The YKK Widnes Wild travelled South on Easter Sunday to face the Solihull Barons in the 2nd leg of the playoff quarter finals and what was to be the final match of the 23/24 season with the current team. The Wild trailed by 2-5 heading into the game, but quickly turned it around to level the score to 6-6 on aggregate. However, after a swing in momentum, the Barons clenched the playoff semi-final spot with a 12-6 aggregate win.
The Wild travelled with a squad of 18+1 along with #39 Matty Barlow’s lucky stall mascot of Lightning McQueen, as #24 Flynn Massie returned back into the lineup. However, #11 Will Harper missed out on the 2nd leg following his altercation the previous night and #32 Harrison Walker was called back up to the National League to bench for the Leeds Knights.
Solway Sharks u19s netminder Logan Reid received the nod to start between the pipes for Widnes, having been given ice time up in Dumfries on Saturday night in Solway Sharks’ final game of the 23/24 season against the Hull Seahawks. Meanwhile, the Barons retained the exact same squad of 19+2 from the evening prior, once again opting for #35 Graham Laverick to start.
1st period – (1-2)
The Barons followed through on their momentum from the previous night early and attempted to catch Reid cold, but he held strong to prevent Solihull extending their lead.
However, the tables quickly turned as #88 Kyle Carruth sneaked an unbelievable Michigan goal out of nowhere on Laverick at 3:49, almost replicating the one he scored for GB u18s against France back in December in iceSheffield to post the score at 3-5. Both linemates #63 Joey Coulter and #39 Matty Barlow assisted the goal after a clinical play between them.
‘Carruth, Carruth, Carruth was on fire’ leaving the Solihull Barons fans speechless after firing another past Laverick just 21 seconds later to reduce the deficit to a single goal, assisted by #16 Mikey Gilbert and #20 Bez Hughes. The first penalty of the evening was handed to #39 Matty Barlow for slashing at 4:47, giving the Barons an opportunity to extend their advantage after a rapid-fire start from the Wild.
Seconds after Widnes returned to full strength, they received a bench penalty at 7:34 for delaying the game which was sat by #12 Luke Alston. The Wild PK unit displayed a clinical performance and grasped on to the 4-5 scoreline after 4 minutes with a player shortage. Both #39 Matty Barlow and #91 Niklas Ottosson received co-incidentals for hooking at 9:24 leaving the top goal scorers for both sides out of the game for 2 minutes.
The game was stopped momentarily at 13:43 after #88 Kyle Carruth was taken down along the boards by a Solihull player, but he quickly returned to his feet. The break in play worked in the Barons’ favour, allowing #14 Aaron Moody to slide the puck under Reid at 14:18, assisted by #10 Jacob Smith and #26 William Reed after a scramble in the crease.
Solihull’s top-point scorer #91 Niklas Ottosson received another penalty at 15:38 for tripping Carruth on the breakaway, giving Widnes a power-play opportunity to pull the game back to within 1 goal. A second tripping call was handed to #11 Brandon Anderton at 16:54, leaving Wild 5on3 for 44 seconds. Carruth put pressure on the Solihull net but failed to time the perfect shot on Laverick during the man advantage.
A lack of discipline seemed to spread across the Barons as #15 Matt Maurice then sat 2 minutes for a further tripping call at 19:02. This left Widnes with a 1:02 power-play in the opening of 2nd period, whilst the score stood at 6-4 on aggregate after 80 minutes of total play.
2nd period – (5-4)
Widnes failed to punish Solihull early, but they maintained the pressure in the offensive zone, causing the Barons to ice the puck. The favour was returned back to Solihull as #17 Andrew Hopkins received a tripping penalty at 21:30, forcing Logan Reid to make some huge saves to keep Wild in the game.
A lovely passage of play to work the puck up the ice between #39 Matty Barlow and #5 Rhys Edwards allowed player-coach #63 Joey Coulter to slot the puck past the goal line on the back door after Edwards fed the cross-ice pass in, posting the score at 6-5.
Another goal in quick-succession for Widnes then levelled the score sending the Wild fans into fine tune, showing support for their club. #88 Kyle Carruth grabbed his hat-trick goal at 28:28, sniping from point through traffic, assisted by #10 Nathan Britton and #24 Flynn Massie, leaving the score 1-4 on the night and 6-6 on aggregate.
However, 2 penalties in quick succession for Widnes left them with a 3on5 penalty kill for 1:02. #39 Matty Barlow sat for unsportsmanlike conduct after spraying Laverick with ice as he grinded to a halt, chasing down a loose puck, whilst #63 Joey Coulter was handed a cross-checking call beforehand. However, #15 Matt Maurice also sat for cross-checking at 30:40 leaving play 4on3 in favour of Solihull for just 4 seconds.
