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| Photo by Geoff White - www.gw-images.co.uk |
The Wild started the game well, with some early chances on
goal but it would be the Blaze that would get an early lead against the run of
play. A quick counter attacking goal alongside a shot from the blue line squeezing
through Wild netminder Greg Ruxton giving the visitors a 2-0 lead. A
shell-shocked Wild would get one back before the break though, George Crawshaw
making a rink wide pass to December’s Supporters Player of the Month Michal
Fico who would fire a hard low shot past the Blaze netminder and ending the
period 2-1 to the Blaze.
Wild came out quickly in the 2nd period and would be back on
level terms almost straight away, Chris Preston would be the unlikely hero,
driving wide with the puck and firing high to tie the game at 2-2. Player Coach
Scott Mckenzie scored 2 goals in quick succession with Geoff Wigglesworth
adding salt in the wounds of the Blaze players to make it 5-2 at the end of the
2nd session.
Early goals in the 3rd period from Captain Shaun Dippnall
& Kieron Strangeway made it 7-2 to the Wild. Coventry would get a
consolation goal to make it 7-3 but further strikes from Scott Mckenzie, his
hat-trick on the evening, Dave Swanston & Shaun Dippnall would finish the
scoring at 10-3. A very happy Coach Mckenzie had this to say about his team’s
performance;
‘People would say we started slow but I don’t think we did.
We had a lot of early chances and outshot them 18-9 in the first period so to
be 2-1 down was a bit unfair really. As the game went on we started to take our
chances but also control the game for long periods too. We lost Calum Ruddick
fairly early on so had to move Sheldon Cassidy back to defence, he stood in
well and contributed with 5 assists. That is what impresses me about this team,
everyone comes together to achieve the overall goal, their commitment has been
nothing short of outstanding all year.’
The Widnes Wild are back in action this Saturday as they
travel to Bradford Bulldogs in their only fixture of the weekend. Seats are still
available on the coach, to book a seat contact Scott Mckenzie by email at;
scott.mckenzie@widneswild.co.uk.
The next home game for the Widnes Wild is on the 31st of
January against Blackburn Eagles. Tickets can be bought through box office at
Silver Blades Ice Rink Widnes. For more information call 0151 420 7930.
Sunday’s win over Coventry Blaze can be found following the
link below;
https://www.youtube.com/user/Phobeninc 