Wild Deliver Christmas Teddies

Tom Jackson and Steve Cunningham deliver Christmas teddies to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital (Photo by Widnes Wild IHC)

Widnes head coach Tom Jackson and General Manager Steve Cunningham made the Wild club’s annual visit to deliver teddies to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool on Christmas Eve.

The toys had all been donated by kind hearted fans at the “Air The Bear” teddy toss during the recent Widnes Wild v Deeside Dragons local derby game where supporters were invited to throw soft toys out onto the ice at a predetermined moment in the game - and over 150 donations were collected.

Any gifts that weren’t suitable to be taken to Alder Hey were separated out and taken to local animal shelters so that homeless pets can have a treat too, meaning that no donation goes to waste! 

Widnes Wild NIHL Happy To See Back Of 2024 

2024 has not been the most successful of years for the Widnes Wild NIHL team. In fact, critics might point out that it has been their worst calendar year ever in terms of results with just 4 wins out of 17 competitive games at the end of last season and 4 from 21 since the start of the current season  

The team only managed 7th place in the Moralee Division table last time out and 7 of their 8 top points scorers for that season moved on to pastures new during the summer, so things were always going to be difficult for new player coach Tom Jackson.

So, with the best will in the world, the Wild are clearly not going to win the Moralee Division league title this season.  

They are currently 43 points behind league leaders Billingham Stars with only 45 points left to play for in their remaining 15 games – all which are now against teams that are above them in the table.

They are not going to win the Moralee Cup this season either, having finished bottom of their qualifying group and failed to reach the semi-finals that will be played in January.

However, all is not lost and they still do have some achievable targets to aim for this season.

The first thing would have to be keeping off the bottom of the table – which they finally achieved with a 12-4 win over fellow strugglers Sheffield in their last game of 2024 and which saw them leapfrog the Steel City team and consign the Scimitars to the wooden spoon position.

The next logical objective would be to try and climb into 8th place in the table and qualify for an end of season play off spot. 8th is currently occupied by Leeds Knights who are 2 points ahead of Widnes, having played one game less.

Leeds are a new team to the Moralee Division this season and have also been struggling.  They only have four wins to their credit from 20 league games and two of those were against the Wild.

Widnes have two games still to play against Leeds – once home and once away – and, so, could have a realistic chance of catching them – especially if other results go their way as well in the latter stages of the season.

With the season that the Wild have had so far, finishing any higher than 8th would probably be viewed as an added bonus. 

Nottingham Lions are having a good season this time around and currently occupy 7th position - with a 9 point lead over Leeds and 13 points over Widnes. Interestingly enough, with the way that the fixture list has panned out this season, Widnes haven’t played Nottingham yet and have 4 games against them – 2 home and 2 away – still to come.

It just so turns out that the first weekend of the new year sees Widnes in a double header clash with the Lions.  They play away in the Lace City on Saturday 4th January – 1pm face off – and then at home the following day at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm start. The way things stand at the moment, these two games will go a long way to defining the Widnes season as a whole.

Widnes Wild Women Top Of The League For New Year

The Wild Women enjoy their annual Christmas fancy dress scrimmage (photo by Rachael Pearce)

The Widnes Wild women’s team finish the year proudly occupying top spot in the Division 2 North league table, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from their 5 league games to date.

They are being stalked, however, by Leeds Roses and Telford Wrekin Raiders who are just 1 point behind and each with a game in hand, but there is still a long way to go in this year’s league title chase.

It is a fascinating competition this season with no one team dominating and everybody looking capable of beating everybody else. 

The only exception to this might be the Edinburgh based Caledonia Queen Bees who are a new team for this season and are a development team for the Steel Queens team who won the league last season and were promoted to Division 1. They have lost all 5 of their league games so far this season, conceding 67 goals, of which 12 came in the Wild Women’s visit north of the border in early December. 

Team captain Charlotte Cramp is the Wild Women’s leading scorer at this early stage of the season with 7 goals and 5 assists from 5 games. Former Belgium international player Leen de Decker is second with 6+3 and recently returned Amanda Armstrong is just behind them with 3+4. 

The goals and assists have been widely spread around the squad this season with Lise Gillen, Jemma Brown, Phoebe Patient, Jennifer Hickey, Victoria Connelly, Abigail Aldred, Katie Fairclough and Charlotte McAdam all having found the net and 6 other players all contributing assists.

Katie Fairclough is the current leader by some distance in the Division 2 North “Bad Girl” stakes with 31 penalty minutes, due mainly to her 5+game for slashing in the home game against Whitley.

Katie is beaten, however, in the overall Division 2 penalty standings by three players from Division 2 South who all have 45 PIMs despite each having played fewer games than her. 

The Wild Women are also taking part in a cup competition for the first time this season – playing Sheffield and Telford home and away in a 3-team round robin. They lost their opening game 2-10 at home to Sheffield just before Christmas so have a bit of ground to make up if they are going to have any chance in that competition.

The Wild Women are back in action on Sunday 12th January when they travel to Telford to face the Wrekin Raiders for a league game.  

They are next at home on Sunday 26th January when they take on the same opposition at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

Deeside Ducks - New Year Round Up

Deeside favourite Chris Jones has 4 goals and 4 assists for the Ducks so far this season (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Heading into the New Year, the Deeside Ducks can look back upon their first few months as a club with some satisfaction, having already achieved much of what they set out to do at the start of the season.