Solihull’s top-point scorer #91 Niklas Ottosson who claimed his 100th point of the season the prior night fired past Reid at 31:02, assisted by #2 Alex Whyte and #97 Max Soden to give the Barons the go-ahead goal. Minutes later, Ottosson was tripped on the breakaway, which resulted in a penalty shot for Solihull in what was a crucial moment of the game. Logan Reid made a spectacular save to deny Ottosson, however Steve Ryder waved off the shot, forcing Logan to regain his composure once more. The Solihull captain made no mistake the 2nd time around and fired top corner to seal the 8th goal for the Barons at 32:58.
Widnes found themselves stuck in the penalty box, this time it was #5 Rhys Edwards who received a minor penalty for abuse during a break in play at 34:32. Although Solihull created some well-worked chances, Logan Reid made a series of saves, diving on the puck to stop the Barons extending their lead. Despite killing the penalty, Wild then conceded the 9th goal at 36:48 after #59 Jordan Jolly tapped the puck behind Reid on the backdoor, assisted by #22 Dani Haid and #14 Aaron Moody.
Less than a minute later, #5 Edwards found himself sat in the box again, this time for slashing, after taking down Ryder at 37:22. Solihull were clinical with their second chance on the power-play, as #20 Filip Byfält fired a slapshot from point which found its way past Reid at 38:32, assisted by #91 Niklas Ottosson and #2 Alex Whyte, pushing Solihull into double figures.
Wild were finally given a power-play chance late in the middle frame at 39:10 after #55 Bailey Challans was handed a cross-checking penalty, but failed to punish the Barons before the buzzer sounded.
3rd period – (7-4)
Widnes were eager to reduce the deficit early in the final frame of the weekend after the Barons had racked up 4 unanswered goals in the 2nd period. However, Solihull came closer to scoring another as #22 Dani Haid skimmed the puck along the crossbar at 46:16, but the frozen biscuit was cleared away after quick reactions from Reid.
Wild were handed another penalty at 47:07 as #24 Flynn Massie sat for tripping, but a clinical performance from Scotland u17 defensive duo Owen Rae and Logan Reid denied the Barons. However, just 16 seconds later after failing to clear the danger from the Widnes zone, Solihull’s #2 Alex Whyte sneaked the puck through Reid’s 5-hole from close range, assisted by #20 Filip Byfält and #75 Charlie Webb at 50:23, posting the score at 11-6.
The 12th and final goal of the weekend for the Barons, allowed #91 Niklas Ottosson to bag his hat-trick at 52:36, after sliding the puck under a stretched-out Reid in the Widnes crease, once again assisted by #20 Byfält and #75 Webb. Wild’s hat-trick hero #88 Kyle Carruth received the final penalty of the game at 53:41 for cross-checking, but Widnes prevented the Barons from punishing them further.
The Wild threw everything they had at Solihull in a last-ditch attempt to claw back the scoreline, whilst the Widnes fans remained behind their team, drowning out the Barons supporters’ noise for the final 2 minutes of the game. However, with a 7-4 win on the night, the Solihull Barons clenched the playoff semi-final spot with a 12-6 aggregate score, abruptly ending the 23/24 season for Widnes.
Emotions remained high for the Widnes Wild fans as #9 King Ken Armstrong received a guard of honour from his teammates as he made his way off the ice, having just played his final competitive game since starting his professional career began back in 2009.
MVPs were awarded to the one and only #9 Ken Armstrong for Widnes, icing a total 319 games in a Wild jersey across his 10 consecutive seasons. Meanwhile #20 Filip Byfält received the title for Solihull after contributing 3 goals and 2 assists across the weekend.
The Solihull Barons have now progressed forward into the final 4 weekend, being played at iceSheffield this weekend where they will meet the Blackburn Hawks in their semi final game, whilst League champions Billingham Stars face their derby rivals Whitley Warriors. The 2 winners will then face each other on Sunday in the grand final.
Officials: Ryder, MacKinnon, Cramp
STATS – (1-2) (4-2) (2-0)
Widnes Wild: Kyle Carruth 3+0, Joey Coulter 1+1, Matty Barlow 0+2, Rhys Edwards 0+1, Nathan Britton 0+1, Mikey Gilbert 0+1, Bez Hughes 0+1, Flynn Massie 0+1
Logan Reid – (15/25/25)
Solihull Barons: Niklas Ottosson 3+1, Alex Whyte 1+2, Filip Byfält 1+2, Aaron Moody 1+1, Jordan Jolly 1+0, Charlie Webb 0+2, Jacob Smith 0+1, Dani Haid 0+1, William Reed 0+1, Max Soden 0+1
Graham Laverick – (7/6/3) 16 shots
Article written by Fleur Tobin
Images taken by Ste Cunningham + Fleur Tobin