Widnes Wild got off to the perfect start in their return back to the Jungle, following the summer break, with 2 victories in their pre-season clashes against Sutton Sting and Leeds Knights 2.
Over 500 fans entered the Jungle across the weekend, eager to watch the Wild’s newest signings in action – most notably former Deeside Dragons forward, #7 Alex Parry and Solihull Barons duo #85 Oliver Howells and #59 Jordan Jolly. In addition, Widnes welcomed fresh youth into the lineup as #23 Reece O’Brien, #29 Josh Guy and #47 Leo Cooper all made their senior debuts.
Both teams started slow as they iced their first competitive minutes since April, yet Widnes tested Sutton netminder, #68 Nathaniel Bell more in the opening shifts. Moments into the second half of the period, #29 Josh Guy caught Sutton on the change and fired wide of Bell’s blocker to claim his senior debut goal at 10:17 unassisted. However, he simultaneously picked up the first infraction of the evening for interference.
The hosts successfully killed off the penalty and seconds later doubled their lead through #14 Tristan Grimshaw at 12:22. Wild continued to dominate and netted a further 2 goals in the opening period through defencemen, #77 Ben McLellan with a top-corner strike and #18 Johnathan Williamson from a rebound attempt. A strong offensive display left NIHLD2 side, Sutton Sting with a 4 goal deficit after 20 minutes.
The visitors failed to find a way past #30 Paul Maudsley to answer back quickly after the break and forced further pressure on their defensive unit as #84 Joel Bark sat for boarding at 21:40. Seconds later, #14 Tristan Grimshaw bagged his 2nd of the game with a 5-hole shot, assisted by returning forwards, #8 Flynn Massie and #17 Andrew Hopkins.
Sutton eventually found their feet and created multiple opportunities to answer back, but #30 Paul Maudsley stood tall for the hosts to maintain a shut-out. The visitors were then handed their first powerplay of the night as #77 Ben McLellan was handed a boarding penalty at 32:09, however the Wild defence coped well under the pressure. The Sting tested Maudsley late in the period as #7 Adam Brooke-Smith attempted the wraparound, but the Widnes netminder reacted quickly to send his side 5 goals clear into the final frame.
Widnes continued their offensive threat, seeing #44 Dani Haid contribute to the scoreboard at 41:27. However, the Sutton defence stepped up and denied numerous chances for Widnes approaching the final 10 minutes. The hosts were relentless and added a 7th goal in the 51st minute as #68 Matt Tarpey converted on the near post after the feed from #17 Andrew Hopkins.
Wild’s forwards fired a flurry of shots past Bell within 2 minutes, allowing both #44 Dani Haid and #7 Alex Parry to send Widnes 9 goals clear approaching the final minutes. However, Sutton’s Captain, #80 Lawson Glasby stepped up and denied #30 Paul Maudsley a shut-out at 57:16 on a breakaway.
The hosts soon found a way to answer back as #19 Jared Knowles sent Widnes into double digits, followed by #44 Dani Haid clenching his hat-trick at 59:18 to secure Wild an 11-1 win in their opening pre-season fixture, much to the delight of the home fans.
MVPs sponsored by Scouse African Sweetery, were awarded to 16yr old #29 Josh Guy after securing his first Widnes goal in his senior debut. Meanwhile, #48 Lawson Glasby picked up the title for visiting side, Sutton Sting.
Widnes then returned back to the Jungle just 24 hours later to face Leeds Knights 2 in their final pre-season fixture – a much anticipated match-up due to last season’s close results. The hosts made just 1 change to their lineup as #59 Jordan Jolly made his debut, whilst #68 Matt Tarpey stepped back from the squad. Netminder #35 Luca Tessadri was also set to make his first start for Widnes since 2023, facing his former side.
Both sides started slow as they looked to find their rhythm early on. Widnes created a strong chance through Hopkins and Haid, yet #31 Dan Norton made the final stop. The hosts handed Leeds the first opportunity of the evening as #17 Andrew Hopkins sat for slashing at 8:40. However a strong Widnes defence, including a hip check from #18 Johnathan Williamson denied Knights the go-ahead goal.
Despite numerous threats from the Wild forwards, Norton made the difference in net for Leeds and allowed his side to counter. Yet again, #17 Andrew Hopkins was denied by #31 Dan Norton and seconds later #93 Fritz Heinzle converted on the counter, assisted by #13 Jonas Bennett to give Leeds the lead.
Play remained end-to-end, but both sides failed to capitalise on their chances as their netminders pulled off game-changing saves to conclude the opening period with a narrow advantage to the visitors.
Wild returned for the middle frame and quickly tested Norton as #14 Tristan Grimshaw fired wide past his glove to equalise on the delayed powerplay opportunity. Leeds Knights recovered well to deny Widnes a quick turnover of the score, but Saville failed to fire a shot on target after breaking out of the zone.
As the halfway mark of the match approached, Leeds opted to swap #31 Dan Norton for newly signed #30 Ollie Booth in between the pipes. Widnes looked to catch Booth cold and did so through #14 Tristan Grimshaw who bagged his second of the evening to propel Wild into the lead.
Momentum switched in favour of the hosts, seeing #18 Johnathan Williamson convert the rebound from #8 Flynn Massie’s initial strike at 36:27. Leeds put themselves at risk of conceding yet again as both #38 Harry Exley and #6 Matthew Saville sat for cross checking and tripping respectively at 38:07. Despite numerous shots fired, Widnes failed to extend their lead past Booth, taking a 2 goal advantage into the final frame after a strong comeback.
Widnes came out firing in the third period and capitalised thanks to a tight angled shot from #14 Tristan Grimshaw who claimed his first hat-trick back from a pro-longed injury at 43:44. However, Widnes handed Leeds a chance to narrow the scoreline as #47 Leo Cooper sat for cross checking at 46:49. Moments later, #10 Danny Harrison fired past #35 Luca Tessadri to keep his side in the game.
The hosts were eager to answer back and a lovely link-up saw #8 Flynn Massie slot the puck wide of Booth at 49:39 to post the score at 5-2. Despite being on the PK as #93 Fritz Heinzle sat for tripping, Leeds clenched a SH marker through #97 Frank O’Sullivan at 52:52 and were awarded a brief powerplay 30 seconds later.
Wild applied the pressure in the Knights’ zone forcing Booth to make 2 stops in quick succession. After a 2on1 chance down. the opposite end for Leeds, the visitors called a timeout and opted to pull Booth but neither team could add to the 5-3 scoreline before the final buzzer.
MVPs, sponsored by Scouse African Sweetery were awarded to hat-trick hero, #14 Tristan Grimshaw for Widnes. Meanwhile, #97 Frank O’Sullivan claimed the title for Leeds after recording his first senior goal.
Much to the delight of the Widnes fans, the Wild secured 2 wins from 2 in their pre-season campaign and are set to face a string of road games to open the 25/26 season. Widnes will travel to iceSheffield this Sunday to face Sheffield Scimitars in their first league game and will return home to Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday 21st September, taking on local rivals Blackburn Hawks for a 5:30pm face-off.
Article written by Fleur Tobin
Images by Sandra Koetter and Ste Cunningham