They have given over 20 promising young local players the chance to play regular competitive league hockey that they might never have managed otherwise – or only after weeks of bench warming in the hope of the odd shift with a higher league team.

And Deeside junior club players Cody Ogden, Henry Phillips, Daniels Federevs and Jace Gledhill have all made appearances for the Dragons senior team this season, as well as playing for the Ducks, showing that the development pathway from juniors to seniors is working well.

The team has won two of their 15 league games so far this season – two more than Head Coach Gary Shaw admitted that he expected for their debut league campaign. 

Add to that the fact that they have lost 4 more matches by a single goal margin, any of which – on another day with the rub of the green, or better player discipline, in some cases - could easily have been a win instead.

So, things are looking good as the Ducks head towards the business end of the season in the battle for a top 8 play-off slot.

Cody Ogden remains the Ducks’ top goal scorer on 6 strikes, with Kieran Clarkson and Chris Jones just behind on 4 each. Charlie Spridgeon is the leading playmaker with 7 assists while Clarkson, Jones and Player Coach Stewart Cutting all have 4.

Following on from the festive break, the Ducks are away to unbeaten league leaders Sutton Sting this Saturday 4^th January and are then at home to north-west rivals Altrincham Aces on Sunday at Deeside Leisure Centre – 5pm face off.

Widnes Wild Weekend Report - 21st & 22nd December

Wild Head Coach Tom Jackson was in a festive mood at the weekend (photo by David Tattum)

Saturday 21st December 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 4 - Deeside Dragons 10

Sunday 22nd December 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 12 - Sheffield Scimitars 4

The Widnes Wild NIHL team pulled themselves off the bottom of the Moralee Division table with a sensational 12-4 win over fellow strugglers Sheffield Scimitars at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

It was a mixed weekend overall for the Wild as they lost at home to fierce local rivals Deeside Dragons 4-10 but, considering the season they have had so far, one out of two ain’t bad.

Games against the Dragons are always keen-fought and passionate affairs and Saturday’s match was no exception. Spice was added to the occasion by the presence of ex-Wild import Jakub Hajek on the Dragon’s bench, along with more former Widnes players in MJ Clancy, Matt Wainwright and Will Harper.

The game actually started well for the Wild and they took the lead with a goal from Tomas Vyrostek after just 4 minutes. Mikey Gilbert fired the Wild 2-0 up two minutes later but then a brace for the Dragons talented American import Jake Witkowski saw the score level at the first period break.

Witkowski fired the Dragons into the lead for the first time on 27 minutes with his hat trick goal and Clancy doubled the advantage for the visitors on 32 minutes. 

Owen Rae pulled a goal back for Widnes just 2 minutes later with his first strike of the season but Hajek restored the two-goal cushion 2 minutes after that.

A goal from Wild captain Andrew Hopkins narrowed the deficit to just one on 37th minutes and the score stood at a tantalisingly close 4-5 at the second interval.

Everything went wrong for Widnes in the third period. Deeside scored again just 30 seconds from the restart and four more unanswered goals swept them to a convincing 4-10 victory.

With local bragging rights Deeside-bound down the M56 for the time being, Sunday’s game against Sheffield really was a “must win” for the Wild, knowing that a regulation time victory would lift them above the Scimitars in the league table and off the bottom spot that they had occupied for much of the season.

Bailey Thomson scored 4 goals in the Wild's win over Sheffield on Sunday
(Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)

This game also started well for the Wild, with Bailey Thomson opening the scoring in the 4th minute and from then on, Widnes never looked like losing.

A second goal for Thomson on 14 minutes and then a strike for Mikey Gilbert two minutes later saw them with a 3-1 lead at the first period break and further goals - from Andrew Hopkins, Matty Barlow and Thomson again, for his hat-trick - made it 6-2 at the second interval.

Widnes really ran riot in the third period with goals from Ross Chalmers, Tomas Vyrostek, two more for Hopkins, a fourth from Thomas and a last minute strike from Damarani James with just 13 seconds left on the clock to round off an impressive victory.

The odd goal here and there from the plucky Sheffield side didn’t really matter too much as Widnes were able to celebrate their biggest ever win in the Moralee Division and the first time they have scored double figures since stepping up to the higher league in 2021.

Sunday’s win sees the Wild move above Sheffield into 9th place in the 10-team league table – with 11 points to the Scimitars’ 10 – and two points behind 8th place Leeds with a game in hand. The Wild now have a break to regroup and, hopefully, build on this achievement when the season restarts in January.  

The first weekend of the new year sees them in a double header clash with the Nottingham Lions.  They play away in the Lace City on Saturday 4th January – 1pm face off – and then at home the following day at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm start.

The Wild haven’t played Nottingham yet this season and they are one of the teams who are on their radar as infinitely catch-able in the race for final league placings.  As such, these two games will go a long way to defining the Widnes season as a whole.

*****

Play was interrupted after Tomas Vyrostek’s opening goal in the game against Deeside on Saturday – but it was all in a good cause.

It was the Wild’s annual “Air The Bear” Christmas Teddy Toss and it has become a tradition that, after the first goal is scored (assuming there is one and it is not a 0-0 draw…) fans throw donations of soft toys onto the ice.

These are then gathered up and distributed to good causes over the festive period 

The Teddy Toss was generously supported by the visiting fans from Deeside as well and the toys will be taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and local animal shelters.

