Frustration as Widnes are trumped by Aces
ALTRINCHAM ACES ................................. 2 WIDNES WILD ........................................... 0
THE RTL-sponsored Widnes Wild lost ground at the top of the Laidler Division table after the hopedfor Bonfire Night fireworks turned into a damp squib in a 2-0 defeat at the Altrincham Aces on Sunday night.
A second win in a row over the league leaders after a dramatic 2-1 home victory a few weeks ago would have lifted the Wild to within a single point of top spot but instead they are now five adrift, although the Aces have played two games more.
It was a truly disappointing night for the Wild – and the large army of supporters who travelled up the M56 to cheer them on.
While they did not play badly – in fact they out-shot their hosts over the 60 minutes – and took fewer penalties, they were not able to make the most of the chances that they had. Then the Aces took a two-goal lead early in the first period and were able to defend that lead for the rest of the game.
Having slumped to a 2-0 deficit in the first period, the Wild threw everything they had at the Aces during the second. They thought they had scored soon after the restart when a tremendous shot from Latvian import Elvis Veldze beat the Altrincham netminder and rebounded back out of the goal. The Wild thought that the puck had crossed the line and bounced out again but the match referee thought differently and the goal was not awarded.
Late on in the second period, the Wild had another chance to pull a goal back when Nick Manning was tripped from behind while bearing down on goal.
The referee awarded a penalty shot ● but Manning was unable to beat netminder Declan Ryan who was outstanding all game for the Aces.
The third period saw a series of penalties handed out to the Aces as they worked hard to keep the Wild at bay but Widnes were unable to make the most of the resulting powerplay opportunities and the scored remained 2-0 at the final buzzer.
After the game, Widnes player-coach Ollie Barron said: “A frustrating night as I thought we played large parts of the game well.
“We had a lot of puck possession and numerous scoring chances but we just couldn’t find a way past Dec Ryan in the Aces goal – who had a great game.
“November is a busy month with some big games coming up – starting with two games next weekend that we will be looking to get back to winning ways aiming for four points.
“It’s a long season with much more hockey left to play. I’m happy with the squad’s efforts so far this season, and I am looking forward to getting back on the ice this week in practice and next weekend’s games.” ● The RTL-sponsored Widnes Wild play the Blackburn Hawks N2 team away in Blackburn this Saturday and then host the ever-improving Sutton Sting on Sunday at Silver Blades Widnes. The game faces-off at 5.30pm and doors open at 4.45pm.