the EIH(A) to get their new Gameday online scoring and stats system up and running properly, NIHL North Updates is pretty much the only place where you can find an up-to-date and centralised summary of what is happening on match days across the two divisions.

You can follow all the latest news in the NIHL Moralee and Laidler Divisions on the NIHL North Updates Facebook page HERE

Deeside Dragons Play Off Semi Final Arrangements Confirmed

Arrangements have been confirmed for the D1 and D2 Dragons’ play off semi-final matches this weekend.

The D1 Dragons are playing Hull Jets in back to back matches with the away game being played at Hull Arena on Saturday 4^th April, 5.30pm face off, and the home leg on Sunday 5^th April at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5.15pm start.

The Dragons beat Hull in three of their four league meetings during the regular season but the 6^th place Jets beat third place finishers Solihull Barons both home and away in their quarter final tie and will present tough opposition this weekend.

Admission to the home game on Sunday is by advance ticket only and tickets will be on sale via the Dragons website from 9pm on Wednesday evening  HERE.

Tickets for the away game in Hull are available now via the Jets website: https://buff.ly/0plbJ5g

The D2 Dragons are playing in the Laidler Division play off semi–finals this weekend.

They will meet league runners up Sheffield Titans, with the home game being played on Saturday 4^th April at Deeside, 5.15pm face off, and the away game in Sheffield the next day.

Tickets for the Saturday home game will be available on the door as usual.

Play Off Quarter Final Report: Deeside Dragons v Widnes Wild (NIHL Moralee Division)

Rhys Edwards scored home and away against his former club in the Dragons' QF win over Widnes (Photo by David Tattum)

Saturday 28th March 2026 – Play Off Q/Final (1): Deeside D1 Dragons 8 – Widnes Wild 3

Sunday 29th March 2026 – Play Off Q/Final (2): Widnes Wild 3 - Deeside D1 Dragons 5

Deeside win 13-6 on aggregate.

The Deeside D1 Dragons cruised into the semi finals of the Moralee Play Offs after a 13-6 two-leg aggregate victory over local rivals Widnes Wild at the weekend.

They beat their near neighbours 8-3 in the home leg at Deeside Leisure Centre on Saturday and then finished the job with a 3-5 win away on Merseyside on Sunday.

In Saturday’s home game, Deeside took the lead in the 5^th minute with a goal from Colin Cromie and then doubled the advantage 8 minutes later with a powerplay strike from Jake Witkowski.

Widnes pulled a goal back on 18 minutes and the score remained 2-1 at the first period break.

The second period was all Deeside as they outshot their opponents by more than 2 to 1. Their efforts were rewarded by two unanswered goals from Witkowksi – for a straight hat-trick – and then further strikes from Theo Malone and Rhys Edwards.

Widnes finally pulled a goal back early in the third period with a strike from former Deeside favourite Alex Parry but two quick-fire goals within 30 seconds of each other on 51 minutes – from Dan Fadejevs and Ross Kennedy – put the Dragons 8—2 ahead.

Widnes rounded off the scoring for the game on 55 minutes and Deeside were able to take an 8-3 lead into Sunday’s return leg.

Widnes led 1-0 after the first period of the game on Sunday and went 2-0 ahead just 48 seconds into the second period. However Deeside picked up after that and goals from Ross Kennedy and Colin Cromie saw them draw level and then a brace from team captain Jared Dickinson saw them open up a two-goal lead.

Widnes pulled a goal back on 35 minutes but the Dragons still led 3-4 on the night with one period left to play, and 12-6 on aggregate, so all was looking good.

Rhys Edwards scored the only goal of the third period to edge Deeside further ahead and they comfortably progressed to the semi final with a 13-6 aggregate victory.

The Dragons now face Hull Jets in the two legged semi final which will be played on a home and away basis this weekend. 

The other semi final will be contested by Blackburn Hawks and Billingham Stars and the two winners will meet in the single game final on 11^th April as part of the Sheffield Showdown NIHL play off weekend.

Play Off Quarter Final Report: Deeside D2 Dragons v Coventry Blaze (NIHL Laidler Division)

Thomas Warburton scored hs first senior goal away at Coventry and was named Dragons' MVP (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Saturday 28th March 2026 – Play Off Q/Final (1): Coventry Blaze 3 - Deeside D2 Dragons 3

Sunday 29th March 2026 – Play Off Q/Final (2): Deeside D2 Dragons 7 – Coventry Blaze 4

Deeside win 10-7 on aggregate

The Deeside D2 Dragons put in two battling performances in their first ever play off games at the weekend, beating Coventry Blaze 10–7 on aggregate over two legs.

They drew 3-3 away in the West Midlands on Saturday and then won 7-4 at Deeside Leisure Centre on Sunday.

Coventry took an early lead in Saturday’s away game and the score remained 1-0 at the first period break but goals from James Shaw and a first senior strike from youngster Thomas Warburton saw Deeside leading 1-2 at the second interval.

Coventry hit back with two goals of their own in the third period but a second goal of the night for Shaw saw the Dragons secure a 3-3 draw to carry over into the home leg.

Finn Ogden was impressive in the Deeside goal, turning away 40 of the 43 shots that he faced for a 93% save percentage, while Warburton was named MVP for the Dragons.

The home game on Sunday was riddled with niggly penalties for both teams and Deeside found themselves 0-2 down before Thomas Chong scored their opening goal of the game on 14 minutes.

Coventry edged further ahead again at the mid way point of the game but goals from Stewart Cutting on 34 minutes and James Shaw on 36 minutes saw the Dragons draw level and the score stood at 3-3 at the second period break.

Coventry re-took the lead early in the third period but, once Deeside managed to stop picking up penalties, they got into their stride and goals from Cameron Kushnirenko, James Parsons, and two more from James Shaw saw them coast to a hard fought but well-deserved victory.

The D2 Dragons now face Sheffield Titans in the two legged semi final which will be played on a home and away basis this weekend. 

James Shaw scored 5 goals over the two games against Coventry and was named MVP in the home leg on Sunday (Photo by Paul Breeze)