Leeds Knights 5 Peterborough Phantoms 3 - 'Phenomenal' Mac Howlett hits treble as Knights extend NIHL National win streak

The Knights had to survive a third period fightback from their third-placed NIHL National rivals but they held firm to extend their winning streak to six games.

And it was Howlett who shone brightest for the home side, reaching his hat-trick inside 23 minutes at Elland Road Ice Arena.

“It was a brilliant performance,” said Aldridge of Howlett, a player he has known from an early age from their time at the Swindon-based Okanagan Hockey Academy.

“When Mac comes into the locker room with the right mindset, nobody can handle him and I thought he was absolutely phenomenal, from start to finish.

“You take him out of the line-up I think it would have been a very different game.

“He was flying but, also, Oli (Endicott) and Matty (Haywood) made some good plays to help him get those goals, I thought OIi was also phenomenal.”

As ever, it wasn’t a comfortable evening for the Knights in front of their own fans, the hosts taking until the eighth minute before opening their account when Howlett slotted home his first after bursting in off the right boards.

His second came just over two minutes later when his shot squeezed through the legs of Phantoms’ goalie Jordan Marr.

His third strike came with the Knights on the penalty kill, Howlett robbing the puck in the neutral zone before flying clear to beat Marr at 22.59.

He then set up Bow Neely with a back-hand pass at 26.40 and although the visitors got on the board through Luke Ferrara, they still trailed by four goals going into the second intermission when Matt Barron found the net at 36.17.

Austin Mitchll-King and Lukas Sladkovsky pulled the Phantoms to within two with over 12 minutes remaining, but the Knights held firm for a deserved win.