Match Report: Deeside Ducks 1 – Altrincham Aces 6 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Callum Preston receives the MVP
award from Violet Foster-Noble
(Photo by Maxine Roscoe)

Saturday 21st December – NIHL Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 1 – Altrincham Aces 6

The Deeside Ducks put in another spirited performance but ultimately lost out 1-6 to near neighbours Altrincham Aces at Deeside Leisure on Saturday.

The game saw two new faces in Ducks shirts with debuts for former Deeside junior Corey Swift and ex-Telford forward Rhys Howells, who played for the Dragons in the Moralee Division last season.

The Ducks had been trounced 16-4 in the away game in Altrincham a few weeks ago so this was a much better performance all round and it remained very close until the latter stages.

The first period ended 0-1 to the Aces and they only managed to score their second goal with just 7 seconds left to play in the second period.

The score was 0-3 to the visitors by the time Deeside managed to find the net themselves with a strike from Rhys Howells – scoring on his Ducks debut - on 53 minutes.

This breakthrough did not spark a late Deeside rally, unfortunately, and 3 late goals for the Aces gave the final score a slightly more one-sided look than the Ducks’ performance necessarily deserved.

As well as taking the 3 league points back up the M56, the 5-goal margin means that Altrincham leapfrog Coventry in the group table for the parallel Laidler Cup competition and qualify for the semi finals in second place behind Telford.

Deeside finish bottom of the cup group with just 1 win from their 8 qualifying games.

Following on from the festive break, the Ducks will be away to unbeaten league leaders Sutton Sting on Saturday 4^th January and are then at home again to Altrincham Aces on Sunday 5^th at Deeside Leisure Centre – 5pm face off.

New Book Review: "Gone But Not Forgotten" by Stuart Latham

I have said, in the past, that you "can never have too many ice hockey books”. And, while I WOULD say that because I do, occasionally, sell the odd one or two to help fund my Twiglet habit, this one is not one of mine.

Yep, just when I was wondering how I was going to cope over the festive period without any NIHL hockey to watch or report on (we in the lower reaches don’t have Boxing Day games etc like the “Elite” boys and National Division do...) this latest offering from the fine stable of Stuart Latham ice hockey club histories has landed on the doormat.

“Gone But Not Forgotten” is an interesting book as it covers a number of different teams from different eras.

Depending on how old you are and how much you might have read about past glories in British ice hockey, you may have heard of a lot of these teams already, but it is nice to see so much information all gathered up in one place.

And what we have here covers, among others:

• Kensington Corinthians (1930s)
• Richmond Hawks (1930s)
• Earls Court Royals (1930s)
• Grosvenor House Canadians (1930s)
• Wembley Canadians (1930s)
• Wembley Monarchs (1930s & 40s)
• Wembley Vets (1970s)
• London Phoenix Flyers (Richmond – 1970s)
• Richmond Flyers (1980s)
• Earls Court Rangers (1930s & 40s)
• London Lions (1920s & 30s)
• London Lions (1970s - exhibition team)
• Wembley Lions (1930s, 40s & 50s)
• Milton Keynes Kings (1990s & 00s)
• Ashfield Islanders (1980s & 90s)
• Bournemouth Stags (1980s & 90s) 

As you’d expect with a Stuart Latham compilation, the book is packed with league tables, player statistics and fascinating photos and is bound to be of interest to ice hockey fans of all the various eras.

Now if I were being picky here, (picky – moi? shurely not...) - but if I WAS being picky, I would have expected the 1980s London All Stars team (Dave Richards, Bob Mitura et al) to be worthy of a page or two in this as well. Ice hockey fans of a particular vintage may well recall that they won the 1984/85 British League Division 2 South title.

That was quite an achievement for them because – like Ashfield Islanders - they had to play all of their games away, as their home ice at the Sobell Centre in Islington wasn’t suitable for playing league matches. There was, actually, quite a lot of that went on during those halcyon Heineken-fuelled “expansion” days of the mid 80s – check out Brighton and Hastings as well...

But I am not being picky today.  The last train to Picky-Ville has departed “ohne mich” - so I won’t mention them...

Anyway, despite that, this book is all very interesting and represents a very good record of a lot of teams that have fallen by the wayside over the years.

So, there we have it: “Gone But Not Forgotten.  To order your copy, drop Stuart a line via Facebook HERE  or send him an email HERE  - and get him to tell you about his other ice hockey books as well.

Deeside Ducks Weekend Report - 14th & 15th December 2024

Chris Jones was the Ducks' MVP at home to Bradford (Photo by Chris Jones - a different one...)

Saturday 14^th December 2020 – NIHL Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 5 – Bradford Bulldogs 6

The Deeside Ducks put in a battling performance before narrowly losing out 5-6 to Bradford Bulldogs at Deeside Leisure Centre on Saturday

This game was played between two very closely matched teams and there was never more than one goal in it. It was entertaining end to end hockey throughout with plenty of chances for both sides.

Continuing with the Ducks’ policy of encouraging young talent, the game saw senior league debuts for Dragons Under 19 players Callum Garwell and Rafferty Smith.

After a tense opening phase, the Ducks took the lead on 6 minutes with a debut goal from Rafferty Smith.

Bradford equalised on 12 minutes but Deeside edged back into the lead with a Stewart Cutting goal just 14 seconds later. The Bulldogs equalised on 14 minutes and the score remained 2-2 at the first period break.

