Talented goaltender Wilson-Owen delighted to sign for the Wild

THE Widnes Wild ice hockey team have announced that promising young netminder Luke Wilson-Owen has joined their squad for the forthcoming 2018-19 Laidler Division season.

The young goaltender only played his first season of senior hockey last season, icing for the Blackburn Hawks development team – against the Wild – where he played 31 games and faced 1671 shots, approximately 500 shots more than any other goalie in the league.

He also backed up and trained with the Elite League team Manchester Storm.

Commenting on signing with the Wild, Wilson-Owen said: “I’m really happy that Ollie [Barron] has given me the chance to play at Widnes.

“I’m really looking forward to playing with a great group of guys and I can’t wait for the new season to begin.”

The Wild will be holding a final trial on July 22 for those interested in playing for the two-time playoff winners and the full active roster will be finalised after that. ● THE Widnes-based Riverside Raiders got back to winning ways after last weekend’s home defeat with a dramatic 4-3 triumph at the Steel City Hawks in the Summer Classic Cup at iceSheffield on Sunday.

They trailed 3-1 but pulled back to level the score and then Mike Filek fired in a dramatic late winner to hand the points to the Widnes team.

The win sees them move clear of the Hawks in third place in the league table in a good position to qualify for the end of season playoffs, where the top four teams play semi-finals and a final.

The Raiders are back in Sheffield this Sunday when they take on the Sheffield Ice Tigers. They are next at home – for their last Summer Classic group game – on Sunday, July 29 when they entertain the Hull-based Kingston City Knights at Planet Ice Widnes.