Wild’s trophy delight
SHEFFIELD SENATORS ........................... 1 WIDNES WILD ........................................... 2
THE RTL-sponsored Widnes Wild won their first trophy in their fouryear history as they edged the Sheffield Senators 2-1 in the Laidler Conference Playoff Final at iceSheffield on Sunday.
Widnes had qualified for the final by winning their semi-final against North West rivals Altrincham Aces 2-0 on Saturday morning while the Senators notched up a surprise 3-1 win over league champions Blackburn Eagles in the second semi-final.
The Wild were quickest out of the blocks and put Sheffield under pressure right from the first drop of the puck.
The Senators looked sluggish and had probably used up a lot of energy reserves in their game the day before and it was no great surprise when Widnes took the lead through team captain Shaun Dippnall after 11 minutes.
What was more of a surprise was that the score remained 1-0 at the first break and it was not until 23.12 on the clock that the Wild scored again – with player/ coach Ollie Barron picking up a rebound and firing the puck into the Sheffield net to double the Widnes advantage.
Widnes were by far the better team at this point and it was only due to the shotstopping heroics of Mark Hartley in the Sheffield goal that the score was kept down.
Sheffield finally managed to drag themselves back into the game with a goal by Elliott Knell after 45 minutes and the rest of the match was played on a knife-edge.
The Senators looked much better going forward by now and Widnes had to work hard to protect their narrow lead.
The clock ticked down without further incident and Widnes were able to celebrate the perfect end to their best-ever season so far in which they have achieved their highest league position, finishing just two points behind champions Blackburn, bringing Barron a piece of silverware in his first season as a player/coach.
Speaking post-game, Barron said: “What a weekend! To win the playoffs was a great feeling.
“We had come close to success this season finishing second in the league and narrowly losing in overtime in the promotion game and we wanted something to show for our hard work this season, so to end the season as playoff champions is superb.
“We knew the semi-final game against the Aces would be tight as every time we have played Altrincham this season the games have been close hard-fought games. The game itself wasn’t great and the ice surface issues didn’t help, however, to win the game 2-0 was a perfect set up for the final.
“The final was a good game. I felt we dominated most of the first two periods and should have converted more of our chances. But credit to the Senators as they worked hard and got a goal back. Luckily, we managed to hold out to finally win some silverware for the club.”
“I’m delighted for everyone associated with the Wild, all the staff, players, coaches, volunteers and the fans. Widnes is a great club and I’m personally thankful to have had the opportunity to coach and lead the Wild this season.” ● The Widnes-based Riverside Raiders are in action on Easter Sunday at home to the Blackburn outfit Wyre Seagulls. Face-off at Silver Blades Widnes is 4.30pm and admission is free.