The second period was just as close and Gary Dixon fired the Ducks back in front just 90 seconds in.  Bradford equalised again and Chris Jones re-established the Deeside lead on 26 minutes.

Cue another equaliser from the visitors before Rory Sillery scored his first ever league goal to hand the Ducks a narrow 5-4 lead at the second interval.

Unfortunately, the game slipped away from Deeside in the third period as two quick goals within 90 seconds of each other saw Bradford draw level again and then take the lead for the first time.

A spate of late penalties hampered the Ducks attempts to salvage something from the match and it finished up as a 5-6 win to the Bulldogs.

The MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards went to Liam Hine for Bradford and Chris Jones for Deeside.

Rafferty Smith was the Ducks' MVP away at Billingham (photo by Paul Ali Photography)

Sunday 15^th December 2020 – NIHL Laidler Division: Billingham Buccaneers 12 - Deeside Ducks 0

The Ducks’ first ever trip to the north east to face high flying Billingham was always going to be a tough one, and that is exactly how it turned out.

The hosts led 3-0 after the first period and 8-0 after the second.  Four more goals in the final 20 minutes handed them a comprehensive 12-0 victory and saw the Ducks making the long journey home on the back of their second shut-out of the season.

The Deeside Ducks play their last game of the calendar year this Saturday 21^st December when they entertain the Altrincham Aces at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

Widnes Wild Weekend Report - 14th & 15th December 2024

Matty Barlow scored two goals in the Wild’s win away in Sheffield (Photo by RDG Digital)

Saturday 14th December 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Sheffield Scimitars 1 - Widnes Wild 4

Sunday 15th December 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Blackburn Hawks 7 - Widnes Wild 1

The Widnes Wild NIHL team had a mixed weekend, winning 1-4 away at fellow strugglers Sheffield Scimitars on Saturday and then losing 7-1 to Blackburn Hawks on Sunday.

The 9th v 10th game in the Steel City was a “must win” for the Wild if they are to have any chance of lifting themselves away from the bottom of the league table this season and, for once, things went pretty much their way.

Matty Barlow gave the Wild the lead, before a Sheffield equaliser saw the score delicately poised at 1-1 at the first period break. The second period saw goals from Andrew Hopkins and Ross Chalmers fire the Wild to a 1-3 lead by the second break and the win was assured by Barlow’s second goal of the game in the third.

Harry Campbell was the Wild’s MVP away in Blackburn
(Photo by Nicole Lomax / Hawks Media)

The game away in East Lancashire on Sunday was always going to be the tougher of the two weekend matches for the Wild, and that was exactly how it turned out. 

The hosts took a 3-0 lead into the first interval but the Wild had the better of the second period keeping the Blackburn attack at bay, with Mikey Gilbert firing in a late goal to narrow the deficit.

The Hawks upped their game again in the third period and four unanswered goals saw them cruise to a convincing victory.

After three away games in a row, the Wild are finally back at home this weekend when they play Deeside Dragons on Saturday 21st December (7pm face off) and Sheffield Scimitars the following day (5.30pm) in a mouth-watering double header at Planet Ice Widnes.

*****

The Wild NIHL team will be holding their annual “Air The Bear”  Christmas Teddy Toss during Saturday’s home game against Deeside Dragons.

Fans are asked to bring a mix of new teddies and dog toys (wrapped in plastic bags to protect them) which will then be thrown onto the ice after the Wild’s first goal is scored. 

The donations will be gathered up and distributed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and local animal shelters.

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

Cath Thornton made her debut
for the Wild Women
(photo by Scott Dutton)

Sunday 15th December 2024 – WNIHL North Cup: Widnes Wild Women 2 – Sheffield Shadows 10 

The Widnes Wild women’s team had a difficult start to their WNIHL North Cup campaign with a rather unexpected 2-10 defeat at home to Sheffield Shadows at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

When the two teams met in the league earlier in the season away at iceSheffield, the game had finished in a very close 1-2 win for the Wild, so this result was rather unexpected. 

This is the first year that the WNIHL has run a separate cup alongside the league competition and it has been introduced for this season to make up the number of games after the Grimsby team withdrew from this season’s WNIHL Division 2 North. Alongside their league meetings, Widnes are playing Sheffield and Telford once home and once away in a three team “round robin” cup group that will decide an overall winner. A separate cup competition also sees Leeds, Kingston and Caledonia meeting in a similar format.

Sheffield came out of the blocks the quickest and took the lead after just 3 minutes. They doubled their advantage three minutes later and Widnes had to wait until the 14th minute to open their own account with a goal from Katie Fairclough. The score stood at a fairly manageable 1-2 to Sheffield at the first period break with both sides very much in contention.

Two more goals early in the second period saw the Shadows edge further ahead but Fairclough found the back of the net once again to bring the score to 2-4 at the second interval.

Widnes still looked in with a shout at this point but the floodgates opened up in the third period as Sheffield outshot the Wild Women by a massive 24 to 5 and their effort were duly rewarded. 6 unanswered goals swept past overworked netminder Stephanie Drinkwater in the final 20 minutes of play, helping Sheffield to a higher margin of victory than the Wild performance possibly deserved.

