Recapping Week 11 of the NIHL
Saturday 23rd November:
The first game of the weekend saw the Sheffield Steeldogs score a last second goal to defeat the Swindon Wildcats 3-2. Walker Sommer stopped the game from going to overtime by firing home the winner with just nine seconds left. A tough first game of the weekend for the Cats.
The Telford Tigers carried on their amazing form as they defeated the Solway Sharks on penalty shots in Dumfries. After 65 minutes of hockey the scored was tied at 4-4. David Thomson who has been on fire for the Tigers scored the winning shootout goal to hand the extra point to Tom Watkins side.
The Bristol Pitbulls secured a huge two points at home against the Berkshire Bees. Bari’s side won 4-3 with two goals from the Captain Tanner Butler. A positive for the Bees though that Josh Poole scored his first every NIHL goal at just 16 years old!
The Romford Raiders got a huge victory away in Peterborough against the Phantoms. Despite missing Laishram and Miller, the gold and blue side battled hard to win 5-4 and stop the Phantoms home win streak of 9 wins. Andrew Shewfelt scored twice, topped off with a goal from Joe Tomalin.
The MK Lightning returned to the top of the table after beating the Leeds Knights 6-2. Four goals in the third period saw the Lightning take the two points despite the Knights outshooting the Lightning 37 to 22. Corey McEwen being the stand out scoring twice on the night.
Sunday 24th November:
The Solway Sharks picked up a huge overtime victory against the Romford Raiders at the Sapphire. Kell Beattie the hero scoring twice including the overtime winner with just 9 seconds to go. Jordan Marr also coming up big for the Sharks making 44/45 saves on the night.
The Leeds Knights got back to winning ways as they defeated the Peterborough Phantoms 3-1 with Finley Bradon scoring twice indulging the game winner. A tough weekend for the Phantoms who picked up no points and will look to bounce back next weekend. Noah McMullin also added to his goal tally.
The Swindon Wildcats produced a big bounce back performance beating the Hull Seahawks 5-2 up north. Three quick goals in the third period meaning the Cats went back to Wiltshire with two points. As for Hull, this is now their fifth loss in a row dropping them to 7th in the league. A tough spell for Matty Davies side who will no doubt pick up some form in the coming weeks.
The Sheffield Steeldogs completed a four-point weekend after they defeated the Telford Tigers 4-2 with Björkly Nordström scoring twice including the game winner. A very strong weekend for the Dogs despite missing 5 players from the lineup.
Finally the Berkshire Bees despite only having 13 players took the MK Lightning all the way to penalty shots to earn a point but it would be the Lightning who took the extra point. Dillon Lawrence with the shootout winner. A really big effort from a Bees side who are missing a lot of bodies.
Photo Credit: Tony Sargent
