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| Remembrance wreaths were placed on the ice at Widnes before the game against Whitley (Photo by David Tattum) |
Sunday 10th November 2024 – NIHL Moralee Division : Widnes Wild 4 – Whitley Warriors 7
The Widnes Wild NIHL team put in a battling performance in the Remembrance Day game before losing out 4-7 to Whitley Warriors in the NIHL Moralee Division at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.
The game was very close in its early stages and the Wild took the lead through team captain Andrew Hopkins and held the 1-0 advantage at the first interval.
Widnes had the chance to go 2-0 up on 26 minutes when Matty Barlow was brought down on a breakaway and was awarded a Penalty Shot - but the Warriors netminder saved and the score remained 1-0. Boosted by the this, the Warriors scored their first goal just 20 seconds later and then went 1-2 up on 32 minutes.
Two quick-fire goals within 40 seconds of each other – from Mikey Gilbert and Hopkins again – saw the Wild draw level and re-take the lead but two counter-strikes late in the period saw Whitley leading 3-4 at the second break.
A shorthanded goal from Damarni James just 58 seconds into the third period drew Widnes level once again but Whitley upped their game and two goals from Shaun Kippin put daylight between the two teams for the first time with 8 minutes left to play.
With time agonisingly ticking by, the Wild withdrew netminder Harry Campbell in favour of an extra attacker for the closing minutes to try and narrow the two goal deficit in the for the closing minutes. Defenceman Will Daley kept them in the game with a dramatic goal line clearance but an Empty Net Goal from Whitley’s Kippin to secure his hat-trick rounded off the scoring with just 38 seconds left on the clock.
The Wild are away to league leaders Billingham Stars this Saturday 16th November in a re-arranged fixture and are next at home on Sunday 17th November when they take on Sheffield Scimitars at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.
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| Tomas Vyrostek (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies) |
The Widnes Wild NIHL team have signed Tomas Vyrostek on a permanent basis for the rest of the season.
Tomas originally joined the Wild on a temporary basis having progressed through the Solway Sharks academy, racking up an impressive 73 points from 27 games at Under 16 level and 35 points across his 2 seasons at Under level so far. He has also represented Scotland at Under 16 and Under 17 level, posting 5 points from 10 games.
Vyrostek made his debut last season in the Scottish National League (SNL) with the North Ayrshire Wild and also made multiple appearances for the Solway Sharks NIHL team during pre-season.
However, this season is his first experience of playing Moralee Division hockey, where he has already made a huge impact with Widnes, scoring 3 goals in 9 appearances - including the all-important game winning overtime goal away at Sheffield to help secure the Wild’s first league victory of the season.
