Leeds Knights flex their scoring muscles to stay ahead of NIHL National chasing pack

As his players bounced into their locker room at the end of the first 20 minutes against Sean Easton’s team on Saturday night, the game was already effectively over.

It must have brought a smile to Aldridge’s face during the first intermission, having been unhappy with his players’ performance in the 3-2 defeat after a shoot-out the previous weekend on home ice against Telford Tigers.

He said his players owed their fans a performance and they delivered.

At 5-0 ahead there seemed little way back for the visitors and so it proved the game being closed out for an 8-0 triumph – netminder Sam Gospel getting his first shutout of the 2022-23 NIHL National campaign.

If that wasn’t enough, the Knights continued their good work 24 hours later on the road, recovering from a 1-0 first-period deficit at an improving Hull Seahawks to run out comfortable 6-1 winners.

It was Nathan Salem who broke the deadlock in the East Riding, striking on the power play with some help from import forward Andrej Themar and D-man Declan Balmer.

Following on from their 5-4 road win the previous evening at Basingstoke Bison, the Seahawks probably went into the first break confident of posting their first four-point weekend of the season.

But, within five minutes of the restart the game had been turned on its head through two strikes from Adam Barnes, the first coming just 85 seconds in before he doubled his tally at 24.34.

Grant Cooper struck to make it 3-1 with just under three minutes remaining in the middle period – the Canadian bringing his points tally to 50 for the season in just 20 games – and, as Matty Davies’s team chased the game in the last 20, the Knights took advantage.

Brown was first to benefit following good work by Zach Brooks to make it 4-1 at 44.36, Cooper grabbing a second with just over 10 minutes left before Matt Haywood completed the scoring at 55.52.

On Saturday, it was Haywood opened the scoring with four minutes gone, Brown doubling the lead at 9.42.

Brooks then struck twice either side of an Adam Barnes strike to leave the Raiders reeling at the break. Brown’s next strike at 23.38 was the only marker in the second period, Cooper and Tate Shudra also finding the net to wrap up an impressive night’s work.

Combined with the win in Hull, it leaves the Knights three points clear of second-placed Peterborough Phantoms, who followed up a 4-3 win at Bees IHC with a win by the same scoreline at home to Bristol Pitbulls the following night.

Milton Keynes Lightning sit a further point adrift in third after they won 4-3 at Sheffield Steeldogs.