Wild in reach of cup after beating Barons
THE YKK-sponsored Widnes Wild consolidated their position at the top of the Moralee Midlands Cup group table with a thrilling 5-7 win away to Solihull Barons on Sunday.
The result was the perfect response to the disappointing 8-0 shut out away to Sheffield in the league on Saturday evening – and means that Widnes can win the Midlands Cup if they beat Solihull at home in their next game on October 31.
The game started badly for the Wild, with Solihull rushing to a 3-0 first period before Liam Charnock eventually opened the Widnes account on 17 minutes.
Charnock fired in another with just 48 seconds left in the period and the score stood at 3-2 at the first break.
Widnes scored first in the second period, with Vlads Vulkanovs levelling on 22 minutes, but the Barons re-took the lead two minutes later. Another exchange of goals saw Wild player/ coach Richard Haggar equalise on 25 minutes, only to have Solihull take the lead once more.
Then Kieran Beach fired in a powerplay goal for Widnes to level the score at 5-5.
After a tense opening to the third period, Widnes finally got the breakthrough and took the lead for the first time in the game with a goal from Haggar on 46 minutes.
Still chasing a one-goal deficit as the game entered its final two minutes, the Barons withdrew their netminder in favour of an extra attacker but the tactic backfired and Liam Charnock sealed the win for Widnes with an Empty Net Goal. The win keeps the
Wild top of the group table with 8 points from five games and one match left to play.
A victory for Widnes in their home game against the Barons on Sunday would be enough to guarantee them the trophy.
The Wild are now also guaranteed a place in the cross-over semi finals for the separate NIHL North cup competition where they will meet the top finishing teams in the Moralee North cup group table. The Wild are next in action on October 31 when they take on the Solihull Barons in the Midlands Cup at Planet Ice Widnes with a 5.30pm start.
● MORALEE DIVISION
Sheffield Scimitars 8 – YKK Widnes Wild 0
The Widnes Wild had a frustrating trip away to Sheffield on Saturday, losing out 8-0 to the Scimitars in the Moralee Division at iceSheffield.
The Wild did not play badly and actually had more of the play. Over the course of the game they outshot Sheffield by 45 to 30 but whatever they tried, the puck simply would not go in the net. At the other end, the Scimitars seemed to have no such problem with scoring and took each period 2-0, 4-0, and 2-0.
Widnes had a man advantage on seven separate occasions over the course of the game due to Sheffield players being in the penalty box. However, the resulting powerplays did not produce any breakthroughs and, in fact, they conceded two short handed goals within 28 seconds of each on 27 minutes.
Wild Academy U14s 11 – Blackburn U11s 0
The Wild Academy Under 14 team beat Blackburn Under 14s 11-0 at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.
Sophia Green opened the scoring for the Wild on five minutes and team captain, Aidan Lamb, made it 2-0 just 90 seconds later.
The score remained 2-0 at the first period break but Widnes edged further ahead with a powerplay goal from Austin Busby on 29 minutes to lead 3-0 at the end of the second period.
Widnes scored eight more unanswered goals – with four from Jared Knowles, three more from Lamb and one from Alexandra Vigh-Yecsey.
The win sees the Widnes youngsters remain in second place in the league table, level on points with leaders Leeds but having played a game more.
Wild Academy U18s 2 – Sheffield U18s 12
The Wild Academy Under 18 team lost 2-12 at home to league leaders Sheffield at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.
Sheffield got the early breakthrough and were 0-3 up before Rory Sillery scored the first Widnes goal on 16 minutes.
By the time George Plevin scored the Wild’s second goal on 32 minutes, Sheffield were leading 2-7 and the game looked pretty much over as a contest.
Another second period goal followed for Sheffield – plus four more in the third – and Widnes slumped to their first defeat in three games.
Wild Academy Under 10s Home Tournament
The Wild Under 10s team hosted a four team ‘cross-ice’ tournament featuring opposition from Bradford, Manchester Storm and Telford at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.
Cross-ice games are played for fun on a reduced playing surface and no scores or player statistics are recorded.
The emphasis is on encouraging the players to concentrate on skating.