'Relentless' Leeds Knights able to find their winning 'way' once again in NIHL National

A return to winning ways was important for a team who have made it the norm over the last three years. During that time, the Knights have won three league titles, a National Cup and a play-off title under head coach Aldridge.

Heading into the home clash against Basingstoke, the Knights were trying to avoid equalling their worst-ever run – a seven-game losing streak at the tail-end of 2021-22, their debut NIHL National season.

A deserved 4-2 win – avenging a 4-3 loss the night before in Basingstoke – saw the Knights get back to winning ways in a season which has seen them perhaps deal with more adversity than in their previous three campaigns put together.

Almost from day one, injuries have plagued 2025-26, with a recent schedule of nine games in 17 days simply adding to the challenges faced.

Tiredness has understandably been a factor for the Knights’ players and while Aldridge was prepared to cut them a certain amount of slack over that, he still felt they were better than performances were suggesting.

On Sunday he got what he was looking for.

“It was almost like we’d forgotten how it felt to win,” said Aldridge. “It’s obviously been a struggle the last few weeks, we’ve been playing short because of injuries but also just not playing our best.

“But we were good against Basingstoke. The boys are tired, they should be, but the way they played, I thought we were relentless, I thought we were us. It was the closest we’ve been to Leeds Knights hockey for a while.”

Having fallen behind with less than a minute played, it looked like being another long night for the Knights.

But a three-goal blast just after the halfway point, saw the game turned on its head.

Key to that, according to Aldridge, was the performance of veteran playmaker Matt Bissonnette, who scored the Knights’ first and third goals, either side of a bullet from import forward Liam Peyton.

In the 47th minute, Danny Harrison weighed in with his second power play goal in as many games and although the Bison kept it interesting through an Adam Harding strike at 54.01 – also on the man advantage – the hosts saw the game out, leading to an appreciative cacophony of noise from the home fans.

“We played great and I thought Biss was phenomenal – he played like a leader,” added Aldridge.

“I wrote a list of things on the board before the game that I wanted to see and he stepped up and was a leader for us. He played like a leader, scored goals like a leader and everybody was better - and when we get a couple of quick goals, this building comes alive and the boys feed off that, there’s no doubt.

“At the final buzzer, that was the loudest it has been. Hockey is still a young sport in Leeds but I think the fans are starting to realise what certain situations mean and they were right behind us and we’re obviously very thankful.

“It’s a special place to play and coach.”