The Wild Women have a few weeks’ break now to lick their wounds and regroup before the season restarts in January.  They travel to Telford to face the Wrekin Raiders on Sunday12th January and are next at home on Sunday 26th January when they take on the same opposition at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

****

Sunday’s game saw a Widnes debut for recent signing Cath Thornton. Cath may be a new face to Widnes fans but she played league ice hockey for the Deeside-based Flintshire Furies – alongside fellow Wild women Catherine Fell and Vanessa Crickmore-Clarke - for four seasons from 2005 to 2010, scoring 7 goals and 4 assists in 48 competitive matches.  She has most recently been playing for the Connah’s Quay Cobras recreational team at Deeside. 

Thornton was named MVP for the Wild Women in her first game at Widnes.

Match Report: Altrincham Aces 16 – Deeside Ducks 4 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Harry Shearman in action for the Ducks away at Altrincham (Photo by Gary Shearman)

Sunday 8^th December – NIHL Laidler Division: Altrincham Aces 16 – Deeside Ducks 4

 The Deeside Ducks made the relatively short trip up the M56 to face the Altrincham Aces for a combined Laidler Division league and cup game on Sunday but came home on the back of a heavy 16-4 defeat.

The Aces took a modest 3-0 lead into the first break and ran riot in the latter stages with the Ducks never really looking in contention - and Deeside goals from Josh Jones, Kieran Clarkson, Daniels Fadejevs and Gary Dixon only served to give the score-line a bit of respectability.

The Ducks have a busy weekend coming up as they are at home to Bradford Bulldogs this Saturday 14^th December at Deeside Leisure Centre – 5pm face off - and then make the long journey up to the North East on Sunday to face Billingham Buccaneers for the first time.

****  

Ducks player Alfie Kelly has been handed a 2-game suspension by the governing body’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS) after being banished from last week's home game against Coventry for slashing.

The panel observed that the offence was an “aggressive slashing motion to the groin area of an opponent, recklessly endangering them.”

Fellow Duck Cody Ogden has just completed a 2-game suspension for an illegal check to the head in the away game at Coventry the week before.

Match Report: Solihull Barons 8 - Widnes Wild 2 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Will Daley was the Wild's MVP away at Solihull (photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)

Saturday 7th December 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Solihull Barons 8 - Widnes Wild 2 

The Widnes Wild NIHL team’s disappointing season continued with an 8-2 defeat to the Solihull Barons away in the West Midlands on Saturday.

The game started well for Widnes with Luke Alston firing them into the lead midway through the first period.  Solihull hit back, however, and two goals saw them leading 2-1 at the first period break.

A Mikey Gilbert goal put Widnes back on level terms early in the second period but, once again, they were unable to build on this and three goals for the hosts saw the Barons leading 5-2 at the second interval.

Three more unanswered goals for Solihull in the third period piled on the misery for the travelling Widnes fans and made the final 8-2 scoreline look more one-sided than the Wild performance probably deserved.

The Wild have two more away games this coming weekend - to fellow strugglers Sheffield Scimitars on Saturday 14th December and north west rivals Blackburn Hawks on Sunday 15th.

They are next at home on the last weekend before Christmas when they play Deeside Dragons on Saturday 21st December and Sheffield Scimitars the following day in a mouth-watering double header at Planet Ice Widnes.

Match Report: Caledonia Queen Bees 4 - Widnes Wild Women 12 (WNIHL Div2N)

Lise Gillen scored a hat-trick away to Caledonia on Saturday (Photo by Wil Evans)

Saturday 7th December 2024 – WNIHL Div2N: Caledonia Queen Bees 4 - Widnes Wild Women 12 

The Widnes Wild women’s team battled through hurricane conditions to head north to Scotland but it was all worthwhile as they came home with a 4-12 victory over the Caledonia Queen Bees on Saturday.

The Queen Bees are a new team in the league this season and are a second team to the Caledonia Steel Queens, who won the league title last season and are now playing in the higher WNIHL Division 1.

The match was played at the Border Ice Rink in Kelso which the Caledonia club use quite often and, as it is a good 50 miles further south than their regular home rink of Murrayfield in Edinburgh, is a bit easier to get to.

This was the Wild women’s first visit to that compact and bijou venue and it took them a while to get used to the unusual surroundings.

It was quite a close game in its early stages and the Queen Bees took the lead after just 2 minutes of play. Jemma Brown equalised for the Wild skating the whole length of the ice to do so - on 12 minutes and then Lise Gillen fired Widnes in front three minutes later.

Caledonia equalised with 2 minutes left on the clock and the score stood at 2-2 at the first period break.

Two quick goals within 45 seconds of each other at the start of the second period - from Gillen and Amanda Armstrong – put Widnes back in front and they never really looked back from there.

The Wild Women fired in two more goals – from Abigail Aldred (her first ever competitive goal), and team captain Charlotte Cramp – before Caledonia eventually pulled a goal back on 38 minutes.

Charlotte McAdam had left the game early in the first period after a hefty collision with the boards but bravely returned to the ice and was rewarded with her first Wild women’s goal with 54 seconds left in the second. The score stood at 3-7 at the second interval and the Wild Women looked well in control.

Caledonia scored their 4th goal 50 seconds into the third period but any hopes of their mounting a late comeback were well and truly scotched with 5 unanswered goals - from Victoria Connelly, Gillen again for a hat-trick and three more from Cramp – handing the Wild Women an emphatic 4-12 victory.

