Recapping Week 19 of the NIHL
Friday 17th January:
The Leeds Knights defeated their Yorkshire rivals the Sheffield Steeldogs 6-1 with four goals coming in the third period. The Dogs took the lead through their third line the hit the Knights slowly battled back into the game and eventually became comfortable winners.
Saturday 18th January:
The Hull Seahawks looked to try build on their comeback win against the Wildcats but fell short to a 4-3 loss at home against the Peterborough Phantoms. The Phantoms took a 4-2 lead and despite captain Bobby Chamberlain scoring twice, it wasn’t enough for the home side. Meaning a big two points for Slava’s Peterborough.
The Swindon Wildcats put on a show at the Link Centre, beating the Leeds Knights 5-1, limiting the Knights to just 16 shots in the game. Jake Bricknell carried on his streak with another two goals while Balint Pakozdi got four assists on the night.
The Berkshire Bees fell to a 4-1 defeat at home to the Telford Tigers. All three imports getting the job done for the Tigers with Henderson, Thomson and Skoleski getting the goals for Tom Watkins side.
The Steeldogs bounced back from Friday with a huge 4-2 victory at home against the MK Lightning. A hat-trick from Ivan Bjorkly Nordström secured the points for Ben Morgan’s side and leaving the Lightning with zero points on the weekend.
The Solway Sharks had their biggest wins of the season with a 8-1 victory against the Bristol Pitbulls. John Dunbar and Nolan Gardiner both getting five points each on the night. A night to forget for Bari McKenzie’s side.
Sunday 19th January:
The Pitbulls bounced back hard on Sunday taking the Sheffield Steeldogs to overtime on their third game of the weekend. Mitchell Walinski scoring his first goal for the Pitbulls. However, Walker Sommer scored twice and the winning penalty shot to secure the extra point for the Steeldogs.
The Leeds Knights rounded off their three game weekend with a 4-1 win over the Berkshire Bees. Two power-play goals and Four different goal-scorers for the Knights ending the weekend back at the top of the NIHL table.
The Hull Seahawks bounced back on the Sunday night with a big 6-2 away win against the Romford Raiders in their only game of the weekend. A hat-trick from captain Bobby Chamberlain led the Seahawks to a victory in a place where they have struggled in previous games.
The Phantoms completed a four-point weekend with a 4-1 victory against the Solway Sharks. Can Hough with a hat-trick to help the home side to their third win in a row against the Sharks after getting a four-point weekend in Dumfries the week before.
And finally the Swindon Wildcats also secured a four-point weekend with a impressive 7-2 victory in Telford against the Tigers. Tomasz Malasinski with two goals and another three point game for Bricknell sees the Cats go joint points with MK in second place.
Photo Credit - Lewis Moran Photography
