Wild return in winning style
THE YKK sponsored Widnes Wild extended their lead at the top of the NIHL North Cup table with a sensational 6-3 win over the Nottingham Lions at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.
It was a year almost to the day since the Wild last played a home game and, with the return of successful player coach Ollie Barron and a new look roster for this special four-team competition, there has been much to look forward to.
There was an odd atmosphere around the rink due to the absence of spectators - as these cup games are being played behind closed doors as part of the English Ice Hockey Association’s post-Covid “Return To Play” strategy under very strict conditions - but, luckily, supporters are able to watch live-streams of these games over the internet.
Both teams had won their opening games in this cup competition with Widnes beating Blackburn Hawks 3-9 away the previous weekend and Nottingham overcoming the Sheffield Scimitars 6-5 in overtime, so somebody’s 100% record was going to give.
Widnes scored the first goal after just three minutes when Richard Haggar found the back of the Lions’ net.
The Wild had most of the play during the first period - outshooting the visitors by 19 to 5 but were kept out by a very well organised and stubborn defence.
Nottingham equalised on 13 minutes but Haggar edged Widnes back in front five minutes later to give them a 2-1 lead at the first break.
Nottingham upped the pressure quite considerably in the second period and kept the Wild down to just five shots compared to 12 of their own.
They equalised again in the 27th minute and, had they been able to capitalise on their possession might easily have run away with the game at this point.
Instead, the Wild dug deep and took the lead again through Ollie Barron on 32 minutes, only to see Nottingham draw level once more less than 60 seconds later.
At the end of the period, the score stood at 3-3 and was balanced on a knife edge with 20 minutes left to play.
Both teams had chances in the third period but it was Widnes who were able to make the most of theirs.
Two goals in two minutes - from Mikey Gilbert on 46 and Adam Barnes on 48 - effectively sealed the game for the Wild.
With 21/2 minutes left to play, Nottingham called a time out and took off their netminder in favour of an extra attacker - to try and take advantage of a powerplay situation while the Wild’s Mike Mawer was sitting in the box for a tripping penalty. However, their 6 on 4 play backfired when a shot by Adam Barnes from behind his own blueline flew into the empty net to give Widnes an unassailable lead.
The resulting 6-3 victory sees the Wild sitting proudly at the top of the
North Cup table at this early stage of the competition with two wins from two games.
The other match of the weekend saw Blackburn narrowly beat Sheffield away on penalty shots, which puts all three other teams level on two points each.
The Wild’s Adam Barnes leads the scoring for the competition at this stage with six goals and three assists from two games while Richard Haggar is second with 3+5.
The YKK sponsored Widnes Wild are away to Sheffield Scimitars this Saturday, March 13th, in a 4pm face off and are next at home on Saturday, March 20th, when they take on the same opposition at Planet Ice Widnes 1pm face off.
No spectators are allowed into the venue to watch the games but they will be live streamed over the internet and also covered on the Wild’s official Twitter feed.