Widnes Wild hit the road for the 2nd time is as many days to take on the Solihull Barons at Hobbs Moat Road on Sunday evening, but suffered another gutting 4-3 loss despite a strong 3rd period performance.

Widnes Wild travelled with a squad of 16+2, as #59 Jordan Jolly was missing from the previous evening’s lineup – remaining in hospital following a nasty hit – whilst #19 Jared Knowles stepped into the squad. The visitors gave #35 Luca Tessadri the start once again, backed up by #70 Owen Severn, matched up against #35 Graham Laverick for Solihull.

Widnes came out the firing blocks from the first face-off and dominated possession, testing Laverick early, but he made the stops to deny an early advantage. The hosts then fired a flurry of shots on Tessadri although he made the catcher save on each occasion.

Both sides ensured end-to-end play in the latter half of the opening period as a strong attack from Grimshaw and Gilbert for Widnes was then countered by a snipe from Nixon on the blue line for Barons.

As both sides battled to claim the opening goal, tensions spilled at 17 minutes seeing the first penalties of the evening be handed out by Perring. Widnes handed the hosts a powerplay opportunity as #14 Tristan Grimshaw sat 3 infractions, whilst #18 Jacob Race and #25 Lucas Price each received a 2min minor. Wild’s #43 Will Daley fired a late one on Laverick but he made the stop to maintain a goal-less scoreline after the first 20 minutes of play.

Solihull won the opening draw of the middle frame and immediately began to pressurise the Widnes defensicve unit. An early penalty for Widnes’ #4 Nathan Bennett for high sticks allowed Barons’ Captain #91 Niklas Ottosson to break the deadlock at 22:10 with a low strike from the blue line.

Moments later, Widnes landed themselves in further trouble as #8 Flynn Massie was called for slashing. Although Wild prevented another PP goal, the visitors conceded at 25:23 as #92 Louis Allen picked up the loose change after a scramble in the crease. However, Widnes were handed an opportunity to answer back as the goal-scorer sat for slashing. Despite being a player short, Solihull converted a breakaway through #25 Lucas Price at 28:01 to extend their lead on home ice.

Widnes were determined to reduce the deficit, but numerous chances were turned away by #35 Graham Laverick between the pipes for Barons. The hosts looked to carry their 3 goal advantage into the final frame, but a shot from #14 Tristan Grimshaw was cleaned up by #44 Dani Haid from a tight angle, opening the score for Wild against his former team. However the hosts worked a play late in the period, resulting in #25 Lucas Price slotting the puck past #35 Luca Tessadri after the feed from #17 Edgars Landsbergs at 38:47 to take a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.

Widnes were eager to narrow the scoreline early in the 3rd period and strong offensive pressure allowed Skipper, #17 Andrew Hopkins to tip the puck past Laverick on the backdoor after the pin-point pass from #16 Mikey Gilbert inside the first 5 minutes. The visitors carried their momentum forward and looked to grab another in quick succession, yet Laverick matched their efforts.

Both sides upped the intensity as the next goal proved crucial for either team, but the netminders stood tall for their respective squads. A holding penalty on #91 Niklass Ottosson at 53:48 handed Widnes a chance to capitalise, although Wild let their discipline slip seconds later. Tensions spilled after a hit in the neutral zone, seeing #16 Gilbert and #8 Massie head to the box at 54:58 to force play 4on4 before a brief Barons powerplay.

The hosts jeopardised their lead late in the period after both #91 Niklas Ottosson and #5 Tyler Nixon sat for holding and cross-checking respectively, leaving Widnes with a 5on3 powerplay for the remainder of the period. Wild capitalised in the final minute through #7 Alex Parry, claiming his first Widnes goal, assisted by #17 Andrew Hopkins and #14 Tristan Grimshaw. The visitors fired a flurry of shots on Laverick in the dying moments, but failed to force the game into overtime as Solihull clenched the 3 points on offer with a 4-3 victory.

MVPs were awarded to netminder #35 Luca Tessadri for Widnes after a strong performance between the pipes. Meanwhile, #25 Lucas Price claimed the title for Solihull following his 2 contributions.

Widnes are set to face Nottingham Lions on Saturday afternoon in the MotorPoint Arena, before finally returning home to the Jungle, taking on local rivals, Blackburn Hawks the following evening (Sunday 21st September) with a 5:30pm face-off time. Tickets can be purchased through the Widnes Wild website or Planet Ice Widnes box office.

Article written by Fleur Tobin

Images by Keith & Jenny Davies.