The Wild Women are next in action this Sunday 15th December when they take on Sheffield Shadows at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

In a break from the league programme, this match is part of new cup competition that was introduced for this season to make up the number of games after the Grimsby team withdrew from competing.

Alongside their league meetings, Widnes will play Sheffield and Telford once home and once away in a three team “round robin” cup group that will decided an overall winner.

*****

Charlotte McAdam scored her first ever competitive goal away to Caledonia on Saturday (Photo by Mark Bird Sports Photography)  

The Wild Women had THREE players called Charlotte in their team on Saturday – Charlotte Cramp, Charlotte McAdam and netminder Charlotte Jackson. 

Please note that the goalscorer details for this report have been taken from Wild Women’s team coach Paddy Horner’s notes and NOT from the official gamesheet so there may be some discrepancies.

Match Report: Widnes Wild 1 – Whitley Warriors 4 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Joe Howie scored his first goal for Widnes in the game against Whitley (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)

Sunday 1st December 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 1 – Whitley Warriors 4

The Widnes Wild NIHL team put in a spirited performance against high flying Whitley Warriors before ultimately losing out 1-4 at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

Having beaten local rivals Deeside Dragons away in North Wales last weekend, the Wild were hoping to build up some sort of run after a disappointing start to the season and this game was pretty close all the way through until Whitley pulled away in the latter stages.  

The face off was delayed by 15 minutes because the Whitley team had traffic problems on their way down from the North East and the game didn’t start until 5.45pm. 

It remained goal-less until Whitley opened the scoring on 15 minutes and a second goal on 18 minutes saw them leading 0-2 at the first period break.  

Widnes had their chances in the second period as the Warriors picked up a number of penalties – but they were unable to make the most of their powerplay opportunities and the score remained 0-2 at the second interval.

The Wild pressure did eventually pay off, however, and they finally managed to halve the deficit with their first goal of the game early in the third period, with summer signing Joe Howie scoring his first goal for the club. 

Unfortunately, they got into penalty trouble as they pushed forward trying to force an equaliser and conceded a 5 on 3 powerplay goal with 9 minutes left to play. Another powerplay goal 2 minutes later saw Widnes 1-4 down and that was the last scoring action of the game.

The result sees Widnes rooted to the bottom of the Moralee Division table with 5 points from their 16 games to date. They are 5 points behind fellow strugglers Leeds Knights and Sheffield Scimitars, who both have 10 points and have played more games. With Nottingham Lions a rather distant 11 points further ahead than that in 7th place, it looks as if the battle for the 8th place and the final play off spot will be between those three teams.  

Widnes have yet to play Nottingham this season - so have four matches against them to look forward to - and they also have two more games against both Sheffield and Leeds to come so there is still plenty to play for as the Moralee Division campaign reaches its half way point. 

The Wild have now three away games in a row – away to Solihull Barons this Saturday 7th December - 5.30pm face off - and then Sheffield on Saturday 14th December and Blackburn on Sunday 15th.

They are a next at home on the last weekend before Christmas when they play Deeside Dragons on Saturday 21st December and Sheffield Scimitars the following day in a mouth-watering double header at Planet Ice Widnes.

Match Report: Deeside Ducks 2 – Coventry NIHL Blaze 3 (NIHL Laidler Division)

Charlie Spridgeon was the Ducks' MVP against Coventry (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Saturday 30^th November – NIHL Laidler Division: Deeside Ducks 2 – Coventry NIHL Blaze 3

The Deeside Ducks put in a battling performance but narrowly lost out 2-3 to Coventry NIHL Blaze at Deeside Leisure Centre on Saturday.

When the two teams met a week earlier in Coventry, the Blaze had come out easy 17-2 winners, so this was certainly a great improvement, but will probably still be viewed as a disappointing result.

The first period was goal-less and it took until the 27^th minute for the deadlock to be broken when Chris Jones raced straight out of the penalty box to slot the puck home for a Ducks’ powerplay goal.

The lead lasted just 2½ minutes, however, as Coventry went on to equalise, but a Stewart Cutting goal on 36 minutes edged the Ducks back in front.

This game was littered with niggly penalties for both sides and the Blaze took advantage of a powerplay to equalise again with 90 seconds left in the second period.

The score was finely balanced at 2-2 with one period left to play but a major slashing penalty for the Ducks on 47 minutes left them shorthanded for an extended 5 minute spell and the Blaze managed to fire in what would turn out to be the winning goal.

The final minutes were played at a furious pace with the Ducks pushing forward trying to force a late equaliser and Jace Gledhill performing heroics in the Deeside net to keep Coventry at bay – but there was no further scoring and the game finished in a 2-3 win for the Blaze.

The Ducks are next in action this Sunday 8^th December away to Altrincham Aces and are next at home on Saturday 14^th December when they face Bradford Bulldogs at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

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The game against Coventry on Saturday saw home debuts for 17 year old netminder Jace Gledhill, former Blackpool and Deeside junior Harry Shearman and current Dragons U19 player Charlie Nicholson.

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Peter Sheffield
(Photo by BASN)

Before the game, there was a minute’s applause in memory of Peter Sheffield – long term Deeside photographer and media man - who tragically died last weekend after an accident two weeks earlier.

(You can read more about Peter Sheffield HERE)

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Ducks player Cody Ogden has been handed a 2-game suspension by the governing body’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS) after being banished from the away game at Coventry for an illegal check to the head.

