Wild trump the Aces in a memorable clash
WIDNES WILD ........................................... 7 ALTRINCHAM ACES ................................. 5
THE RTL-sponsored Widnes Wild pulled off a dramatic fightback to beat Altrincham Aces 7-5 in their penultimate Laidler Conference game of the season at Silver Blades Widnes on Sunday evening.
Midway through the second period, the Wild found themselves trailing 5-2 and looking distinctly ragged but a brave response saw them score five unanswered goals to secure local bragging rights for the season and put a huge dent in the Aces’ playoff hopes.
Altrincham had arrived in Widnes on the back of a sensational win at champions Blackburn Eagles the night before and knew that a win over the Wild – who had already secured the runners-up position in the league – would help their late surge for the fourth and final playoff place.
The Silver Blades rink was packed and the Aces had brought a sizeable and very vocal support.
The game started off at a very quick tempo with Widnes looking good in the early stages. However, it was the Aces who scored the first goal in the eighth minute as a Wild attack broke down and an Aces player skated the length of the ice and slotted the puck past Greg Ruxton in the Widnes goal.
The Wild came back strongly after this early setback – and narrowly outshot the Aces overall in the first period – but they were unable to make any sort of breakthrough and the score remained 1-0 at the first break.
Widnes came out for the second stanza with the intention of making an early strike to get themselves back into and hit the post within two minutes of the restart.
However it was the Aces who scored again after 25 minutes, as the Wild overstretched and left space at the back. The defence was overwhelmed and an Aces player was able to shoot home from close-range. ●
Unlike the first goal, the Widnes response to this was immediate – 46 seconds to be exact. A good bit of skating from Stuart Brittle got him in an excellent position. He passed in front of goal to player-coach Ollie Barron who netted.
With both teams keen to take the initiative, there was a lot of up and down play with little to show for it and then, suddenly, the most incredibly five minutes of ice hockey seen this season at Widnes came to pass.
The Wild were having trouble getting the puck out of their defensive zone and Aces’ veteran campaigner Brian Worrall fired in a long shot from just inside the blue line to make the score 3-1.
Less than a minute later the Wild pulled a goal back as Simon Offord picked up on a Brittle pass and fired in to make it 3-2.
A little over two minutes later, the Aces picked up a lucky goal when a shot/pass from the Aces’ John Murray took a freak ricochet off Ruxton’s skate and ended up in the back of the Widnes net.
Just 40 seconds after that another bit of fortune went Altrincham’s way as another Aces goal sneaked in off Ruxton’s stick. Down 5-2, the Wild looked down and out.
However the game changed comat this point. The Widnes bench made a tactical decision to change netminder and Matt Croyle came on in place of Ruxton. The brief stoppage seemed to stall the Aces’ momentum and allowed Widnes a chance to reorganise.
Within 30 seconds of the puck dropping again, the Wild had stopped the rot with a goal of their own and this one also involved a little bit of luck.
A great defensive clearance by Pavel Vales found Nick Manning who took the puck up wide on the right.
A challenge from a diving Aces player actually slowed down his run just enough to fox the rest of the defence and Manning somehow managed to pass the puck – backhand – though his own legs to make a pass at a very narrow angle across the goal.
This was turned into his own net by an Altrincham player who was desperately trying to guide the puck away from the goal.
Although the goal was actually scored by an Aces player, it was credited to Manning as there is no such thing as an ‘own goal’ in ice hockey – it is always awarded to the last attacking player to have touched the puck.
The recovery continued two minutes later as Berwyn Hughes edged in from his point position on the blue line to fire in a fierce slapshot.
Widnes came out for the final period visibly fired up and they levelled matters at 5-5 when Barron fired in a pass from Manning.
Soon after, a sizzling slapshot from Czech defenceman Vales glanced off the stick of Barron and flew into the goal to finally give Widnes the lead after 43 minutes of the game.
Widnes secured the win with a little over three minutes remaining when Manning netted for the second time in what was an extraordinary encounter.
Speaking post-match, Barron said: “That game really had it all. We knew it was going to be a difficult battle.
“Altrincham have been in great form and, with their win on Saturday night in Blackburn, we knew the Aces would be full of confidence going into the game.
“The game started off at a fast pace and, although we were trailing 1-0 at the end of the first, I thought we had played some good spells of hockey and had a large amount of possession.
“The second period didn’t exactly go to plan, with the Aces capitalising on our errors and taking a 5-2 lead.
“What was very pleasing to see was the fight and character we showed to bounce back and not let up.
“I was impressed with our attitude and determination to turn the game around.”
The two points gained from the victory meant that Widnes moved to within three of champions Blackburn Eagles – who lost away at Nottingham Lions the same night – although, as both teams only have one game left to play, they are unable to catch them.