The YKK Widnes Wild followed on from their tense shootout win over the Tigers last Sunday, to post a dominating 3-6 win at Telford. The Wild travelled down with 17+2, Including #35 Luca Tessadri and #21 Tom Mardell who made their debuts in yellow jerseys.
Widnes were first to find the back of the net at 8:52 after a pass from #39 Matty Barlow in-front of goal allowed #5 Edwards to tap the puck into the bottom corner. The Wild were then handed a 5-on-3 advantage after #94 Smith and #95 McNaughton were given a hooking and tripping penalty. #10 Nathan Britton fired the puck into the top corner at 15:02 to give the Wild a 0-2 lead after 20 minutes.
Widnes applied the pressure once more at 21:25 with a goal from #20 Bez Hughes after a pass across net from Barlow to make the score 0-3. The Wild dominated the puck for the first half of the 2nd and punished the Tigers again with a slap-shot from #39 Matty Barlow after a pass down the ice from #84 Tom Jackson at 26:04. #16 Mikey Gilbert increased the lead to 5 with a rebound after an initial shot from #32 Gregor Donaldson. However, Telford fought back with 2 quick goals from #94 James Smith at 29:33 and 30:26 to leave the score at 2-5.
The period break didn’t slow the momentum of the Wild and they edged the scoreline again at 41:05 by #17 Andrew Hopkins. The remainder of the 3rd period saw chances for both teams, but the score stayed at 2-6 going into the final 10 minutes. At 50:37, a scrap spilled out of a huddle between #9 Ken Armstrong and #75 Preece following a double save from #35 Tessadri in the Widnes crease. This disruption led to the Tigers clawing a goal back at 51:56 via #26 Paul Davies shorthanded. Telford’s #29 Keyes and #23 Callagher were handed penalties late in the game, but the score remained 3-6.
MVPs were awarded to Telford’s #94 James Smith and the Wild’s #32 Gregor Donaldson, who contributed his 1st point in his 2nd game for Widnes.
Your YKK Widnes Wild are back in action on Sunday 17th September, back home at Planet Ice Widnes, 5:30pm face-off.
Officials: Anderson, Stanley, Shuttleworth
Article written by Fleur Tobin
Photos from home fixture.