The Wild pulled off a tense 5-6 road win against Leeds Knights 2 after a weekend off, despite conceding 4 goals in the final 10 minutes, putting both sets of fans on the edge of their seats.
1st Period – (0-1)
Wild won the initial face-off and retained possession quickly, testing Norton through all 3 lines but he matched their efforts. Both sides created opportunities down either end of the ice until Widnes were handed their first man advantage of the game as #46 Alex Mitchell sat for interference. However, Wild failed to punish the Knights early and Tessadri was called on shortly after as Harrison broke away on the left wing.
The hosts found themselves shorthanded once more as #44 Billy Crofts was sent to the box for interference at 15:13, allowing Widnes to capitalise on the second time of asking through #8 Flynn Massie with a low, wide shot from the blue line. Despite Widnes dominating play, Leeds looked to level the score through O’Sullivan in the final moments, but Tessadri made the blocker save to send Widnes into the 2nd period with a goal advantage.
2nd Period – (0-3)
Widnes returned for the middle frame firing and soon doubled their lead at 21:02 through #7 Alex Parry with a shot on the near post, deflecting over Norton’s catcher. However, the visitors quickly gave Leeds a chance to reduce the deficit at 22:30 as #26 Robbie Thomson was called for holding. Another strong defensive performance denied the Knights’ offence and the visitors returned to the attack shortly after through Grimshaw.
After #16 Mikey Gilbert won a neutral zone face-off draw for the Wild, linemate #44 Dani Haid fired the puck past Norton for his team’s third at 28:07. Discipline slipped once again for the hosts as #46 Alex Mitchell was called for tripping, followed by #51 Connor Lewis for roughing, yet Norton stood strong for his team between the pipes. Wild were given a 3rd consecutive powerplay as Lewis returned to the box but failed to convert before the buzzer, concluding the second period at 0-3 in favour to Widnes.
3rd period – (5-6)
The Knights entered the final frame with vengeance and opened their account within the first 60 seconds through #36 Danny Harrison with a breakaway shot. Although, Leeds were forced to defend yet again as #15 Olly Wagg sat for hooking moments later. Within the same minute, #77 Ben McLellan fired past Norton to restore Widnes’ original 3 goal lead. Both sides continued to create chances, but the netminders closed down all chances.
Wild were set on the backfoot as #43 Will Daley was called for delaying the game at 47:02, yet the Widnes PK unit held strong to deny the youthful Knights attack. The visitors quickly regrouped, and #8 Flynn Massie recorded his second of the evening at 50:48, handing Widnes a 4 goal advantage.
Widnes then opted to switch out #35 Luca Tessadri for 16yr old #70 Oven Severn, giving him his first minutes in between the pipes at senior level. The Knights upped their energy levels and attempted to catch Severn cold, but he reacted well to make the stops. Leeds picked up an opportunity to narrow the deficit in the final 5 minutes as Williamson sat out for tripping.
Knights finally converted a powerplay through #28 Helgi Bjarnason from close range, which sparked the Knights to fire another through #27 Jake Wiggington to post the score at 3-5. However, seconds later, #4 Nathan Bennett snuck one past Norton from the blue line for Wild’s 6th of the game.
The hosts were determined to leave everything on the ice and did just so as both #4 Lawrence Dean and #28 Helgi Bjarnason fired shots past Severn to send the Knights just 1 goal behind. Leeds then pulled #31 Dan Norton in the final 12 seconds in a last-ditch attempt to force the game into overtime. Icelandic import, Bjarnason came agonisingly close on the back door for the hosts, but Widnes held on to secure all 3 points after 60 minutes in their first game of the weekend.
MVPs were awarded to #7 Alex Parry for Wild after a solid offensive showing all evening, whilst #4 Lawrence Dean was selected for the Knights following a successful 2-way performance.
STATS
Widnes Wild: Flynn Massie 2+1, Alex Parry 1+1, Ben McLellan 1+0, Dani Haid 1+0, Nathan Bennett 1+0, Tristan Grimshaw 0+2, Mikey Gilbert 0+2, Robbie Thomson 0+2, William Daley 0+2, Johnathan Williamson 0+1
Luca Tessadri: (12/9/19) 40 shots
Owen Severn: (0/0/12) 12 shots
Leeds Knights 2: Lawrence Dean 1+3, Helgi Bjarnason 2+0, Danny Harrison 1+0, Jake Wigginton 1+0, Ollie Wagg 0+1, Matthew Saville 0+1, Fritz Heinzle 0+1
Dan Norton: (11/22/7) 40 shots
Article written by Fleur Tobin
Images by Sandra Koetter