Leeds Knights: How Zach Brooks set the tone to help Knights maintain winning start to NIHL National season

But Ryan Aldridge did, believing it crucial to his Leeds Knights team emerging from a testing double-header weekend against Basingstoke Bison with their 100 per cent start to the NIHL National season intact.

Having made the long trip back up the M1 with two points from a 3-1 win in Hampshire, Aldridge and his players knew their rivals would come out extra-hard in a bid to square the weekend off.

No NIHL National team needs any more motivation at the moment than being the one that ends the Knights’ winning streak which, going into Friday’s top-two showdown at home to Milton Keynes Lightning, now stands at nine games.

Over the course of two double-header weekends against quality opposition, first, Peterborough Phantoms and, last weekend, Basingstoke, Aldridge’s team have taken four points - while giving up none.

And on Sunday, with Bison desperate to strike back early, Aldridge got the response he was looking for from his own players.

Led by import forward Zach Brooks’ body language from the very first face-off, the Knights - in no way at all regarded as a ‘physical’ team - stood tall and dealt with everything thrown at them by the visitors.

To their credit, Basingstoke kept their foot on the gas for the entire 60 minutes. Their problem was that Leeds were equal to it.

“I actually think Basingstoke came and played harder in our building and we matched everything they threw at us,” said Aldridge.

“Because we don’t really play a physical or chippy game, people maybe think that we’re a bit soft. But we’ve got guys - skilled hockey players - that have got a tough side to them if they need to.

“And I think that got brought out on Sunday and I liked it and I thought the boys played hard in all areas. We were unbelievable on the penalty kill, killed a lot of penalties, I thought we took away time and space in the neutral zone which they struggled with.

“Basingstoke certainly came to play but that is what we want as a team and I feel that is our best game of hockey this season, across 60 minutes. They brought it to us for 60 and we played a full 60.

“Ultimately, you don’t want a team coming into your building and pushing you around and we didn’t let that happen.”

As for Brooks, who has quickly settled into British hockey in his first season outside North America, Aldridge added: “Yeah, he’s a tough kid, he plays physical and, for me, he set the tone right from that opening face-off.

“You could tell he was ready to go, you can see it in his body language and then the whole team is ready to go.

“His body language sets the tone and then that can spread - the first shift is good, then the second line feeds off that and then the third and it goes from there and then you have momentum.”