3rd/4th December
By Anthony Russell
So the weekend was an excellent one for the Bison but how did the rest of the NIHL National Division get one?
Saturday
It was a repeat of the 2022 playoff final at the Thunderdome as MK welcomed Sheffield. Despite the hosts having an early powerplay, it was the visitors who were ahead first as Alex Graham teed up Matt Bissonnette to make it 1-0 with just over 10 minutes gone. In the second the Lightning pushed for an equaliser but got caught on the break. After a Lightning shot hit the post, Sheffield raced up the other end and Bissonnette’s second of the night made it 2-0 then shortly afterwards, Alex Graham made it 3-0 heading into the final frame. The Lightning threw the kitchen sink at the Steeldogs but Dmitri Zimozdra would cast aside everything thrown at him to secure the shutout and the 3-0 Sheffield win.
Swindon got off to a good start at home to Hull as they were 2-0 up at the end of the first thanks to goals from Tomasz Malasinski and Reed Sayers. It would be a masterclass from Malasinski as the Polish international scored twice in the middle frame to complete his hattrick and make it 4-0 at the 40 minute mark. In the third Colby Tower and Russ Cowley made it 6-0 before the Seahawks staged a mini comeback in the final minutes. Jordan Fisher, Tom Stubley and Andrej Themar all netted in the space of about 4 minutes to make it 6-3 but Malasinski’s 4th of the night into the empty net saw the game finish 7-3 to Aaron Nell’s side.
Bristol had the unenviable task of taking on Leeds in BS10 as they looked to shutdown the potent Knights offence. To Bristol’s credit, they did just that. In a tight game that ebbed back and forth, the teams were scoreless through 40 minutes though the game was not without incident as the teams combined for 36 minutes of penalties in the second period alone. The game needed a goal and it got one in the third. Sadly for the home fans it came from Cole Shudra and from there, the Knights pressed on. Keiran Brown made it 2-0 shortly afterwards and though the hosts tried their best, their reward was an empty net goal from Adam Barnes to finish the game off at 3-0.
The Raiders and Phantoms met in Romford for the start of their home and home series. Harry Gulliver put the hosts ahead in the 6th minute but Jarvis Hunt’s equaliser had the game tied at 1-1 at the first buzzer. Ales Padelek would give the Phantoms the lead on the powerplay but Gulliver’s second of the night made it 2-2 as the teams headed back to the room at 40 minutes. With the game on a knife edge, it was the Raiders who blinked first. Tom Norton’s powerplay goal made it 3-2 and another goal on the man advantage from Lukas Sladkovsky made it 4-2 with just under 8 minutes to play. Brandon Ayliffe would pull one back for the Raiders in the 57th minute but with the goalie pulled, the Phantoms made them pay as Padelek fired into the empty net to make the final score 5-3.
Sunday
Peterborough played host to the second part of the Phantoms and Raiders home and home series. The Phantoms struck first as Glenn Billing found the net to make it 1-0. The Phantoms doubled their lead in the second just before the halfway mark thanks to Tom Norton. The second then saw goals galore Aaron Connolly got the Raiders on the board, Padelek tallied to make it 3-1 before a second from Connolly and a goal from Corey McEwen made it 4-2 to the Phantoms with 40 minutes played. Then in the third, the game went goal mad. Callum Buglass scored after 41 seconds followed by Martins Susters and Jasper Foster to make it 7-2 to the Phantoms after just 4.20 of the final frame. Duncan Speirs made it 8-2 before the Raiders woke up. Tjay Anderson scored then two goals from Alex Roberts made it 8-5. Another from Foster made it 9-5 to the hosts before Roberts completed his hattrick to make it 9-6 followed another from Roberts to make it 9-7. The final word though would go to Ales Padelek as he hit the Phantoms’ 10th of the night to seal a 10-7 win and make fans of defensive hockey cry.
The latest Nell-Classico instalment took place at Elland Road with Leeds welcoming Swindon. It started well for the Knights as Keiran Brown scored after 60 seconds but it was the Wildcats who led at the end of the first thanks to two goals from Aaron Nell. In the second, Nell would turn provider as he set up Tomasz Malasinski for his 5th goal of the weekend to make it 3-1 at the second break. The Knights were even further in the hole early in the third as Colby Tower found the net to make it 4-1 in the 43rd minute. There was time for the Knights to make a comeback but no matter what they tried, it just didn’t fall for them. Leeds had finally lost in regulation, the 4-1 win signalling a 5th win in a row for the Wildcats.
After losing in Basingstoke on Saturday, Telford looked to rebound at home against Sheffield but didn’t get the optimal start as Jordan Buesa had the Steeldogs ahead at 10.06 but Jack Watkins would make things 1-1 by the end of the first period. The Steeldogs reclaimed the lead early in the second Lee Bonner converting a penalty shot but again the Tigers would draw level, this time thanks to Vladimir Luka. Shortly after however the visitors took the lead back as Alex Graham made it 3-2 and Jon Kirk made it 4-2 moments later. It would be 5-2 before the second break as Bonner added his second of the night in the 35th minute. The Tigers needed to get back into the game. They did get a third goal, Luka getting his second of the night on the powerplay but another goal from Graham just minutes later made it 6-3 and there was no way back for the Tigers. 6-3 on the scoresheet and a 4 point weekend for the Steeldogs.
The Hull Seahawks welcomed Bristol to the world’s most versatile arena. For the second night in a row, Bristol played a game that was scoreless through 40 minutes. Hull would be kicking themselves for not making their dominance pay as Will Kerlin faced 40 shots through two periods. The game came to life in the third. Morgan Clarke-Pizzo gave the visitors the lead and after James Archer got a match penalty for fighting to put the Seahawks on the penalty kill, Owen Sobchak made it 2-0 followed by Sam Smith’s first of the season to make it 3-0. Ben Solder’s goal made it 4-0 in the 52nd minute which put the game to bed. After some more fisticuffs, the Seahawks did get a goal as Andrej Themar found the net but an empty net goal from Bayley Harewood made it 5-1 and sent the Pitbulls back down south with the points in their pocket.
Anthony Russell is the writer of Banners On The Wall (http://bannersonthewall.wordpress.com) which has covered the Bison and British hockey for the last 11 years. He hosts the BOTW What’s Current Stream, the NIHL’s live show for news and views, Wednesday night at 8pm at Twitter.com/BannersOTW