The disciplinary panel observed: “The player recklessly endangered his opponent with the check, with primary contact to the neck/head area.”

International Call Ups For Match Officials

Charlotte Cramp at the 2024 World Championships In Bulgaria

Three match officials with Widnes connections have been selected by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to officiate across the world at international tournaments during the current 2024/25 season.

Charlotte Cramp is the current Widnes Wild women’s team captain and she also officiates at men’s NIHL Moralee and Laidler Division matches.

She has officiated at the women’s playoffs weekend for the last 3 seasons, and the most recent season, did the men’s Laidler Division play offs and was on the crew for the women’s Elite final

This is her second year officiating at international level as she was a linesman at the Women’s Under 18 World Championships Division II Group B in Sofia, Bulgaria, last year. In March, Charlotte will be officiating at the senior Women’s World Championships Division IIIA in Belgrade, Serbia.

Philippa Wheeler at the women's play offs in Widnes in 2022 

Philippa MacKinnon (previously Wheeler) played for the Widnes women’s  team in the 2018/19 Women’s Premier League season and also played league hockey for Peterborough and Nottingham. She officiates at NIHL Moralee Division level and has only recently returned to the ice after having a baby 4 months ago. 

She was a linesman at the Youth Olympics in Switzerland in 2020, the Women’s U18 World Championships in Istanbul Turkey in 2022 and again in Dumfries in 2023. In January she will be officiating at the Women’s Under 18 World Championship Division III in Zagreb, Croatia.

David Good as a Widnes player in 2016
(Photo by Geoff White)

David Good is an experienced Elite League referee who previously played as a netminder for his hometown Hull Jets in the NIHL.

He was drafted in by the Wild as an emergency loan player for two games at the 2016 Laidler Division Play Off weekend after regular Widnes netminder Greg Ruxton suffered an injury late in the season.

Widnes beat Nottingham Lions 2-1 in the semi-final and lost out to league champions Deeside Dragons 5-2 in the final. As a result of this, Good has an impressive all time Widnes netminding record of 90.40 Save Percentage from his two games.  

He was a referee at the World Youth Olympics in Lausanne in 2020 and the Under 20 World Championships in Iceland in 2023. 

The full list of GB match officials that have been select by the IIHF for this season is as follows:

• Danny Beresford
• Amy Campbell
• Charlotte Cramp
• Andrew Dalton
• Dave Good
• Ryan Fraley
• Clare Howie
• Ilya Kisil
• Philippa MacKinnon
• Felicity Munroe
• Hollie Neenan
• Amy Prior

Ice Hockey UK Referee-in-Chief, Colin Davidson, said: “I would like to send congratulations to all the officials on their selection. This is a fantastic achievement for us and is testament to the programme and how we are perceived on the IIHF front. This is, of course, is huge recognition to the officials selected, but also a boost to all officials in the UK as it show how highly regarded we are as a country by the IIHF. We are very proud to have this amount of representation at IIHF tournaments.”

Ice Hockey UK Chief Executive, Henry Staelens, said: “Congratulations to all of our officials who have been selected to officiate at international tournaments this season. It is testament to the talent we have in the programme and the work behind-the-scenes to improve the standards of refereeing in the UK. We know there is more work to do to bring refereeing development to the very highest level over the next few years, and we will continue to work closely with IHUK Referee Section and in collaboration with all UK-based leagues to achieve this.”

Tributes To Photographer Peter Sheffield

Peter Sheffield (left of centre in pic) taking photos at the Laidler Division play offs in April 2019 (Photo by Paul Breeze)

Ice rinks across the north-west have been holding tributes in memory of Peter Sheffield, who died in hospital last weekend as the result of injuries sustained in an accident two weeks earlier. 

Peter had been involved in ice hockey for many years and is best remembered for his photography and media work. After helping out behind the scenes at Blackburn Hawks, where his two sons played, he was the official media photographer at Deeside Dragons for a long time - and was always a great help to me personally providing photos for news stories and for my various publications..

He was one of the driving forces behind the British American Sports Network (BASN) who filmed NIHL matches and produced highlights packages for Liverpool Bay TV and BASN’s own YouTube channel.

While mainly being associated with Deeside, Peter was also very active with BASN at Widnes with occasional match highlights videos during the Laidler Division period and more regularly when the Wild’s NIHL matches were live-streamed between 2021 and 2023.

He also took photos at the 2019 play off tournament at Widnes when the Wild won their third Laidler Play Off title in row and was able to record their historic achievement. Sheffield’s most memorable Widnes-related photo is probably the shot of the team (below) celebrating the 2019 play off final with team staff and fans.

Match Report: Deeside Dragons 4 - Widnes Wild 5 (NIHL Moralee Division)

Bailey Thomson scored the winning goal away at
Deeside (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)

Sunday 24th November 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Deeside Dragons 4 - Widnes Wild 5

The Widnes Wild NIHL team picked up their first regulation time win of the season with a 4-5 derby day victory away over local rivals Deeside Dragons on Sunday.

Widnes travelled with a very strong squad - quite possibly the strongest line-up they have managed all season following various injuries and other player availability issues - and the difference that this made in their performance was noticeable.

The game was goal-less in the first period and Deeside eventually took the lead with a goal just 1 minute into the second period.

