Hull Seahawks primed and ready for biggest test of season against Leeds Knights

It was a meeting of two of NIHL National’s in-form teams at the Hull Ice Arena on Sunday night when Swindon Wildcats came visiting looking to extend their eight-game winning streak.

The Seahawks were no slouches themselves going into the game, the previous night’s 4-1 win on the road against an out-of-sorts Sheffield Steeldogs stretching their own win streak to five games.

Something had to give. It was the hosts who prevailed, closing the gap on the third-placed Wildcats to five points.

It was the first of three big nights this week for Hull, who will look to get one over on Yorkshire rivals Leeds Knights over two evenings in the semi-finals of the NIHL National Cup.

They could potentially meet Swindon again in the final - like the semis a two-legged affair - with Aaron Nell’s side 3-2 up from their first game against Milton Keynes Lightning, a tie they will complete on February 8 in Buckinghamshire.

For now, though, Hull will have to get the better of a Leeds side five points clear at the top. Their bid for a second straight title was helped enormously by Hull’s win over Swindon.

To buy tickets for Wednesday night’s NIHL National Cup semi-final first leg clash between Hull Seahawks and Leeds Knights go HERE

Ryan Aldridge’s team are on a four-game winning streak themselves and looking to go one better in the Cup than last year when they were beaten by Peterborough Phantoms across two nights.

It will be no easy task, as evidenced by Leeds’ ability to quickly bounce back from their 4-2 home defeat to Hull just before Christmas with a comprehensive 5-0 win in East Yorkshire the following night.

Davies has backed his players to when it matters most all season - they have beaten Milton Keynes twice, Leeds, Swindon and Peterborough all once - but this week, with the first leg in Hull on Wednesday followed by the decider on the road two nights later, probably presents their biggest challenge of the season yet.

“That’s probably the most complete weekend we’ve had all year,” said Davies. “I was really proud of them.

“They played great in Sheffield, put in a really professional performance and then, against Swindon, we knew it was a big test for us but I thought everyone, to a man, played brilliantly..

“With what we’ve got coming up against Leeds, we needed a big weekend and we got one”

Davies was delighted with the contributions he got from up and down his line-up, but all three imports played pivotal roles in the team’s third straight four-point weekend.

Owen Sobchak got up and running in a dream debut in South Yorkshire, posting a goal and three assists, before adding two more helpers against Swindon.

Emil Svec added a third goal to the two he scored in Sheffield, while influential defenceman Brock Bartholomew scored three goals, two of those coming against the Wildcats.

Understandably, Davies was delighted with his new centre, who he believes has added a much-needed spark both on and off the ice.

“I liked him when I saw him play for Bristol last season,” said Davies. “You’ve got to be pretty smart and gritty and strong to be that size and play so well. I thought he was their best player there by a long way.

“I feel we have a chance this year to do something special and I realised what we were missing in our team and while it’s easy to stand here and say ‘I told you so’ I did know that we genuinely needed the sort of player that Owen is.

“And he’s been absolutely brilliant - he’s quickly shown what he is about to everyone. We needed a spark in the room and he’s given us that and he’s also brought his quality which is what we really needed - it’s great to have him here.”

While Davies is pleased with his latest acquisition, he will be hampered in his quest to get one over former employers Leeds with defenceman Thomas Stubley being sidelined after picking up an injury in Sheffield.

Former Leeds D-man Josh Hodgkinson will be back in the line up for the semi-final games but leaves the club at the end of the week to return home for personal reasons.

It leaves a big gap on the back end for Davies to fill and there are not currently too many options out there.