Recapping the first weekend of the NIHL
Friday 13th September
The season kicked off with the Swindon Wildcats defeating the newly named Berkshire Bees 6-2. Balint Pakozdi got a three point night with new Canadian Jake Bricknell scoring two goals on his league debut.
Saturday 14th September
The Bees then lost their second game of the weekend at home against the Peterborough Phantoms with a very tight score of 1-2. Despite the Phantoms missing five players including new import Janne Laakkonen they still got the job done with new Import netminder Hayden Lavinge saving 29/30 shots.
It was a goal-fest in the game between the MK Lightning and Romford Raiders with the score being 4-3 after the first period. The game was won 7-4 by the Lightning with Harry Gulliver scoring twice as he filled that role next to Venus and Lawrence with the departure of Rory Herrman.
It was a tough night for the Pitbulls as they lost 4-11 to the Hull Seahawks with Emil Svec scoring four goals and ending the night with eight points. However a positive for the Pitbulls is that Bayley Harewood scored a brilliant hat-trick.
The final game on the Saturday saw the reigning league champions defeat the Solway Sharks in Dumfries with 18 year-old Finn Bradon scoring a hat-trick! Nolan Garndiner carried on his goalscoring form from last season as he also scored a hat-trick. The Knights still managed to get the job done despite missing captain Kieran Brown.
Sunday 15th September
The first game on the Sunday saw the Knights and Lightning battle it out for the first time this season and it would be a dominant win for the Knights as they ran away 7-3 winners. Matt Barron the hero as he scored a hat-trick including a lovely penalty shot. Making it a four point weekend for the Knights.
The Swindon Wildcats fell to a 3-2 overtime defeat despite leading the game 2-0 with three minutes to go. The Raiders didn't give up and scored two late goals to send the game to overtime. Jake Sylvester would be the overtime hero handing the extra point to the Raiders.
Hull carried on their goalscoring just like they did on the Saturday as they beat the Pitbulls 9-1, Sobchak scoring ten points across the two games putting him top of the points table. This win also puts the Seahawks at the top of the NIHL with a goal difference of 15!
The Steeldogs opened their season with a big away 3-5 win against the Peterborough Phantoms. The new imports coming up big with Walker Sommer and Sam Tremblay both scoring two goals each. A good start to the season for the Dogs.
And finally the Sharks picked up a massive two points on the road in Telford as they beat the Tigers 4-5. Gardiner on the scoresheet twice putting his tally up to five this weekend. A tough loss for the Tigers who will look to bounce back next weekend.