Widnes turned the game on its head with two goals within a minute of each other – from Ross Chalmers and Robbie Thomson - and led 1-2 at the halfway point in the game. Two more quick fire goals later in the second period – from team captain Andrew Hopkins and Mikey Gilbert further extended the lead but a late strike from Deeside’s gifted American Jake Witkowski saw the score standing at 2-4 at the second interval. 

Deeside pulled themselves back into contention with a third goal 42 seconds into the third period and the game remained tight until Bailey Thomson scored what would turn out to be the winning goal for Widnes on 55 minutes.

The Dragons removed their netminder for the last minute in the hope of salvaging the game and the addition of an extra attacker helped for a goal with just 30 seconds left. However, the Wild held out as the clock ticked down and managed to secure their first win of the season in regulation time – at the 15th attempt – and the all important 3 points.  

Despite the win, Widnes remain bottom of the Moralee Division table with 5 points, 5 behind Sheffield Scimitars and Leeds Knights who both have 10, although they have both played more games.

The Wild are next in action this Sunday 1st December when they take on Whitley Warriors at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.

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Widnes Wild NIHL player Damarni James has been handed a 2-game suspension by the governing body’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS) after having passed the threshold of 10 disciplinary points for the season.

The EIH has a system which involves the accumulation of penalty points for committing offences and receiving penalties prior to, during and after games, which are: 

• 5-minute penalty: 1 point
• 10-minute misconduct penalty: 2 points 
• Game misconduct penalty: 4 points 
• 5+ game misconduct penalty: 5 points 

James passed the 10 point mark for the season with his 5 minute penalty for fighting in the recent home game against Sheffield Scimitars.  

Match Report: Widnes Wild Women 6 – Whitley Bay Beacons 5 (WNIHL Division 2 North)

Jemma Brown was the Wild Women’s MVP against Whitley (Photo by Mark Bird Sports Photography)

Sunday 24th November 2024 – WNIHL Division 2 North: Widnes Wild Women 6 – Whitley Bay Beacons 5

The Widnes Wild Women’s team won their first home game of the season by the narrowest of margins with a 6-5 victory over Whitley Bay Beacons at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.

This was a highly entertaining match to watch with plenty of end to end action throughout and numerous chances for both sides.  

Whitley had the better of the first period, outshooting the Wild women by some 2 to 1. They took the lead in the 10th minute and were 0-2 up by the first period break.

Widnes visibly upped their game in the second period and pulled a goal back through Jemma Brown on 27 minutes, however, that was the only goal action of the second period and the score stood 1-2 to the Beacons with 20 minutes left to play.

The third period saw a veritable scoring-fest, with 8 goals being fired in, and the result remaining open to question until the very last seconds.

Whitley scored again just 34 seconds in to lead 1-3 but 2 goals within a minute of each other - from team captain Charlotte Cramp and Phoebe Patient – saw the Wild Women draw level.

Just when it looked as if Widnes would go on to take control of the match, Katie Fairclough picked up a game misconduct penalty for slashing and the Wild women had to play 5 minutes shorthanded.  Despite coming under intense pressure, they managed to weather this storm with staunch team defending and netminder Stephanie Drinkwater performing heroics in the Widnes goal.   

A strike from Leen de Decker on 52 minutes put Widnes ahead for the first time in the game and a second goal from Cramp just 27 seconds after that extended the home advantage. Two goals from Whitley levelled the score again but Leen de Decker fired home the winning goal with just over 2 minutes left on the clock.

The Wild Women are next in action on Saturday 7th December when they make the long journey north of the border to play the Caledonia Steel Queens in Edinburgh, 4pm face off, and are next at home on Sunday 15th December when they take on Sheffield Shadows at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm start.

Deeside Ducks Latest News

Luke Wainwright (Photo by Mark Ray)

Saturday 23^rd November 2024 – NIHL Laidler Division: Coventry NIHL Blaze 17 – Deeside Ducks 2

The Deeside Ducks suffered a heavy 17-2 defeat on the road away to the Coventry NIHL Blaze on Saturday.

Coventry led 5-0 after the first period and 12-0 at the second break. Third period goals from Charlie Spridgeon and Luke Wainwright – his second in two games - finally gave the travelling fans something to cheer about but 5 more for the Blaze handed them a convincing victory. 

The Ducks are in action again this Saturday when they face the Blaze at home at Deeside Leisure Centre, 5pm face off.

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Ducks player Ben Roscoe has been handed a 2-game suspension by the governing body’s Department of Player Safety (DOPS) after being banished from last Sunday’s home game against Telford for an illegal check to the head.

The disciplinary panel observed: “The player recklessly endangered his opponent. This was an unnecessary check on a player who was in a vulnerable position and unaware of the impending hit.”

Another Ducks player, Thomas Milnes, previously received a 1-game ban for kicking out at an opponent who had legally checked him in the away game at Telford two weeks earlier.

Widnes Wild Women's First Home Game Of The Season

Wild Women in action away at Whitley (Photo by Mark Bird Sports Photography)

The Widnes Wild women’s team play their first home game of the 2024/25 WNIHL Division 2 season this Sunday 24th November when they take on Whitley Bay Beacons at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.

The Wild Women have played three away games so far this season, winning 1-2 away at Sheffield Shadows, drawing 4-4 with Kingston Diamonds in Hull and then losing 6-4 away to Whitley in their last game.

Their leading scorer this season so far is Leen de Decker with 4 goals and 2 assists from the three games.