Match Report: Nottingham Vipers 15 – Widnes Wild Women 1 (WNIHL Div1 North)

Leen de Decker scored the Wild Women's first goal of the season (Photo by All Sports Photography)

Saturday 10th October 2026 – WNIHL Div1 North: Nottingham Vipers 15 – Widnes Wild Women 1

The Widnes Wild Women’s difficult start to the season continued with a 15-1 defeat away to Nottingham Vipers on Saturday.

The Wild Women actually lost 0-22 to the Vipers in their first game of the season three weeks ago in Widnes – their heaviest ever home defeat – and, while any loss is disappointing, Saturday’s result could certainly be viewed as an improvement.

Nottingham took the lead just 20 seconds into the game and never really looked back from there.

The score stood at 5-0 to the home side at the end of the first period and it was 9-0 by the time Leen de Decker opened the Widnes account on 35 minutes.

Not only was that the first Wild Women’s goal of this game, it was their first goal of the season, following two shut-outs in their opening two matches.

In fact you have to go back to 2.52 in their last game of last season – ironically also against Nottingham – to find the Wild Women’s last goal, also scored by Leen de Decker.

Keen ice hockey statisticians and historians will be interested to learn that this represents a goal-scoring drought of 211 minutes 52 seconds, breaking the previous unwanted record of 208 minutes and 48 seconds back in the 2021/22 season.

Nottingham added one more goal in the second period to lead 10-1 at the break and then fired in 5 more unanswered goals in the third to round off a comprehensive victory.

In the Widnes goal, plucky netminder Isabel Bateson faced an incredible 108 shots, turning away an impressive 93 of them.   The Vipers netminder only had to deal with 9 shots at the other end, letting one of them in and, rather curiously – considering the overall scoreline - the two goalies ended up with a broadly similar save percentage (88.89 to 86.11) for the game.

The Wild Women get straight back into the saddle again this Sunday 18^th October when they are at home to Solway Sharks Ladies at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.20pm face off.