Leeds Knights coach Ryan Aldridge back on familiar ice in bid to hurt former club Swindon Wildcats

The two come together this weekend when Aldridge’s in-form Leeds Knights team take on Nell’s Swindon Wildcats in an eagerly-anticipated double-header.

Leeds make the long trip to Wiltshire tonight before playing host at Elland Road tomorrow when a crowd of over 1,600 is expected ( 5.15pm).

Aldridge admits tonight will be a somewhat strange experience for him, having been head coach at Swindon between 2008-2015 before ‘leaving’ to take on a different coaching role with the Okanagan Hockey Academy, established by Wildcats owner Steve Nell, who is also now his boss at Leeds.

After Aldridge was briefly succeeded by former GB and then Swindon goalie Stevie Lyle, it was Nell who stepped up into the role vacated that summer by the man who handed him his English senior debut back at the start of the 2008 season.

Aldridge still works at Okanagan in Swindon several mornings a week and has retained close ties to the Wildcats since stepping away from bench duties at in April 2015.

Earlier this season, he was asked to help out with the occasional practice session by Nell. It’s fair to say there is a deep, mutual respect between the two although for at least 120 minutes this weekend, that will have to be put to one side.

“It will be strange on Saturday because I never really expected to go back there as a coach in senior hockey,” said Aldridge. “I never thought I would coach in this league for anyone but Swindon. We’ve just got to go in there on Saturday and make sure we do our job.

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“Aaron and me obviously know each other very well and I worked with the Wildcats once or twice earlier this season, they asked me to come in and help them with some stuff in practice sessions.

“Aaron works very hard on what he does, especially on the coaching side of things. He’s been doing a great job since he took over in Swindon and it’s great to see.”

Overall this season, Swindon hold the edge over the Knights. Pre-season challenge games aside, the Wildcats have won four of the seven competitive meetings between the two including, most memorably, the two-legged Autumn Cup Final shortly before Christmas.

As in any campaign, both teams have had their lean patches, Swindon’s caused by Covid around Christmas whereas Leeds couldn’t catch a break in terms of injuries over October and November.

The Knights know that, with just 12 regular season games remaining, if they are to stand any chance of catching second-placed Swindon and eradicating the seven-point gap between the two teams, they are going to need four points from the weekend.

For their part, Swindon still have an eye on catching leaders Telford Tigers, who are four points clear. But Nell knows that task will be made difficult if they come off second-best against a Leeds team that he believes close friend Aldridge has turned into the second-tier’s form team with six wins from their last seven games.

“Ryan’s coached me more than any other coach and we’re very good friends,” said Nell.

“I’m really happy for him that he’s done so well at Leeds and I wish him luck every weekend - just not so much this weekend.

“When you become a coach you take things from all the coaches who have coached you and Ryan coached me the most, so I’ve taken a lot from Ryan.

“He did a great job in Swindon, he really helped build the club up to where it is now and put in a lot of hard yards to do that. He certainly left it in a better place than when he first came in. He was great for us and fortunately we still see him a lot and he is still around the place.

“Leeds might be the form team in the league for the last month after their performances last weekend,. We know it’s going to be a tough test for us and I’m sure the Leeds boys will want to get a big win for themselves but also for Ryan - certainly on Saturday night at ours.

“We need to beat some good teams to get to where we want to be and Leeds are a very good team.”

Tonight’s game is available to watch via a live stream - buy your tickets HERE