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| Jonathan Williamson was the Wild NIHL team’s MVP against Leeds (Photo by Keith and Jenny Davies) |
Sunday 29th September 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division : Widnes Wild 2 – Leeds Knights 7
The Widnes Wild NIHL team lost their 4th league game in a row with a 2-7 defeat at the hands of Leeds Knights at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.
The Leeds Knights NIHL 1 team are new to the Moralee Division this year and they have assembled an impressive roster that includes three overseas born players – among them a US AAA trained junior - as well as Matty Barlow and Alex Mitchell, who both played for Widnes for the past two seasons.
This cross-Pennine derby game was niggly from the off and was littered with minor penalties throughout. The only goal of the first period came on 13 minutes and it fell to the visitors who took the 0-1 lead into the first interval.
Bailey Thomson equalised for the Wild on 28 minutes but Barlow fired the Knights back in front just 30 seconds later. 2 more goals put Leeds further ahead and they led 1-4 at the second period break.
The Knights went 1-5 up just 36 seconds into the third period but Jono Williamson pulled a goal back for Widnes 3 minutes later. However, this wasn’t enough to spark a late revival and two more goals for Leeds late on made the score look a little more one-sided than the game actually was.
It was Leeds’ first win of the season after 4 straight defeats and the result leaves Widnes and Sheffield both adrift at the bottom of the Moralee Division table, still looking for their first points.
The Wild have back to back away games at the weekend when they play away to Leeds on Saturday 5th October and then make the long trip to the North East to take on Whitley Warriors on Sunday.
They are next at home on Sunday 13th October when they take on Solihull Barons at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.
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The Wild Junior Academy hosted games for their Under14 and Under 16 teams against their Nottingham counterparts at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday. The Under 14s lost 1-13 to Nottingham while the Under 16s lost 2-4.
The Academy Under 18 team lost 4-3 away to Telford while the Under 10s took part in a 4 team tournament at Blackburn where they played against Manchester Storm and Deeside U10s as well as the host team. Under 10s games are played for fun and no scores are recorded.
The Wild Academy are always keen to recruit new players across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and hold training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Planet Ice Widnes.
Separate “Learn To Play” sessions are also available for anybody new who would like to take up the sport. For more information, contact Academy Head Coach mike.gilbert@wildacademy.co.uk
