Widnes Wild rounded off their run of 4 consecutive road games with a convincing 1-4 win over Nottingham Lions at the Motorpoint Arena on Saturday afternoon to claim a vital 3 points for the league table.
Wild travelled with a squad of 17+2 as forwards, #21 Damarni James and #68 Matt Tarpey returned to the team, although #16 Mikey Gilbert was missing from the previous weekend’s squad. Widnes opted for #35 Luca Tessadri between the pipes yet again, matched up against former Wild netminder, #30 Evan Coles, for Nottingham.
The visitors started slow as they shook off their bus legs, but managed to maintain possession and create offensive plays in the Lions’ zone through #8 Massie and #7 Parry. Widnes were awarded the first powerplay opportunity of the afternoon as #25 Theo Thomas was called for holding at 7:34, but failed to capitalise.
Nottingham’s first line of Kidd, Rushby and Fisher created strong chances in the Widnes zone, but #35 Luca Tessadri matched their efforts to deny the opening goal of the game. After a weak clearance from the Lions’ defence, #8 Flynn Massie collected the puck and gained a free lane to shoot on Coles, firing the puck top-corner to put Widnes ahead at 13:21 unassisted.
The visitors created an opportunity through McLellan and Alston in the following shift, but a block from Bell denied a clean shot on goal. Wild’s forwards generated momentum, but the Nottingham defensive unit held strong to prevent an addition to the score.
However, a clever play created by the Widnes first line of Massie, Hopkins and Parry allowed the Skipper to slot a wraparound between Coles and the near post at 18:41 to double their lead. The hosts looked to answer back quickly through #27 Alex Rushby, yet #4 Nathan Bennett broke down his effort to ensure Widnes retained a 2-goal lead after 20 minutes.
The Lions returned with tenacity following the ice cut and a slash from #77 Ben McLellan, 12 seconds into the period, handed the hosts a prime scoring opportunity. A pass from last season’s NIHL1 young player of the year, #27 Alex Rushby, into the crease was converted by #11 Jack Crowston to halve the deficit at 21:09 to 1-2. However, Nottingham returned the favour moments later as #55 Ethan Smith sat for holding, although Widnes failed to capitalise on their man advantage.
Lions forward #25 Theo Thomas fired a shot on Tessadri from the left wing, which allowed Widnes to regain possession after he made the pad stop. Within the same minute, a low shot from #85 Oli Howells was deflected past Coles to restore Wild’s initial 2-goal lead, whilst claiming his first for the club.
Nottingham sought a way to edge themselves back into the game as Rushby fired a flurry of shots in the direction of the Widnes goal, but he was denied by Tessadri on each occasion. Wild’s #4 Nathan Bennett tried his luck with a similar shot to Howells’ from the blue line, yet Coles read the play well and froze the puck. The Widnes D-man was then called for slashing at 38:47, forcing his team to a penalty kill, although they performed well for the remainder of the period to post the score at 1-3 after 40 minutes.
Widnes quickly killed off the remainder of Bennett’s minor and returned to the attack through Massie, who fired wide of the Nottingham net. The Lions proved a threat as #27 Rushby fed the puck to #14 Fisher on the back post; however, he failed to connect. The hosts upped their intensity and forced Wild to ice the puck numerous times, relieving pressure on the defence.
Tensions began to rise between both benches inside the final 10 minutes, resulting in Nottingham’s top points-scorer, #27 Alex Rushby, receiving a double minor for spearing. Widnes set up well in the offensive zone, and a strike from #43 Will Daley sent Coles’ bottle into the air at 52:15, extending the visitors’ lead to 1-4.
Wild, however, jeopardised their advantage as #18 Johnathan Williamson sat for interference at 54:46. The visitors ensured they gave #27 Alex Rushby no space with the puck in the offensive zone during the penalty kill and soon returned to full strength. A final effort was created by #12 Luke Alston and #77 Ben McLellan, but #30 Evan Coles made the catcher save to prevent the visitors from extending their lead.
A strong performance across the 60 minutes from Widnes in their 4th consecutive road game allowed them to clench 3 league points and their 2nd win of the 25/26 season ahead of their first home game the following evening.
MVPs were awarded to #43 Will Daley for Widnes after firing his first goal of the season in Wild colours. Meanwhile, #50 Joe Humphries claimed the title for Nottingham, following a strong offensive presence during the match-up.
Article written by Fleur Tobin
Images by Ste Cunningham