Leeds Knights: Final Four Play-off Weekend hopes hit but road to Coventry remains open

In all likelihood, the Knights are going to have to win all four of their remaining NIHL National play-off games having emerged from their double-header against a ruthless and disciplined Milton Keynes Lightning with nothing to show for their efforts.

The 5-0 scoreline in Buckinghamshire on Friday night was harsh on the Knights, particularly when you take into account the health of their team going into the game - three players still getting over illness and centre Matty Davies back in action for the first time in almost a month.

Just under 48 hours later at Elland Road, the Knights looked a touch more like the team that had enjoyed a run of 12 wins in 14 games under Ryan Aldridge through February and March.

Two of those wins had seen them hammer the Lightning 8-2 and 6-1 on home ice.

But this Milton Keynes team is a different beast to the one that spluttered into the post-season, first inflicting a heaviest defeat of the campaign on Leeds before showing great patience and experience in coming from behind to win 3-2 last night.

This Saturday’s home game against Bees IHC and Sunday’s trip to regular season league champions Telford Tigers are must-win games. Game 7s if you will. True play-off hockey.

Both teams have been beaten before by Leeds, both can be beaten again. And, despite the setback of the weekend just gone, the Knights remain confident, their recently-returned players better off for getting 120 minutes game-time into them.

Whereas Friday saw the Knights snuffed out by a dominant Lightning, their response was to come out of the blocks quickly on home ice.

The prospect of a third straight shutout was unthinkable and after Lewis Baldwin had gone close from in front following good work by Kieran Brown down low in the sixth minute, the deadlock was broken when a neat one-two on the break by Davies and Cole Shudra presented the latter with a tap-in at 8.45 after Matt Smital was left exposed to the opposite angle.

It wasn’t long before the Lightning were level, however, a power play opportunity being taken by Liam Stewart at 10.43 when he benefited from after a one-two with Tim Wallace before advancing into the right face-off circle and firing past Sam Gospel.

The Leeds netminder then had to be alert to deny Stewart a second in the 15th minute after Adam Laishram rounded the net to set him up in front.

The Knights continued to cause problems in the early part of the second period and got their rewards when the puck broke kindly for Shudra on the right-hand boards, before he took a few strides before unleashing a fierce effort over Smital’s left shoulder and into the roof of the goal to make it 2-1 at 27.37.

But the Lightning were not in the mood to roll over and thereafter enjoyed plenty of time in the Knights’ zone, with netminder Gospel required to be at his agile best to deny both the lively Laishram and Sam Talbot.

A rare foray into the Lightning zone saw Bobby Streetly find Davies, but his effort from a tight angle at the bottom of the left circle was comfortably dealt with by Smital.

The Lightning netminder had to be alert with his left pad to deny a Jamie Chilcott effort from long range through traffic early in the third, while Joe Coulter drove down the left from where his pass in front of net just eluded both Ethan Hehir and Jordan Fisher.

Davies then pinged one off Smital’s crossbar after good work by Shudra, but the Lightning then began to dominate possession and were level when Bobby Chamberlain fired past Gospel from 10 yards out at 44.34.

Just under two minutes later, the Knights fell behind for the first time in the game when Sean Norris drove down the left boards before firing over an inch-perfect feed to Talbot who fired home at the back post.

Norris then hit the crossbar and Gospel denied Laishram once again.

It was desperate stuff at times from a tiring Knights team just to avoid falling further behind.

To their credit, they didn’t and they pushed back hard in an attempt to pull level. But clear scoring opportunities were hard to come by, against a Lightning team who may just have saved their best for last and who now look a good bet to be in Coventry on April 30.

Leeds could be there, too. They are just going to have to do it the hard way if so.