SPOOKY SEASON is reaching its climax and for Leeds Knights that means invitingYorkshire rivals Sheffield Steeldogs into The Castle for their annual Fright Night fixture.

The Knights have already suffered a defeat at the hands of Slava Koulikov’team this season, a hard-fought battle at Ice Sheffield ending 3-2 in favour of the Steeldogs.

The Dogs took an early two-goal lead through Walker Sommer and Bailey Yates, before Matt Bissonnette and Sam Dunn tied the game with a goal each before the end of the first period.

This was how it remained until Oliver Knaggs scored the winning goal for the home team.

Liam Peyton, who has five goals and three assists for eight points in 12 games, knows the season hasn’t started exactly how the Knights had hoped.

They currently sit in the bottom half of the table with just 12 points from a possible 24.

The Canadian forward knows rhythm is paramount and is critical in reversing the Yorkshire Derby result.

He said: “I think it’s a matter of getting confident. We’ve found ourselves in some scoring slumps.

KEEP IT GOING: Leeds Knights' Liam Peyton is hoping to help extend his team's three-match winning run when they take on Sheffield Steeldogs on Thursday. Picture: Charlotte Clarke/Knights Media.

placeholder image — KEEP IT GOING: Leeds Knights' Liam Peyton is hoping to help extend his team's three-match winning run when they take on Sheffield Steeldogs on Thursday. Picture: Charlotte Clarke/Knights Media.

“But, we’re starting to roll and starting to put the puck in the net. So, it’s just a matter of consistency now and bringing the same game every single night.”

Peyton, who is in his second season playing in front of the Knights faithful, has seen what these games mean to both players and fans alike.

The Ontario-native had four goals and four assists against the Steeldogs in 25-26, including three points in the NIHL National Cup Final last season

He said: “The Yorkshire derbies mean a lot to us. We’ve had some good battles with them.

FIRING LINE: Leeds Knights' Liam Peyton (far right) celebrates his second goal in the 5-0 win over Solway last weekend. Picture: Kev Bland/Knights Media.

“I’ve only been here a year, but even just last year if you look at the cup, there’s a strong rivalry and a lot of compete when we play those games.

“We’re going to come out and compete and be ready to go.”

Ryan Aldridge’s team come into the game on the back of a welcome three-game winning streak, although they made hard work of their most recent success when giving up a 4-0 lead at Telford Tigers before edging out their hosts 5-4 courtesy of a Matt Bissonnette overtime winner.

The derby clash at home to Sheffield is the first of three games in four nights for Leeds, the second of which sees them make the long trip north of the border to take on Solway on Friday night.

The Scottish hosts will be keen to even the score after the Knights enjoyed a convincing 5-0 win over them in Leeds last Friday.

Along with Owen Sobchak, Peyton scored two goals each on the night with the fifth coming from defenseman Sam , with defenceman Dunn again finding the net.

Peyton said: “We played a solid game, although I still think there were some lapses there.”

It proved to be a tough weekend for Martin Grubb’s team, who after departing Leeds with nothing to show for their efforts then lost 4-1 at home to new NIHL National regular season leaders, Hull Seahawks.

Leeds finish off a hectic four days with a visit from Swindon Wildcats on Sunday.