Recapping Week 20 of the NIHL
Friday 24th January:
The Berkshire Bees kicked off the weekend with a thriller against the Bristol Pitbulls as the home side took the extra point on penalty shots. Ralf circenis with the winning shootout goal. Despite missing new import Mitchell Walinski and Player coach Bari McKenzie, the Pitbulls fought to get a point on the road.
Saturday 25th January:
The Leeds Knights secured a 6-4 victory at home against the Peterborough Phantoms, taking a 6-1 lead after the second. A five minute powerplay gave life to the Phantoms who scored three late goals but it wasn’t enough to make the comeback and despite missing Gospel, Harrison Walker and the Knights got the two points.
It was another thriller at the Link Centre as the Hull Seahawks won on penalty shots against the Swindon Wildcats with Emil Svec and Declan Balmer both scoring twice in the game against their former team. Jake Bricknell carried on his goalscoring form with another hat-trick but Svec’s winning shootout goal sent the Seahawks back up north with the extra point.
The Solway Sharks got a comfortable 4-1 victory at home against the Berkshire Bees with 17 year-old Bailey Thomson scoring his first NIHL goal for the Sharks. Another two points for the Martin Grubbs side who remain four points ahead in that final play off spot.
The Telford Tigers suffered an overtime defeat to the Sheffield Steeldogs with Sam Tremblay tying it up at 3-3 with just over a minute to go and then also scoring the overtime winner to send the Steeldogs back home with the extra point.
The Milton Keynes Lightning without Tim Wallace got a fantastic 7-3 win over the Romford Raiders. Mack Stewart scoring a hat-trick. All Brits on the scoresheet for the Lightning with three powerplay goals in the game.
Sunday 26th January:
The early game saw the Swindon Wildcats bounce back with a big 4-1 away victory against the Sheffield Steeldogs. Tyler Plews with his second goal of the season and Ed Bradley scoring in his fourth game in a row gives the Wildcats 3/4 points this weekend.
The Milton Keynes Lightning secured the four-point weekend with a 6-2 away victory against the Bristol Pitbulls. A dominant display from the away side, getting 53 shots on goal. The Pitbulls without Butler and Walinski in the game. Mason Lipsey scoring twice for the Pitbulls but was the Lightning who come out on top.
The Romford Raiders ended their five game losing streak with a 6-4 home victory against the Telford Tigers. Tjay Anderson with a goal and three assists on the night. This win was huge for the Raiders to keep them in a comfortable play off spot for now.
The Peterborough Phantoms produced a big performance at home, beating the Leeds Knights 4-3. Cam Hough scoring the only goal in the third period to secure the two points. Bow Neely scored his first goal of the season but the points would be shared across the weekend between both teams.
The Hull Seahawks secured a four-point weekend at home with a comfortable 6-1 victory against the Solway Sharks. Bobby Chamberlain and Lee Bonner with two goals each on the night, with Sobchak getting four assists to put him back up to first in point scoring in the NIHL.
