Andrew Hopkins scored the Wild’s third goal against Solihull (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)
Sunday 13th October 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division: Widnes Wild 3 – Solihull Barons 8
The Widnes Wild NIHL team put in a spirited performance against the Solihull Barons but it wasn’t enough to prevent them slumping to a 3-8 defeat at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.
The Wild started the game well and actually took the lead with a goal from Jonathan Williamson after 5 minutes but were pegged back and trailed 1-2 at the first period break.
A third goal for Solihull just 31 seconds into the second period saw the visitors edge further ahead but Widnes struck back and a goal from Damarni James narrowed the deficit back to just one. A successfully converted penalty shot on 33 minutes saw the Barons re-establish their two-goal lead and the score stood at 2-4 at the second interval.
Two more goals for Solihull early in the third period effectively put paid to any hopes of a late Widnes fightback and a seventh goal on 50 minutes simply confirmed their superiority.
Team Captain Andrew Hopkins fired in a third goal for Widnes just 25 seconds after that - but that was the last thing that the home fans got to cheer about and the Barons piled on the misery with an eighth goal of their own with just over a minute left to play.
The result extends the Wild’s losing streak to 7 defeats in a row for this Moralee Division season and you have to go right back to February for their last competitive win – when they beat Sheffield Scimitars in over time.
A surprise win at the weekend for the struggling Scimitars away at early season league leaders Hull Jets saw them leapfrog the Wild off the bottom of the league table, leaving Widnes as the only team without a point so far this season.
Widnes will be hoping to bounce straight back from this latest setback when they take on fierce rivals Blackburn Hawks in their next game – a tantalising north west derby - this Sunday 20th October at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.
*****
There were two matches for the Wild Academy Junior teams at the weekend. The Academy Under 19 team beat Nottingham U19s 4-1 at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday while the Under 16 team won 0-4 away to Solihull on Sunday.
The Academy Under 10 team took part in a 4 team cross-ice tournament at Blackburn on Saturday taking on Deeside, Manchester and the host club. These games are played with the emphasis on developing skills, rather than necessarily winning, and no scores or player stats 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