Wild are bitten by the Tigers

Telford Tigers 2 Widnes Wild 0 THE YKK-sponsored Widnes Wild suffered their first defeat of the new Laidler Division season, losing a battling encounter 2-0 away to the Telford Tigers last Saturday.

The Wild team had long periods of possession and out-shot the home team by a considerable margin but were unable to convert any of that pressure into goals on the night.

The first two periods were both – unusually for ice hockey – goalless.

The first goal of the game did not arrive until the 45th minute when the Tigers finally made the breakthrough, somewhat against the run of play.

The Wild laid siege to the Telford goal during the closing stages – outshooting their hosts by 16-5 over the period – but they got caught out while pushing forward for the equaliser with a powerplay goal with just three minutes left to play.

The Tigers’ defence held strong and the clock ticked down to a disappointing 2-0 defeat for the Widnes team.

Following the other weekend results – which saw league leaders Bradford Bulldogs lose at home to Sheffield Senators – the Wild find themselves as one of three teams all locked together on six points, three off top spot.

They have a chance to make up ground on the division pacesetters with two games this weekend.

The Wild visit the Hull Jets on Saturday – 5.15pm face off – before playing host to the Blackburn Hawks development team at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday. Face-off is at 5.30pm and the doors open at 4.45pm.