NIHL WEEK 3 PREVIEW
Saturday 28th September:
The first game of the weekend sees the Leeds Knights travel down south to face the Swindon Wildcats. The Wildcats will be without star import Tomasz Malasinski as he received a three game ban. However Leeds will also be without Oli Endicott as he received a one game ban in Telford. Every game has been very tight between these two teams, so expect a hard battle at the Link Centre.
The Berkshire Bees welcome the Mk Lightning to Slough. These two teams faced off in pre-season with the Lightning taking the wins, however they were close games. The Bees picked up their first point last weekend against the Phantoms while the Lightning are looking for their first away win of the season.
The Solway Sharks welcome the Telford Tigers to the Dumfries Arena. This will be the second meeting between the two teams this season with the Sharks taking a big 5-4 win in Telford on the first weekend of the season. Nolan Gardiner will look to carry on his goal scoring form after scoring two goals in every game so far this season. Whereas the Tigers are still looking for their first points.
The Sheffield Steeldogs host the Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday. This will also be their second meeting this season as the Steeldogs got a huge 5-3 win away in Peterborough on the first week of the season. The Steeldogs will look to bounce back after last weeks surprise 5-3 loss at home to the Pitbulls.
The final game on Saturday sees the Bristol Pitbulls take on the Romford Raiders. The Pitbulls will look to take momentum into this game after defeating the Steeldogs away last weekend. They are yet to win at home but some positive news is that Import net-minder Tommy Nappier should be back from injury. The Raiders will be looking for their first away win of the season.
Sunday 29th September:
Sunday starts with a cracker as the high flying Hull Seahawks travel down to Romford to face the Raiders. Both teams opting with three import forwards who have all been on fire to start the season. Romford will be looking to carry on their 100% record at home while the Seahawks will look to remain unbeaten in the league.
The Bristol Pitbulls will make the trip up north to face the Leeds Knights. A very big test for the Pitbulls as they suffered a 7-0 defeat last weekend at home against the Knights. As for the Knights they will look to carry on their 100% record. Oli Endicott will be available for this clash.
The MK Lightning will also be looking to keep their 100% record at home as they welcome the Solway Sharks. This will be the first time these team battle against each other this season with both teams making improvements on their Defensive core over the summer.
The Peterborough Phantoms welcome the Swindon Wildcats to town as they also battle against eachother for the first time this season. Malasinski will also miss this game due to a ban. It is also a cup game so big for both teams to try and get those two points.
And finally we have the Telford Tigers who welcome the Berkshire Bees . Both teams have had a rough start to the season so a vital two points up for grabs in this fixture. The Tigers have not been short of scoring goals at home, scoring four goals in both games. But can they improve on their goals conceded.
Photo Credit - Edward Bowen
