Leeds Knights netminder Sam Gospel braced for tough test against Sheffield Steeldogs

Of course, Gospel was part of the Knights team that opened up with seven straight wins last season only to see their hopes unfold across October and November as injuries pole-axed Dave Whistle’s roster.

This time around, we are 10 games in and the Knights have won every single one of them, sitting joint-top of the NIHL National standings with a Peterborough Phantoms team whose only two losses came at the hands of Gospel and his team-mates.

Once Knights’ owner Steve Nell took over the Leeds franchise in April last year, Gospel was the first signing he got done.

He was also the first player the Knights announced as coming back for this season.

It’s a measure of how valuable Nell and head coach Ryan Aldridge view the 28-year-old netminder, although he is quick to highlight the part played in the Knights’ current run off success by those players in front of him.

“I am pleasantly surprised with how things have gone,” said Gospel, who hopes to help the Knights extend their unbeaten start to 2022-23 in this weekend’s double-header with Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Steeldogs.

“We’re an interesting group of players, quite dynamic, I think.

“On paper, I’m aware that we’re the youngest team in the league. We’re offensive, obviously, but it just works.

“Everyone here buys in, there is a real element of togetherness in that room. We’re not the biggest group and never have been here in Leeds, but this season there is definitely that element of team toughness.

“That obviously doesn’t mean we go out and fight every night but we definitely hold tight together and stick up for each other when we need to. I’m enjoying it.”

The last two weekends have presented the Knights with, in the words of their coach Ryan Aldridge, their toughest tests of the season.

But two wins from a weekend double-header weekend with Basingstoke Bison were followed by a 6-1 dismantling of a Milton Keynes Lightning team who at the time were sat second in the standings.

This weekend will be no different in terms of the challenge ahead.

The longer the unbeaten run goes on, the more teams will be desperate to be the ones who bring it to an end. Throw into the mix the spice of it being a Yorkshire derby against a Steeldogs team boasting a five-game winning streak that has taken them up to third in the table and just two points adrift, and it all adds up to another stern examination of the Knights’ title credentials.

The Steeldogs have risen to third in the standings while missing some key bodies in recent games. Forwards Jason Hewitt and Lee Bonner were missing from Tuesday night’s 4-2 win at home to bottom side Hull Seahawks, as were defenders Tim Smith and Lee Haywood.

“The fact Sheffield are still getting wins with some key bodies missing is an indication of how difficult it is going to be across both nights,” added Gospel.

“When it comes to Sheffield we’re two teams that play each other quite a lot - they know what we’re like, we know what they’re like. As everybody knows, they’ve got good goaltending, good offence and good defence, they are the full package and it’s going to be a tough couple of days.

“You have to stay switched on against them. They are fairly relentless in the way that they play, but it’s a different style of relentlessness - they are quite methodical with what they do. So it’s a game that we have to stay engaged in and not switch off at any point.”