Leeds Knights v Sheffield Steeldogs: Lewis Baldwin happy to take up any role for the cause

The 22-year-old defenceman was thrust into an unfamiliar forward role for Wednesday night’s Autumn Cup semi-final first leg against Sheffield Steeldogs at Ice Sheffield, with the visitors down to just 12 skaters due to their ongoing injury crisis.

But the switch in position – decided on just a few hours before face-off – paid off in impressive fashion, Baldwin scoring twice to help snap a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win.

The Steeldogs visit Elland Road for tonight’s second leg confident of overturning the two-goal deficit, but Baldwin says they will come up against a Knights team significantly boosted by their performance in South Yorkshire, particularly as it came with the odds stacked against them.

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With teenage winger Mack Stewart likely to be the only addition to the Knights’ roster for the return match, it’s likely Baldwin will be required to reprise his forward role for a second game running. Not that he has any problem with that.

“I’m happy to play whatever position I’m asked to,” said the 22-year-old former Bradford Bulldogs and Blackburn Hawks blue liner. “I was happy to play as a forward, we were short on guys on Wednesday, so one of us had to.

“It was nice to do something different to be honest, to be asked to play a different role and if I have to do it again on Friday then I will, no problem.

“It was great fun, to be honest. I had a great time. I’ve played it before, now and then, but not for a while really, probably not since I was in Solway, so it’s been quite a few years.

“It was a bit of a last-minute thing, as we were getting our kit sorted to go to the game, Dave just asked me if I wanted to play forward and I said ‘sure’.”

Baldwin said the performance and result brought a welcome end to a poor run of results that started with a 4-3 home loss to Swindon on October 24.

“It was a great win against a good team and has given us a massive confidence boost, particularly after the run we’d been on going into that game,” added Baldwin.

“We all knew we were short on bodies, but we just thought we might as well go and have a right good go.

“And the guys did great, every single one of us worked so hard for each other. Jordan (McLaughlin) was great in goal for us and everyone just kept going. It was relentless, there was no slacking at any one time, everyone knew what job they had to do and they stuck at it for the entire 60 minutes.”

And while Baldwin acknowledges that the Knights have put themselves in a promising position to reach the final – with another bumper 1,000-plus crowd expected at Elland Road tonight – he is aware of the potent threat posed by the Steeldogs.

Greg Wood’s team have swiftly climbed to the top of the regular season league standings having won seven out of their first eight games and, with the likes of Jason Hewitt, Matt Bissonnette and Lee Bonner in their ranks, have plenty of firepower to strike back.

“That win has put us in a good position, obviously, but it’s going to be far from easy,” he said.

“We just know they are going to come out flying, but we will too because we’ve given ourselves a massive confidence boost from the other night – not just because we won, but because of how we played, too.

“Playing at home will help, too, because that crowd can make such a big difference.”

To buy tickets for tonight’s semi-final second leg at Elland Road Ice Arena go HERE