Leeds Knights' Fans' Jury: Hailing victory over MIlton Keynes Lightning ahead of Sheffield Steeldogs double-header

It follows a scintillating performance against then second-placed Milton Keynes Lightning at ‘The Castle’ last Friday which took the Knights’ unbeaten start for the season to 10 games.

Find out what our Knights panel thought of the Lightning victory, plus their thoughts ahead of this weekend’s tussles with Sheffield Steeldogs.

Jim Piper, Manchester: The Castle was packed to the rafters for the much-anticipated top two duel in the NIHL between the Knights and MK Lightning.

Knights made their usual blistering start and took the lead after just 52 seconds with a neat shot by Adam Barnes, assisted by Grant Cooper. Matt Haywood made it 2-0 on a delayed penalty goal after excellent work from Kieran Brown and Adam Barnes.

Two other highlights of an excellent opening period were a superb three on five penalty kill and a coming together with Jordan Griffiths and Lightnings veteran Leigh Jamieson. Both sat out 5 mins for fighting with Jordan getting the better of his opponent.

Lightning pulled a goal back early in the second but a double whammy 3 minutes later with two goals in 28 seconds put the home side in the driving seat. Zach Brooks and a second goal from Matt Haywood were the scorers.

Knights dominated the third period and added goals from Kieran Brown and Archie Hazeldine to round of a superb performance, sending a message to the rest of the league that this team means business.

Overall, a scintillating performance against a top side, excelling in all departments. For me, the 4-minute penalty kill in the first period set the scene for a hard worked two points.

Next week sees a double header against local rivals Sheffield Steeldogs. The home game is on Saturday with the return in Sheffield on Sunday afternoon. Two games not to miss as we aim to continue our superb run of form.

Kaine Greenwood, Halifax: Sheffield Steeldogs will be the next team to try and spook the Leeds Knights as a double-header with their Yorkshire rivals is now all that stands between the Elland Road side and going unbeaten into November.

The league leaders are seizing opportunity at every turn right now and it took just 52 seconds for Grant Cooper to connect with Adam Barnes at put a score on the board. At 1-0, and even 2-0 when Matt Haywood calmly slotted mid-first, it was an open affair with the Lightning perhaps having the better of the chances.

However, from the moment Sean Norris took advantage of the powerplay to halve the deficit at 22.19 that was a close at the away side got.

The Knights out-energised the Lightning and added two scores within 28 seconds just minutes later through a Haywood second and Zach Brooks to take out to 4-1.

A captain’s performance from Kieran Brown saw him snipe a beautiful effort past Jordan Hedley four minutes into the final period and D-man Archie Hazeldine tipped in with 3.38 left, with the crowd already in party mood.

A double triumph in pre-season will give confidence the run can continue this weekend but the Steeldogs remain a formidable outfit - the 2021-22 NIHL play-off champions with a 7-4 record to date.

Leeds in a Hallo-winning habit is brilliant to watch, and tough to break. The weekend promises to excite but it will definitely be a case of the side with the most steel being most likely to claim the points. For the Knights just a game at a time. Be sure to catch it!