Leeds Knights 2: Young guns looking to take down NIHL North One rivals
THIS WEEKEND offers different challenges for Leeds Knights 2 as they face teams at either end of the NIHL North One table.
First up is a first visit of the season to The Castle from Telford Tigers 2, enjoying their first season at this level, sitting fourth in the standings.
It was Telford who prevailed the last time these two teams met, winning 11-7 but only after a late capitulation by the Knights in Shropshire which saw them ship four goals in the last four minutes.
Head coach Davey Lawrence expects to have more depth for Saturday’s game, given the NIHL National Knights team are not in action.
“We've almost performed better against top teams than we have against lower teams, to be honest,” said Lawrence. “Hopefully we should be a bit more towards full strength due to the fact the Knights are not playing
“They've signed a new goaltender as well, which makes them a little bit stronger. For some of their players, it might even be their first time playing at ours, so we need to try and take advantage of that a little bit.”
On Sunday, Lawrence’s team pay a second visit of the season to Widnes, looking to close the gap on a team they have already lost twice to, the most recent being a 6-5 defeat at home on November 22.
“We weren't a million miles away and again, I think had we had that extra body or two, it would have been enough to just push us over the line,” added Lawrence.
“But we didn't and we can't keep making excuses. We've just got to find ways of getting it done. It's up to us to try and do something in the games when we play them.”