Widnes Wild travelled South to face Telford Tigers on Saturday evening, taking a heart-breaking 7-4 loss as the hosts secured the 3 points with 3 strikes in the final 3 minutes of play.
Wild iced with a squad of 16+2 as #85 Oli Howells and #20 Bez Hughes returned into the lineup, whilst #62 Damarni James was missing from the previous weekend. The visitors opted to start with #35 Luca Tessadri between the pipes, matched up against #31 Matty Byrne for Telford.
Both sides brought the intensity from the initial puck drop, firing shots on both netminders, but they made the stops to prevent an early lead for either side. Widnes generated good momentum in the opening moments yet failed to work a play past #31 Matty Byrne. Play was then blown dead at 9:14 as Wild forward, #59 Jordan Jolly took a hit against the boards in the neutral zone as Widnes looked to attack. Once play resumed after Jolly was stretchered off the ice, the visitors were handed the first powerplay of the evening as #88 Dan Mitchell sat for boarding at 10:54 on Wild’s #43 Will Daley.
Moments later, Widnes punished the Tigers as #8 Flynn Massie ripped one from the blue line at 11:22, assisted by #77 Ben McLellan to give Wild the lead. However, the hosts quickly answered back as #88 Dan Mitchell converted a breakaway chance at 13:15 to equalise.
Widnes were eager to restore their initial lead and created offensive pressure that proved too much for the hosts to handle, allowing #14 Tristan Grimshaw to fire backhand from the crease, timed at 15:43. Telford landed themselves in trouble as Captain, #53 Oli Hunt sat for interference, but this was soon cancelled out after #77 Ben McLellan was called for butt ending at 17:22. A final penalty of the period was handed to Tigers for a bench minor of too many men, forcing play to remain 4on4 heading into the middle frame with a 1-2 lead to Widnes.
Telford looked to take advantage of their brief powerplay, but #35 Luca Tessadri matched their efforts to retain Widnes’ lead. The Tigers let their discipline slip yet again at 25:20, seeing #22 Jason Silverthorn sit for cross-checking which allowed #18 Johnathan Williamson to fire wide of Byrne on the blue line, doubling the visitors’ lead seconds later.
The hosts failed to stay out of the penalty box, resulting in Widnes gaining a sustained 5on3 powerplay opportunity however a standout performance from #31 Matty Byrne denied the visitors a further extension to the score. Telford quickly recovered and an initial strike from #88 Mitchell was cleaned up by #94 Vladimir Luka at 35:47, halving the deficit for the hosts.
Widnes put themselves at risk of conceding as #8 Flynn Massie sat for interference inside the final 5 minutes of the second period. Despite a strong start, Wild failed to kill the penalty as #94 Vladimir Luka claimed his second of the evening with a rocket at 37:58 to post an even scoreline heading into the final frame.
Both sides came out firing after the ice cut and created chances at both ends, yet the netminders stood tall between the pipes. Widnes handed the hosts a huge chance to contribute to the score when both #16 Mikey Gilbert and #29 Josh Guy were sent to the box seconds apart. Several stops from #35 Luca Tessadri and blocks from the PK unit ensured Widnes returned to full strength without conceding.
A strong effort from Widnes D-man, #4 Nathan Bennett hit the crossbar but seconds later was converted by #14 Tristan Grimshaw to give Wild the go-ahead goal at 48:40, approaching the final 10 minutes. However, Telford caught the visitors on a change and capitalised with a back-door tap-in by #71 Taylor Stanton to level once again.
The hosts gained momentum from the equaliser and tested Tessadri through a breakaway by #94 Vladimir Luka, but he stood tall for the visitors. Widnes fired a flurry of shots on Byrne in attempts to re-claim their initial lead but failed to convert.
A face-off win in the Wild zone for Telford allowed #10 Dan Harrison to fire a low shot under Tessadri from the blue line, swaying the game in Tigers’ favour at 57:07. Just seconds later, Tigers doubled their advantage with a low strike from #16 Finley Howells after the feed from #94 Vladimir Luka.
Confusion on a late change caused Widnes to be called for too many men at 58:24 which allowed Telford to punish the visitors further, again through #16 Finley Howells in the closing minute. Tensions spilled following the Tigers’ 7th goal, seeing both #16 Mikey Gilbert and #61 Brodie Jesson see out the game in the penalty box. Widnes looked to narrow the deficit through #7 Alex Parry, but Byrne made the final stop to secure a 7-4 victory for his side.
MVPs were awarded to #7 Alex Parry for Widnes after a strong offensive performance, whilst #10 Dan Harrison claimed the title for Telford.
Article written by Fleur Tobin
Images by Thomas Brown