Leeds Knights bounce back with convincing derby win over Hull Seahawks

A distant second-best at Elland Road Ice Arena on Sunday when losing 6-2 to Sheffield Steeldogs, the Knights - buoyed by the addition of new import defenceman Sam Dunn - enjoyed a relatively comfortable night against a Seahawks team who had arrived boasting a promising four-game winning streak.

Captain Kieran Brown led the way with a hat-trick, while import forward Arturs Mickevics and teenage winger Daragh Spawforth also got in on the act.

Hull briefly threatened to get back in the game when Johnny Corneil tipped in from Emil Svec on the power play in the 25th minute, but the Leeds response was clinical on a night when they dominated most aspects of the game.

A sign of things to come, perhaps, arrived just after 20 seconds when Emil Svec and Knights defenceman Sam Cooper came to blows with both heading to the box for roughing.

The game was less than three minutes old when the breakthrough came for the hosts, Brown benefitting from a face-off win by Fin Bradon in the right circle before firing through traffic and into the roof of Jordan McLaughlin’s net, probably before the goaltender even had a chance to see it.

It was the lively Bradon who created the second goal for the hosts in the 15th minute, shoving the puck through Owen Bruton’s legs straight from the face off and squaring for Daragh Spawforth to fire home his third goal of the season from close range.

The Seahawks were able to get back into the game when Brown took a penalty for holding, Corneiltipping in off a Svec drive on the resulting power play, halving the deficit at 24.22.

The Seahawks certainly offered more in the second, but it was a period interrupted by penalties as tempers frayed, Brown and Jamie Chilcott coming to blows less than a minute after the visitors’ goal, eventually leading to the experienced defenceman being tossed from the game.

It proved a key moment as, a short while later, the Knights were able to restore their two-goal advantage, a nicely worked goal which again resulted from a Bradon face-off win.

The centre worked the puck back to Dunn on the blue line, who quickly found Bissonnette in the corner, who in turn produced a sharp, pinpoint pass to Mickevics, who left McLoughlin with no chance as he unleashed a rocket from centre ice at 26.28.

Svec and Bailey Perre came to blows in the 39th minute but again it only benefitted the hosts, a few more seconds elapsing before Matt Bissonnette broke free down the left and - at the second attempt - found an unmarked Brown who prodded home his second of the night from close range at 38.57.

With Mickevics called for hooking in the 48th minute, the Seahawks had a chance to hand themselves a late lifeline on the resulting power play, but it was the Knights who profited.

Bissonnette cleverly won the puck on the edge of the Knights’ zone and drove down the left-hand side before teeing up Brown to fire past the helpless McLoughlin from the right hash marks to make it 5-1 at 47.32.